Life Worth Living-1 4-18.docx
Ecclesiastes 1:4-18
If we look at the books of the Bible today, the book of Ecclesiastes the most relevant
It has today’s world woven through the fabric of every page
Whether or not we are willing to admit it, deep within most of us there is this restless, irresponsible, adventuresome itch.
All around us are people who are buying into this empty, horizontal, “who needs God’s perspective”
Their world is strictly visible, their whole frame of reference is humanistic
A quick survey will reveal how hard the man tried to find meaning and satisfaction in life
With unrestrained determination he set out on a pursuit to find a purpose in existence
Here is a picture of one that is determined to find something under the sun that would satisfy
What did he try?
Hedonism—pleasure at all cost, alcohol, work, or anything that I think brings pleasure.
Pleasure good pain bad
Everything he tried, everywhere he turned…zero.
Note: vs. 11, 17-18
We don’t have his money or we don’t have his smarts, so we couldn’t go to the depths he went to, even if we tried
Therefore, listen to the man who’s been there
It is as though Solomon is saying, “I’m anxious to tell you what I experienced.”
In vs. 4-7 Solomon is going to speak as a scientist
In vs. 8-11 as a historian
In vs. 12-17 as a philosopher
And according to vs. 3 it is all vanity
Read Verses so that We can Know Him and Make Him Known
1) He looks around himself—vs. 4-7
a) Vs. 4
b) There is a group of people born this day and another group of people who will die this same day
c) This passage reminds us of the brevity of life and the certainty of death
d) Individuals come and go, families come and go, nations and empires rise and fall, but nothing changes for the world remains the same
e) Someone called history, “a mighty drama, enacted upon the theater of time, with suns for lamps and eternity for a background”
f) Solomon will use four pieces of evidence to prove that nothing really changes, that life is really monotonous
g) We saw the earth in vs. 4
h) Vs. 5
i) We see the sun rising in the east, moving across the sky in pursuit of the western horizon
j) Remember, Solomon is reminding us of his earthly pursuit, “under the sun”
k) There is no meaning to this existence called, “life on planet earth”
l) If you live only beneath the perspective of the sun, it is an endless, wearisome, nagging cycle
m) There is a considerable difference between the words of Solomon and the words of Jeremiah the prophet
n) Jeremiah says that even the rising of the sun reminds him of his God
o) Lam. 3:22-23—“Great is thy faithfulness, thy mercies are new every morning”
p) Vs. 6
q) Man comes and goes, but the changeless wind goes on forever
r) We hear it and feel it and we see what it does but over the centuries the wind has not changed its cycles or circuits
s) Its course is a monotonous, repetitive thing
t) Vs. 7
u) Solomon described here the “water cycle” that helps to sustain life on the planet
v) Scientists tell us that at any given time 97% of all the water on earth is in the oceans and that only 1/1000% is in the atmosphere, available for rain
w) That is enough for about 10 days of rain
x) The cooperation of the sun and the wind makes possible the evaporation and movement of moisture, and this keeps the water circulating
y) But the sea never changes
z) The rivers and rains pour water into the seas, but the sea is not full
aa) Nature does not change
bb) This is motion but not promotion
cc) Have you ever felt like your life is on a boring cycle like the sun
dd) Solomon describes life without God, just leave Him out of the picture
ee) Then the world becomes a closed system that is uniform, predictable, and unchangeable
ff) It becomes a world where there are no answers to prayer, and no miracles for nothing can interrupt the cycle of nature
gg) However, God does break into nature
hh) He does hear and answer prayer
i) He held the sun in place so Joshua could finish an important battle
ii) He opened the Red Sea and the Jordan River for Israel
iii) He turned off the rain for Elijah and turned it back on again
iv) He calmed the winds and waves for the disciples
ii) When you know Christ as your Savior and God becomes your Heavenly Father, you no longer live in a monotonous cycle
jj) So that we can sing, “This is my father’s world”
2) He looks behind himself—vs. 8-11
a) Vs. 8
b) Man wants something new
c) Everything in this world brings weariness and people long for something new
d) Acts 17:21—“for all the Athenians and strangers who were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new things”
e) The entertainment industry is grateful for this human hunger for novelty and takes advantage of it at great profit
f) In Ecc. 3:11 Solomon explains why people are not satisfied with life
g) God has put “eternity in their heart”
h) Nobody can find peace and satisfaction apart from Him
i) St. Augustine prayed “thou has made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”
j) The eye cannot be satisfied until it sees the hand of God and the ear cannot be satisfied until it hears the voice of God
k) Vs. 9-10
l) Ironside said, “if it’s new, its not true; and if its true, its not new.”
m) Man cannot create anything new because man is the creature not the Creator
n) Thomas Edison said that his inventions were only, “bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of mankind”
o) Only God can create new things and He begins by making sinners “new creatures”
p) Rev. 21:5 says, “Behold I make all things new”
q) Please don’t mistake novelty for originality
r) Vs. 11
s) Solomon speaks about the basic principles of life and not about methods
t) Methods are many, principles are few
u) Methods always change but principles never do
3) He looks within himself—vs. 12-18
a) As the king of Israel, Solomon had all the resources necessary for experimenting with different solutions to see what it was that made life worth living
b) 2:1-3—He experimented with various physical pleasures
c) 2:4-6—he accumulated great possessions
d) 2:7-10—he found he was grasping for the wind
e) He devoted his mind wholly to the matter to get to the root of it and to explore it from all sides
f) He had the “bucks” and the “brains”
g) No limitations
h) No reservation
i) A full investigation
j) Vs. 13—Life gets tough
i) But it is a gift from God
k) Vs. 14—it doesn’t get easier if you try to run away from it
i) Chasing the wind
l) Vs. 15—not everything can be changed
m) Vs. 16-18--Wisdom and experience will not solve every problem
i) This side of heaven there is no explanation for some things that happen
ii) We are to live by promises not explanation
The only way to find satisfaction and relief from boredom is through a relationship with the living God.
The creator of the world
