Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

[illus] One thing you’ve probably noticed at weddings, funerals, or worship services in particular is how songs and Scriptures get categorized.

There are “invitation hymns” that in the opinion of some should only be played after the sermon when people are “invited” to trust Jesus.

And if you dare play another type of hymn during the time, someone will say to you, “I like that hymn, but its not really an invitation hymn.”

Likewise, there are “wedding Scriptures” like , the love chapter.

However, no one ever wants read at their wedding...

Or ...

No one wants to think about a new husband one day soon being too harsh with his new wife.

Just the same, there are funeral Scriptures like and the end of .

But is another favorite funeral passage for many.

In fact, if you read

Why do you think this is a favorite passage for people when they are mourning the loss of a loved one?

This is a passage that likely brings comfort because it brings a sense of settled-ness and even normalcy to an experience that is very unsettling, abnormal, and painful—the experience of losing a loved one.

It reminds us that death is one of those common experiences here under heaven—just as common as being born / or planting and harvesting / or looking for your keys and then giving up on ever finding them.

Just as common as being born or planting and harvesting or looking for something and giving up on finding that thing.

Something in sharing these common experiences seems to bring us comfort and give us hope—but sharing these common experiences can only do that fully if we realize that God is at work in the ups and downs of every day life.

That’s why these words have comforted so many at funerals.

They remind us that God is at work even in the pain and pleasure of life.

Solomon refers to that pain and pleasure as toil.

[context] In Solomon began lamenting the vanity of living wisely because the wise man and the mad fool both end up in the grave.

In the next passage, beginning in , Solomon lamented the vanity of all his work because he is going to die like everyone else and have to live it all to someone else—probably an idiot!

But Solomon’s lamenting turns to peace in Ecclesiastes 2:24

is a poem that continues to meditate upon that theme of life, death, and all the toil between those two events.

The poem is in vv.

1-8 and it considers the normal events of human life—some monumental events like birth or death and some less-consequential events along the way like building a house or tearing one down.

is neither a positive or negative question, but just a neutral question in which Solomon asks, “So, what we are we to make of this?

What’s the point of all the ups and downs of life?

What gain has the worker from his toil?”

[cit/prop] And then in we get some answers.

Although the eternal impact of our daily living is often hidden from us, ours is to trust God and glorify him by embracing and enjoying our daily toil and the gifts he gives to us through it.

olomon saw temporal benefit in every season and matter of life under heaven, he laments that no season or matter of life can satisfy his longing for eternal significance.

In the same way, we might share the common experiences of beauty, joy, goodness, and pleasure in our daily existence and even in death from a mere earthly perspective, but those shared experiences— comforting as they may be when we are looking for a friend to rejoice with or a should to cry on— those shared experiences under heaven cannot satisfy the eternal longing that we feel in our hearts.

[prop] In every season and matter of life under heaven, we must store up treasure in Heaven as we wait on the King of Heaven to make manifest his Kingdom on the earth.

[ts] Let’s look at the poem...

Major Ideas

The Poem ()

Is there a portion of this poem that you find particularly meaningful?

Particularly striking?

Or even particularly sad?

Of course, the dying, killing, and war are sad to think about.

But having never died, killed, or been at war, the part that seems most melancholy to me are things like breaking down and building up (v. 3) or seeking and losing (v. 6).

an exercise in despondency (Eccl.

3:1-9)

Everything built up gets broken down.

Sometimes what we seek can’t be found; or, in the case of some people, they don’t want to be found.

Also, everything in this poem represents the repetitive process of life that Solomon finds so vexing—birth, death, birth, death, generation after generation; planting, harvesting, planting, harvesting, year after year; tearing, sewing, tearing, sewing, garment after garment.

Some have understood this in terms of sex given v. 5b’s reference to embracing and refraining from embracing.

As in , perhaps the first line would then be in reference to gathering stones to stone the sexually immoral, and casting away stones would refer to dropping our stones of judgment when we realize that all of us have sin.

