ECCLESIASTES

03/10/2013

 

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the Wisdom Books of the OT, along with Job, Psalms, Proverbs and the Song of Songs.

 

The English Bible adopted the title of the book from that employed by the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint: Ecclesiastes. The Hebrew title is Qoheleth. The meaning of Qoheleth might be “Preacher” “Gatherer.”

 

Ecclesiastes is traditionally read in the Jewish synagogue on the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles (or, Booths, Sukkot) in late September or early October (15–21 Tishri). It is the time of the annual harvest festival recalling Israel’s wilderness experience (Lev 23:33–43). The fact that it is read during a festival of great joy (cf. Neh 8:9) should be a clue that the tone of the book is not considered by Judaism, at least, as pessimistic, but instructive and a no nonsense account of the futility of seeking to find real meaning and purpose in life picture by pursuing the pleasures and sensual experiences in life under the sun, instead of acknowledgement and submission to The Living God.  

 

Beloved, whenever we read in Scripture a thou shalt not or a warning of some sort, that is our loving God and Creator telling us, do not harm yourself by doing this.  

 

Ecclesiastes describes three problems that every single human being faces in this life:

• The uncertainty of time and chance.
• Ec 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. 12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
• These verses demonstrate that man is not sovereign. To a large extent, we have a very limited control of our circumstances. Life is somewhat of a mystery that is not always easy to understand. Life is seldom 2+2=4.
• The endemic and incurable nature of wickedness.
• Ec 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
• Ec 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

 

• These verses reveal the doctrine of the depravity of man, and that as a result of the fall in the garden, man is not inherently good.
• That death has the final word in any human enterprise.
• Ec 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
• This verse and many others in Ecclesiastes prove that mankind is not immortal. Man’s days are spent in labor in order to be able to eat and, in the end, his body returns to the dust from whence it was originally taken (Gen 3:19; cf.Eccl 12:7).

 

So, in light of these 3 problems or mysteries in life that each and every one of us has to deal with, what is the divine purpose and meaning of Ecclesiastes for us? The book’s epilogue (12:13,14) should be allowed to speak for itself.

• Eccl 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
• Rev 4.11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
• In other words, the true meaning and purpose in life is to know God, love God, obey God and serve Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

 

The vast majority of people on planet earth are trying to find meaning and purpose in life in the wrong places. Solomon is going to confess to doing the same thing.

One of the tragic effects of the fall of man is pointed out by the apostle Paul in Romans 8.20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope.

 

In his practical application of living out our faith in Christ, Paul exhorts the saints in Ephesus this way. Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind.

 

The Preacher, whom I believe is Solomon, is going to candidly tell us that he sought out meaning in life by pursuing everything and anything under the sun.  He sought itin musical and sexual pleasures. He sought it in building projects. He sought it is planting trees and gardens. He sought it in amassing great amounts of money.  But came away unfulfilled and as empty, if not emptier than when he first began. As we will see, he explains the totality of all of his experiences with this with one word….vanity.

 

Commentator Gleason Archer put it, Ecclesiastes was written “to convince men of the uselessness of any world view which does not rise above the horizon of man himself.”

 

CHAPTER 1

1 ¶ The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

• In the book of Ecclesiastes, or The Preacher, Solomon has left us his own biography, the progress of a seeker after pleasure, the history of Solomon the prodigal, written by Solomon the preacher. SDC

 

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

• The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically it refers to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes.
• This oft repeated word vanity is meant to grab our attention and cause us to reexamine what we are living for and why.
• James 4.14 For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
• Ps 39:5 Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

 

3 What profit (gain) hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

4 ¶ One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

• In His omniscience the Creator established the earth’s cycles at creation (Gen 1:14–18) and He reiterated the natural ordinances after the Noahic flood (8:22). Divinely ordained cycles in creation elicit awe and admiration as well as providing an individual with an accurate assessment of his or her insignificance (cp. Ps 8:4). Our insignificance in light of the vastness of Gods creation is meant to elevate the majesty and authority of the Creator, causing reverential awe.
• Unregenerate men see clearly the evidence of creation (Rom 1:20), but, because they are blinded by the god of this world and are still dead in their trespasses and sins, they are“futile in their speculations” (v. 21). “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (v. 22) because they “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (v. 25).

