Ecclesiastes 11 - 12:6

What is the point of life? Or...what is the meaning of all this? It is the question that Solomon seeks to help us answer. As we have been walking with this old, wise preacher King over the last few months, the Lord has been seeking to help us understand the very essence of our own life. Why are we here? How can we make sense of it all? How can we keep on going? What is the point? Where will it all end?

In the book he presents his conclusion, “All is vanity. The vanity of vanities.” That is the saying that he repeats again and again as we read this book. He seems to examine the world - people get fit, they get married, they have careers, they build houses, they become wise, they get money, they find love, they find power - is there anything new under the sun? But, when you look at all that people chase after, is there really any point to it all? It all feels so empty. The wealthy die, the strong die, the poor die, the weak die, the powerful die, the popular die, the forgotten die, the lovers die. It simply wastes away. Everything that has been built. Everything that has been fought for - it simply vanishes.

Solomon speaks from experience. A man who had it all. Money, power, women, fame, strength. He had it all. But now in his old age he looks back at his life and he sees all that he worked so hard to build simply vanishes. Pffff...it's gone. Blown out like a candle. As if it was never even there. What is the point of it all? It is all vanity.

So, how then should we live if that is the reality of this life? What should we live for? What is the point of life?

Well now we come to the end of this book and Solomon, the wise preacher shares his wisdom with us. This is the Lord’s word, we would do well to listen to it. What he wants us to discover is that life is far from meaningless. It is far from simply a meaningless and monotonous series of unconnected events. Rather, if we look a little deeper, if we look beyond the surface, or as Solomon would say, look beyond the sun, look to God himself, we see that life, all of life, finds its meaning, its hope, its purpose, its joy, in him and in him alone. That God is holding all things together. God is moving all things according to his purpose and his plan. That God is the one who is strong, powerful, and glorious and he is the one who uses all things to make himself known.

You will not discover your true purpose, your true potential, by looking into yourself. You will not find your sense of value and hope in yourself. It is not in what you can do or what you can be or what you can chase after. It has never been about you. It has always been about him. You cannot discover the purpose and meaning of your life until you look to God. If you want to discover joy and satisfaction and a sense of purpose in this life then look to the one who made it all. The one who holds it all together. Look to God our creator and our redeemer.

Life is an ADVENTURE—live by faith (11:1–6)

Life is a GIFT—enjoy it (11:7–12:8)

Yes, death is certain, but life is a gift from God and He wants us to enjoy it.

Everything that God sends is necessary. Nothing can be necessary that he withholds.

- John Newton.

God is in control of everything.

The life of faith is an adventure—taking the opportunities that God presents to us.

‘The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit’ (John 3:8)

He gives us a description of joy and happiness then he provides some instruction on how it can be achieved.

Life is An Adventure:

The merchant sending out his ships (vv. 1–2) and the farmer sowing his seed (vv. 3–6).

5 Just as you’ll never understand

the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,

So you’ll never understand

the mystery at work in all that God does.

6 Go to work in the morning

and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.

You never know from moment to moment

how your work will turn out in the end.

The merchant and the farmer both teach us the same lesson - life has a certain amount of risk to it, and that’s where faith comes in.

The Merchant: 11:1 Cast your bread upon the waters,gfor you will find it after many days.

Solomon knew a great deal about the sea trade. The wealth of his kingdom was built on it.

1 Kings 10:22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

Peacocks?

2 hGive a portion to iseven, or even to eight,

jfor you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

Verse 2 suggests that he spread out his wealth and not put everything into one venture. After all, true faith is not presumption.

The faithless eye looks at a coming storm and can only think of the incoming destruction. An eye of faith looks at the coming storm and considers that God is in it and he will get us through.

Man is ignorant of the future, but he must not allow his ignorance to make him so fearful that he becomes either careless or paralyzed. Not knowing the future should make us more careful in what we plan and what we do.

The farmer:

If the clouds are full of rain,

they empty themselves on the earth,

and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

4 He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Nobody can predict the weather, let alone control it, and the farmer is at the mercy of nature.

Clouds are always changing. They come and go, and the farmer hopes they will spill their precious water on his fields. Trees are somewhat permanent. They stand in the same place, unless a storm topples them; and then they lie there and rot. The past [the tree] cannot be changed, but the present [the clouds] is available to us, and we must seize each opportunity.

7–8 Oh, how sweet the light of day,

And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!

Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.

Take delight in each light-filled hour,

Remembering that there will also be many dark days

And that most of what comes your way is smoke.

9 You who are young, make the most of your youth.

Relish your youthful vigor.

Follow the impulses of your heart.

If something looks good to you, pursue it.

But know also that not just anything goes;

You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

10 Live footloose and fancy-free—

You won’t be young forever.

Youth lasts about as long as smoke.

The Good Days

Sweet the light of day. The days of our youth, all is good, and the future seems bright.

Why is it that February is the shortest month but feels like the longest! Dark, cold, and rain - the darkness feels neverending. We long for the Spring awakening.