Living Under the Sun

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Before you preach, we will have 3-4 congregational songs and an elder Scripture reading and prayer. That elder will introduce you as the guest preacher for the day. A short sermon bumper video will play immediately before you preach. During this video, the worship team will leave the platform, and you will make your way to the pulpit. When the platform lights are brought up, you’re ready to preach.

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

Greetings from Poquoson Baptist Church, your sister Pillar Network church.

I am so grateful for your pastor who filled in for me when I was on sabbatical a few months ago. Our people were blessed by Ryan’s faithful preaching.

And I’m grateful for the opportunity today to return the favor and preach God’s Word to you, a church we pray for regularly at PBC.

Please turn in your copy of God’s Word to Ecclesiastes 2.

After introducing himself as both David’s son and a king in Israel, Solomon (the book’s author) begins by lamenting the apparent meaninglessness of life.

He concludes chapter 1 by recounting his search for meaning through the pursuit of wisdom, only to discover that wisdom too was meaningless without God.

In chapter 2, Solomon’s pursuit of meaning continues.

And here we’ll learn here that there is nothing meaningful under the sun.

But before we walk through the passage together, let’s pray.

PRAY

As I prepared for this morning’s sermon, I spent some time listening to Dr. Akin’s sermon from last week on Ecclesiastes 1. Now I shudder to disagree in public with one of my heroes, but I did strongly disagree with one thing he said.

90’s music is not pathetic.

Now if the only 90’s music you listen to is The Spice Girls or Britney Spears I guess I’d have to agree with you.

But those who have ears to hear know that 90’s music is not all bad.

John Mayer, one of my favorite musicians, launched his career in the late 90’s. And by the early 2000’s he was a Grammy-winning artist with a multi-platinum album. And yet, despite his incredible success, Mayer was unhappy.

And like Peggy Lee, Kansas, and The Rolling Stones, Mayer wrote a song about it.

And it goes like this...

I'm not alone, I wish I was

'Cause then I'd know I was down because

I couldn't find a friend around

To love me like they do right now

I'm dizzy from the shopping mall

I searched for joy, but I bought it all

It doesn't help the hunger pains

And a thirst I'd have to drown first to ever satiate

Something's missing

And I don't know how to fix it

Something's missing

And I don't know what it is

No I don't know what it is at all

And then Mayer concludes the song by listing some of the things he has that still haven’t made him happy...

Friends? Check.

Money? Check.

Well slept? Check.

Opposite sex? Check.

Guitar? Check.

Microphone? Check.

Messages waiting on me when I come home? Check.

Whether John Mayer meant to or not, like many people before and after him, he understood something true about life under the sun.

You can have everything the world says matters—friends, money, sex, fame, success, possessions, and more—and still feel like something’s missing.

Because Meaning in this life cannot be found from this life.

That’s a message that Solomon understood long before John Mayer, and I believe it’s the big idea our passage is teaching this morning.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon gives us two reasons why meaning in this life cannot be found from this life. These two reasons make up our outline this morning.

We can’t find meaning from this life because life is ultimately unsatisfying.

We can’t find meaning from this life because death is absolutely unavoidable.

Then we’ll conclude by considering how we should respond to the lack of meaning under the sun.

Reason #1—LIFE is Ultimately UNSATISFYING

Ecclesiastes 2:1—I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.

Perhaps the meaning of life is simply to squeeze every drop of enjoyment and pleasure out of it. That’s the experiment that Solomon embarks upon in verses 1-11.

And oh my, what an experiment! Most of us have had moments when we’ve daydreamed about what we would do if we won a multi-million dollar lottery or something. Solomon didn’t have to daydream! Whatever pleasure he wanted, he indulged!

Consider all the ways Solomon tried to find meaning through pleasure, only to find that it was ultimately unsatisfying.

2:2-9—I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

First, he tries laughter in verse 2.

Maybe he’s referring to a lighthearted approach to life that isn’t really concerned about the suffering around you.

Like Marie Antoinette who reportedly said, “Let them eat cake” when she heard that the peasants around her were starving from food shortages.

Or maybe Solomon’s referring to the pleasure of good comedy. It would certainly fit with the rest of this chapter if Solomon had surrounded himself with the best comedians of his day.

