1 INTRODUCTION What does it mean to be successful in life? Our world is consumed with success. The answer to this question is all over the media and advertising: get the sexy girl, get the job, get 500 friends on Facebook, get the house, go on an awesome holiday, make your first million, reach a position of financial security, or get 2500 followers on Pintrest or Instagram, have a tweet that trends on Twitter (#coolest...). However, even thought the answers come crashing into our lives relentlessly, there is a nagging sense of emptiness in the answers. Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 LIFE UNFILTERED The book of Ecclesiastes does for us what no other book in the Bible does. And for that reason it has traditionally been difficult to read and comprehend: (1) it comes across as pessimistic and negative; (2) it is contradictory in parts so that some liberal scholars suggested that it was written by 2 or 3 for even 9 different authors, (3) it seems light on theology and rootedness in faith in God. The amazing thing about this book is that it speaks to religious and non-religious, to modern man as well as it did to its original hearers. In fact it has a strangely 21 st century feel to it! Why? It honestly and frankly asks the questions that come to every generation. There is no Christian sugar-coating. There is no attempt at graceful diplomacy. There is no delicateness. In fact it has a strange appeal to the non-religious because it resonates so deeply some struggle to believe that it is from the Bible. It is truly life unfiltered! THE AUTHOR The book opens with the words of an editor. Read 1:1 and then if you look at 12:9. But in between that we have the writings of someone called Qoheleth which means teacher or preacher or assembly leader. Many believe that the teacher is Solomon because his kingship, wisdom and wealth. Others have pointed out that, although it seems a good fit, there are some historical difficulties it being Solomon. Whether it was Solomon or not, the important thing is that he was wealthy, powerful and wise: in other words if you could think it he had thought it, if you could get it he had it, if you could experience it he had tried it and STILL he is nagged by the question: what does it all mean! HIS PERSPECTIVE: LIFE UNDER THE SUN
2 Again and again, as you read the book you will read the key phrase under the sun (29 times in the 12 chapters). It important because it gives you the teacher s perspective: he is looking at life from an earthly perspective, the observable world. He knows God, but only from a distance. The book ends with a statement about fearing God and keeping his commands (12:13), but the teacher s main approach is from the other end: to resolve to see how far a man will get without God. This man really grapples with life in an attempt to answer the big questions. My sense is that this book is the fruit of deep wrestling, frustration, anger, and probing and just getting NOTHING. It is the real life nightmare version of "Are You My Mother?" Do you remember the children s storybook: a hatchling bird leave the nest while his mother is out finding food. He does not understand where his mother is so he goes to look for her. In his search, he asks a kitten, a hen, a dog, and a cow if they are his mother. They each say, "No." Then in desperation he tries an old car, and even calls out to a boat and a plane. At last he is convinced he has found her when he climbs onto the teeth of an enormous earth mover. A loud "SNORT" belches from its exhaust, prompting the bird to utter the immortal line, "You are not my mother! You are a SNORT!" But as it shudders and grinds into motion he cannot escape. He shouts "I want my mother!" The Teacher cry is, Are you my meaning?, I want meaning? He leaves the nest and goes on a search; he questions: work, leaving a legacy, great accomplishments, fairness, wisdom, pleasure. That children s book is more insightful than we realise the human life is truly a search is for identity ad meaning! And what does he comes up with? One word: hebel. Meaningless, utterly meaningless, everything is meaningless (NIV) or vanity (KJV). There isn t one English word that best translates is, but it means breath or vapour or smoke and therefore we have the meaning: transient, meaningless like chasing the wind. You can t see the wind; you can only see the effects of the wind! Chasing the wind makes a dog chasing its tail look like Einstein! So 36 times in the book life is hebel. This book is going to do three things for us:
3 1. AN UNFILTERED VIEW OF LIFE The Teacher calls things as he sees them and helps us to see with clarity. His honesty is refreshing and scary. What he says is like a splash of cold water in your face! a. WORK SEEMS MEANINGLESS Eccl 2:22-23 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. The Teachers threw himself into work. But he found that all it created in him was anxiety, pain and grief. That does not mean that there is no satisfaction in work in fact he says that you should find satisfaction in your work. But the point is that meaning isn t found in work. He says he build houses, vineyards, gardens, parks; he had slaves, herds, flocks, gold and silver more than anyone in Jerusalem before him. or foolish! But in the end you leave it to someone else and you don't know whether they will be wise b. PLEASURE SEEMS MEANINGLESS Eccl 2:1-2 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" He tried wine, woman and song. Again, it does not mean that there is no pleasure in wine and eating. In fact he says, Eccl 2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, The point is that he immersed himself in pleasure (modern equivalent of sex, drugs and rock `n roll) hoping that it would settle his soul and it didn t! c. FAIRNESS SEEMS MEANINGLESS Or Eccl 8:14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. Eccl 7:15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. He looks at the world and he sees people who wickedly take advantage of others getting rich and living long, while honest and godly people are poor. Wow, if that isn t still the cry of people today it s not fair, I m a good Christian and she got the promotion, won the lotto, lives in Constantia...
