Introduction to Ecclesiastes

I’ve never heard a sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes.

I’ve never done a deep dive into the book.

I’ve read it a few times.

But it always seemed so gloomy, and dreary.

It’s not like some of the other books of the Bible.

It’s difficult.

In fact, the one thing that you will get people to agree on when it comes to Ecclesiastes is that it’s a difficult book.

Some believe that it was an error to include it in the cannon of Scripture.

That it doesn’t belong with the rest of what God is conveying in his word.

As I studied and read, and studied and read some more the last few months, I have come to the conclusion, that Ecclesiastes is a magnificent work of art.

It is a beautiful book of Scripture with the goal of driving us toward finding meaning.

In fact, the book can be somewhat refreshing, but the author doesn’t sugar coat the realities of pain.

He doesn’t gloss over the emptiness that life feels like at times.

He doesn’t put on a veneer and try to help us to see and know that things are okay.

The author acknowledges that Life is Hard, but God is good.

The author grew up hearing the platitudes of religion.

He grew up getting the same pat answers to the problems of the world.

But he wasn’t satisfied with the answers he recieved.

He was looking for something deeper.

Something more meaningful.

And I’m going to be honest with you.

Many of you are going to struggle with this book.

It will seem to clash with what you learned in SS, or what you have been taught.

But God has included it for His own purposes and for his own glory.

We could learn a lot from Ecc. We could learn how to be honest about our problems and about our struggles.

We can learn how to pray well, to lament, to cry out to God when trouble strikes.

Never cursing God for our circumstances.

But crying out to him b/c there has to be more.

The book of Ecclesiastes is a book of Longing for something better.

Longing for something greater.

Longing for meaning in the mundane.

Meaning in the meaningless.

Ecc. looks at the brokenness around us and longs for restoration.

A rediscovery of Eden.

A restoration of life, creation, and meaning.

Before we get into the text this morning, I want to lay a ground work for what we are going to read and study over the next 11 weeks.

This book is for all generations.

At the time of this writing the Author is reflecting on King Solomon’s life.

All that he had gained. All that he had missed. And is almost like a cautionary tale for the readers and hearers.

For the youth, it points to the reality that there is more to life than money, pleasure, and knowledge.

For the young adults, it points to meaning outside of oneself. That there will never be true fulfillment in you job, income, or relationships.

For the middle aged, it points to finding joy not in your activities. But in seeking and enjoying Jesus.

For the more seasoned, it helps to point to the reality that faithfulness is the key to ending well.

This book is a book for all ages.

But that doesn’t make it any less confusing.

In fact, back in August when we were first getting back together with the Youth and meeting.

One of the girls had just read Ecc. and she was put off by it.

She was confused by it.

And rightfully so, if we read it just at the surface level it can be overly confusing.

One of the reasons is that the Author gives us a whole host of problems and issues.

He points out the worst of what’s wrong in the world.

And we don’t get any solution or purpose until the end of the book.

But many of us read a book and and don’t get to the end.

So as we begin this series, I want to go ahead and tell you the solution to the troubles of the world as the Author in Ecc sees it.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 CSB

13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.

So as we venture through this book I want you to keep this verse in the back of your mind.

I want you to know that this is where we are going.

That the goal of all life is to Fear God and Obey His Commands.

Now one thing to note about Ecc. is that this book is a look at Shared humanity instead of God’s movement in history.

What I mean, is that the Author doesn’t talk about Exodus, the Patriarchs, or any of the history of Israel.

Rather his primary concern is the reality of the world around him.

Which is why it seems rather dark and gloomy.

For the Author of Ecc, God is real, but so is the brokenness and suffering in the World.

Ecc. is part of the wisdom literature of the OT.

Included in that are the proverbs, song of Solomon, and Job.

And each of the wisdom books deal with something just slightly different.

Proverbs focuses primarily on ethics.

How to live a life that honors God and honors people.

Song of Songs or Solomon, is a love letter. It focuses on the love between a man and his wife and the Joy found in relationships.

Job is primarily about the reality of suffering in life.

