Introduction
We began to study the book of Ecclesiastes last Sunday evening and it’s a difficult book. The scholars debate who wrote it and what it’s about and how to divide it up into parts.
Some think it was written by King Solomon and others think it was written by someone else: perhaps by a kind of ghost-writer who was writing in the style of Solomon. Some think it was written by two authors, so that there’s one who begins and ends the book and there’s another writer who wrote the bulk of it. I’m happy to accept that Solomon wrote it all. But, as I said last week, in a sense it doesn’t matter who the human author is, because we believe it was all written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Some scholars think the author is being negative. Life really is meaningless and there’s nothing we can do about it. And while the writer may say some positive things from time to time, they are not enough to overcome his pessimistic view of life. Others think he’s more positive than that. In fact, one scholar (Whybray) even calls the writer a preacher of joy. But I’m persuaded by those who say that he’s describing for us what life is like ‘under the sun’. That’s a phrase which he repeats throughout the book and it refers to life in this fallen world which is under the curse of God. When God made the world in the beginning, everything was good, even very good. But after Adam’s fall, when he disobeyed God’s command regarding the Tree of Knowledge, everything changed. Work and family life is now difficult. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. And our life in this world ends in death, when we return to the dust from which we came. And so, while everything was once very good, now everything under the sun is meaningless.
And so, Solomon is describing life under the sun. But from time to time, he turns his thoughts from this world under the sun to the One who is above the sun and who rules over all things in heaven and on earth. In other words, he turns his thoughts to God who made us. And so, right at the end of the book, he concludes by saying that we’re to fear God and we’re to keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man. This is what we’re to do while we go on living in this fallen world under the sun. We’re to worship God and we’re to walk in his ways.
And when it comes to how the book should be divided, I’m persuaded by those who say it should be divided into four parts and each of those parts describes what life is like in this fallen world under the sun. And since it describes what life is like in this fallen world under the sun, then what Solomon says tends to be negative. But each part ends with a positive conclusion about God. So, last week we studied chapters 1 and 2, which are about Solomon’s search for meaning and purpose and joy and satisfaction. He tried work. So, he built houses and vineyards and gardens and parks and water reservoirs. He bought slaves to work for him. And he owned flocks and herds and he amassed a great fortune for himself. So, he tried work. And he also tried pleasure and entertainment: laughter and wine and women and singers. But none of these things brought him the satisfaction and joy he was seeking. They all proved meaningless. That’s what life is like in this fallen world under the sun.
However, in the end, he concluded that contentment and joy are a gift from God which he gives to those who please him. God may not make us rich and famous, but if he gives us contentment and joy, then that’s all we need. A life of contentment and joy is a good life. And we receive it from God.
And so, today we’re studying chapters 3 to 6. And different scholars interpret these chapters in different ways, depending on whether they think Solomon is being positive or negative or optimistic or pessimistic about life. But once again I’m taking it that, for the most part, he’s describing what life is like in this fallen world under the sun. And what he seems to be saying in this part of the book is that we can’t understand God’s ways. We can’t fathom what God has done. But then, he’ll conclude what he says on a more positive note. At the end of today’s passage, he says that it is good and proper for us to eat and drink and to find satisfaction or joy in our labour, because this is the gift of God. God is able to occupy us, or to keep us busy, with gladness of heart. And when God keeps us busy with that, then we’ll seldom reflect or brood on the things that are hard to understand in this fallen world under the sun.
3:1–15
And so, turn to today’s passage which begins with this poem about time: ‘There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.’ The phrase ‘under the heaven’ probably means the same as ‘under the sun’. So, there’s a time and season for everything in this fallen world under the sun. And what follows are fourteen pairs which cover the whole range of human activity from birth to death. In fact, he mentions birth and death in the first line. In each line, one activity is a good or happy thing: planting and healing and building and laughing and dancing and so on. And then, in each line, one activity is not so good or happy: dying, uprooting, killing, tearing down, weeping and so on. Verse 5 is puzzling. What does he mean by scattering and gathering stones? Some commentators think he’s referring to an ancient military tactic whereby soldiers scattered stones on the fields of their enemy so that nothing could be planted there. If that’s the case, then gathering stones would refer to removing all the stones from a field to prepare it for planting. The rest of the pairs are straightforward. And what he’s saying is that this is what our life consists of. There are times when one thing happens and there are times when another thing happens. Sometimes good things happen and sometimes bad things happen. Or life in this fallen world under the sun is not completely happy. But it’s not completely sad either. Our life in this world is a troubled life, but it’s not only a troubled life, because often there are good things to enjoy. Our life is made up of these different times and seasons.
