Lesson 4
Ecclesiastes
The Things That Don't
Work!
In verse 3 we have the question that he continually used
in his search: "What does man gain, what's the advantage, by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?"
What is the profit of it to him? This is an interesting
Hebrew word yatar
translated advantage that has an interesting meaning, "that which
is left over."
After he has sucked dry all the immediate delight, joy, or
pleasure from something, what is left over, what endures, what will remain to
continually feed the hunger of his life for satisfaction?
In
1:4-11 He presents proof of his thesis - illustrated through natural phenomena
1:4 A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth
remains forever.
Humanity
is transient, but nature is permanent. A generation comes and a generation
goes-the human race passes on from this life, comes into life, lives its term,
and goes on-but the earth remains forever.
1:5 - 7 continues the illustrations from nature
First the sun, then the wind, and then the rivers flowing
into the oceans.
vs:5
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises
there again.
- Marked difference between "under the sun"
vpt expressed here and "above the sun" vpt expressed by other
writers of Scripture.
His
father David is a case in point. In Ps 19:1-2 he sees in the cycles of heaven
the faithfulness of God - His glory.
- Prophet Jeremiah also notes the faithfulness of God in
the repetition of days - Lam 3:22-23.
vs:6
Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the
north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind
returns.
Here
he speaks of the circuit of the winds. This is unusual, because we have no
evidence that people in Solomon’s time understood scientifically the fact that
the wind, the clouds, and the great jet streams of earth run in circles.
- We've learned from Scripture that God is in control of
the weather all the way from hurricanes to famines to teach divine lessons to
wake up mankind to the reality of the transitory nature of life and their need
of a personal relationship with God.
Jer.
14:22; Job.
36:27 - 37:13
VS:7 All the
rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the
rivers flow, There they flow again.
His
next proof is the circuit of the evaporative cycle. Where does all the water
that endlessly drops out of the sky come from?
- this is a fairly young science
- hydrology - really only understood to any degree in the last century
- A cycle which is monotonous - boring if you don't see
God's omnipotence and sovereignty in action.
1:8-11 He makes application of his thesis "all is
vanity under the sun" to mankind
vs:8
All things are wearisome (full of labor); Man is not able to tell it.
(lit. to speak of it)
The eye is not satisfied
with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
- The eye and the ear are used here figuratively to refer
to a means of arousing the insatiable cravings of the sin nature.
- What Solomon is saying here is that even when you see or
hear something truly great - truly beautiful, it still doesn't produce lasting
satisfaction.
vs:9 That which has been is that which will be, And that which
has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.
- Man may progress culturally and scientifically but
"under the sun" in the realm of the natural - the old creation
under the bondage and curse of sin there is nothing new -- only the endless
cycle of sin and death.
Paul
declares the HOW in 2 Cor 5:17!
vs:10
Is there anything of which one might say,
"See this, it is new"?
- new - chadash - new,
fresh, renewed in a spiritual or moral sense
Already it has existed for
ages Which were before us.
Examples:
#1 - Man's journey to the moon and the discovery of
#2 - The invention of dynamite and the atomic bomb shared
the element of discovering
an explosive.
vs:11
There is no remembrance of earlier things; And
also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no
remembrance Among those who will come later still.
This
speaks eloquently of the fickleness of man's memory. We fail to learn from history and constantly
repeat the mistakes of the past.
Man
in his arrogance today thinks that he is so sophisticated - so well educated
that he is above the mistakes of the past and can accomplish whatever he
decides to do under the sun.
He
is taking God completely out of the equation of life.
SUMMARY 4-11
1. In vs:4-7 he says what is true in the realm of nature - the
constant repetition is also true (vs:8-11) of the activity of people.
2. This is included in the observation that "all
things" under the sun produce only indescribable weariness and lack of
satisfaction.
3. All pursuits either lead to despair or to God.
- nothing is inherently
satisfying without God
4. With God as the center of ones perspective (above the
sun thinking) the believer will be characterized by hope not despair or apathy.
-
Ps 130:5-7; 146:5; Rom
1:12-18 Personal experimentation to prove his thesis to
himself.
He
has already established the uniformity and permanence of the sequences in nature - the natural
realm (sun - wind - rivers) and the transitory and impermanence of mortal man
who is viewing this puzzle called life.
Solomon
now turns to his own experience and pursuits in his attempt to answer these
weighty questions.
-
First he speaks of his pursuits in general terms -
- and then in more detail 2:1-11.
- Saul and David also reigned 40 years.
- After Solomon the Kingdom was divided:
- Rehoboam ruled the southern kingdom -
- Jeroboam I ruled the
-
God gave him great wisdom - discernment - intuitive capability
- His resolve at this point is to begin the journey to
seek and explore everything under the sun.
to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been
done under heaven.
- really describes
his mission at this point.
- What he's saying is that not only did I study intensely
many things but I also became actively involved in all these areas myself.
- wisdom - CHAKMAH - natural system for
perception in operation with empiricism and rationalism totally the basis for
his conclusions
And
what is it that he says in the final analysis, what was his opinion?
It is a grievous task which God
has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
Man's
circumstances and his inability, in fact the utter futility of his attempt to
handle them on his own should wake him up and seek an answer outside of himself
and anything connected with the fallen, sin cursed kosmos.
Note: sons of men
~d"ßa'h' ynEïb.li
- beni (pl) ha 'adham (sg); It is true that he is talking about mankind
in the generic sense. But we must be
careful not to loose the
emphasis that he is putting on the source - the reason that man
has a grievous task, a heavy burden
under the sun.
With the singular here of adham he is alluding to Adam and
the effects of the Fall of which we are all
partakers. Rom