Ecclesiastes 1
Ecclesiastes • Sermon • Submitted
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So…I found out through personal experience that the commentaries on Ecclesiastes are just as confusing as the book. Let me give you a quote from some guy I came across:
I have a slide of it so you can see it yourself.
“This book is one of the more difficult books in all of Scripture, one which no one has ever completely mastered” - Marin Luther
Let’s pray:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
The Preacher. This word means an “assembler”. Its as if he is gathering the people of God, getting them together and pastoring them. He is giving them some wisdom. And who could teach you some wisdom better than Solomon?
Lets look back at … I have it on the screen for you.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 429-34
You know what is crazy though? We all think we are little wiser than Solomon don’t we? You don’t have to admit it if you don’t want to but I know…we all know. Might as well jump on in here with the rest of us.
Have you EVER had the thought, “If I had a couple of million of dollars...”
Or here’s me when we pass the Lotto sign and it says, “180 Million Dollars”…Im like…and you are to but this is about me…I’m like, “Dar, what would we do with a 180 Million?”. And…because Im such a GREAT guy, like all of you here this morning, it always starts off with, “I mean, the first 18 Million is going to The Parish...” Then, after I feed my self righteousness, you know, after I set up orphanages and stuff like that then I get the condo in Vail, CO and the beach house in Destin.
Don’t laugh at me…don’t judge me! You do it too…I know some of you for sure do but Im not saying any names okay Rickie Big TV?
But I do this, and you do this, whether it is the lottery or something else we do this because we so easily forget the things of God and his Word. This is why we need to be reminded continually of the gospel of Christ.
Hopefully we will be reminded this morning that:
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ecc 12:
But when our focus is not on Christ this is where we find ourselves. Pursuing the pleasures of this world. We think if we could just have “that” job, “that” house, “that” pair of shoes and we either get it and it doesn’t satisfy or we don’t get it and we feel unsatisfied don’t we.
And here is why. Look at verse 2
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Without a Christ Centered Worldview this is what you are left with. It is all vanity, meaningless, pointless…a chasing after the wind.
And don’t think you can outrun the wind. Don’t believe the lie of this world that you actually can find purpose under the sun apart from Christ.
If you believe you can let me remind you that you are up against the curse of God. In God put a curse not only on man and woman but also on all of Creation. It’s all dying, withering away and never ultimately accomplishing anything.
Without a Christ-Centered Worldview this life is so meaningless.
Look at verse 3:
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
Here is the first question...
If it is all vanity and we are living in this world without God life is pointless under the sun. Its meaningless. There is NO real value in anything. Nothing really truly matters.
Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
So the man, the woman who toils, what does he gain at which he toils under the sun?
So the man, the woman who toils, what does he gain at which he toils under the sun?
You know what you gain?
You get to get up in the morning and do it again…then again…then again. Never finding that rest that you so long for. Life, under the sun, living and believing that there is nothing above it, is futile. There is no TRUE rest or any TRUE peace.
You know what you gain? You get to get up in the morning and do it again…then again…then again. Never finding that rest that you so long for.
But lets just say you reach “that place” where you feel like you can rest…say you have all your retirement put up, you made great investments…but where does that ultimately get you? Death makes it all “vain” doesn’t it? Death makes it all pointless and meaningless doesn’t it?
So what are we to do? I mean, we are 3 verses into this thing....take away the “Hey guys, lets get together and let the Pastor tell you a few things verse…and we are 2 verses into this and we are feeling HORRIBLE! I mean, this is DEPRESSING!
So what are we to do? We are to sit tight and just listen to how bad life really is without God in your life. We take it all in and see how miserable life truly is under the sun.
The worse the bad news the better the good news sounds to us!
So, lets get a little more gloomy in here this Sunday morning...
Look at verse 4:
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
A lot of you have heard me say this before but it brings us down to reality when you think about it. Think of your great grandfather, what was he like? And if you knew him…think of your other great grandfather…what was he like? What was his name? What did your great grandfather do for a living? Was he good at it? What was his hobbies? Most of you…if not all of you don’t even know your great grandfathers name do you? You know nothing about him!
