Koheleth: Consider man
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Building a case for frivolity, meaninglessness
Building a case for frivolity, meaninglessness
Solomon has made some bold statements, There is nothing new under the sun, life is monotonous, so that makes if frivolous (Ecc1:4-11). Then the futility of Wisdom (Ecc1:12-18); oh then there is the futility of pleasure and possessions (Ecc2:1-11) and the final statement, the futility of labor (Ecc2:12-26). In our passage tonight he is going to back up his words, we are looking at the first one regarding the monotony, frivolity of life.
George Santayana (Harvard Philosopher, 1889-1912) said
“Why shouldn’t things be largely absurd, futile and transitory? They are so, and we are so, and they and we go very well together.”
Santayana had the same philosophy that Koheleth did, no view of God here. Without God what he says is pretty accurate.
English professor Joseph Wood Krutch from Columbia University said:
“There is no reason to suppose that a man’s life has any more meaning than that of the humblest insect that crawls from one annihilation to another.”
I don’t think you and I could agree with either of those statements, why?
Our human life has to be more than mere transitory existence, doesn’t it? We are unique, we are talented, we are gifted, we are called, for if we were not unique, made in the image of God then.
We are not important and if not important than life has no meaning, if life has no meaning,then life is not worth living is it? Then what became the Epicurean philosophy “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” And Solomon’s statement about “grasping at the wind” would hold true.
But in his argument from a secular humanistic view looking out and not up, without God in the consideration, he does stop and consider man and God in our passage tonight and next couple of lessons as we look at:
There is something above a man
There is something within a man
There is something ahead of man
And, there is something around a man
So in essence Koheleth is asking the people to look up, look within, look ahead and look around. Man needs to take into consideration time, eternity, death and suffering there are the factors that God uses to keep our lives from being monotonous and meaningless.
Too much information to cover tonight, so some tonight and will finish it next week.
Look Up!
Look Up!
I don’t think it takes a scientist to understand or a philosopher to explain that there are seasons for everything. Without with the providence of God things would be chaotic. There is time and season for everything.
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear 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 throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
Times, seasons, we, philosophers, scientists and everyone else can agree that there are seasons. But there is an great thing that some ignore, some try to debate away, while others embrace the overruling providence of God. From our first breath to our last breath God is involved accomplishing His purpose, making life have meaning and not be monotonous.
All things are good in their time (Ecc3:11; Col1:16-17; Rom8:28)
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
And the N.T. comparison
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
and we then know
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
In the comparisons Koheleth draws you cannot but see God’s providence.
Birth and Death (Ecc3:2) God’s hand (Ps139:13-16; Gen33:5; Gal1:15; Gal4:4) for his purpose (Eph2:10)
13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
God formed you, God wove you, you are God’s works and he has numbered our days from birth to death.
5 He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”
God blesses us with children, grandchildren, they are God’s gift to us.
15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased
God calls us, God sets us apart from birth
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
God, at the right time, at the fullness of time, sent Jesus, God’s grand plan, God’s scheme of redemption.
From the womb to the tomb God ordained our days. We may try to hasten the number of our days but we cannot prevent death, it is part of the seasons of life.
Planting and uprooting (Ecc3:2) God’s hand involved (Ps65:9-13)
We live in an agricultural area, so we understand the appointed times for planting and for uprooting (or plucking depending on version). Israel was the land of milk and honey, it was rich agricultural area too, so the words of Koheleth were not lost on them. God appoints the times and the seasons and you can read more on that in Lev23, but may we look at another passage now
9 You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. 12 The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
The Lord visits, the Lord enriches, waters, prepares it, brings the rain, He brings the produce, just like farmers today know it, they can plow, they can plant, but the increase is left in God’s hands. I once read “a successful farmer knows that nature works for him only if he works with nature. This is also the secret of a successful life; Learn God’s principles and cooperate with them.”
Killing and healing (Ecc3:3); not same as war in (Ecc3:8); God allows some to die, while healing others (1Sam2:6; Isa38:1-5); tearing down and building up (Ecc3:3)
8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
and We may not understand the Lord’s way, His purpose, but we do need to know.
6 “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
In the Story of Hezekiah found in Isa38:1-5 Hezekiah the king of Israel was deathly ill and God healed him and added 15 years to his life.
Why God does this, let’s one die (be killed) of cancer but heals another, we need to have faith that God is in control of time, from womb to the tomb.
Tearing down to make way for something new. Whereas some of the others are opposites, this can be a part of the same (insert Marine Corp Boot Camp process)
Weeping and laughing (Ecc3:4) and mourning and dancing (Ecc3:4; Job2:11-13; 2Sam1:17-27; 2Sam6:14-15 and Zep3:17)
Lamenting and mourning could be a profession, but in the seasons of life there is a time for weeping and laughing so we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Jobs friends lamented for 7 days
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.
