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Today we will go over a study in the Book of Ecclesiastes. This book was written by King Solomon, King David’s son. Remember to ask God to guide you by the Holy Spirit in your prayer.
When did you last walk through a graveyard? Were you there for a funeral, or were you returning to visit a grave years after a death in your family?
Some people enjoy graveyards for the historical information they hold or because they feel close to a lost loved one there. Other people find graveyards morbid or scary. What is your reaction?
The earth we dig up to bury someone is a good picture of today’ lesson. One verse in the lesson says, “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” The book of Ecclesiastes is unlike a lot of other scripture, and it will make us think. You can look through photos of your older family, now deceased.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-2.
One of the most important Hebrew words in Ecclesiastes is “hebel”. It has been translated various ways. The ESV translates it, “vanity.” Other translations use the English words futile or meaningless. The Hebrew word literally means breath or vapor. All these shades of meaning -- transience, futility, meaninglessness -- fit the Hebrew word.
Can it really be true that everything . . . all human effort and labor . . . is in vain, futile and meaningless? How can this be if other parts of the Bible teach us that if we work hard, we will see the fruits of our labor? Isn’t that one of the themes of Proverbs? For another example, in 1 Corinthians 15:58 in which Paul says that “in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.”
Is there some important qualification to be placed upon these words so that it is not everything as absolutely considered but only everything of a certain sort, everything of a certain kind, everything in a certain category, that is vanity, futility, and meaninglessness?
As we shall see, there is such an important qualification soon to be made. That qualification will not remove all our confusion, but it will aid us a great deal in finding the central message of this mysterious book, perhaps the most mysterious in all the Bible.
Why are we uncomfortable with the statement that all is meaningless? If you have studied the Bible for many years, what other parts of scripture lead you to believe that life is not completely meaningless?
Throughout the Bible, God allows suffering, especially when his people are disobedient, but God rescues his people after a time. God delights in his people. The gospel of Jesus means that we ultimately have great hope and joy if we have faith in Christ.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:3-7.
What does it mean to you that we as individuals live and die but the earth is constant? Is it possible that the normal predictability of nature can comfort us? Often, nature can be counted on to do what we expect. The sun will rise and set. It will be hot in summer. We can make plans based on what the earth and sun and moon and tides always do.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:8-11.
What things and events are evidence that “there is nothing new under the sun”? People still behave as they always have. We are all selfish. Humans have always wanted the easy way out. Of course some of us will live with integrity part of the time. We can show courage and kindness because God has given us a sense of morality and strength to do the right thing. But all of us eventually do something foolish and selfish.
Why is this world “under the sun” full of vanity, futility, and meaninglessness? The answer is that this is a fallen world, a world under the curse of God due to sin.
The solution to this problem is thus outside the powers of human beings to solve. It is, in fact, outside this world that is “under the sun.” We cannot make a heaven on earth. Only God can do that.
In what ways do humans strive to fix the problems on earth? Can we fix some problems? These are things that God wants us to do. God has put the desire to fix these things in us and, to some degree, given us the ability to work together to fix what is broken.
Why do we fail at creating a heaven on earth? It is because sin is too pervasive. It will always raise its head and undermine the good that people are trying to do. Ironically, the same people who are trying to do good today will be the ones who turn around and do something bad and selfish this evening or tomorrow. All of us are like that.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:12-18.
There can be comfort in these words. Sometime we look at the world and think that it has never been this bad before. If only we could go back to the wisdom of the old days, everything would be better. We may say, “Why was I so unfortunate? Why did I have to be born in this ‘wicked and adulterous generation?”
The irony is that those words -- wicked and adulterous -- are the ones Jesus spoke to describe the generation that was alive during his earthly ministry. Every generation is evil, and every one of us contributes to that evil. Evidently the writer of Ecclesiastes thought he was living in pretty bad times, too.
Read verse 15 again.
Think of a time in your life when something was “crooked” and it could not be made straight again. Sometimes relationships are broken beyond repair. Other times a natural disaster may take our possessions, and we don’t have the money to replace them. Or friends die and we are left with gaping holes in our lives.
How does the gospel give us hope in those times? We may feel the pain of these things all our lives. But the presence of God is a comfort, and God promises followers of Jesus that the life that comes after death will not have pain or loss.
Read verse 18 again.
How can there be much vexation in having much wisdom? The ESV commentary says, “Wisdom is a mixed blessing: to gain wisdom and understanding is to gain a clearer view into the tragedies of life in a world marred by sin.” If we know the wise thing to do but we see that people are not doing it, it’s frustrating. If you did not have wisdom, you would not see sin for what it is, and you would not feel frustrated.
Think of a time when you saw your child or your student or a young person you mentored making a foolish decision. How did you feel as you watched this behavior?
Why is it helpful to have these scriptures? They confirm that other believers have felt frustration and despair just as we have. We know that another believer -- even someone with a reputation for wisdom -- has also felt this way.
Ecclesiastes is not an easy book to understand. If all of the Bible were simple and easy to comprehend, would that be a good thing? Life is not simple and easy understand. We know that fact from our own experience. Even with the good news of the gospel of Jesus, we still suffer and have unanswered questions.
Verse 3 asks what we gain from all our toil. Sometimes we have an “Ecclesiastes day” when everything goes wrong, and we’re convinced that all our toil is for nothing. But at other times we get paid good money for our work. Maybe we get paid very good money, and we buy a fancy car.
But Jesus asks in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for a person to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?” Even if things go well for us, it’s worth nothing if our souls are in bad shape. But if we know Jesus, our souls are in great shape. Even on an Ecclesiastes day, we have the hope of the next life spent with Jesus.
("From the Pulpit" is a weekly sermon provided by the clergy members of The Weirton Ministerial Association)