It could also refer to a field that was filled with stones to keep weeds down and then cleared of stones when made ready for farming.

It could also refer to casting away stones when a stone structure was torn down and gathering stones when one was built.

I suppose it could also refer to casting away stones like David cast away stones at Goliath’s head and gathering stone like when he first gathered them into his satchel.

There might be many ways this could be understood.

Well, there is a time to die, but there was a life lived before death.

That should make us grateful.

Likewise, we hear about people being killed every night on the news, but there are countless more stories about people being healed every day in the hospitals of our city.

In other words, when we are in the painful parts of life, this poem helps us understand that these too shall pass (or we shall pass!) and more pleasant times will come.

How do you understand v. 5?

Some have understood this in terms of sex because of v. 5b’s reference to embracing and refraining from embracing.

As in , perhaps the “gathering stones” is in reference to gathering stones to stone the sexually immoral, and “cast(ing) away stones” would refer to dropping our stones of judgment when we realize that all of us have sin.

But it could also refer to a field that was filled with stones to keep weeds down and then cleared of stones when made ready for farming.

Or it could also refer to casting away stones when a stone structure was torn down and gathering stones when one was built.

I suppose it could also refer to casting away stones like David cast away stones at Goliath’s head and gathering stones like when he first gathered them into his satchel.

There might be many ways this could be understood.

How might the sad parts of this poem also encourage us?

Well, there is a time to die, but there was a life lived before death.

That should make us grateful.

Likewise, we hear about people being killed every night on the news, but there are countless more stories about people being healed every day in the hospitals of our city.

In other words, when we are in the painful parts of life, this poem helps us understand that these too shall pass (or we shall pass!) and more pleasant times will come.

The Question ()

E

As I said earlier, I don’t think Solomon asks this question positively or negatively but neutrally… or a maybe a better word is “honestly.”

In a couple weeks we will go to South Alabama for their annual JagCom community fair.

We’ll pass out invite people to our church, share with them some information on the church, give them a snack cake or four, and provide them with a little copy of the gospel of John.

On the front of that copy of John’s gospel, it says, “I AM” in big bold letters, and then in little letters underneath, it says, “the plan of life.”

Now, the cover is a clue, but what would you say is the plan of life?

The plan of life is I AM!

The plan of life is Jesus, the Great I AM in John’s gospel!

The plan for every human life should be to spend it knowing Jesus and making him known!

He’s has surveyed the ups and downs of life in vv.

1-8 and now sincerely wants to know what gain might be had from it all.

But therein lies Solomon’s gloomy problem, he is looking for ultimate meaning in earthly experiences rather than a heavenly person.

The note in the MacArthur Study Bible says it well, “Earthly pursuits are good in their proper place and time, but unprofitable when pursued as the chief goal.”

This leads us to vv. 10-15 and Solomon’s answer.

The Answer ()

Earthly pursuits are good in their proper place and time, but unprofitable when pursued as the chief goal (cf.

vv. 9, 10).

despondency kicks in at v. 9, “What gain has the worker from his toil?”

despondency kicks in at v. 9, “What gain has the worker from his toil?”

v. 9 is transition question

What would you say are the main ideas in vv.

10-13?

We might call these Truths for Toilers...

Verse 10 tells us that the toil of life comes from God.

Verse 11a tells us that God will make everything (even the less pleasant aspects of our earthly toil) beautiful in its time.

causes of despondency

Verse 11b calls us to trust God’s eternal purpose in our earthly toil even though we often can’t see what it is.

Verse 12 calls us to adopt the proper attitude in our toil (joy!) and to take the proper action toward others in our toil (doing good!).

Verse 13 says that we should enjoy the fruits of our earthly toil as God’s gifts to us.

Which of these truths encourages you most tonight?

I tried to pick one, but they are all so helpful in the usual business of life!

Vain Business (v.

10)

You might remember “busy work” from your time in school.