And that is just 3 generations away from you in your own family! You don’t cry at Christmas when he isn’t there. Life goes on guys.
Generations come and Generations go… IN the eyes of the world we are not THAT important, I don’t care who you are. But man…we walk around like we are don’t we. We have to get things in perspective.
It says, “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever”
You know how vain it is without a God-Centered view of our lives on this Earth? How meaningless it is without knowing Christ? I mean, we are here for just a short while but the earth has been here from the beginning...
He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
Look at verses 5-7
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
See, your life is here just for a little while…and then death comes.
But the Earth has been here forever. And it will be here when your gone.
But can you see yourself in this? Do you see your life in Creation “under the sun”?
It says the sun “hastens” — It is gasping, panting. It’s mouth is open gasping for air. That is the picture. It never finds rest
The Wind — blows and goes around. It returns and goes again
The Streams — Run to the sea and the sea never gets enough of it so it continues to Run
You see how tiring it really is? This is you and me! This is creation itself.
romans 8:19-
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The point is that there is a whole lot of activity going on…continually but it never is really accomplishing anything.
The sun rises and goes down and rises and goes down…never reaching its destination.
The wind blows around and around and around but never really gets anywhere
the streams continually run into the sea that is never full. It always wants more and more and more so the streams keep flowing and flowing and flowing.
It tiresome isn’t it. What’s the point? If there is nothing above the sun and all that there is is this life under the sun…it is meaningless.
Creation is weary...
Look at on the screen:
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Creation itself is trapped in an endless cycle, constantly moving but never truly accomplishing a goal. Never reaching an end for rest.
So when you are trying to find meaning for your life with things “under the sun”…its vanity, meaninglessness, foolishness, pointless.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
There is nothing under the sun that can satisfy any of us. But we so easily fall for the lie and chase the things of this world to satisfy us.
This life is just vanity, meaningless without Christ. Death will come to us all and it will come sooner than later for some of us…then what? What was it all for?
Listen to the words of the wisest man who lived:
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
ecc 1:9
If all we look at are the things under the sun…its vanity. Its meaningless. Its heart-breaking!
Nothing under the sun will satisfy you.
Verses 12-18 tells us that The Pursuit of Wisdom will fail you as well. Wisdom under the sun will not and cannot solve the fundamental problems of this life on Earth.
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Solomon applied his heart to seek and to search out wisdom all that is done under heaven...
with a sincere heart
an inward striving
He says it is an unhappy business that God has given to man to be busy with…trying to figure out the meaning of life.
Isn’t that what everyone is doing in the world? Trying to find out the “meaning of life”?
This is what man has always tried to figure out.
How did we get here?
What is all of this for?
They seek meaning through power, money, they seek for meaning in their life through philosophy, education…wisdom and knowledge.
But what does the Preacher Solomon say...”I have seen everything that is done under the sun and it is all vanity....striving after the wind.”
Some things in life just can’t be answered without God. Science is trying their hardest to figure the universe out without a God…But if they only looked to Solomon here he tells them
What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
There seems to always problems under the sun that can’t be answered.
There is always a lack of information to complete the formula.
Under the Sun…apart from God, this is what Solomon knows:
I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
You can gain all the wisdom you can and when you do…and if you are honest with yourself you realize all of it is pointless. It is maddening. It is depressing.
Some may think that more knowledge will fill the void that is in them but it just increases the emptiness within them.
Guys, life is so short. Generations come and they go. The world will continue without you just like it has from the beginning. All the wisdom in the world will not fill the void in your life that only Christ Jesus can fill. Money won’t do it, fame won’t do it, nothing in all of creation will do it because creation itself is longing for Christ’s return.
What Solomon is talking about is things under the sun…but when we look at the things under the sun through the mind of the Son we see this life is full of meaning. And is only through the mind of Christ that we can see the purpose of this life…to see meaning in this life under the sun. I want to finish with reading you this...
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Co 1:
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Co. 1:20-2:
1 Co 1:20-2:16