So, that’s the poem in verses 1 to 8 of chapter 3. In verses 9 to 15, we have Solomon’s reflection on the poem. And he asks in verse 9 what does the worker gain from all his labour. And when he refers to the worker and his labour, he’s referring to us and to all our human activity. What do we gain from all the activities he has listed in the poem? Where does it get us? And perhaps there’s a sense that the good things and the bad things cancel one another out so that ultimately we don’t get anything from all our activity.
And then he says in verse 10 that he has seen something. So, this is his observation on life in this fallen world under the sun. He has observed that God has laid a burden on us. And what is the burden which God has placed on us? It’s that he has made everything beautiful in its time. A better translation is ‘He has made everything appropriate in its time.’ So, everything is under his control and direction and everything that happens is appropriate or fitting. And he’s set eternity in our hearts. It’s perhaps better to translate the word eternity as totality. He’s put in our hearts a sense of totality. That is, he’s put in our hearts a desire to understand how everything fits together. So, something happens to us and we want to know how this one event fits in with the rest of our life. By itself it doesn’t make sense. But perhaps it makes sense when we think of the totality of my life.
Let me explain by giving an illustration. Often when we read a book, we come across a word which we’re not familiar with. We don’t know what it means. I suppose we could look up a dictionary to discover its meaning. But what we often do is we try to figure out what it means from the context. Can I work out from the rest of the sentence what this one word means?
And so, when something happens to us, we don’t know what it means. Why did this thing happen to me? What is its significance? We’re not sure. But can we work out what it means by seeing how it fits in with the rest of my life? What does it add to my life? What does it contribute to my life? What does it mean for the rest of my life? And I think that’s what Solomon is saying. God has put this desire in our hearts to understand the totality of my life and to see how what has happened to me fits in with the rest of my life.
But look at the end of verse 11: yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Something happens to you. You wonder why God has let this thing happen and what it means? How does this event fit in with the rest of my life? But we cannot fathom it. Or here’s a decision we have to make which will affect the rest of our lives. What are we meant to do? What’s the right thing to do, because I don’t want to do the wrong thing which will wreck the rest of my life? But we can’t figure it out. What a burden God has placed on us!
And then, this first part of today’s passage ends, with the writer telling us what he knows. That is, this is what he has come to know. This is what he now believes to be the case. Firstly, in verse 12, he has come to believe that there’s nothing better for us than to be happy and to do good; and that to eat and drink and to find satisfaction or joy is a gift of God. Eating and drinking means finding contentment. So, to have contentment and joy is a gift from God. That recalls the conclusion he reached at the end of chapter 2.
And then, secondly, he tells us in verse 14 that he has come to believe that everything God does will endure for ever and nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. And I think he’s telling us that God is in control. He’s ultimately in control of what happens in our life. As he says in verse 15: whatever is has already been; and what will be has been before; and God will what? The meaning of the last line is difficult, but it perhaps means that God will make things happen over and over. And the point is that they happen because of him. Everything that happens, happens because of him. And yet, we can’t fathom what God has done. We want to understand how this event or that event fits into the whole of my life and what it means, but we can’t figure out what God is doing in our lives.
And that’s why we should revere him. Do you see that at the end of verse 14? We should revere him, or fear him, because he’s completely different from us. He’s the one who determines all things and we must submit to his will.
3:16–4:16
The next part of the passage runs from verse 16 of chapter 3 to the end of chapter 4. And it begins with another observation. This is something else which Solomon has noticed about life in this fallen world under the sun. And what is it that he noticed? That in the place of judgment, where you would expect justice to be done, there was wickedness. So, God has given us rulers and judges to maintain justice. He has appointed them to punish evildoers and to defend the cause of the innocent. And yet, Solomon has observed that in this fallen world under the sun, rulers and judges do not act justly. They judge wickedly.
What he says in verse 17 about God judging the righteous and the wicked seems to imply that it will all be alright in the end, because God will ensure that the wicked get what they deserve. However, in verses 18 to 21 he says that our fate is no better than the fate of animals. The same fate awaits them both, because humans and animals both die. And he says in verse 20 that all go to the same place, because humans and animals are both from the dust and both will return to the dust. Who knows, he says in verse 21, if the spirit of man rises upwards and the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth? Of course, we know from the rest of the Scriptures that after we die, our bodies are laid in the ground, and the spirit or soul of God’s people returns to the Lord to await the redemption of their bodies, whereas the spirit or soul of the wicked will be thrown into hell to await the judgment day. That’s what we learn from the rest of the Scriptures. But Solomon is writing from the perspective of someone who is living in this fallen world under the sun. And he’s writing about what he has observed and what he can see. And what does he see? He sees that in the place of justice, injustices and wickedness is done. And while he hopes that God will judge the righteous and the wicked and put right what is wrong in the world, nevertheless, from what he has observed, the wicked are just like everyone else, because like everyone else they will die. How are we meant to make sense of that? Who can fathom what God has done? Who can understand it? No one can. And so, there’s nothing better for us than to enjoy our work, because this is our lot in life.