In verse 3 he tries alcohol.

But Solomon is not your average wino who’s drunk by 11 AM. He’s a connoisseur. He’s drinking the best alcohol available to him, but not to excess.

He says his heart was still guiding him with wisdom, in other words he’s not getting plastered. He’s sober enough to really enjoy the drink and it’s effects without losing his wits.

In verses 4-7 Solomon tries luxury.

He built luxurious houses.

Of course, Solomon’s most famous building project was the temple. It’s construction took 7 years with 135,000 laborers.

But the temple may not have been Solomon’s most luxurious building project. The construction of his first house took more than twice as long as the temple. And that was merely the first of who knows how many houses Solomon built for himself.

But Solomon didn’t stop at luxurious houses. He’s also got luxurious landscaping! He’s got personal gardens, private parks, countless orchards and vineyards, and even a sophisticated irrigation system to keep everything looking green.

Solomon also has an entourage of slaves to answer his every beck and call.

Most of us can’t imagine owning slaves like Solomon boasts about in verse 7. And that’s a good thing.

But before we move too quickly, think about what it would be like to have an entourage of people doing all the things you hate doing yourself.

Men, how about a personal barber to keep your hair trimmed and your face shaved?

Ladies, how about your own personal cosmetician to perfectly apply your makeup every day?

Kids, how about a butler to clean your room for you?

How about personal masseuses, maids, gardeners, chefs, personal assistants, personal trainers, private security, chauffeurs, and nannies?

Solomon’s entourage may have been the greatest in world history. 1 Kings 4 tells us the daily allotment of food in his house was enough to feed 35,000 people.

In verses 7-8 Solomon tries to find satisfaction through wealth.

In a day when your livestock was often a measure of wealth, Solomon was loaded.

1 Kings 4:26 says he had 40,000 stalls for his horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

Today’s equivalent would be a massive warehouse loaded with the most beautiful and powerful vehicles imaginable.

But it wasn’t just the animals. Solomon was stacked with cash.

1 Kings 10:14 says that every year he brought in over twenty-five tons of gold.

According to Google, that’s about 1.5 billion dollars in annual income every single year.

And that’s just the gold. 1 Kings 10 also says that Solomon had so much silver it was as common as stones in Jerusalem.

Also in verse 8, Solomon tries entertainment.

Today via the Internet we have personal access to music and other entertainment from all over the world.

What Solomon had may have been better. He brought all the best musicians in the world to him! He had personal and private access to the best entertainment his world had to offer.

At the end of verse 8, Solomon tries to find satisfaction through sex.

The word translated “concubine” is only used here in the entire Bible.

Scholars believe it is probably related to the word for a female body part, making this statement all the more crude. [1]

1 Kings 11:3 tells us Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

In verse 9, Solomon tries to find satisfaction through fame.

Solomon enjoyed fame that was absolutely unrivaled in his day. 1 Kings 10:24 says the “whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.”

So when Solomon says “his wisdom remained with him” in verse 9, he’s saying God didn’t take away his gift of wisdom. Despite all his folly, Solomon continued to wow the world with his wisdom. And as a result nobody on the planet was as famous as he was.

But what was the end result of having all this stuff?

2:10-11—And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

There’s two observations we should make from these verses...

In verse 10, Solomon makes it clear that life under the sun is often pleasurable!

Christians are often quick to point out how life is ultimately unsatisfying. But we’re often slow to admit this life is often pleasurable.

And then when our kids enter their teenage and young adult years and find out that sin is often fun and feels good, they feel they’ve been lied to.

But Solomon says “his heart found pleasure” in all of this stuff!

If you chase after meaning in luxury, alcohol, sex, etc. you will find pleasure. You’ll likely find a LOT of it. Life under the sun is often pleasurable. That pleasure just doesn’t last.

Worldly pleasures are like a scoop of ice cream. It tastes amazing, but in a moment it’s gone.

So too the pleasures under the sun often feel good in the short-term. But in the end they leave us always wanting more!

Like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons when Homer told him, “You’re the richest man I know.” Burns replied, “Ah yes… but I’d trade it all... for a little more.”

In verse 11, Solomon makes it clear that life under the sun is ultimately unsatisfying!

