V3 “All man’s labour has no profit in the end of this earthly life – ‘under the sun’” (a phrase used more than 25 times). If all our labour is purely for this life, then it is indeed vanity. We who are believers are going to a place where there is no need for the sun to shine – “The Lamb is the light thereof”. Let us not, therefore, just labour for earthly rewards but lay up treasure in heaven because it is absolutely assured there, moth and rust corrupt earthly things but not so with heavenly things.
Now this is not suggesting that we should all become lazy and do nothing, and be unambitious. Rather, getting our priorities right. If all that we live and work for is materialistic then we are wasting our time and energy and in the first eleven verses of chapter 1, we are shown, quite clearly, the utter folly of the monotonous round of earthly-centred lives.
V4 “Generations come and go, but the earth abides forever.”
This seems to contradict what I’ve just said, but I don’t think so. I believe he is simply comparing a single life to the earth, in that men come and go but the earth abides. We come and go and leave the earth behind. This earth, of course, is not eternal, it will be destroyed and a new earth created by God in a future day.
The book traces Solomon’s search for satisfaction in various realms. These verses to v11 he searches in the realm of science – the sun, the wind, rivers, rain etc.
Verses 5-11 give a commentary on v4 and the word ‘forever’ in relation to the earth is purely relative when compared to eternity and spiritual life.
Verse 5 – Sun rises and sets. It goes round and round every day, or maybe it is the earth that goes round the sun!
Verse 6 – the wind blows in all directions.
Verse 7 – Rivers run into the sea – the sea is picked up by the wind and atmosphere and dropped again as rain and dew and thus the cycle continues. My Geography teacher taught me this.
Verse 8 – Man is never satisfied nor can he explain everything. Solomon saw that life was apparently meaningless and despite his labour he is never satisfied. One commentator said that the endless desire of gain causes men to labour on.
Verses 9,10 – Nothing is new – it’s all happened before which gives rise to the saying, “there is nothing new under the sun.”
Verse 11 – We all forget the past and will continue to do so and say ‘It’s never happened like this before’ when in fact, it probably has.
These statements show to a great extent, the monotony of life. A never ending circle of life. However, if we are in Christ, born again believers, there is much that is new and this list is exclusive – we are “a new creation, old things have passed away, all things have become new”. (2 Corinthian 5:17). We are on “a new and living way” (Hebrews 10:20) and we receive a new nature (Ephesians 4:24).
We often hear people, particularly ‘older’ people say, ‘O for the good old days.’ ‘It was never as bad as this when we were young – crime rises, violence gets worse etc. etc.’ In some ways, it may appear to be true, but of course, we all speak relatively in relation to our own lifetime. There are many explanations – increased media coverage and the apparent revelation that ‘No news is good news’. We only seem to hear about bad news. Newscaster Martin Lewis made this point some years ago, when he said that we broadcast too much bad news and not enough good news. How true that is! Virtually every day a murder is reported and the perpetrators seem to be getting younger.
There are many horrific happenings taking place and to a large extent we are seeing what the Bible said, ‘That things and people would wax worse and worse’ (2 Timothy 3:13)
But let’s be honest – if we read our Bible thoroughly, particularly the Old Testament, some quite horrific things went on. Ehud (Judges 3) thrust a dagger into the belly of Eglon King of Moab, who was a very fat man (v17). Even the handle went in and the fat closed around it and all his bowels gushed out.
Jael (wife of Heber) enticed Sisera, the commander of the king of Canaan’s army, into her tent – he asked for water, she gave him milk, took a tent peg and hammered it into his temple while he slept, and knocked it in so far that it pinned him to the ground.
Such nice people!!! Such horrific events.
And think of the methods of execution – stoning and much later, thanks to the Romans! – crucifixion, to which our Lord was subject with all its excruciating pain. We could do it painlessly today!
However, I don’t wish to say that much of what is taking place today is acceptable. Far from it – it is sin in some of its ugliest forms and the wickedness of humanity is coming out as the devil has his final fling. Sad to say much of it has spilled over into the Christian Church and we are guilty, even if not of violence, of other sinful actions and attitudes and careless behaviour. Many churches are being torn apart by sin of selfishness, greed, pride, jealousy, abuse and other such deadly sins.
How vital it is that we are guiltless of any of these things. The Word of God tells us that “As He is holy so we must be holy.” (1 Peter 1v16) “And if you call on The Father who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear; Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:17-19)
From v12 -18 he searches in the realms of philosophy. He records his quest for wisdom from God. In 1 Kings 3:9-14 we read, “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” Because of God’s gifts to him, it seems that only Solomon could write as he did.
Solomon acknowledges that in much wisdom there is much grief (v13) – it is a grievous task to exercise such great wisdom. It isn’t always easy to find answers because we get in the way. We look to ourselves and all of self tend to work against finding them and it becomes ‘burdensome’ (v13).