And how even in the suffering God is in control.

Ecc is about the pursuit of meaning and how true meaning cannot be found on this earthly plane.

So why would we choose to go through Ecc?

Why would we want to spend time in a book that seems to have less of a focus on God and more of a focus on us?

First, The book is honest about life’s troubles and difficulties.

If we are honest with ourselves, we aren’t often honest with ourselves.

As followers of Jesus we tend to put on a face.

We tend to wear a mask and act as if everything is okay all of the time.

We don’t want to reveal our hurts or hangups.

It’s easier to pretend that everything is fine, when everything is, in fact, not fine.

We could take pointers from Ecc and admit that nothing is as it should be.

Secondly, Ecc helps us to ask and answer the big questions in life.

Where do we find meaning.

Is there a point to this life.

What is my purpose.

These are all questions that everyone asks.

And Ecc will help us to answer them.

Thirdly, a study on Ecc will help us to worship God Better.

We will see where God really does fill in the gaps and emptiness of our hearts and souls.

Ecc will help us to be grateful for his gifts.

We will learn that being content brings about joy.

We will discover that the secret of life is not more things, but more God.

We will see that even though we live in chaos, God is in Control.

Finally, it will teach us how to live for God and not just ourselves.

It will point us to a God centered World view rather than a self centered one.

It will demonstrate creations need for its Creator. It’s dependence on God to make meaning out of chaos.

So we talked about the Why we are studying Ecc, but how are going to study it.

We are going to lead with what I talked about Earlier.

Knowing that the answer to all the questions in life and in Ecc is to Fear God and Obey his Commands.

The reality is we aren’t going to have the answers to all of life’s questions.

We aren’t going to be able to get clear cut answers to why all the suffering in the world occurs.

Why the brokenness of the world is completely fixed.

We aren’t in control of the circumstances that surround life, but we are in control of our reaction to them.

So if we want to live a life consistent with how God intended then we need to Fear him and obey his commands.

A meaningful and fulfilling life is built on living in light of God’s revealed word.

And building a life living in light of God’s Revealed word is the beginning of Restoring and Recovering Eden.

Ecc is point us at what is real so that we will have a longing for what ought to be.

We long and groan with creation for the ultimate restoration and recovery of what has been lost.

Now that I’ve somewhat set the stage for our study, Let’s get into God’s Word and let the Author of Ecc set the stage for his teaching.

But 1st, let’s pray.

Ecclesiastes 1:1 CSB

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

Author

So one of the big questions surrounding the book of Ecc is the Author.

Traditionally the author has been seen as Solomon.

However, recently, there has been push back to the traditional view.

Solomon doesn’t state who he is in the book.

Rather we get this introduction. “The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.”

There are other things later in the book that cause people to doubt that Solomon is the author as well.

Now whether Solomon is the author or not, most scholars agree that this is at least a retelling of parts of Solomon’s life.

That the author is recounting Solomon’s life in detail from his pursuit of wisdom, women, and wealth.

Think of Ecc as a sort of memoir of Solomon

But why does the author call the speaker “the Teacher”

This is a difficult word to translate from Hebrew to English.

If your looking at a different translation, it will probably either say, Teacher or Preacher.

The Word in Hebrew is Qoheleth which means one who gathers.

Or Leader of an assembly.

So regardless of what we call him, we need to know that he is a man, who has gathered people to listen to what he is saying.

He isn’t speaking or writing in a bubble, rather its almost as if he is preaching to a congregation about finding meaning in life.

We could think of Ecc as a memoir sermon for those who have gathered to worship God.

And as we listen to his sermon on the direction of his life, it should push us towards examining our life.

What are we chasing after.

Where are we finding meaning.

What is the content of the sermon that Qoheleth is teaching?

In the first, 10 verses we see the themes that are going to guide us through Ecc.

These themes in the first verses are how life would be viewed in there was no belief in God.

Ecclesiastes 1:2 CSB

2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”

Hevel

What a way to start a sermon.

All existence is Futile.

Everything is meaningless.

How would you like it if that was the way I started the sermon each week.