13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
David sang a song of lament if you look at 2Sam1:17-27 over Jonathan’s death.
As for dancing here is another good verse to consider
14 And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
David danced will all his might (heart) before the ark of the Lord
Throw stones, gather stones (Ecc3:5; 2Kng3:19, 2Kng3:25); Embracing and refraining from embracing (Ecc3:5; Lev15:19-31; 1Cor7:5)
I found an article that spoke of that God gave angels stones to spread around the world but the angel stumbled and drops lots of them in Palestine, which is a very rocky area. For the ground to be used the stones would have to be gathered up before the ground was usable.
19 ‘Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’ ”
These words were from Elisha to Israel on what they were to do to the Moabites to hurt them by placing the stones on their land and making it useless.
25 Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it.
How do you think we can cast stones on peoples land, or in their way today?
Stones are neither good nor bad, what matters is what you do with the stones, use stones to build up, not to cast down and destroy.
Now coming to embracing and and refraining from such.
In many cultures even today hugging, embracing, kissing is part of saying “hello” and even “good-by.” Now the commentators go on to say this can apply to marriage too.
In Lev15:19-31 it is about the time to withhold embracing due to a woman’s time of the month would make her unclean. You can read that on your own
5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
As married men and women we are not to withhold embracing from one another except for specific reasons.
Searching and giving up for lost (Ecc3:6); Time to keep and time to throw away (Ecc3;6)
There are times we need to search for things, and other times we are to give up as things are lost. Times to gather things, and times to throw them away, get rid of them. Sounds like a rule for not hoarding.
Have you ever searched for something, tried and tried and tried to find it, to finally having to give up? There is a time for that, I don’t do this one very well.
A time to tear apart, and sew together (Ecc3:7; 2Sam13:30-31; 2The4:13-18), to be quiet and to speak (Ecc3:7; Ps62:5; Pro31:8-9)
It was common in grief, in despair to tear your clothes as exampled by
30 Now it was while they were on the way that the report came to David, saying, “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons, and not one of them is left.” 31 Then the king arose, tore his clothes and lay on the ground; and all his servants were standing by with clothes torn.
But not to do it as the unbelievers do, you can look at (2The4:13-18) on that.
There are times when we need to get the needle and thread and start sewing things up, including spiritual things.
As to being quiet
5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.
And speaking up
8 Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed. 9 Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy.
Loving and hating (Ecc3:8; Mt22:38-39; Ps97:10; Pro6:16-19) War and peace (Ecc3:8)
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
But there are also things we should hate
10 Hate evil, you who love the Lord, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Even God hates
16 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.
War and peace is not just a book, it was a philosophy that Solomon (Koheleth) gave to the people, a time to go to war to defend, and a time of peace to stop war.
I want to paraphrase something I read by Warren Wiersbe
“Life is like a doctors prescription taken alone, the ingredients may kill you, but when properly combined and blended they bring healing.”
May we remember God has His hand in all things and causes all things to work together for the good (see Rom8:28)
Look Within
Look Within
Here is the shift of view, from “under the sun” now God is brought into the picture and that always will give a new perspective.
9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;
13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.
What did you see, what did you notice, what sticks out to you?
Is it all worth it? Is all the labor a man puts in worth the effort, under the sun. He rephrases the question he asked back in Ecc1:3 and now, after all his investigation, after drawing the conclusion he gives three answers to the question.
Man’s life is a gift from God (Ecc3:10)
May we learn to have the outlook that everyday is a gift from God and thank Him for it will will have a better outlook, better attitude when it comes to the burdens, the trial and the tribulations we may face.
Outlook determines outcome
Man’s life is linked to eternity (Ecc3:11)
Man, created in the image of God (see Gen1:16-28); we are the only thing created in God’s image, different and has made us to have eternity in our hearts.
This side of heaven we will not totally comprehend God’s purpose for everything that we go through, one day all our why’s all our how come’s will be answered.
Man’s life can be enjoyable now (Ecc3:12-14)
Enjoyment of life is a gift from God too
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
Enjoyment is interwoven all throughout Ecclesiastes, especially in chapters 3-10.
Solomon is encouraging the practice of enjoying God’s gifts as the fruit of one’s labor, no matter how difficult life may be. Our part, let God have His way with us and our life will have meaning and have purpose.
Solomon is not saying “don’t worry, be happy” he is promoting faith in God; not faith in faith, but our faith having an object and that being God. For faith is only as good as the object of faith.
This is as far as we can get today, we will pick up here next week.