And then he tells us three more things that he has observed about life in this fallen world under the sun. He tells us in verse 1 of chapter 4 that he looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun. And then he tells us in verse 4 that he saw that all labour and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbour. So, it didn’t come from something noble, but from something sinful. And then he tells us in verse 7 that he saw something meaningless under the sun: a man who toiled and toiled and toiled, but there was no one to benefit from his toil, because he was all alone.
So, the first thing he observed was all the oppression in this fallen world under the sun. He says in verse 1 that he saw the tears of the oppressed and there was no one to comfort them. And he saw that power was on the side of the oppressor. How are we meant to make sense of that? Who can fathom what God has done? Then he saw that all our labour and achievements spring from envy. That’s in verse 4. I suppose he means that people work hard and sacrifice their free time because they want what everyone else has. They want that big house and big car and those expensive clothes and exotic holidays. Or businesspeople might envy the success of their competitors and so they work hard to beat them. And that means that their success arises from a sinful desire and not a noble desire. But then, laziness is no better, because the lazy person folds his hands, instead of getting to work. And he ends up ruining himself.
So, some people are successful, but they’re driven by envy. Some people are unsuccessful, and it’s because they’re lazy. If only we could have a handful with tranquility. In other words, if only we could be satisfied with just enough. But we’re not.
And the third thing he saw was this man who was all alone, with neither son nor brother to inherit his wealth. And yet the man worked and worked and worked. There was no end to his toil, because his eyes were not satisfied with what he already had. He always wanted a little bit more. When you ask a rich man how much money they want, they say just a little bit more. It’s always a little bit more. And perhaps this particular man was driven by envy and he always wanted to have a little bit more so that he would have what his competitors had. But then he wondered one day why was he working so hard? For whom was he toiling, because he had neither son nor brother to inherit his wealth? It was meaningless. It was pointless. It made no sense.
Two are better than one, Solomon said. If one falls, the other can help him up again. But pity the man who has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie side by side, they’ll keep each other warm on a cold night. But they can’t remain warm when they’re on their own. And one person by himself is easily over-powered, but two can defend themselves. Two are better than one. And three is even better. So, in this fallen world under the sun, companionship is better than loneliness. It’s better to have companions with you than to be on your own.
But then he tells us a story about a poor, but wise youth who became king in place of an old, foolish king. The details of the story are a little obscure, but he seems to be saying that all who lived and worked under the sun followed the youth. So, he had lots of companions who supported him and who helped him. But, Solomon says in verse 16, those who came later were not pleased with the successor. It’s not entirely clear, but perhaps we’re to take it that they were not pleased with the youth who had become king. And the point then is that his popularity did not last. So, here’s a person who had many companions and friends and supporters to help him. But later, he was on his own.
So, in this fallen world under the sun, God has determined that it’s good to have companions to help us. But then, whatever friendships we have don’t last. Perhaps our friends turn on us. Perhaps they move away. Perhaps they die. Maybe the man who toiled and toiled and toiled once had a son or brother to inherit his wealth, but they died, leaving him all alone in the world. But this is what life is like in this fallen world under the sun. How are we meant to make sense of it? Who can fathom what God has done?
5:1–17
And now we come to verses 1 to 17 of chapter 5. And this chapter begins with advice on how we should approach God.
So, guard your steps when you go into the house of God. Go near to listen and not to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they’re doing wrong. It’s not clear why they’re doing wrong, but it could be because they’ve being hypocritical. You know, they’re worshipping God with their lips and hands, but their hearts are far from him. So, don’t be like them. Instead, come humbly to listen and to learn from the Lord.
And so, don’t be quick with your mouth. Since God is in heaven and you are on earth, let your words be few. Don’t think God will be pleased with lots of words when you come to worship him. And when you make a vow to the Lord, do not delay in fulfilling it. That’s in verse 4. When people were in trouble in biblical times, they might call on God to help them and make a vow to offer a sacrifice to him if he answered their prayer and saved them. In that case, they must fulfil their vow without delay. When people are in distress, they might make all kinds of promises to God if only he will save them. But once the danger is past, they forget what they promised. Don’t be like them. Don’t let your mouth lead you into sin. And don’t protest and say it was a mistake. I didn’t mean it. I had my fingers crossed. Don’t do that, because it will only provoke the Lord’s anger. And so, you should stand in awe of God. You should revere him and fear him.
And that all seems straight-forward and sensible. And so, it’s possible that this is just good advice. King Solomon is giving us wise instruction about how to approach God in worship. However, if that’s the case, then it’s hard to see how it fits in with the rest of the passage, which is about not being able to comprehend or fathom what God is doing in the world.