He says it’s “vanity.” Remember that’s a word that literally means “vapor.”

Like your frozen breath outside on a cold winter’s morning, like a bubble that’s burst in seconds, like a puff of smoke, pleasure is there for a second, and then it’s gone.

If you’re honest with yourself, you know Solomon is right. You know that as pleasurable as all this stuff is, none of it is ultimately satisfying.

You’ve never heard the perfect joke that was so funny you never needed another laugh.

Or had the perfect drink that completely quenched your thirst to drink again.

Or had something so luxurious, you never craved another luxury.

Or enjoyed a song, show, or movie that was so perfect you never needed to be entertained again.

You never had the perfect intimate encounter that was so good you took a vow of celibacy.

Or achieved the perfect level of fame that satisfied your appetite to be a little more well-known.

Meaning in this life cannot be found from this life because life under the sun is ultimately unsatisfying.

There’s a second reason we need to consider...

Reason #2—DEATH is Absolutely UNAVOIDABLE

2:12-15—So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.

Last week, Dr. Akin taught on Solomon’s pursuit of wisdom in 1:12-18. Solomon concluded in those verses that “in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”

But here Solomon wants you to know that wisdom isn’t entirely worthless. Just like it’s better to see than to be blind, it’s better to be wise than to be a fool.

Generally speaking, whether you’re a Christian or not, you will likely have a much more enjoyable life on this earth if you pursue wisdom.

If you make foolish decisions with your money and spend half your paycheck on Starbucks and Chick Fil-A, you’re going to struggle much more than the person who makes wiser decisions.

If you foolishly reject the advice of those who warn you not to indulge those addictive habits, you’ll suffer more than the person who wisely develops good habits.

None of these things will send a person to heaven or hell, but they do affect our experience along the way.

But the benefits of wisdom are temporary, because death is absolutely unavoidable.

After a few years in the grave, Albert Einstein’s dead bones are virtually indistinguishable from a John Doe who never graduated high school.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “sure, life is temporary. But if we live a meaningful life we can leave a legacy that lasts forever. Can’t we?”

2:16-17—For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

Sure it’s true that some people are remembered and talked about long after they’re gone. But if you’re not there to hear about it, does it really matter?

Woody Allen once joked, “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying.”

Some of you are thinking, “Who’s Woody Allen?!?” Which proves Solomon’s point! We are so quickly forgotten! And Woody Allen’s not even dead yet!

As bad as it is to think about being gone and forgotten, Solomon says it gets even worse. What will happen to everything you worked so hard for in this life?

2:18-22—I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun?

Many people spend their whole lives building wealth, and then die before they enjoy it.

What happens with all that hard-earned money? Usually it goes to our next of kin, right?

Well what if that person is an absolute fool? What if they don’t appreciate anything you’ve worked so hard for?

When Howard Hughes died in 1976 he was one of the richest men in the world. But he had no direct descendants, and no immediate relatives, and no will to determine where his money should go. He made it clear that he didn’t want all his hard-earned money to go to a bunch of distant relatives he didn’t know, but after 7 years in court his $2.5 billion estate was divided up among 22 distant cousins.

Solomon says, “that’s a great evil!” And in Solomon’s case, this ended up being his legacy too. After his death his son Rehoboam was such a fool that the entire kingdom split under his leadership. Everything Solomon built and stockpiled was eventually destroyed.

Solomon concludes his assessment of the situation in...

2:23—For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

You live, you work, you hurt, you try to rest when you can, and then in the end you die!

Meaning in this life cannot be found from this life because death is ultimately unavoidable.

Now all of that is pretty depressing, isn’t it?

When the pandemic first hit, at PBC we decided to do a sermon series through the book of Lamentations. When we finished the series, one of our members told me “I’m so glad this is over! If Lamentations had one more chapter I think I would’ve jumped off a bridge!”

Some of you might feel like that already after two chapters of Ecclesiastes!

But Solomon isn’t done yet. There’s hope here!

Consider with me one final point from verses 24-26...

Response: GET OVER THE SUN

When Solomon talks about life “under the sun,” he means a life lived horizontally. A life only concerned with the things of earth, a life without any reference to the God who exists beyond the sun.

Yes, it’s true that meaning in this life cannot be found from this life.