4 d. WISDOM SEEMS MEANINGLESS Eccl 8:16-17 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labour on earth-- his eyes not seeing sleep day or night -- 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. All the best philosophy and anthropology, and all the deepest thinkers are not able to plumb the depths of God s working or even understand the workings of a man s heart. We can t comprehend the ways of God they seem crooked to us and obscure to us and all that is sure is that the rhythm of life continues unceasingly. e. DEATH MAKES EVERYTHING SEEM MEANINGLESS This is life unfiltered, unmasked with all of its hardships and frustrations exposed. But he has not finished. His most compelling and exasperating point is about death. Death is the elephant in the room in this life. The interesting thing is that we live in an increasingly liberal society where almost no subject is taboo. The advice I got growing up is that, at a dinner table, you don t discuss sex, religion or politics. But now there is hardly a subject that is off limits! Except, who talks honestly about death? Death is the great equaliser. So he says: For the fool and the wise Eccl 2:16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die! The famous and the unknown Eccl 1:11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. The rich and poor, the good and the bad all die! So what is the point? Everyone is dying to get more money but everyone will die without money. He even says that we are no better off than animals! Eccl 3:19 Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. It is there; no one can avoid it; it happens all the time! But no one talks honestly about it. How do you ignore an elephant? You close your eyes; you pretend it is not there! The Teacher says what your soul really need is to attend a funeral not another dinner party! Eccl 7:2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
5 Because everything you believe, everything you stand for, everything you have and are investing your life in is tested at death! 2. SITTING WITH THE DEEP QUESTIONS The teacher takes us through this painful process of scraping away all the apparently important things to open us to some deep questions about life. Are you my meaning work, pleasure, justice, wisdom? The Teacher asks the questions that the rest of scriptures answer: what does it all mean? Where is it all going? What is the point? Why am I working so hard (don t ask your boss that)? Why is life not fair? Why am I so lonely? What will bring me true peace in this life? SHALLOW ANSWERS Our pop culture is full of catch phrases that try and answer these questions. But they are hopelessly inadequate: Carpe Diem (seize the day); love what you do, and do what you love; live in for the moment; don t forget to breath; failure isn t an option, it s a choice. SLOPPY FAITH These are completely cheesy and inadequate but in the same was Christians have their own sanctified versions: God knows; just have faith; time heals all wounds; in every problem there is a blessing. It forces us out superficial living and forces us to bed our lives down on something unshakable. Here is the point: if you don't let these questions settle into your heart you will not be able to hear the answer. You need to understand your desperate inability to produce a satisfactory answer before you can listen to what God has to say. 3. LISTENING TO GOD We are going to see in the coming weeks that God is good and he has given us many things to richly enjoy in this life but that pleasure is not our God. We are going to see that God is in control even when things seem to be spiralling out of control but that we need to find contentment in his control. We are going to see that God is a just judge and he does see every good and bad deed so our actions are important. CONCLUSION
6 I want to conclude by asking the question why? Why all the meaninglessness, frustration, emptiness? Why has God given the world over to this? Well, Paul explains in the NT in Romans 8 that creation has been subjected to frustration (meaninglessness) Rom 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration (meaninglessness), not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope Paul says it is right that life under the sun apart from God is full of futility and frustration. That is right! Why? Because the world is under judgement because of sin. Adam sinned and all creation was broke, fractured. And your experience of futility, your deep dissatisfaction with the empty promises of meaning in money and possessions and power and sex and pleasure and work is MEANT to drive you towards your created purpose a relationship with God; for transcendence. That is what the Teacher says God has also set eternity in the hearts of men (3:11). So Christ came to conquer sin and put an end to meaninglessness, to liberate us from the frustration of this life!