An Echo of Emptiness

Ecclesiastes is a word to describe one who presides over, or calls together the Ekklesia— or the church, the assembly, of the called out ones.

The word is often translated at the “Teacher” or “preacher”— The speaker, the president, the spokesman, or maybe even in today’s language: The Professor.

The author is described in the first section— The traditional conclusion is King Solomon. He is not mentioned directly in this book— but right there in the beginning we see that.

The “Teacher” is writing probably in the later part of his life— as the book has a great tone of “reflection” or “experience” and Wisdom. He’s looking at his life through the rear-view mirror— “i’ve been there, done that, and I’ve found it to be empty.”

That’s the testimony of many today— I’ve lived my life— worked hard, maybe even attained great wealth or status, or any number of things— but do I feel fulfilled? Do I feel satisfied? Many do not. Many live with regret.

The tone of the book is both a defeated and “cynical” conclusion— but also a warning. It’s two lenses that we need to utilize:

Two views of Ecclesiastes:

#1 A cynical rant

-Solomon is venting— he is upset and disappointed with the way life has turned out— some scholars believe that Solomon may have even walked away from God. His probing and questioning is so relentless, it’s going to seem like he’s pessimistic, and very cynical and sceptical. But we will all relate and resonate with what he says. There are a lot of people who would see it this way, and actually join the Teacher here and you might see the world this way also.

But no matter how negative and desperate you may feel inside— I’m here to tell you, and I hope you will trust me— that you aren’t as low as this guy is!

#2 A masterful warning

OR

-Solomon is venting, but it’s for a purpose— a wise purpose to warn us to NOT do what he did. He is outlining a “precautionary tale”.

The closing conclusion reveals a telling hint: There is a hope at the end of the book...

To get there, we’re going to have endure 11.5 chapters of deeply negative, sometimes chillingly depressing conclusions— like Eyore in the Hundred Acre woods— “Nobody cares”— “it’s all meaningless”— “oh woe is me”. I sense we are going to be aching for July 27th— that will be the last message— Just 9 more to go! But we will be desperate for the answer from the “TEACHER” by then.

This guy is completely and utterly frustrated by life— and he writes about that in very colorful ways. Warning us not to

So to ease some of the depression that we are going to be reading— I’m going to attempt to link a teaching from Jesus into each of these messages. Jesus is our ultimate Teacher. He is our ultimate meaning— and I would suggest that you reconcile that through these messages— apart from Jesus we are nothing, everything is meaningless… Jesus is the answer to the Teachers many questions!

I say all that to say:

I love this book— IT is so applicable to our lives today. I hope to explore this with you, and that it would resonate through our minds and hearts to remind us, convict us, challenge us to keep the main thing the main thing in life.

Solomon did not question whether God existed— but he does question whether God matters.

And that is going to be a continuing theme we will deal with in this series— Atheism isn’t what we’re talking about— but humanism, and secularism are right in the cross hairs. What meaning is there in a life lived with no acknowledgment of God.

Can we live a meaningful life, in such an apparently futile and meaningless world?

This may surprise some of you— but that’s ok.

What does it matter? He’s going to lay it out for us— even his frustration about God himself. I think it’s so appropriate for us today. We ask these similar question. It’s going to be a very challenging book, but one we can

Big Idea: A life without God is ultimately meaningless, exposing a longing in us that only God can satisfy.

Another side bar thought that I want you to realize with me: We must reconcile God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

God is going to be portrayed in three primary ways: Creator, Sovereign, and Unsearchable Wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 1:1 NIV

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

I. The cry of emptiness. (v. 1-3)

38X in the book, Solomon uses this Hebrew word: Hevel

HEVEL: (Hebrew) meaninglessness n. — the quality of having no value or significance; as a result of being futile or insubstantial or absurd or incomprehensible.

nonsense, worthless. something transient, no substance. like a mist or smoke.

Vanity is another translation you may have in your bible— The ESV and KJV use the phrase “Vanity of Vanities”. All is vanity.

It’s hard to grasp— it’s like fleeting. It’s like these bubbles—

"Look how beautiful these bubbles are-sparkling, floating through the air. They seem full of promise and potential, don't they?" (Invite someone to try to catch one.) "But what happens when you try to hold onto one? It pops. It's gone."

It’s HEVEL- It’s fleeting.

This life is very short— and it’s hard to figure out… It’s hard to make sense of...

Does he mean that it’s hard to make meaning of— EVERYTHING???

Verse two will become the “motto” of the entire book— we would do well to memorize that: Meaningless, Meaningless— Everything is Meaningless.

