Ecclesiastes - The Vanity of Life in the Face of Death (Week 10)
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Can life have any meaning in a naturalistic universe?
Physicist Steven Weinberg doesn’t think so.
He writes:
“The more comprehensible the universe becomes, the more it also seems pointless.”
Similarly, Richard Dawkins says:
In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference. - Richard Dawkins
But if the universe is random and meaningless, and pointless, then how can our lives have any meaning at all?
The French philosopher Albert Camus believed that there was really only one serious philosophical question:
“Should, or should I not commit suicide?”
The great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy was haunted by this question, which nearly led to his suicide.
Recounting his experience, he wrote:
“My question—that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide—was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man from the foolish child to the wisest elder: it was a question without an answer to which one cannot live, as I had found by experience. It was: . . . "Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?" - Leo Tolstoy
None of us know how long our lives will be, but we know it has a bad ending, and if the end is truly the end, this harsh truth overshadows whatever joy or meaning we might find.
Still, many believe that even though life has no higher meaning, we’re able to construct meaning for ourselves.
For example, Stephen Jay Gould wrote:
“We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could transform into legs for terrestrial creatures; because comets struck the earth and wiped out dinosaurs, thereby giving mammals a chance not otherwise available . . . We may yearn for a “higher” answer—but none exists. This explanation, though superficially troubling, if not terrifying, is ultimately liberating and exhilarating. We cannot read the meaning of life passively in the facts of nature. We must construct these answers for ourselves.” - Stephen Jay Gould
Gould’s point is that even though life has no meaning, we are free to give it whatever meaning we please.
But how can we derive meaning from the meaningless?
If nature has no inherent meaning,
yet we say our choices have meaning,
then we are really saying that one part of nature actually does have inherent meaning: our choices.
But if our universe has no meaning, then neither do our choices, since we are just another part of the universe.
The truth is, in a naturalistic universe, life can have no meaning that overcomes the deafening finality of the grave.
Still, atheists tend to believe that life is worth living and that we can find real meaning in our lives without God.
Outside of religion, Americans tend to believe that the meaning of life is to find happiness,
whether through career, love, family, money, possessions, or social standing.
Back to atheist scientist Richard Dawkins,
He writes, “My way includes a good dose of science, the honest and systematic endeavour to find out the truth about the real world.”
And in response to all of this, we have Qoheleth from the book of Ecclesiastes who says:
“YEAH… RIGHT!”
“GIVE ME A BREAK”
I’ve tried science,
I’ve tried pleasure
I’ve tried it all!
And at the end of it aways misery and dissatisfaction.
Because at the end of every road, lies DEATH's cruel embrace, which destroys whatever joy we might find.
Now, unlike Richard Dawkins, Qoheleth isn’t an atheist.
Still, when he looks at the world around him, he can’t make any sense of it.
Sometimes the good do die young, and the wicked prosper!
And so like Job, Qoheleth beings to wonder what God is doing.
That’s exactly what Job wondered.
Job was a righteous man - for a sinner.
But He obeyed God and what did he get in response?
MISERY!
SUFFERING!
LOSS
Which caused Him to wonder if there was something wrong with God’s justice system.
Now, Qoheleth is similar to Job here, but a little different,
For Qoheleth concludes: “This is just the way it is - so get over it and enjoy whatever pleasures you can find while you still can.”
Which is NOT a good conclusion - though it is a reasonable one.
Which is exactly why Qoheleth is so frustrated, as we see in Ecclesiastes 11.
5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. 6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Qoheleth is saying that life is ridiculously random!
It’s a dice roll,
Which means nothing is guaranteed.
And so like Job, you’re just going to end up frustrated and dismayed at what you see God doing in the world.
because NONE OF IT makes a lick of sense!
And yet, many people respond to the sad state of life with a can-do, glass-is-half-full attitude.
For example, the song, “That’s Life” - Frank Sinatra sings:
[Verse 1]
That's life (That's life), that's what all the people say
You're riding high in April, shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune
When I'm back on top, back on top in June
[Verse 2]
I said, that's life (That's life), and as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down
'Cause this fine old world, it keeps spinning around
[Verse 3]
That's life (That's life), I tell ya, I can't deny it
I thought of quitting, baby
But my heart just ain't gonna buy it
And if I didn't think it was worth one single try
I'd jump right on a big bird and then I'd fly
[Chorus]
I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king
I've been up and down and over and out, and I know one thing
Each time I find myself laying flat on my face
I just pick myself up and get back in the race
Now don’t you just feel totally motivated after that?
Qoheleth says: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? - YEAH RIGHT!”