 

8 All things are full of labour (weariness); man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

• In other words, the philosophy that if I only had more of this or more of that is a lie. The Spirit of God tells us that here that abundance does not satisfy (1:8; 5:10). If I only had__________. If I could only live_____, my life would be full or complete.
• Listen to Jesus beloved, Lu 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
• 1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 

9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

• What may be new to one person is old hat to another person. Yes, there may be “advanced technologies and so forth, but the bottom line is that other than cultural distinctions, and “modern” fads and trends, life today is no different than life was in days gone by. People are born, people seek for meaning in life, people experience this thrill and that thrill and then die.
• The vast majority of the human race is living in a state of amnesia and strong delusion.  
• Only God can make all things new (2 Cor 5.17). It is only by the new birth that we are truly able to sing, what the Psalmist says is a ‘new song’ (Ps. 96:1). Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the unsatifiable me.

 

11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

12 ¶ I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail (task or unhappy business) hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

• Heart- The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions, not your physical organ.
• The word travail can also be translated “task”, and it is a word that occurs in the Book of Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:23, 26; 3:10; 4:8; 5:3, 14; 8:16). The term basically means busy-ness that is humbling. In other words, it is God Himself who appoints humans to this task as a consequence of the fall in the garden.  
• From the perspective of a person who is unregenerate and is living solely “under the sun,” their existence on earth is frustrating, confusing, seemingly, unrewarding.
• However, 3:10–11 sets the task in its proper perspective: the perspective of eternity. He hath set eternity in their heart. Deep within each and every one of us here tonight, God has implanted eternity that cannot be filled with anything or anyone but God Himself. Apart from faith in The Living God, the quest for truth and for eternity is fruitless.

 

14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit (striving after the wind).

• Solomon’s exhaustive search for answers and meaning in life is met with failure. All his wisdom and resources cannot provide the answer to his most basic human question: Where did I come from and what is the purpose of life on this planet?
• World-renowned physicist, Stephen Hawking, has dedicated his life to investigating the origin of the universe while seeking to disprove the existence of God. Unless God breaks his hard heart and he repents and trusts in Jesus Christ, His knee will one day bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father.
• Beloved, the fact of the matter is that life is puzzling at times. But we need to stop trying to analyze the mysteries of life and figure things out and choose to live our lives by faith in Him Who is invisible and in control.

 

15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.

• Solomon gave his heart to the pursuit of wisdom, madness and folly. What have you given your heart to?
• Our gracious God tells us, Pr 23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

 

18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

• This is one of the verses that our sons and daughters quote when they are told to do their homework.
• The more that Solomon learned about life on earth and the things that mankind experiences day in and day out, the more he was filled with grief and sorrow.
• Beloved, when the world system begins to pound your mind with unholy, ungodly thoughts, may we remember to 2Cor 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
• Instead of misery and sorrow, God promises us that 2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. Be a Psalm 1 believer!

 

CHAPTER 2

1 ¶ I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.

2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:

5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:

6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

• Solomon sought for meaning in life by pursuing pleasure. He sought the pleasure in comedy and mirth (partying). He sought the pleasure in drinking wine. He sought pleasure in building houses, vineyards, pools and possessions of silver and gold.  He sought meaning in life by surrounding himself with a variety of music.
• In other words, he sought real meaning in life by pursuing the 3 big E’s……entertainment, edifices, and earnings. The poorest man of faith in his kingdom was happier far than he. SDC
• But he also sought meaning and purpose in life through experiencing wanton sexual pleasures. Many translations translate the end of verse 8 this way; I got singers, men and women, and many concubines. Some Hebrew scholars tell us that there is a word here that is a colloquialism for women who provide pleasure. It is translated in non-biblical literature as mistress or lady.
• In our sex crazed society, the sexual “experience” is being painted as the ultimate experience that one can have in life. But God tells us that any sexual experience outside of a heterosexual relationship within the context and covenant of marriage is ungodly, unholy and unfulfilling. Take it from the man who had 300 wives and 700 concubines!

