Sermonette

There’s an interesting book in the Bible, and it is one of my favorite books. It’s in the Hebrew Scriptures, and it’s called the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s a fun title to say, and its title comes from the first verse of the book. If you go to Ecclesiastes, it’s the book between Proverbs and the Song of Songs—about the middle part of the Bible, in the first verse of the first chapter, in the NIV, it says, “The words of the Teacher, a son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ec. 1:1).

This book contains the words of the Teacher. The Hebrew word for Teacher is קֹהֶ֣לֶת, which translates into the Greek as εκκλησιαστοῦ. That is why we call the book “Ecclesiastes.” The idea behind these words, whether in Greek or Hebrew is that there is this type of teacher that has a gathering with him. The teacher is identified as a son of David. Immediately, we might think of Solomon, and while it could be related to Solomon, we should certainly recognize that the author is wise.

What are words of this wise teacher? The following verse, Ecclesiastes 1:2, says,

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”

says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless

That’s one way to start a lecture—imagine a preacher speaking at a conference and starting with, “Everything is meaningless.”

There is a strong emphasis on the word “meaningless” in the original language, and I want to read it in the original language because I love how it sounds in Hebrew and it shows the emphasis on the word:

“הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל.” You could tell that there is a strong emphasis on this word: הֲבֵ֤ל. As we read, the NIV translates the word into “Meaningless.” Here are examples of how other translations translate הֲבֵ֤ל: The ESV, NASB, NRSV, and KJV translates הֲבֵ֤ל as “Vanity of vanities.” The Christian Standard Bible translates הֲבֵ֤ל as “absolute futility.” All these translations give us a sense of despair and futility. And while הֲבֵ֤ל does give that sense in this context, it is also a word that gives a sense of vapor or smoke. Everything, like smoke, may appear to have meaning—substance, may look neat, but when we actually touch it, and deal with it, it disappears, like smoke. Eugene Peterson does a great job conveying this sense of הֲבֵ֤ל in his translation:

Smoke, nothing but smoke…

There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke (Ec 1:2).

How is everything הֲבֵ֤ל—smoke? Ecclesiastes 1:3-5 (NIV) says,

What do people gain from all their labors

at which they toil under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go,

but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets,

and hurries back to where it rises.

We work and work. And like הֲבֵ֤ל, work has the appearance of something substantial. But, when we start to think about it, we realize that we just work and work, and time continues. The mark that we think we’ve made through our labor may only last for one generation to acknowledge, but as a generation comes, a generation goes. We work, day in and day out. And what do we get? Physical toil, a hurt back, a broken thumb, mental pain, headaches, and anguish. And then, we die. And the earth remains, and nothing really changes—work still needs to get done.

Time continues to move, regardless if we work. The sun rises and the sun sets. When I read this, I always remember the song, Sunrise Sunset, from the Fiddler of the Roof. It says this:

Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older When did they? When did she get to be a beauty? When did he get to be so tall? Wasn't it yesterday When they were small? Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset

This song is about looking at our children and seeing that time passes. How did our children get as old as they are? What happened during all this time? Time is fleeing, and am I just working my life? Time is uncontrollable and it makes work and life הֲבֵ֤ל.

A few chapters later, we find another factor that causes everything to be הֲבֵ֤ל. Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 says,

Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

We have something important in common with animals. It’s our fate: We see an animal die—maybe a dog or cat, and we are reminded that we have the same fate. The animal could’ve worked hard, been the strongest animal, yet, it still died. Similarly, we could work hard, be the fittest, but still, we die. We see humans die every day, and sometimes, their death was random, regardless of how fit they were, how much money they had, or how much knowledge they possessed. You do not know when you will die. You cannot control the day you will die. You work hard or study hard, and then you might die. Therefore, everything is meaningless—הֲבֵ֤ל.

Life is random. I love how Ecclesiastes puts it in 9:11-12:

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,

nor does food come to the wise

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the learned;

but time and chance happen to them all.

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so people are trapped by evil times

that fall unexpectedly upon them.

We are all affected by the randomness of life. Here, the teacher of Ecclesiastes shares that it’s not always the fastest who wins a race or the strongest who wins the battle. Because of chance, the slowest could win, and the weakest can win. Because of chance, we cannot be certain about anything. One day we may think everything is fine and dandy. We are working hard, praying as we should, practicing wisdom, but yet, because of chance, things do not go as we expect them to go.

Time, death, and the randomness, or chance, of life these things are uncontrollable. And these uncontrollable things make life like vapor—הֲבֵ֤ל. After Ecclesiastes discussed these uncontrollable factors, it ends with the verse it started with: הֲבֵ֧ל הֲבָלִ֛ים אָמַ֥ר הַקֹּוהֶ֖לֶת הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!” (12:8).

So what’s the point of it all? Life is just הֲבֵ֧ל. What’s the point of trying? Is the goal of Ecclesiastes to bring us down and depressed—transform us into fatalists since there is no point to anything? The answer, according to Ecclesiastes is no. Do not leave thinking that because time, death, and randomness are uncontrollable and life is הֲבֵ֧ל that we should not strive to practice wisdom or to work and enjoy life. No, look at how the author of Ecclesiastes ends the book:

13 Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

“The call,” as Patrick Schreiner puts it “is not to ignore the randomness of life, or the nature of time, or the reality of death, but to stop trying to control these things; rather, trust.” Instead of trying to control the random stuff of life, which is uncontrollable, we should do what is right and trust in God. The solution to הֲבֵ֧ל is to obey God and follow what he has said, not because we will experience the expected blessings of practicing wisdom in this lifetime. But instead, we will obey God because we trust that He will bring every deed into judgment. God is just, and He notes your work. Therefore, do what is right, even when things don’t go your way. Look at Job—he did what was right, and yet he lost everything. But God was just—later, God blessed Job. God sees your actions, even in the randomness and in what feels futile in this life.

Now, if you look at the entire narrative of the Bible you would know that if you do fail, God has made a way for you to be clean. We know that God sees our deeds—the good and the bad. Our bad deeds need to be dealt with. God has made a way, in and through Jesus, for God to see you as good. When you believe in Jesus, Jesus absorbs your wrongdoings and deals with your sin.

So, life is like vapor. It is הֲבֵ֧ל. You do good, but time, death, and chance come in and ruin it all. Should we stop from doing good then? No, we should continue to follow God’s will because God sees what we do, and he will judge accordingly. We will mess up, but God has sent his son to deal with our wrongdoing. When we believe, God sees us as just.