It’s pretty heavy.

He’s coming out of the gate swinging.

Now we need to take a moment or two to talk about this word futility.

Or as some translations put it meaningless or vanity.

I was speaking with a friend a few weeks ago about this passage and I was lamenting the limitations of translations.

Translations of the Hebrew text are good.

I am going to presume that none of us in here speak ancient Hebrew or Greek, so we need translations to understand what we can understand about God as he is revealed in his Word.

But often, when there is a word that is difficult to translate, the translator is wanting us to get the sense of the word.

But there is always something lost in translation.

Now understanding this word is Super important for Ecc, b/c it’s used nearly 40 times.

So it’s a big deal to the author.

The word for futile, vain, or meaningless in your translations is Hevel.

In the original language it means something closer to breath, vapor, or puff of smoke.

Think about Going outside on a cold morning and letting out a deep breath.

That breath you see raising from your mouth is the image portrayed here.

So Qoheleth, is wanting us to see that life is like that.

Life is simply breath.

Here one minute and gone the next.

James 4:14 “14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.”

Ps144.4 “4 A human is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.”

Our life is marked by futility.

There is not one aspect of life that isn’t affected by the reality that death is approaching and we will be gone.

Death is the futility of all futility.

The way that Qoheleth, uses this phrase is also interesting.

Hevel Hevelim, or hevel of hevels, when the Authors of the bible would use a phrase two times back to back it would add weight to the phrase.

It would mean the most and best of whatever they were talking about.

Song of Songs=the very best song

King of Kings=The very best and greatest king.

Holy of Holies= The holiest place on all the earth.

Therefore, hevel of hevels means “as meaningless as possible” as futile as possible, as vain as possible.

In the OT, this word hevel is used often when it comes to idols.

The idols are meaningless.

They can’t do any thing.

They have no power.

They are created by people to try and provide satisfaction, but they are empty.

I remember in Bible college one assignment I had was to visit different places of worship.

One of the places that I visited was a Hindu Temple.

And now looking back at it, this is what I saw.

In the Hindu Temple there were several statues to the different gods they worshipped and at each one of them there was some burning incense.

That smoke from the incense is what these people were really chasing after.

They had put their hope in the idols.

That when they offered food, money, or other goods to the idols the gods would hear them and bless them.

But it was all chasing after this vapor.

This smoke. It was meaningless.

But lets not disparage these people in their belief.

They aren’t so different from you our I.

We place our hope, faith, and trust in things that are not going to satisfy.

Sex, money, relationships, spouses, kids, and all the rest.

These things will never satisfy b/c they are hevel.

They are a mirage.

They may bring temporary happiness, but they will never satisfy you.

Nothing will satisfy you except for Jesus.

Jesus takes what is meaningless and gives it meaning.

Whatever you try and build your life on other than Jesus is ultimately utterly meaningless.

Here’s the lie we are told.

These good things are the best things.

But these good things will never be the best things, b/c they are creations.

If we want the best thing, we need to look past creation and look to the Creator.

Now here’s where I want to provide some balance.

He is not saying that there is nothing good for us under the sun.

He is not saying that we should sit on our hands and wait to die.

He is not leading us into a state of gloom and depression.

The author even states that there are good things in life.

Ecc 2:24 “24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,”

There is good in the world.

The problem is when we try to use it as a substitute for the best in life, Namely the pursuit of God.

...

So when Qoheleth looks out at the created order all he sees is futility, vanity, meaninglessness.

But I do want you to notice one thing that he’s doing.

He is limiting the meaninglessness.

If you look in v.3, there’s another key phrase in Ecc. “under the sun”

The futility of life is limited to the natural realm.

Again he is pointing us to the reality that there must be more to this life.

B/c everything in this life seems to be coming up empty.

Let’s take a closer look at v.3

Ecclesiastes 1:3 CSB

3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

Gain

The idea of gaining a profit or of having dividends on life is going to show up almost a dozen times in Ecc.

Gain carries with it the idea that there will be something left over, there will be a surplus.