But in verse 3 we see another very clever phrase:

Ecclesiastes 1:3 NIV

3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

Under the sun. Remember that. The Teacher is giving you a hint right there… This phrase has a lot tied to it. It refers to “the world”. Everything under the sun refers to everything here— like right here— things we can see, taste, touch, possess. Under the sun.

The Teacher is going to take us down every possible pathway to meaning in this book— and they all will contain some reference to this concept—the constraints of all mankind— we all are “under the sun”, and we work and live by the general rules under the sun—- where can we find meaning? All these examples will lead us to the same conclusion… Under the sun refers to a limited, earthly perspective.

BUT

How did he get there? How did one of the richest, most powerful, most influential people history end up on the wrong end of this?

He started out really well— in 2 Kings 2 you can read about Solomon becoming King of Israel. Scholars and historians believe he was probably less than 20 years old, in 900 or so BC, and he is handed the keys to King David’s Kingdom. God appears to him, and tells him to ask for whatever Solomon wants and he will receive it. Can you imagine?

Well, Solomon is so smart— he asks that he would receive wisdom and discernment beyond all mankind so he can govern and lead with excellence. God basically says, because you didn’t ask for long life, or riches, or the death of your enemies— I’m going to give you the wisdom— and I’ll throw in the other three for free. He was a blessed man!

But he squandered it. How many times do we squander — waste what God has given us. Solomon writes the book of proverbs, but didn’t heed his own advice. You can read more in 2 Kings about the terrible decisions that Solomon made. He basically leads the nation away from God—

At the end of his life— Solomon cries out Meaningless— a cry of emptiness. He had a life full of emptiness.

1 Kings 11:9 NIV

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

He just continues to succeed though— The bible records that the territory expanded, wealth increased, cities were fortified—he was very successful—He accumulated so much... there was so much silver, that it was the same value as rocks...

But inspite of all that wealth— all those “bubbles”— He is expressing our big idea: Life where we don’t acknowlege God is not going anywhere, and nothing on this earth will satisfy the longing we feel apart from Him.

But he’s got so much— and he looks around and realizes:

A life without God leaves us with a deep sense of futility.

The wisdom of Ecclesiastes begins with the stark declaration: You can live a tremendously full life, and still realize that you are living on empty.

We just chase bubbles.

When you are reading this with us— I hope you can find this a great reminder— Because the questions that Solomon comes to ask are some powerful questions:

Ecclesiastes 1:3 NIV

3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?

The universal question: What lasting significance do we really have?

We all grapple with the fundamental question: What really matters most?

Ecclesiastes 1:4 NIV

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 NIV

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

Ecclesiastes 1:6 NIV

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 NIV

7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

He brings up four really tangible examples:

The generations of man

The Sun

The Wind

The Rivers

II. The illusion of progress. (v. 4-9)

The cyclical patterns of nature and history reveal a repetitive reality that often leaves us feeling like nothing truly new is achieved under the sun.

Since we’ve been able to measure and understand the earth and the seasons and the stars, we marvel at how God has created such a finely tuned “machine”— we are travelling through space on a planet, moving around a star, rotating along with a moon, tilting back and forth to create warmer or cooler weather patterns. Solomon’s father— king David has some observations about that— these words could have been very precious to Solomon:

Psalm 8:3–4 NIV

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Also, David wrote Psalm 19:1–6 “1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”

This is echoed in the TEACHER’s observation that nature and the universe are set up like a continuous treadmill or flywheel.

Yet we have never been able to create something that even comes close to the creation of God— the human being, the animals, the seasons— We still argue about how it all came about, because we can’t fully understand how it works.

The treadmill of nature reminds us of how small we are.

The sun, wind, and rivers illustrate a constant motion that doesn't inherently lead to lasting change or fulfillment.

One of the most powerful experiences I have had happened in and around Yosemite National park in northern California.

I’m just a simple mid-west kid— and getting to ride a bike up and down some mountain passes in and around the High Sierra Mountains was a thrill.

Not only do you get physically exhausted going up— and adrenaline by the thrill of going down— you just feel small. Just feel insignificant.

[Photos of TIOGA PASS]

But that’s not all:

Ecclesiastes 1:8 NIV

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

What seems special today will soon be forgotten.

What seems novel today will eventually be forgotten, highlighting the temporary nature of earthly achievements and trends.

It’s like that “bubble”— so pretty and floating along. I want to catch it, and hold it. Like in a jar! (Jar)

That’s why they call it “15 minutes of Fame”! Unfortunately that’s about how long it lasts.

Not many people can tell me who won the Heisman trophy in 2022. Nobody knows who the NCAA High Jump winner was in the Men’s High Jump champion in 1976. Sure there are the die hard fans that could recite all the winners— but that’s not very common. I actually happen to know that Dwight Stones was the HJ Champion in 1976.