With much gifting comes great responsibilities. Solomon’s wisdom was a gift of God. Amazingly, God offered him whatever he wanted, but he asked for wisdom, especially the wisdom to lead the people of God (1 Kings 3:5-28). Because he asked for wisdom and not riches or popularity or anything else, God made Solomon so wise that he was considered to be wiser than all the men of his day (1 Kings 4:29-34).
When the Queen of Sheba came to test him with hard questions having heard of his fame, “ She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and
Happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your
God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:2-9)
“All the works done under the sun are vanity and like grasping for the wind.” (v14)
In 1:15 His pessimism reaches the point where he exclaims, “What is crooked cannot be made straight and what is lacking cannot be numbered.” How sin and disobedience had warped Solomon’s thinking! – Oh if only his mind had been like Isaiah – Isaiah 45:1-6, “Thus says The Lord …. I will go before you and make the crooked places straight…. I have even called you by your name, I have named you though you have not known Me. I am The Lord and there is no other; There is no God besides Me; I will gird you though you have not known Me. That they may know from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same, there is none besides me.”
Isaiah preached that God could and would straighten crooked things and call people by name. Solomon’s way of life was looking to himself for wisdom and the answers, he had turned away from God despite God’s blessings upon him – little wonder he saw it as vanity (worthless).
In v16,17 His great wisdom and ability to recognise folly and madness was, without the God who gave it, useless. And in v18 he re-iterates the maxim that ‘much wisdom brings much grief and increase of knowledge increases sorrow.’
You may well ask, what is he doing writing in The Bible? Who needs such pessimism? There are so many statements in this book that seem out of place in the Bible. I suggest that it is there to help us understand and expose the insignificance and uselessness of life if it is nothing more than what is seen ‘under the sun’. Namely this life only from a worldly standpoint.
Trevor Knight says that Ecclesiastes is a book which is so relevant today. It could spare people the bitterness of learning through personal experience if only they would take notice of its message.
Martin De Haan (Radio Bible Class) suggests that to understand this book we must read the last chapter first. Do you ever do that? It is a good way to ruin the suspense of a mystery.
‘The book starts by saying in effect that everything man does is insignificant and it ends by declaring just the opposite. Even though life is full of unexplainable events and apparent randomness, everything is significant because God will make it so. God will someday examine our works, whether public or private, whether good or bad. This will show us everything we have ever done has eternal implications. This means that everything we do is significant because it will be examined by The Almighty, All-knowing God. Everything in our life, whether material or immaterial, becomes something that we will relate to in either a godly or ungodly way, with faith or without faith. My body, my wife, my children, my house, my income, my sickness, my health, my friends, my enemies, my irritations, my joys – everything is significant because The Lord will one day examine me to determine whether I accepted these from Him in the obedience of faith.’
Solomon’s conclusion in 12v13 “Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man” applies to us today – His commandment is for us to believe on and trust in His Son; to acknowledge our sins and accept the payment for our sins in His death on the cross, and live obediently in the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers; and to love God and one another as He has loved us.
Solomon, as a wise teacher, has used his own experience to lead his students through a series of confusing, paradoxical observations about life.
Martin De Haan further recommends that we need to read the book from beginning to end in context before we are able to begin fitting the pieces together. We must see the whole story.
I think this is wise otherwise we can pick out various bits which seem to be contrary and, without seeing the whole picture, fail to make sense.
Unlike other books in the Bible it is designed to move the reader from painful facts of a man-centred existence to the peaceful conclusions of a God-centred life.
Trevor Knight suggests that Ecclesiastes examines the question – “Is there life before death? Solomon had all the power, wealth, health, women and intelligence a man could wish for, yet he found that satisfaction eluded him. It is the inspired confession of a failure! Whereas Psalms teaches it is possible for one of God’s people to reach the heights of joy and praise, Ecclesiastes shows it is possible for one of God’s people to backslide to the depths of morbidity and gloom. The book of Job teaches it is possible to have piety without prosperity, Ecclesiastes teaches it is possible to have prosperity without piety.”
We can see in the book that Solomon’s life issues a great warning that despite being the wisest man, his wisdom did not teach him self-control. He taught well but failed to practice what he preached and he describes the fool in the book of Proverbs and draws a vivid picture of his own failings.
How vital it is that we get our priorities right. Solomon was like the prodigal son – he had everything going for him, but blew it, until he came to himself and in confession and repentance he came home. We can only assume that Solomon reached this stage as it would appear that he fully recognised the only way to experience a truly satisfied and contented life was by living in obedience to, and in the fear of, God.
Chapters 1 & 2 show us the search of the natural man for satisfaction and happiness.
Chapter 1 in science and philosophy,
Chapter 2 in pleasure and materialism, whether art, or agriculture or great possessions. You don’t need me to tell you that many live today for pleasure and entertainment.