In fact, that kind of attitude towards life is INSANE!
Because not only is life full of more downs than ups,
But we all have been given a death sentence that we cannot avoid!
Forest Gump said: “Momma always said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”
And in response, Qoheleth says: ‘TRUE! Life is totally random!
“However, there is one thing we all get, which is death, bitter cold death!”
“And it destroys whatever joys you might find.”
In Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited, an atheist professor named Black (played by Tommy Lee Jones) attempts to kill himself by stepping in front of a subway train, but is stopped by a Christian ex-con named White (played by Samuel Jackson).
Afterwards, White takes Black back to his run-down apartment and tries to convince him that suicide is not the answer to his problems.
Black’s nihilistic response is breathtakingly disheartening as he explains what led to his suicide attempt:
“The world is basically a forced labor camp from which the workers, perfectly innocent, are led forth by lottery, a few each day, to be executed. I don't think that's just the way I see it. I think that's the way it is. Are there alternative views? Yes. Will any of them stand close scrutiny? No . . . The shadow of the axe hangs over every joy. Every road ends in death, every friendship, every love. Torment, loss, betrayal, pain, suffering, age, indignity, hideous lingering illness . . . and all of it with a single conclusion for you and everyone and everything you have ever chosen to care for.”
Black believes that suffering and human destiny are one and the same, and if people could see their lives for what they truly are, without their dreams and illusions to blind them from cold, harsh reality, they would be unable to offer any sound reason why they should not elect to die as soon as possible.
Like the great atheist philosophers of old, such as Voltaire, Sartre, and Nietzsche, Black is well aware of what his atheistic worldview entails; which is, the ridiculousness of life and the pointlessness of everything.
In an article titled: “Atheism Has a Suicide Problem,” humanist writer Staks Rosch writes:
Depression is a serious problem with in the greater atheist community and far too often, that depression has led to suicide. This is something we don’t like to admit, but it is true. There is a problem within the atheist community of depression and suicide. I know we would all like to believe that atheists are happier people than religious believers and in many ways we are. But we also have to accept the reality that in some very important ways we are not. - Staks Rosch
Now, as we said, Qoheleth isn’t an atheist, but He’s not far off from this kind of bleak pesimism.
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
What Qoheleth is saying here is that life is maddening because it doesn’t matter what you do, one way the other, time and chance is going to getcha, getcha, getcha, it’s gonna getcha.
It’s unavoidable!
For instance,
Did you know that 150,000 people die every single day!?
That’s comparable to a small city being wiped out - EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Do you think that would hit the news cycle if a city of 150,000 people were suddenly wiped out by an earthquake or a tsunami?
And yet, we have become some so desensitized to this, that we continue on like it’s normal.
But as Qoheleth says: “It’s NOT NORMAL AT ALL!”
“It’s not only terrifying - but it strips life of any joy or meaning we might find!”
Every day, 150,000 people suddenly have their family members torn away from men,
resulting in all their dreams and aspirations coming to an abrupt end.
The fact is, the mortality rate for humanity is one hundred percent and it’s not getting any better.
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
When it comes to our lives under the sun, it is full of uncertainty,
and the only certainty is DEATH.
and if you think about it too much, it will DRIVE YOU MAD!
which is why most people don’t think about it!
They continue on putting distraction after distraction in front of themselves, until death suddenly grabs them in the night,
Or creeps up on them slowly over time.
In Ecclesiastes 12, Qoheleth describes the golden years, and they aren’t so GOLDEN afterall.
3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly. 4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint. 5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral. 6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
In verse 3, he says, “…in the day when the keepers of the house tremble…”
Which means, your hands are going to start to shake!
“…and the strong men are bent…”
Your legs will become tired and weak,
“…and the grinders cease because they are few…” “…and those who look through the windows are dimmed…”.
you will begin to lose your sight,
““…the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low…”.
Which means, you’re going to lose your hearing,
AND you’ll probably refuse to wear hearing aids, and NO ONE WILL UNDERSTAND WHY!!!!
he says in verse 3, ““…they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way…” -
which means, you’re gonna start checking if the doors are locked on an hourly basis!
You’re gonna get really squirrelly about stuff!
He goes on to say: “…the almond tree blossoms…”.
Which means it’s going to turn white and gray
That is - if it doesn’t all FALL OUT first!
In verse 5, You’ll be like the grasshopper who drags himself along
You used to have all this SPRING in your step, but now you can barely get up the stairs!
In fact, you’re gonna need more naps than a toddler - and YOU’LL STILL BE TIRED.
Your’e gonna find yourself eating dinner at 3:00pm, so you can get to bed by 6:30.