Basically, even winning is fleeting— because the next year is already upon us— and everyone expects more from you.

I’ve definitely felt that in sports…ALL things are full of weariness. But come on Charlie— We’ve accomplished alot— I agree.I’m a pretty creative person— I am a US Patent Holder.

In another season of my life, I created a training aid for the great sport of Track and Field— I called it the “LAUNCHPAD”.

[Photo of LaunchPad]

It’s a simple ramped platform that when used in various ways, can assist athletes in training sessions for jumping events and the sprint starts. I was able to create, produce and market this invention to the world.

I was so proud— I even went to a national coaching educational conference where Dwight Stones was the speaker- I was allowed to ask him a key question: What would you think about utilizing a ramped platform to aid jumpers in short run training approaches in the HJ and Long Jump?

“That’s the worst thing you could ever do with your jumpers Coach”… In fact I would never support or recommend that to anyone.

“pop” goes the bubble.

We think we might find some meaning in accomplishing or attaining something— doing something special— but our Teacher continues:

Ecclesiastes 1:10 NIV

10 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.

Ecclesiastes 1:11 NIV

11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

Let’s think about this for a minute— Man is pretty creative. We have made things that weren’t here before, right? How can the Teacher be so hard on it all?

We certainly have progressed since he was on earth, right?

Like we can leave our mark on the earth— like writing a book, or making a video, or writing a card or note for your ancestors— I like to record podcasts and you let me deliver these sermons and log them up on YouTube for anyone to watch anytime forever.

However— I discovered that currently around the world, there are about 3.7 million videos like this one uploaded to YouTube every DAY. That equates to 2,500 videos per minute— and about 8 hours of video content uploaded per second!

Talk about the eye never seeing enough, or the ear never hearing enough— This video is going to be viewed a few times maybe in the next few days— and then probably never again.

Sure we’ve progressed, but have we really?

is there still poverty?

is there still slavery?

is there still persecution?

is there still hunger?

is there still injustice?

This is his way of holding up a mirror to humanity— is there really anything new under the sun?

We might think it’s got a different packaging today— but not much has changed really—

Solomon The Teacher paints a bleak picture of a world where generations come and go, and the natural cycles seem to lead nowhere new. He observes the sun rising and setting, the wind blowing in circles, and the rivers flowing to the sea without it ever being full. This leads him to a profound observation about the illusion of progress...

Why does this bother us? Why does my insignificance under the sun unnerve me? That’s a rhetorical question for me up here on this platform— but it’s a “literal” real life question e question for us tomorrow when we go back to our lives… This is a CRITICAL question for our lives. Why does it bother us that everything under the sun is meaningless? That’s where we live! That’s my job, my house, my car, my stuff— my kingdom. Why does that bother us? Because we were built for more than that. You and I were created, in God’s image, to be in close intimate relationship with HIM.

Here’s the part where we turn the corner and sit under our GREAT TEACHER, Jesus.

III. The hint of hope.

Mark 8:36 NIV

36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Mark 8:37 NIV

37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Our innate dissatisfaction with a purely earthly existence and the longing for remembrance suggest a reality beyond what we can see, or possess, or touch. Could there be something that is not ‘Under the Sun?”

Is there something more? Poor King Solomon, with all his wisdom— did not consider where this longing in his life was coming from.

Our desire for eternity comes from somewhere?

Jesus teaches that we should consider our soul.

Our lives and accomplishments will eventually fade from human memory, underscoring the limitations of a purely secular focus.

The meaning of everything under the sun is lost to amnesia! But there is something that is “above the Sun”!

The dissatisfaction we feel points us to a deeper need for connection with something above the sun.

What good is it to gain all the bubbles, but lose the one thing that is indeed eternal— the one thing that does have meaning? What good is it? Not very good.

Look up from the dashboard, friend. When we realize that all the bubbles we’ve been chasing are HEVEL— we step into a whole other paradigm. We step out of the shackles of this world. We stop chasing the bubbles. Take it from a guy who literally had it all. Meaningless, Meaningless, it’s all Meaningless – without God.

Worship team will come up—

Stop chasing the bubbles!

What bubbles are you chasing? Here’s the deal, you don’t know that it’s only a bubble right now— but God is going to reveal that to you, and save you a LOT of heartache and disappointment.

Let the veil drop off your heart and soul today— ask God to open your eyes to the STUFF that just doesn’t matter— It’s meaningless.

We are going to be able to rest in the presence for a few moments with this:

The second verse of this song:

Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? The God of ages stepped down from glory To wear my sin and bear my shame The cross has spoken, I am forgiven The King of kings calls me His own Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever Jesus Christ, my living hope.

Matthew 11:25 NIV

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Let’s pray-