Nothing New
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever been depressed? Like don’t want to get up out of bed depressed?
I have. I remember laying in bed wondering why I should get up. What use are my tasks for the day. What use is what I have been dedicating myself to for the past several years.
Those situations are not easy. And there are many people who struggle with these feelings for weeks, and sometimes months or longer.
I’m not here to make light of mental anguish, but sometimes those questions we ask in moments of sadness or depression or anxiety are questions we need to ask. Just probably when we are in a better frame of mind.
We are starting Ecclesiastes for our worship services. Some people read it and say that the author was depressed when he wrote it.
Others say that it was an elderly grouch who had given up on life because of everything he experienced in life.
I disagree. This isn’t a depressed author or an old grump. But someone who has spent his life pursuing true wisdom, and consequently happiness, in life.
Before we start a study in any book of the Bible, it’s necessary to lay some groundwork, so that we can read the book with the right perspective.
We could ask the questions: who, what, when, where, why.
But, instead we are going to look at the Author, date, circumstance, audience, and theme.
Before we dive in, would you pray with me.
Pray
1. Background
1. Background
A. Author
A. Author
Well, lets look at those background topics.
Who wrote this book.
Normally, we can see the author in the first few verses of the Bible. The first verse of this book says:
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
The author calls himself “the teacher.” He is described as a son of David, a king in Jerusalem.
David had two sons who became king in Jerusalem. But, only one lasted a significant period of time.
Adonijah lasted about a day, before Solomon was crowned as God’s anointed by Nathan the prophet and the blessing of King David.
During the early days of his rule, God promised to give Solomon whatever he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom.
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
God was pleased with that request and granted it. Solomon became known as the wisest person of all time. People traveled great distances just to sit and hear his wisdom.
He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.
He wrote most of the book of Proverbs. He wrote Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs. And he wrote: Ecclesiastes.
However, many people over the past 100 years have tried to disprove that he wrote it. But, no one is able to give convincing enough proof to overturn what is actually written.
B. Date
B. Date
Now, when did he write it?
Again, many people in the past 100 years have tried to disprove that Solomon wrote it. They try to prove that it was written a hundred years before the birth of Christ.
But, that doesn’t really work, especially if you look at vocabulary and subject matter.
What does work is looking at who wrote it and what it actually says. Solomon wrote it, and as we read through it, we will see many references, especially in chapter 12, to an older man sharing experiences from his long life, urging those who are younger to have a different perspective in life than he had.
C. Circumstance
C. Circumstance
Which brings me to why did Solomon write this? What were the circumstances around the writing of this book?
Have you ever sat down with someone who is older and he or she looks at you and start talking about regrets. How he wishes he had done things differently. And then he says: I hope you don’t make the same mistakes that I did.
Maybe this is you. You feel those regrets and you wish that you could save the next generation from following in your footsteps.
I think this is what Solomon is doing in writing this book.
While Solomon started off as a great king, he didn’t continue in that line.
We read later in 1 kings
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
And judgment came against Solomon and against the nation of Israel. After his death, the nation splits into the northern and southern kingdoms. Ultimately, the Assyrians and the Babylonians take over and lead the nation into exile.
I believe that Solomon repented and looked back on his life with regret. He wrote this based upon that regret, passing some valuable life lessons to anyone who would read it, so that they could learn from him before it was too late.
D. Audience
D. Audience
Well, who is he writing too. First, anyone younger than him. But, specifically those in power. This is the upper class. They have the ability to amass wealth and wives and all the things that they are not supposed to do. Also, at this time, because of Solomon’s great wisdom, there is a group in Jerusalem and other parts of the nation that exulted wisdom. They believed that joy and happiness can be found by seeking wisdom and living according to that wisdom.
Which isn’t quite right.
Solomon found out that the pursuit of wisdom would not truly solve life’s problems. Neither would it satisfy life’s needs. Something more was needed.
E. Theme
E. Theme
Which brings us to the last topic of our background discussion: The Theme of this book.
We could read the next two verses in the book:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
The word which the NIV translates as Meaningless, could also be translated vanity of vanities.
Warren Wiersbe writes:
Be Satisfied Chapter One: Is Life Worth Living? (Ecclesiastes 1:1–3)
We have already noted that Solomon used the word “vanity” thirty-eight times in this book. It is the Hebrew word hevel, meaning “emptiness, futility, vapor.” The name “Abel” probably comes from this word (Gen. 4:2). Whatever disappears quickly, leaves nothing behind and does not satisfy is hevel, vanity. One of my language professors at seminary defined hevel as “whatever is left after you break a soap bubble.”
When Solomon looks at all of his wealth, his works, his wisdom, or his word, he says:
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
We should also discuss what Solomon means by “under the sun.” This occurs 29 times. This means that he is looking at life from a human perspective not from heaven’s point of view.
G. Campbell Morgan writes:
Be Satisfied Chapter One: Is Life Worth Living? (Ecclesiastes 1:1–3)
“This man had been living through all these experiences under the sun, concerned with nothing above the sun … until there came a moment in which he had seen the whole of life. And there was something over the sun. It is only as a man takes account of that which is over the sun as well as that which is under the sun that things under the sun are seen in their true light”
Because everything under the sun is vanity, Solomon
Be Satisfied Chapter One: Is Life Worth Living? (Ecclesiastes 1:1–3)
advises us to trust God and enjoy what we do have rather than complain about what we don’t have. Life is short and life is difficult, so make the most of it while you can.