All so you can wake up at 4:30 in the morning so you can go walking at the Mall - Before it opens!
Your’e gonna wear jackets in the middle of summer whenever it drops 1 degree below 75.
And because of this, you’re going to become obsessed with the weather!
You’ll never check your email, but check the mail at least twice a day
You’ll not only carry cash, but you’ll still carry the exact change needed to pay for things!
And you’ll become obsessed with the news and struggle not to worry about it!
He says in verse that your sexual desire will fail,
Which is going to be REALLY difficult for people living in our culture who have turned sexuality into their god!
And after all of this, you’ve got the grave waiting to pull you into it!
Which is why he then describes how the mourners go about in the streets, as they have the funeral.
Verse 6 is about the imagery of the light.
The water jar being broken -
In the ancient near-east, water was considered the source of life, and without it, you’re toast.
And so Qoheleth is simply saying, you don’t have access the source of life anymore.
Verse 7, “For then the dust will return to the earth” - which is reminding us of Genesis and how God formed Adam from the dust of the ground,
And then after the curse of sin and death He said: “From dust you were taken, and unto dust you shall return.”
As Kansas sang: “All we are is dust in the wind!”
And though your body turns to dust, your spirit returns to God from Whom it was made.
And then the conclusion of all this is in verse 8, which reads:
8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Isn’t that ENCOURAGING!?
Here is the point:
In Under the Sun, he writes:
“Here’s his point––life is a candle, and it will soon be blown out. Qoheleth is saying, “As much uncertainty as there is in life, there is one certainty in life, and it’s death.”
Who here has a family member, friend, or loved one, who was going along in life and then BOOM - death hit them without much or any notice at all?
Do you see how RANDOM that seems?
How pointless that makes life?
The fact is, death is the only guarantee in life, and it makes life meaningless.
I’ve shared this illustration before in a sermon, but Harry Houdini was one of the world’s greatest escape artist who could get out of anything.
And he died on Halloween in 1929.
But, he told his wife right before he died, “If there’s a way out of death, I will make contact with you on the anniversary of my death.”
Ten years after he died, his wife, who had put a light underneath his picture, finally turned it out.
The greatest escape artist who ever lived couldn’t escape death.
And neither can we.
And Qoheleth says, you need to think about this!
You can’t just ignore it!
Look, I’m sure some of you are feeling like: “Yeah, we get it Qoheleth, death is the pits! Can we get back to living in the real world now?”
And in response, Qoheleth says: “That’s nuts!”
“YOU, DON’T GET IT!” - he says.
So what is Qoheleth’s advice then?
How should we live in the face of death?
In under the sun, Feltner gives us 3 observations that Qoheleth gives:
1st. Get busy living before you get busy dying.
1 Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.
Here Qoheleth is saying: take some risks!
YOLO - you only live once!
So get moving!
Don’t do as verse 4 says:
4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
Qoheleth’s point here is DON’T SIT BY AND MISS LIVING YOUR LIFE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
Yes it’s risky - but so what!
Make some decisions!
Qoheleth is saying, life is random,
Life is uncertain
so stop trying to plan it all out perfectly, and LIVE YOUR LIFE!
2nd - Get busy living before you get busy dying.
2 But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
Here Qoheleth is saying: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!
3rd - Get busy enjoying what you can, while you can.
Ecclesiastes 11:7–9 (ESV)
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Live for the pleasure of today, because it’s ALL YOU GOT!~
YOLO!
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!
Does this seem depressing?
If so, I don’t think you’re seeing even the HALF OF IT!
Because it’s WAY MORE DEPRESSING THAT EVEN THAT!
Here’s why:
Look at verse 8: “So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. ”
And verse 9: “But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment!”
What Qoheleth is saying is that: YES life is meaningless!
Yes, life sure appears to be completely random!
Sometimes the wicked prosper and the good do die young!
BUT GUESS WHAT - as bad as this life is, God’s judgment is surely coming, and AT LEAST the temporary pleasures of life can help take your mind off that.
So live if it up!
But don’t forget, that everything you’re living for is a PUFF of smoke that is ABOUT TO GO OUT, which leads to the judgment of God.
In the book of James he writes:
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
But unlike Qoheleth, James doesn’t conclude that all is hopeless.
He doesn’t say: “so live it up and enjoy yourself while you still can!”
Because He found the One who has power over the grave!
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
And so the question is, what do we believe?
Are we like Qoheleth, and have resigned ourselves to living a distracted life?
To resort to whatever we can to keep our minds off the fact that death and judgment are surely coming?
Or, have come to trust in Christ, the author and give of life, who turns our vanity into victory!
8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.