 

9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

• Solomon is describing here how he was pursuing pleasure with gusto. Wouldn’t you think that if you could have and afford whatever your eyes desired that you would be happy?
• Note here that rather than acknowledge God as being his provider, he is “justifying” his pursuit of pleasure based upon the fact that “he worked hard for what he has!” Instead of “spending his life” pursuing God like his father David did, he spent his life pursuing pleasure.
• Ps 119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

 

11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

• All of this pleasure was short lived. After experiencing all of the pleasure that “money could buy”, he steps back and considers that it was all vanity and vexation of spirit.
• Jesus told the woman at the well whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. Any temporal pleasure, right or wrong, good or evil can never satisfy the deepest longings within the human soul. Psalm 42.1;63.1.
• True joy cannot originate within man himself.That is the bottom line after all of Solomon’s searching, testing, and consideration. “Under the sun” there exists no lasting happiness or pure pleasure.

 

12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.

13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.

14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.

15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

• Pursuing wisdom and education can produce limited advantages—advantages that are limited to this life. But wisdom and education cannot prevent death and does not supersede death.
• The purpose of pursuing wisdom and knowledge for the Christian man or woman should always be for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom, not to place an engraved plaque on the wall or build his or her “little kingdom” on earth.

 

16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

17 ¶ Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

• I hated life- hating life “is by no means in and of  itself true repentance.” There are countless unregenerate people who hate their lives, and I fear to say that many people professing faith in Christ hate their lives as well.
• Solomon at this point is hating life because it has not turned out to be what he expected it to be. He thought (as any of us do when we think like him) that he was wiser than God. But at the end of his experience with the thrills and chills of life, instead of sitting on top of the world and encouraging others to follow his example of pursuing fame, fortune and pleasure, he declares that all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
• Remember that Solomon earlier in his life has tasted the glorious wonders of divine grace. God granted him the best of divine wisdom. Once he had basked in the warmth of the divine presence as he prayed. Solomon knows that there is something more than this life and he has become fully aware of how he has lost his joy.
• Examine your heart right now beloved…could the Spirit of God be speaking to me, to you, to Koinonia Fellowship? Listen, the net result of rejecting God is to end up hating life.
• Fellowship with God involves a fullness of joy, peace, and love (cf. Ps 16:11; Eph 2:4; 3:19; Phil 4:7; 1 Pet 1:8) that is absent when sin breaks fellowship with God.

 

18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.

20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.

• Solomon admits to bringing his own heart into a condition of despair. His disillusionment with life is his own creation; he is his happiness’s worst enemy.
• Solomon’s appraisal of the world agrees with John’s: “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts” (1 John 2:16–17).

 

21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.

22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?

23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

• The Bible teaches us that God giveth us richly all things to enjoy (1 Tim 6.17). It does not glorify God when we do not enjoy His blessings. What troubles God is when we enjoy His blessings more than He Himself.
• Ec 5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

 

25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

• Pr 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

 

• By explaining his intense disgust with life as he has been living it, Solomon is in reality urging us to labor to know Christ more, for when we draw nearer to Jesus, we have found that knowledge to be a fountain of delight.
• Enjoyment of life is a gift from God. God-given enjoyment can only have significance for the believer who sees all things as a gift from Him, for it is to that man or woman that Christ came to give life and that more abundantly.
• To know Jesus, to love God, to find satisfaction in heavenly things, this is wisdom, and the follies of Solomon should drive us thither. If you are looking for life under the sun tonight instead of life in God’s only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ…do not ignore the warnings of Solomon and do not despise the invitation of Jesus to come unto Him and find rest for your souls.