And With all the effort that you put into life.

All the labor.

All the toil.

All the time and energy.

What do you get out of it?

What is your profit, b/c the reality is that no matter how much you work, how much you gain, how much effort you exert, you are going to die and you can’t take with you what you have gained.

If all you are chasing after are the things of this world.

If all you are seeking is profit from this earth you are chasing the wind.

You are seeking a mirage.

Ultimately it will profit you nothing.

If there is no meaning (v.2), then there could never be profit.

Like a dog chasing his tail.

Is the one who chases after meaning in their work and toil.

If all there is to life is what is under the sun, then there will never be any meaning and gain.

Jesus says something akin to this in

Mark 8:36 “36 For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?”

How can Qoheleth come to such a conclusion?

He is observant.

We are going to look at what he has to say.

and in the next few verses we are going to here him say Nothing Changes, Nothing is new, and Nothing is remembered.

First, Nothing Changes.

Ecclesiastes 1:4–7 CSB

4 A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it hurries back to the place where it rises. 6 Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. 7 All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

Nothing Changes

The first thing that he tell us is that a generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

Think about this for just a second.

One of the interesting things he says is that generation goes and comes.

Not comes and goes.

Why? Why did he phrase it like that?

B/c there isn’t any progress, generations are progressive they are replacements.

The only constant is that the earth remains.

Generation after generation. The new generation replaces the old.

This is the circle of life.

The Same old, same old.

The same monotony.

Like we are stuck in some kind of generational Groundhog’s Day.

The mindsets are always the same when it comes to generations.

The younger generation thinks the older generation is stuffy and old fashioned.

While the older generation thinks the younger is lazy, selfish, and disrespectful.

People go and come, but the earth remains.

Jerome, one of the early church fathers, said “What is more vain than this vanity: that the earth, which was made for humans, stays—but humans themselves, the lords of the earth, suddenly dissolved into the dust?”

Not only is this true for humans but its true for the sun, wind, and sea.

He likens the sun to running on a treadmill.

Chasing it’s own tail and always disappearing, then reappearing.

For all of it’s effort.

For all of the energy it spends, it never makes any progress.

Just down one day and up the next.

Not only the sun, but also the wind.

Constant movement.

Blowing wherever it will blow.

Turning and turning, but never going anywhere.

Cycles continue, but no progress.

Never reaching its destination.

Jesus used this analogy in his conversation with Nicodemus.

John 3:8 “8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going...”

The sea and rivers are still the same.

Streams flow into the sea and the sea never gets any deeper.

It never fills up.

The Rivers never run dry.

It’s no doubt that the Teacher here is thinking of the dead sea in Israel.

The dead sea is land locked.

It has nowhere to go, and yet for centuries water has flowed into it and it has still not overflowed.

All this work.

All this toil of nature is exhausting to think about and yet, it profits nothing.

As much movement and energy that is expended nothing changes.

Where is the profit?

What is the goal?

Where is the progress?

If we want to make this a more modern example.

You finish laundry today, there will be more laundry to do tomorrow.

You wash all the dishes, but you have to eat again, which means more dirty dishes.

All the progress you have made and the chores will never be done.

“The natural cycles demonstrate that all our activity is pointless b/c nothing changes despite a whole lot of activity. This poem paints the picture that we are trapped in a monotonous prison.”

This monotonous prison is exhausting, and Qoheleth knows as much

Ecclesiastes 1:8 CSB

8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.

Wearisome

No matter how much we try.

No matter how much we toil.

No matter how much energy we exert we will never be satisfied.

Things will never change.

Our own personal experience tells us this.

We get worn out chasing the same old thing.

Especially when we believe that there isn’t anything more to life.

Not only that, but we use the senses God gave us to find satisfaction.

We use our eyes to look at and seek new things.

I don’t know if you have noticed but it doesn’t matter how much media you consume, whether on TV or in books your never satisfied.

There’s always another show to watch.

Another book to read.

Another social media platform to explore.

And if we actually took a moment from being distracted from these things we would really see that they don’t satisfy.

