The book of Ecclesiastes begins
with these words: “Life is vanity
… meaningless … empty” (1:1-3).
That’s a strong and uncomfortable statement!
But thankfully this is not a final statement.
The Preacher, Solomon begins by looking at life
under the sun at face value i.e. without a reliable interpreter (i.e. the
Word of God). He wants us to know what
happens when we look at life in this fallen world, under the sun with unguarded,
uninstructed minds.
Unfortunately that is the way in which many of us look at
the world. We see things merely at face-value. We do not see the unseen hand of
God behind events. We have no regard for the true truth behind things because
we have no regard for God or His Word.
Life lived in a fallen
world, without a reliable Interpreter can be extremely confusing. No wonder
that our present generation (speaking of the world at large) is extremely
confused. Our world is by and large not
interested in the God of the Bible. We are interested in pop psychology,
pleasure seeking and self fulfilment – we work to buy our dreams. Solomon previously
demonstrated this when he showed us three ways in which he pursued life at
face value and for its own sake:
(i)
He pursued wisdom for its
own sake (1:12-18; 2:12-17).
If you pursue wisdom for its own sake and try to think about this life
with all its heartbreaks, inconsistencies and unfairness, it will lead you to
despair. You will have no ultimate answers. Your thoughts will oppress you when
you attempt to think about life in this fallen world without a reliable
Interpreter.
(ii)
He pursued pleasure for
its own sake
(2:1-11). If you pursue life for the
sake of mere pleasure, and when you are constantly on the lookout for
the new and novel and the next to get satisfaction,
you will quickly get bored and realize that nothing ultimately satisfies.
(iii)
He pursued fulfillment
through work
(2:18-23). If you pursue work as an end in itself,
and if you dream of accumulating money and many things, you will eventually get
to a point when you realize that you
will eventually have to leave it all to someone who has not worked for these
things. That is profoundly meaningless.
Wisdom,
pleasure and work
are three avenues by which we attempt to find satisfaction and meaning in life,
but if the truth be told, these things can only bring temporary, but not
ultimate satisfaction.
Intellect is not the key
to life; seeking pleasure is not the key to life and hard work is not the key
to life. There is no stable center.
What is missing in these
pursuits?
The answer is God. God is missing!
Thankfully, we find Him
at the end of Chapter 2 and in
Chapter 3.
Ecclesiastes 3 - Outline
1. 3:1 – 8 Everything is
part of a plan.
2. 3: 9-15 Everything is full of purpose
.
3. 3:16-20 Apart
from that, life is hopeless, futile and meaningless.
1. 3:1-8: Everything is
part of a plan
“For everything there is a season, and a
time for every matter under heaven”… This is not a world
abandoned to the imaginations of
mankind – and particularly that
immature worldview that holds that
things happen randomly; that
things are governed by mere fate and chance. Not at all! In this often perplexing life under heaven
(notice – not, under the sun), lived
under the regime of a fallen world, there is a season and time for every matter… “A time to be born, and a time to die; a
time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a
time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up;…” (3:2,3). When you think of the things
spoken of in these verses not as harsh realities, but events that are known and
controlled by our heavenly Father, then these things take on a new meaning. All
of a sudden life is no longer meaningless.
There is an appointed season for everything. Everything
has meaning.
The
positives in this section are easy to embrace: a birth, planting,
healing, building, laughing, dancing, embracing, loving, making peace…
But the negatives are deeply disturbing. Who would choose a time to die,
a time to kill, a time for war, to break down, to weep, to mourn, to hate…?
No – one! But the fact is
that we must live our lives in this fallen world, with all its ups and downs, by
faith in
the God who steers us
meaningfully through this life until He restores all things.
How then shall we live
until that happens?
How shall we cope
with death?
How shall we cope with
having to defend ourselves against an enemy that threatens our lives, or when
we have to defend our country against aggression? How can we keep silent when
evil prevails? When must we hate? What must we hate?
The answer is that all
these events are known and under the care of the Sovereign and good Lord.
- There was a time when Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt, and there was a time when Israel needed to be handed over to bondage in Babylon.
- There was an appointed time for Jesus, the eternal Son of God to be born into this world (Gal. 4:4), and there was a time for Him to for die – and though His death was horrendous, we thank God today that he diedthat death for us who believe in Him.
- There is a time for us to face the Covid-19 virus and all its inconveniences, and there is a time when we can walk about and travel without facemasks and with no care in the world.
