THE MEANING OF LIFE - Ecclesiastes 1, 2 &3
THE MEANING OF LIFE
Tuesday Morning Bible Study
Ecclesiastes 1,2, & 3
Taught by: Carolyn Sissom
July 21, 2009
As I pointed out last week, the preacher exposes a problem, and presents a basic outline of its solution. The problem is that of Life itself, or the Meaning of Life. If viewed without reference or relationship to God, then the world in which we find ourselves is chaos.
This is a timely message for today because if man views the world through the eyes of the world, it appears to be in chaos. However, for those of us who are in relationship with the Lord as Creator, Maintainer, Sustainer and Judge of the universe, we know that the Lord as King of Kings and Lord of Lords has the whole world in His Hands and will bring his judgment on the evil-doers at the appointed time.
The Preacher lays a foundation for commending a God-centered view of life by presenting a critique of all forms of secularism, whether theoretical (“There is no God- Psa. 14:1) or pragmatic (“I don’t care about God”). Both of these views have a strong hold over the minds of many people in the 21st century. The Preacher will have his readers see the grimness of the pessimist viewpoint before he points to a life that derives from God Himself. (2:24) “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 labor. This also I saw, that it was from the Hand of God.”
The theme of the book (“vanity of vanities; all is vanity”) is declared here in chapter one, developed in chapters 2-11, and decided in chapter twelve. Everything around him was the monotony of repetition. In human nature it is one generation after another: the child, the youth, the man, and then old age. Unceasingly, man has come and gone. In the world of nature, the same principles are seen: spring, summer, autumn, and then the winter of old age, and thus the years come and go.
Solomon considered the circuits of the sun and the wind and the process of evaporation. In the last verse of chapter one, Solomon shows that man is never satisfied. One writer says of this truth, “Man today has discovered speed. Is he satisfied? No! he must have more speed, and more speed. He climbs up into the atmosphere, then up into the ionosphere. Satisfied? No! He must have the moon. Man has legs, he wants a bicycle. He has a bicycle, he wants a car. He has a car, he wants a larger one. He has a larger one, he wants an airplane. This is vanity and vexation.
He has a house, he wants a better one.
He has a home, he wants it modernized.
He has a camera, he wants color.
He has color, he wants movies.
He has movies, he wants sound.
He has a wife; he wants another man’s wife.
He has a job, he wants a different one.
He has money, he wants more.
Can you find a man who is satisfied? If so, you will find a happy man who has found the true meaning of life. If a man/woman is still lusting after “more” then he is full of vexation of spirit.
So we see the emptiness and futility of life (from the viewpoint of the natural man). Men come and go. The cycles of nature and history are ever constantly repeating themselves. There is nothing new. Even the search for wisdom---man’s highest goal is futile unless it is received as a Gift from God.
Since Vanity is the theme of this book. What is Vanity? Well it good to know than it is a little more complicated than our concern with out outward beauty.
The word of “Vanity” in Ecclesiastes is “Hebel” (#1892). It means “emptiness or vanity, and figurative for something transitory and unsatisfactory.” It is from #1891 (“Habel”) which is a primary root meaning “to be vain in act, word, or expectation; to lead astray”
The verb Habal appears five times in the O.T. Of particular interest are the parallel verses Jer. 2:5 and 11 Kgs. 27:15 where the bible says that Israel went after vanities and “became vain.” The NIV says that “they followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”
Two principles are to be noted:
(1) Every man takes on to some degree the character and nature of the god he worships.
(2) The characteristic of all false gods is that they destroy their worshippers.
The noun “Hebel” appears 71 times in the O.T.; 36 times in Ecclesiastes (6 x 6 – number of man). The proper name “Abel” (second son of Adam) is also written “Hebel.” The basic meaning of “Hebel” is “wind or breath.” There are three basic categories or contexts in which “Hebel” is used:
1. It is used as a designation for false gods worshipped by the people of God is hence translated by the RSV as “idols”.
2. The term represents the individual and sometimes exasperation sentiments of individuals.
3. The cluster of references found in Ecclesiastes, Life, in its quality, is empty, senseless, vacuous” (unsubstantial), and in it quantity is “transitory.”
There are Ten Vanities described by the Preacher:
Human wisdom; human labor; human purpose; human rivalry, human avarice, human fame, human insatiatebleness, human coveting, human frivolity, human awards
As ministers of the gospel, we can become slaves to the insatiableness of people. They easily become bored with church and want to be entertained either with more and more dynamic preachers, music, pageantry and hype. It is “vanity of vanities”. We are to seek the Lord and him only. Everything else is idolatry.
There are Ten empty pursuits apart from God:
Wisdom, work, possessions, status, companionship, fame, wealth, long life, feasting, and desires.
“Man labors at his toil under the sun; what does he gain?” (1:3- Moffatt)
“Apart from God who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (2:25-RSV)
“Nothing is left to chance, for God assigned each its proper time, but for the mind of man he has appointed mystery, that man (Adam) may never fathom God’s own purpose from beginning to end.” (3:11 – Knox)
“And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (4:12 – The Living Bible)
John 6:63: “It is the spirit that quickens: the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”
The word “vanity” also means:
- That which passes away more or les quickly and completely.