I know it’s hard to believe, but you could live a life w/o FB, Insta, SnapChat, TT, and even Netflix, Hulu, Professional Sports.

Seeking to satisfy our senses will never truly satisfy.

It may feel good in the moment.

It may cause a distraction, but it won’t bring fulfillment.

Most of you have heard the phrase, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

This idea comes from Ecc.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 CSB

9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

Nothing New

There truly is nothing new under the sun.

When people here this, especially those that like to argue, they would say sure.

Televisions relatively new.

Smartphones are new.

Social media is new.

Rocket-ships are new.

But that argument misses the mark on what Qoheleth is saying.

Sure there are innovations.

But the reality is there is nothing new that fundamentally changes in the world.

Television is simply a different form of entertainment.

Smartphones are a different way to communicate.

Social Media is just a different way to communicate, be entertained, and get mad.

Rocket-ships are simply a new form of transportation.

New innovations still fall in the same categories of the human experience

You see, the fundamental events of life remain the same: birth, marriage, family, work, death.

Nothing changes the fundamentals of humanity.

Not only that but these new innovations are still created by the same fallen creation.

They can be used for both good and bad.

The tools may change, but their uses remain the same.

And the most fundamental thing hasn’t changed, we are still sinners in need of a savior.

And to end on a high note here in the opening of Ecc, we read that nothing is remembered.

Ecclesiastes 1:10–11 CSB

10 Can one say about anything, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.

Nothing Remembered

We tend to have what one commentator called, “Historical Amnesia”

Each generation tends to live with blinders on.

We tend to forget or negate the past as not important to our present.

But the reality is that things that are happening now have happened before.

But we tend to live in the present and forget about the past.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana.

How many of you could name your Great Grandparents? How about your great great grandparents?

Many of us know the names of maybe 2 generations above us and the generations below us.

We tend to think that we live in a special slice of history, but what we can know from scripture is that things are usually the same.

There’s nothing new.

And here’s the hardest pill to swallow.

One day your name will most likely be forgotten.

For all your toil.

For all your work.

For all the energy that you exerted you will be forgotten.

This thinking can lead us to some false solutions.

This realization that all pursuits under the sun are vain and that death is inevitable can lead to

Escapism- Rather than facing the fact that our life here on earth is finite, we distract ourselves.

video games, drugs, alcohol, Netflix, books.

We stay busy, not giving ourselves enough time to stop stand in the silence and think about our lives.

We simply don’t think about it, and if we don’t think about death, which is a reality for each of us, we consume more and more, never appreciating how precious and valuable life is.

Nihilism- This is the thinking that there is absolutely nothing worth pursuing.

If life is meaningless, why live at all.

Reject any good that is found under the sun.

Hedonism-This is the belief that if nothing has meaning then we should live a life in the pursuit of pleasure.

Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.

Pleasure is the ultimate prize.

But for those of us in X, we can know that life has meaning.

That our existence is purposeful.

That God has created us for his good and glory.

Sure there will still be toil, there will still be difficulties.

There will still be days when we question what does this all mean.

Those are realities for us, but we no longer toil in the meaningless.

We Toil in Jesus.

Our hope is in the gospel.

Our hope is in the good news of Jesus.

That he made a promise to make all things new.

that he made the promise to recreate a new eden.

The longing for eden we feel in our hearts and minds, is found in Christ.

Jesus changes everything.

1 Cor 15:58 “58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Our work, our toil, our pursuit is to bring glory honor and praise not to ourselves, but to our savior.

Our work should be done, not in the pursuit of fame, fortune, or vain, but should be done to the honor of Jesus.

We are saved and called for a purpose.

That purpose is to cultivate the kingdom of God all around us.

Eph 2:10 “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

The reality is that the world will not remember you, it won’t remember your work, your toil, your struggles, the sweat of your brow, but Jesus will.

The one who created you loves you and will remember you.

Your life has meaning.

Jesus will redeem everything.

So enjoy God.

Enjoy his creation.

Enjoy his goodness.

Though the things of this world may be a vapor, Jesus is our anchor.