For those that love and know God, there may be
“difficult- to- comprehend- events”, but there are no meaningless events. Our days are in His hands. And our responses
to things that we cannot comprehend in this life, and to the things which grieve us in
this life, are the responses
which He teaches us in His Word.
The Lord Jesus speaks for instance about our responses to our enemies in the
Sermon on the Mount[1].
Thank God for the clarity of the New Testament. In the day of evil we must
learn to trust Him to lead us and to give us words (Matthew 10:19,20).
The point is that good days and evil times, days
and seasons will come under the sun, but
not without the full knowledge of Him who rules above. Our
response to all these things is an indication
as to whether we are trusting in God, who knows how
to work for His good and glory in
all things. (Rom. 8:28)
You have two choices.
- You
can believe that life is the result
of chance and the random operation of nature. If you do, there is no
meaning to life.
- You
can believe on the basis of the authority of Scripture that at the end of all things there is
God, who works out all things for good. Therefore you
are helped not
to depend on mere appearances. You are not ultimately satisfied by worldly wisdom, worldly
pursuit of pleasure or mere job satisfaction. You are satisfied with Jesus in whatever
circumstances. This is what Paul learned in Philippians 4:11-13: “….
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be
brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I
have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need, I
can do all things through him who strengthens me. At all times, good
and bad, God was with Paul. Paul was not in the hand of circumstance, fate
or evil men. Paul was in God’s hands. So are you, dear believer! And
that is where the Preacher is now pointing us to in 3:
9-15.
2.
3:9-15
Everything is full of God’s purpose
Here the Preacher works
out the implications of God’s providences in this life. Look at 3:11 and 14.
He tells us here that “God has made everything
beautiful in its time”. Everything… in its time. Everything?
We know that births are beautiful, but
deaths? Build – yes, but break down? Yes, says Solomon … everything … all
things, if we care to see these things through God’s eyes. We have already discussed
this in our last point.
It is this truth that
turns the content of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
from something that is frustrating and meaningless to something which is
comforting and meaningful.
The doctrine of the Sovereignty of God, when well
understood and applied in your dark times, dear believer, is a wonderful comfort
to your troubled soul. It is a great relief to your
aching and grieving heart. You have eternity
in your heart, and whatever you do not understand now, you will understand then(3:11). Therefore, live this imperfect
life enjoying God’s temporal gifts, and
learn to appreciate and to savour the moments when life is good, knowing also that in evil times, God will remain your
God.
3. Verses 16-22: Apart from this Truth, Life is meaningless!
In these closing verses
of the third chapter Solomon has one
more challenge to those who are attempting to live this life under
the sun without the thought of God at
the center. These verses present to us a
problem which cannot be answered apart from God’s sovereign providence. That
problem is the persistent
manifestation of injustice found in this fallen world.
In 3:16
he points out this problem. “I saw under the sun that in the place
of justice, even there was wickedness”.
And so it is in this world. Don’t expect perfect justice in this world. Don’t be naïve.
But expect God to judge the righteous and the wicked for
there is a time for every matter and for every work (3:17). It has been appointed by God – (Hebrews 9:27).
Thank God that there is
a time when the truth is perfectly revealed and justice is perfectly executed by
the righteous Judge. Our ultimate hope
is in a God who judges. And so the Preacher says in 3:17. “God will
judge.”
Finally, in 3:18-21 Solomon reflects the thoughts
of a person who lives without any sense of God. What is a person without a sense
of God? If the truth be told, such person
is no better than a beast – an animal. In that sense their lives are vanity. They go down and not
up. They do not have eternity in their hearts.
CONCLUSION
Life under the sun is deeply
challenging when there is no center holding our thoughts together. Our center
is God. Apart from Him we ultimately fall apart.
The center came apart when man
sinned. God in His mercy and grace shows us how futile and empty life is
without Himself at the center.
In His mercy and grace He has also provided the New
Testament solution to emptiness and vanity and meaninglessness. The Gospel of Jesus
Christ provides us with salvation, and
therefore with ultimate meaning - with true love, joy and peace, and so when you have had your heart broken by the death of a loved one – if you have lost a child, a
spouse; or when you have had your career hopes dashed, or you have been betrayed by a friend. Stop!
Do
not be held captive by an idolatrous attachment
to all these. They are not our life. Christ Jesus is our life. Look to Him.
Repent from your attachment to the world, and trust Him to give you perspective, and work out your
troubles by the Holy Spirit, whom He has
promised and given as your Comforter.
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