Dying Under the Sun

Introduciton

Many things in our culture are rooted in our once-collective knowledge of the Bible. While that knowledge has been largely lost, some random bits still surface from time to time…Like Solomon’s summation of time itself.

Illumination

There Is Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

There is a time FOR and a time OF every season and every purpose

Ecclesiastes 3:2–8 (NKJV)

2 A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

7 A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

8 A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

Other than still being an iconic summary, what is the point?

When you sum all of the seasons, and all of their impact, you get zero; they all cancel each other out.

Solomon finds himself asking the same question!

Ecclesiastes 3:9 (NKJV)

9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors?

From the temporal perch providing his low-view of life under the sun, Solomon posits an answer:

Ecclesiastes 3:10–13 (NKJV)

10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Time is to be Experienced - all of Solomon’s “times” represent unique, if offsetting, experiences we can and do experience.

Time is to be Enjoyed - all of Solomon’s “times” represent experiences we can find ways to enjoy…even war. “It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.” —Robert E. Lee

Time is to be Endured - all of Solomon’s “times” represent experiences that ultimately frustrate us because of their inevitable end. We innately shun death and naturally embrace never-ending life, because that is how God created us.

Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy is still good advice for life under the sun.

There Is Accounting

Ecclesiastes 3:13–15 (NKJV)

13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

14 I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it.

God does it, that men should fear before Him.

15 That which is has already been,

And what is to be has already been;

And God requires an account of what is past.

God requires an accounting of/for history’s events.

Why?

Ecclesiastes 3:16–17 (NKJV)

16 Moreover I saw under the sun:

In the place of judgment,

Wickedness was there;

And in the place of righteousness,

Iniquity was there.

17 I said in my heart,

“God shall judge the righteous and the wicked,

For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”

Ecclesiastes 4:1 (NKJV)

1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,

But they have no comforter—

On the side of their oppressors there is power,

But they have no comforter.

Why, you ask?

Because of injustice

Because of wickedness

Because of iniquity

Because of oppression

There is Frustration

Sometimes it seems we’re no better than animals

Ecclesiastes 3:18–21 (NKJV)

18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

Sometimes it seems like it would be better if we were already dead, or had never been born

Ecclesiastes 4:2–3 (NKJV)

2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,

More than the living who are still alive.

3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,

Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Conclusion

Solomon explores time and the accounting that must be given and the frustration it breeds. He hints that we might be stuck in a loop.

Believer’s Bible Commentary (C. The Vanity of the Cycle of Life and Death (Chap. 3))

R. C. Sproul calls it the theme of eternal recurrence. “This idea maintains that in infinite time, there are periodic cycles in which all that has been is repeated over again. The drama of human life is a play with one encore after another.”

Where does he end up? the same place he started

Ecclesiastes 3:22 (NKJV)

22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Find joy in what you do. It may be advice for those of us under the sun, but it is also advice for those of us under the Son, too.

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

There was nothing enjoyable in the cross, yet Jesus found joy in it. His joy was what He accomplished for us.

Where can we find joy in our lives, even as we endure them?