The solution isn’t found in anything under the sun!

The solution is to get over the sun, to look to our Creator!

That’s exactly what Solomon does beginning in...

2:24-25—There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

The solution to the meaninglessness of life under the sun is to look to God!

Let me suggest three practical ways we can do this:

A) Remember the GIVER

That’s absolutely clear from verse 24. Our food, our drink, our work, and every good pleasure comes from the hand of God.

Some people think the solution to John Mayer’s emptiness is the simple life, free from all the gadgets and bells and whistles of our 21st century world. But that’s not the answer!

If the simple life was the answer, everybody living below the poverty line would be completely satisfied!

The answer isn’t having more or having less, but putting whatever pleasures you do have in their proper perspective. They are not gods, they are gifts. There is a God who has given you all those good things that you enjoy!

That’s exactly what Paul says in...

1 Timothy 6:17—As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

B) Remember the GUARDRAILS

Although Solomon doesn’t make this explicit here, we know from the rest of Scripture that God sets guardrails for how His gifts should be enjoyed.

Most of the gifts Solomon enjoyed were not sinful in and of themselves. Most of them could have been enjoyed within their proper context.

For example comedy and entertainment are a gift from God! They can certainly be enjoyed by the Christian. But God sets guardrails on how we can use those gifts. We can’t turn entertainment into an idol. We can’t let it be our all-consuming pleasure in life. We can’t look to it for ultimate satisfaction. We also need to be careful that our entertainment is not tempting us to sin. So we should set personal boundaries about what things we will and will not be entertained by because we have a goal that’s bigger than our entertainment. Our goal is to glorify God!

Wealth is a gift from God. It is not a sin to be wealthy. But it is a sin to put our hope in our money. It’s a sin to hoard our wealth and not give or share.

Sex is also a gift from God! But God sets the guardrails on how we can use that gift. It cannot be an idol. It cannot be enjoyed outside of the bounds of marriage between one man and one woman. It cannot be enjoyed in a way that devalues or demeans your spouse.

The same is true of every good gift we’ve received from the Lord. We look to the Scriptures for wisdom on how to use that gift rightly.

So how are you doing with the gifts you’ve received?

Are you using them properly? Are you idolizing them, looking to them for your joy and satisfaction? Are you rejecting what God says about how to use these gifts? Are you considering what the Scriptures say at all?

Solomon says, there’s a reward that awaits us if we’re faithful...

2:26—For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

If we live lives that are pleasing to God, we will receive an incredible gift. The wicked will spend their lives gathering and collecting, but never truly enjoying.

It’s like they’re running on a treadmill but never getting anywhere.

I believe Solomon is looking forward to the Final Judgment where all that the wicked has will be taken away and given to those who please God.

But before you start feeling really good about yourself, there’s a serious problem we need to consider...

WHO AMONG US ON OUR OWN CAN SAY, “I PLEASE GOD?”

Romans 3 says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Isaiah 64:6— “… all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”

If you really let this sink in, all of us are doomed!

If nobody pleases God, we’re doomed to a life under the sun that is ultimately unsatisfying, a death that is absolutely unavoidable, and a final judgment where every good gift we do have is forever taken away!

“I thought you said there was hope here?”

Ultimately our hope comes only as we...

C) Remember the GOSPEL

Who is the one who pleases God in verse 26?

The same One who heard a voice from heaven at His baptism, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus had far less possessions and pleasurable experiences than his great-great grandpa Solomon.

And yet, Jesus never lost sight of the Giver. He lived His entire life in a perfect relationship with His Father.

He never ignored the guardrails God gave. He never abused alcohol. He never hoarded his possessions. He never had a lustful thought. He was tempted in all ways like we are, yet without sin.

Jesus was the only Person in human history who could look at verse 26 and say “that promise applies to me!”

And yet, instead of receiving the promise of verse 26, Jesus willingly endured it’s opposite.

Instead of all our stockpiled treasures going to Jesus, the One who pleases God, all our sin was piled on Him.

Why? So that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

As it turns out, there is a way for us to please God. But it’s not by working for it.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

We please God as we trust in Jesus, who lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died.

That and that alone is the only place where meaning under the sun can be found.

Placing your hope anywhere else is vanity and striving after wind.