Is Life Worth Living?
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3 What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
“Is life worth living?”
That was the question the Preacher raised when he began the discourse that we call Ecclesiastes.
After experimenting and investigating “life under the sun,” he concluded, “No, life is not worth living!”
8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.
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.
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.
He gave four arguments to support his conclusion:
The monotony of life,
The vanity of wisdom,
The futility of wealth, and
The certainty of death.
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Being a wise man, Solomon reviewed his arguments and this time brought God into the picture.
What a difference it made!
He realized that life was not monotonous but filled with challenging situations from God, each in its own time and each for its own purpose.
He also learned that wealth could be enjoyed and employed to the glory of God.
Though man’s wisdom couldn’t explain everything, Solomon concluded that it was better to follow God’s wisdom than to practice man’s folly.
As for the certainty of death, there is no way to escape it; and it ought to motivate us to enjoy life now and make the most of the opportunities God gives us.
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In this series i want to take you on the same journey as Solomon, too see the futility of life under the sun, but also you see how God brings wonderful purpose and meaning to life when we serve Him.
Four pictures of life:
Life is an ADVENTURE—live by faith (11:1–6)
Life is a GIFT—enjoy it (11:7–12:8)
Life is a SCHOOL—learn your lessons (12:9–12)
Life is a STEWARDSHIP—fear God (12:13–14)
These four pictures parallel the four arguments that Solomon had wrestled with throughout the book.
Life is not monotonous; rather, it is an adventure of faith that is anything but predictable or tedious.
Yes, death is certain, but life is a gift from God and He wants us to enjoy it.
Are there questions we can’t answer and problems we can’t solve? Don’t despair. God teaches us His truth as we advance in “the school of life,” and He will give us wisdom enough to make sensible decisions.
Finally, as far as wealth is concerned, all of life is a stewardship from God; and one day He will call us to give an account.
Therefore, “fear God, and keep His commandments” (12:13).
1: Life without God is Monotonous.
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.
8 All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.
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.
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.
12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”
17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.
18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.
What did Solomon discover about life under the sun?
1: Nothing Changes. Ever.
Solomon noticed that which all pagan nations noticed: Life is a pointless, endless circle.
Nations rise, rule, fall and are conquered - Repeat.
Babies play with grandparents, and then become granparents and play with their own granschildren - Repeat.
“Things” change but “EverythinG!” remains the same.
The cold of winter, gives way to the warmth of summer. Only for summer to give way again for winter. Repeat.
Pure pointless monotony.
2: Nothing is new.
If nothing changes then it stands to reason that there is nothing new.
Now we may object to this and say that new things are happening all the time. New discoveries are bring made, new advancments in technology are always happening...
Solomon did not mean it in that way.
He meant that DISPITE the massive achivments and discoveries of those in cutting edge fields - dispite all the thousands of “new things” we have discovered or invented:
None of it brings an end or solves mankinds spieirual weariness.
You are just as weary in your heart and mind as a Chaldean from Abraham time over 6000 years ago.
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Dr. H.A. Ironside, longtime pastor of Chicago’s Moody church, used to say, “If it’s new, it’s not true; and if it’s true, it’s not new.”
Whatever is new is simply a recombination of the old.
Man cannot “create” anything new because man is the creature, not the Creator.
15 Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.
Thomas Alva Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, said that his inventions were only “bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of mankind.”
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Why is this the case?
Because dispite all the incredible NEW THINGS we have that a 6000 year old Chaldean could not even imagine being possible - BOTH of you will die at the same old age, give or take a few years.
This inevitability of death hangs over the head of every human being ever born on this planet.
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This, btw is one of the aspects that seperates us from the animals.
Animals dont think about death, they just live life.
We struggle to live life because we constantly think about death - that is: Every sweet moment in life is bittered by the fact that it will end in death.
Of human being Solom discovered:
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.
Notice that God put eternity in our hearts.
What does that mean?
It means that we deeply do not want to die.
This is not refering to our “survival Instinct”. All living creature have a survival instinct.
When a dog’s life is in danger its survival instincts will kick in and flight or fight will take over.
The same is true for us: When we are in danger, our survival instincts will kick in, adrenalin will flood our system and we will also fight or flight.
But here is the difference: An animal’s survival instinct will only kick in if the animal is in danger.
Humans however, will worry about death even when there is no immediate threat or presence anywhere.
When my dog climbs into bed at night, belly full, head petted and cosy.
When i climnb into bed, belly full, head petted by Kim and cosy.
The dog will think of its ball, its bone, the cat and the monkey who irratated it.
I will lie there and think of my death, the death of my parents, what will i do if Kim were to die.
The bible truly says that death is the enemy of humanity.
26 The last enemy to be abolished is death.