Sermon Tone Analysis
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The Experiment (Part 1)
Last week we began our series in Ecclesiastes.
Solomon sets the stage for his teaching by telling the listeners that all is Hevel.
Everything under the sun is a vapor, wind, or as many translations put it vanity.
There will never be an end to the longing of something more if all we do is chase our own tails or try to capture the wind.
He wants us to really feel the weight of what he is driving at.
There is meaning to life, but it isn’t found in earthly things.
It isn’t found in this world.
It isn’t found in something that was created.
And if we search for meaning,
If we search for joy,
If we search for satisfaction in the creation we will constantly be hungry.
We will never be satisfied.
Here recently my boys have been watching a lot of YouTube videos.
And we have limited their YouTube consumption to educational videos.
One of their favorites used to be a NASA Engineer.
I love and appreciate the mind of an engineer.
They are analytical.
They are thoughtful.
They are calculating.
They love to see a problem and find out how to solve it.
But with seeing a problem and solving the problem there are often mistakes.
There are often bumps in the road.
So they have to experiment.
And to run a good experiment, you have to see the problem and attack it from all angles.
And when they are finished with their research and their models they can bring you back a report on what worked, what didn’t work, and how to solve the problem in the future.
What does this have to do with Ecclesiastes?
Solomon sees the problem.
He knows that life under the sun is fleeting.
That it’s simply a vapor.
Here today and gone tomorrow.
But he still wants to find meaning.
So he sets up an experiment.
He works on this problem like an engineer.
He wants to try all the variable and see if he can figure out meaning to life.
This is what can only be called a Hedonistic Experiment.
Hedonism is defined as “the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.”
Essentially Hedonism tells us that if it feels good do it.
Or if it makes you happy do it.
The problem is that Hedonism leaves us empty.
Its a philosophy that permeates and penetrates our society.
It’s what social media was built on.
Those quick little dopamine hits that make us feel good in the moment, but leave us ultimately empty.
If it feels good do it is the motto of the American Dream.
But what we are going to see this morning is that emptiness is at the end of that promise.
And Solomon’s Hedonistic Experiment is going to prove that point.
He is going to try pleasure to the extreme.
He is going to chase what offers happiness.
He is going to let his every natural instinct run wild.
Why would Solomon qualify for such an experiment.
Solomon was one of the wealthiest men to ever live.
Just a small picture, According to 2 Chron 9:13 “13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons,”
He is counted as the wisest man to ever live 1 Kings 3:12 “12 I will therefore do what you have asked.
I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.”
He had more money, wisdom, influence, and power than we could ever imagine.
And yet what did he find…nothing under the sun would satisfy him.
We are about to read about this experiment.
But before we do let’s pray.
Futile Search
Earlier in the Service we read part of Proverb 1.
Interesting to note that the same man that penned most of Proverbs is the one who is talking in Ecc.
In Proverbs he posts up the importance of wisdom, and here he posits the limits of wisdom.
What’s going on here?
Notice that in Proverbs he talks about the Fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom, yet here in Ecc he focuses on his own mind and knowledge.
This is a theme in this section, the focal point is different.
Here he is talking about worldly or earthly wisdom.
Not about Godly or pure and true wisdom.
And this is where he tells us that he is going to set up the experiment to find the meaning of life.
“I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven.”
v. 13.
Solomon is taking his experiences.
He’s taking his knowledge and he is looking out at the world for meaning.
As stated earlier, he is perfect for this task.
In fact, b/c of his money, wisdom, influence, and power, there is no one better equipped to delve into the depths of everything under the sun.
Here’s a trap that I have seen many fall into.
In fact, I have fallen into it as well.
The pursuit of knowledge to live a fulfilled life.
I love to learn.
I love to grow.
I love to gain knowledge.
In fact, there’s a joke at our house that sometimes I am like Johnny-5 from the Movie Short Circuit.
“Need more Input”
When I was in school, attaining knowledge and wisdom felt like the highest of all callings.
This is true for many great thinkers.
Those who sit in their Ivory Towers and ponder things all day long.
Have you ever encountered the person that is a know-it-all.
And not in the humble way, but in the braggy way, where they are always trying to one up you in the things they know.
They can be insufferable.
I know this, b/c I am one, and unfortunately we are raising one too.
Solomon is here telling us about life.
About what worked for him and didn’t work for him.
He knows the emptiness of this hedonistic pursuit.
And look a the words he used in v.13, he examined and explored.
Some translations use the words seek and search.
This wasn’t a one off observation.
He was diligently seeking the truth.
He was diligently seeking to know and find meaning.
He was on a mission.
His quest was extensive and intensive.
Just imagine a man who was looking for lost treasure.
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