Be Satisfied Chapter One: Is Life Worth Living? (Ecclesiastes 1:1–3)
The Preacher sought to be a philosopher, but in the end, he had to conclude, “Fear God, and keep His commandments” (12:13).
With that background, let’s dive into our first passage. This passage is Solomon’s introduction to the book. He sets the stage for what he will say for the next 12 chapters.
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
2. Exposition
2. Exposition
A. Life
A. Life
He begins by talking about life. What we do. How we live. This is an all-inclusive term, kind of like a resort. All-inclusive.
Last week, we traveled out to IL for my grandfather’s funeral. I met people I have not seen for at least 20 years. As we got over the awkwardness, invariably, after we discussed the weather, the conversation turned to “what do you do?”
Let me tell you, that can be a conversation stopper. I ask someone what they do, and then they return the favor and I say that I am a minister. There is silence, an awkward exchange, and then they move on to talk to someone else.
Life. An all-inclusive term which refers to what we do, what we believe, what our plans and dreams are, our hobbies, our hurts, our families. Everything. Contained in that word: “life.”
Jesus spoke about this all-inclusive term for life when he was on earth:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Well, Solomon lived before Jesus and he definitely did not live his life for God.
He is like so many who drive by this church every single day. Unfortunately, he is like so many people who pull into this parking lot on Sundays. We all fill our life, even define our lives, by wealthy, worth, wisdom, relationships, work, and the list can continue.
Is Meaningless
Is Meaningless
He looks at this all-inclusive term and says: it’s all meaningless. All these things that we define our lives by is meaningless.
It is empty, futile, vapid. It is fleeting. It is vapid, like a breath.
It can also be translated deceitful or ineffectual, such as false gods.
It can be translated absurd, like injustice contrary to how the world should operate, an active violation of what ought to be the moral order.
It can also be translated as something which does not satisfy, such as pleasures of this life or the adding on of words.
Solomon uses this word over and over throughout the book. And most translations try to fit the English word according to the context of what is going on. However, this doesn’t do justice to Solomon’s argument. He is building a case around this term.
One commentator encouraged:
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs 1. Introduction (1:1–2)
It may be that the modern, Christian reader can do no better than to import hebel into his or her vocabulary, much as has been done with αγαπε and to a lesser extent koinonia.
The Bottom line:
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs 1. Introduction (1:1–2)
Everything is transitory and therefore of no lasting value. People are caught in the trap of the absurd and pursue empty pleasures. They build their lives on lies.
C. Under the Sun
C. Under the Sun
Now, when the teacher says:
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
He is speaking of life under the sun.
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Life according to the human perspective. The daily grind.
We wake up, eat, work, eat, work, play, eat, sleep, repeat. Over and over again. We chase dreams, flee heart aches, bury family and friends.
Solomon writes:
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Everything that we pursue, is like the sun rising and setting, the wind blowing in one direction and changing, the rivers continually flowing into the sea, but never filling them up.
Everything we are doing in our own strength, for our own pleasure, according to our own priorities, will not satisfy. They will not fill the hole in our heart. They will not call us to a higher purpose.
Why?
D. Because We Forget
D. Because We Forget
Because as we live this meaningless life under the sun, we are people who forget.
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
The old saying goes: Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. Each generation comes up with great ideas and they think that they are the first ones to think of them.
Warren Wiersbe shared about a young youth minister who came to him with a whole bunch of new ideas for youth ministry that he had thought up. Warren encouraged him to put his ideas into practice and then shared that Youth for Christ had been doing those same things before the man had even been born.
Solomon’s point is a little more poignant than just redoing the ideas of the past. Each generation has the audacity to not want to know what happened before. We have our own lives to live, we don’t have time to reflect and remember on the saints of twenty years ago, not to mention 150 years ago.
Because we refuse to remember the former generations, we refuse to have our lives impacted by their testimonies and their warnings.
We could look at everything that is happening in America right now, and we could look at England, France, Germany, recent histories and learn why things are the way that they are. We could look at ancient history, the dark ages, multiple roman empires and see even more truth that would cause both the Democrats and the Republicans to stop and consider, if we would just have the humility to do so.
We could look at what is happening in the American church, and see the debates of the 1900s, the missionary movement of the 1800s, the first great awakening of the 1700s, the reformation of the 1500s and 1600s, the wards against the heresies in the early church, and call modern Christians back to Christianity and away from selfish theologies, if we would have the humility to look and change.
However, this life under the sun is meaningless because we choose to forget.
E. There Is Nothing New
E. There Is Nothing New
Therefore, there is nothing new in this life. We are doomed to repeat everything over and over again.
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
There is a pet peeve of mine: whenever anyone comes up and says that our culture is worse than it has ever been.
No, that’s not true. Because there is nothing new. The sin has always been here, long before our time. It’s just that we have chosen to not remember the former generations.
Based on what he says: he then builds his argument for the rest of the book.
Well, what can we use for our application?
First, if someone comes with a new, great idea about life or the world, know that it is not a new idea.
Second, Jesus Christ came 2000 years ago to die that we might have true life. We will talk about that in the upcoming weeks. Spend some time this week to study what he did and how his truth has been consistently taught over the past 2000 years. So that in our ignorance, we don’t refuse to follow the truth that has been consistently taught. Read some biographies on some great Christians of the past, missionaries and apologists, to have inspiration for this life. And if you want some direction on what to read, let me know.
We are looking forward to presenting some different opportunities to learn more about our faith through men’s gatherings and small group settings. Take advantage of these so that we will grow and not forget.