And that’s what the passage is about, because he goes on to write about oppression. Don’t be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed, and justice and their rights being denied to them. Don’t be surprised at such things, because in this fallen world under the sun God lets people abuse their authority. He says that the increase or the produce from the land is taken, not just by the farmer who worked the land, but by everyone over him. They all want a piece of the pie and they’ll get it one way or another. The king himself, who is sitting in his palace, profits from the hard work of the farmer in the field. And those who have money never have enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. He always wants more and more and will do what he can to get more and more. As goods increase, then those who consume them will increase as well, because everyone wants a slice of the pie. The sleep of a labourer is sweet, because he’s so tired. He works hard for the little he has. But then there’s a lazy man, who benefits from the hard work of others, and he has an abundance of food to eat. But he’s eaten so much, that he’s unable to sleep. His rich food and indigestion is keeping him awake. But the point is that the one who works hard and is honest doesn’t have enough, while the rich oppressor has plenty. Why is this the way things are? Why does God let this happen? Who can fathom what God has done?
And then he tells us about a rich man who lost his wealth to some misfortune so that there was nothing left to leave to his son. Why did it happen? Why did God let this misfortune come upon the man so that not only he, but his son, suffered? Who can fathom what God has done?
And what do we gain from our hard work and toil, because just as we came into the world with nothing, so we will leave the world with nothing. And since that’s the case, what did we gain? What was the point of all our hard labour? We toil for the wind. Do you see that in verse 16? That’s what we get for our hard work and labour. We get the wind. In other words, we get nothing. All his days a man eats in darkness and with great frustration and affliction and anger. That’s how life seems to Solomon in this fallen world under the sun.
5:18–20
Now we come to his conclusion, when he lifts his eyes above this fallen world under the sun to the One who is over the sun.
It’s good and proper for a man to eat and drink. That is, it’s good for him to find contentment. And it’s good for him to find satisfaction or joy in his toilsome labour. But how can he find this contentment and joy? Only from God, because wealth and possessions come from the Lord; and the ability to enjoy them comes from him too. And when God gives us gladness of heart, when God gives us contentment and joy, then we’ll seldom reflect on the days of our life. We’ll not brood over our life. We’ll not brood over it, because God has made us happy. God will occupy us with gladness of heart. He’ll keep us busy with that.
Conclusion
And so, the point of the passage is that we can’t understand God’s ways. We can’t fathom what he has done. There’s a time for everything, but we can’t understand how what happens to us fits in with the whole. And instead of upholding justice, wicked judges and rulers deny justice to the poor. And God lets it happen. And the fate of the wicked looks a lot like the fate of everyone else, because we all die in the end. And Solomon observed all kinds of oppression; and he saw that labour and success is driven by envy and not by some noble purpose; and companionship and friendships do not last; and the hard working labourer gets nothing for his labour, while the fat cats gets richer and richer. And God lets it happen. What is God doing? What is going on in this fallen world under the sun? Who can understand what God is doing and why he lets these things happen? Who can fathom what God has done?
In other words, this world has become corrupt. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be. In the beginning, everything was good, even very good. But now it’s been spoiled by sin; and sin leads to misery. It leads to division and oppression and injustice and sorrow and pain and loneliness and frustration. What Solomon has observed is a world corrupted by sin and filled with misery.
But the good news of the gospel is that God loves the world. After all, he made it. It is his world. And deep down, under all our sin, the world is still good. And so, God will not abandon his good world. He will not give it up.
And so, when the time was right, he sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to do what was necessary to renew God’s creation and to make it right again. His sent his Son into the world as one of us to pay for our sins with his life and to cleanse us of our guilt by his blood, so that through faith in his name we receive forgiveness for all that we have done wrong and the gift of his Spirit to renew us in his image so that we become more and more willing and able to do God’s will here on earth and to live a life that is pleasing to him. In other words, he works in us to restore us to what we were meant to be.
And God has promised that the day will come when Christ will come again to renew the whole of creation so that we will live with him in a new and better world, or a renewed world, where there is no more sin and no more misery. And so, there will be no more oppression or injustice or wickedness or greed or envy or selfishness or broken vows or poverty or loneliness or anything else that Solomon observed in this fallen world under the sun. God the Son will restore all things to what they were always meant to be. And he has begun his work in us. And though we may not be able to fathom what he has done, he uses all the circumstances of our life — all the sorrow and sadness, the pain and the trouble, and the good things — to renew us in his image and to conform us to his likeness. We may not be able to fathom how what happens to us fits in with the whole of his plan for the renewal of all things, but we believe it does because that’s what his word tells us.
And while we wait for Christ to come again to renew all things perfectly, we should look to God our Heavenly Father to enable us to find contentment and joy in our daily lives. We should ask him to occupy each one of us with gladness of heart, so that we will not brood over our life and the things that happen to us which are painful. Instead of brooding, we’ll give thanks to God for giving us contentment and joy and the hope of a new and better life in a new and better world through faith in his Son.
Sermons and Stuff 