- That which leaves no result or adequate result.
- That which fails to satisfy the mind of man, which craves that which is permanent or progressive.
- That which is idolatrous, contrasted with that which is living.
- That which is brief and unsubstantial.
- That which is unreliable and frail.
- That which is futile.
- That which is deceitful.
1:1 – The title
1:2-11 – The failure of secularism.
1:12-18 – The failure of wisdom to satisfy secular life.
At the close of chapter one the Preacher after thinking about wisdom and knowledge, has one eye on the alternatives: thus chapter two is on pleasure-seeking.
Having outlined the problem of futility and shown that man’s wisdom cannot unravel the enigma, the Preacher now argues that pleasure-seeking also cannot quench man’s spiritual thirst. In chapter twelve he will give us the conclusion of the matter, but now he is building his foundation for his conclusion.
We are told first of his resolve and then his conclusions. Then follows a detailed account of his endeavors, and the height of splendor and self-indulgence he attained, and his conclusion re-iterated. Then follows his thoughts on life’s ultimate certainty.
In developing this mater, no one had more opportunity or greater ability than Solomon, for he was not only the wisest man, and therefore, able to discern, but he was also the wealthiest man. Therefore, he had the means whereby he could try everything and so speak from practical experience. But, at the end, all these pleasures failed him, so that he found himself no better than other men. Like them he must die, and after death, what would happen to all that he had collected, labored for, or built, in his wisdom? The man who succeeded him might be a fool and destroy all that he had gained. This, too, is Vanity! So today, people have given money, and preachers have labored and built strong churches in the past. They have instructed men in holy things and have established worthy causes, only to be followed by foolish men who have brought such work to ruin. Businessmen in like manner have established great companies, statesmen have built up nations, men have built up assets –fools have destroyed in months that which took years of struggle and sacrifice. Such is the lot of those who spend a lifetime building their kingdoms and not the Kingdom of God.
This is true for the U.S.A., everything that is built on the Kingdom of God will stand in the day of judgment, everything that is built on any other foundation will burn as wood, hay and stubble. The Lord did not spare his first born, the nation of Israel, when they went astray from following after the Lord. Neither will he spare the U.S.A.
What is man to do with his days? If he lives for pleasure—all that his wealth and status can afford—life is still empty. Wisdom is far better than folly, but in the end death makes fools of us all. The thing we work for must be left behind to others. It is interesting that Solomon built in the exterior realm everything that he was not in the interior realm of his heart!
2: 1-11 – The failure of pleasure-seeking to satisfy secular life.
2: 12-23 – Life’s ultimate uncertainty.
2: 14-26 – the life of faith.
We can compare this chapter to the words of Jesus in Luke 12: 16-21:
And He spoke a parable to them saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What I shall do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him. You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be, which you have provided? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Ec. 2: 25-26: Who can eat, or who else can hasten hereto, more than I? for God gives to a man that is good in his sight Wisdom, and Knowledge, and Joy: but to the sinner He gives 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.”
There was a major turning point at 2:24 as the Preacher looks to God. In 1:1--2:23, God is scarcely mentioned. There is a difference in the way wisdom is viewed; In 1:16 it is man’s acquisition, in 2:26 it is God’s gift. In the earlier sections, the Preacher is nihilistic in his view. But in 2:24-3:22, we have reference to enjoyment, beauty, God’s gifts, security, a divine purpose in the midst of injustice; man is to enjoy the created realm.
The author is confident that life has meaning. What disturbs him is that man cannot find out that meaning through the natural mind or strength.
This section reveals the Providence of God. One writer say, “Too often the whole cast of the book has been determined by certain pessimistic elements, ignoring just as patent constructive elements. Chapter three has often been interpreted as a lament of the ceaseless round of life. Instead, it is part of the basic optimism of Koheleth.” (The Hebrew name of the book – The Source of all Wisdom).
3:1-8: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
Man’s activity fits according to God’s pre-ordained plan. Man should accept whatever circumstances God sends him and find pleasure in them. The realization that he cannot alter what God has prescribed, even if he wants to, keeps man in a state of reverence before God.
God has set boundaries beyond which man cannot pass. God has set seasons which man cannot violate. What can man do in this restless, ever-changing, never-satisfying world? Just one thing---enjoy himself, eat an drink, and make the best of it. Then comes the statement of 3: 16-17 and a sense of justice in the midst of the world’s injustice. But the Preacher turns back to the thought of death and annihilation, not aware of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the revelation of the New Testament.
There is a time for everything in life. God has made is so. Man understands time, but he cannot comprehend the whole of God’s work. So he learns to stand in awe of God. There is injustice and corruption in life, but God has set a time for just judgment. Let us keep this hope as we see the present injustice and corruption in this government administration.
3: 1-15 – The providence of God.
3: 16-22 – The judgment of God.
Next week we still start with Chapter 4.
Taught by: Carolyn Sissom
Bibliography: Principles of Present Truth from: Ecclesiastes and F.F. Bruce Bible Commentary by: Donald C. Fleming.