one28 PodcastBasking in the Sun (Pt 1)
Ecclesiastes 11:7-10
2008.04.13
one28 Sunday worship
I’m crazy about Ecclesiastes. Part of me is looking forward to finishing it in a month or so, but another (large) part of me will be sad when we’re done.
As much as anything I’ve enjoyed the work it’s taken to (at least try to) understand Solomon. I was talking with a staff person last week who mentioned that it must take a lot of time–studying and meditating–to figure out Solomon’s flow of thought and what he really means. Because, they said, it’s not always obvious the first time you read it. I agree. But that’s what I love. I mean how great is it to go in clueless and come out with clarity about life under the sun. Sometimes it’s been overwhelming, especially as the Sunday approaches and I realize I still have no idea about a verse or paragraph. But the whole process has been profitable, and hopefully the same is true for you.
As good and as engaging and as difficult as my study has been, that’s been the easy part. Though Solomon’s wisdom is deep and his references sometimes unclear, though there aren’t a lot of fantastic commentaries and my Hebrew is weak, the tough part, the real challenge, for me has been obeying Solomon’s call to enjoy the process.
Obviously that’s a theme throughout the whole book. I stated at the start and over the last three years my eagerness to learn about ETP, and I have. However, it’s still a daily dogfight. There are more rocks in my pockets than balloons. I like my chocolate bittersweet. I’m more comfortable at a funeral than a birthday party. I look better holding an umbrella than wearing sunglasses.
God appoints seasons of heaviness and sorrow and darkness and clouds. He forms and defines His people oftentimes with rain. But, He also provides sun for them to bask in. It’s inappropriate, wrong, and sinful not to bask in the sun when He gives it.
And that’s tough for me. Maybe I’m afraid if I like the sun too much I’ll fall apart when the sun is hidden. Maybe I’m afraid too much sun will make me weak. It doesn’t really matter what the reason is. It is ungodly not to enjoy the process.
Last week we talked about preparing for a rainy day (11:1-6). This morning we need to talk about enjoying a sunny day (11:7-10). The whole paragraph is alive with light and sun and dawn and rejoicing. The skies are blue, the air is warm and Solomon calls us to bask in the sun. We’re exhorted to sprawl in the warmth and light of life, to revel in and make the most of every day under the sun God gives us. Whereas last week we had responsibility in light of an uncertain future, these things are certain: getting old and dying, so bask in life and especially bask in youth.
Basking in Life (vv. 7-8)
We ought to bask in life because life is good.
The Reality of Life’s Goodness v.7
Verse 7 is not a statement of perspective or opinion or from a certain kind of cheery personality who likes early mornings. Even Ee-yore can’t deny this. This is a statement of reality. It’s a fact, universally true and acknowledged. There’s a reason “Plenty of sunshine coming my way” is understandable in any language.
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
Light is a word that describes not just the absence of darkness but the presence of something that illuminates and stimulates and even warms. In this verse light is a metaphor for life (just as “darkness” refers to death in chapter 12). The “light of life” was an Old Testament way to talk about not just existing or the absence of death, but the presence of vitality, of being alive and kicking.
Solomon says light is sweet (not “pleasant” like the NAS). This adjective is typically tied to honey in the OT. If you want to know what sweet is like, you don’t need a definition, you just need a taste. Squeeze a packet of honey into your mouth. It’s an unmistakable sensation that you won’t soon forget even when the honey dissolves from your tongue. The flavor will linger. It is the opposite of bitter. It’s something you want more of, like a fantastic dessert.
This means that life is sweet. It isn’t just being alive, it means life is worth living. Though the preacher pessimistically talked about the dead being better off (like 4:2), ultimately he doesn’t deny that life is better.
and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. It is pleasant or “good” for us to see and bask in the sun. Earlier the phrase “under the sun” expressed the stifling, inescapable frustrations of life. But now to “see the sun” implies a fullness of life. This is somewhat a comment about life being better than death–a point Solomon made previously–but it’s more a comment about a kind of life; a life that sees and knows and enjoys the sweetness of life, a life of vitality and possibility.
The last couple days perfectly corroborate this. People are different when the sun comes out. They make plans to go outside and bask in the sun.
You may think I’m starting to sound like Oprah or someone on Oprah. Maybe you’re feeling like my explanation of verse 7 is a bit too touchy-feely. Perhaps. But I think verse 8 supports the story.
The Responsibilities of Life’s Goodness v. 8
Anyone who breathes has work to do because having a view of the sun demands certain things. Specifically we have two responsibilities in light of life’s goodness.
1. Rejoice v. 8a
8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Verse 8 begins with So (“Indeed” NAS) meaning it hinges on the meaning of verse 7. And verse 8 is talking about a kind of life, [not just electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength visible with our eye-balls]. Light is sweet, life is good, therefore enjoy it.
so if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. The call to see and savor the sweetness of the sun could not be more clear. Rejoice! It is our old friend שׂמח(simach). Enjoy! Have fun! Smile! If a person lives many years, if you get to be old, or even if you don’t, rejoice in them all If you can do it over many days, certainly you can do it in fewer.
If you woke up today and could see the sun, rejoice! Carpe diem, “enjoy the day!” There is something sweet in life to enjoy. There is something warm to embrace. There is something brilliant to see. Stop and smell the roses.
2. Remember v. 8b
And you really ought not to waste any time. Forever giving the “yeah, but” argument, the preacher continues, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. As sure as the sun comes up so some days the clouds will roll in front of it. It’s part of life on this planet. You’re not dead yet; you still have days of darkness. The rainy, dark days come. We don’t have to look to hard for them. Their name is legion.
All that comes is vanity (hebel), or in other words, and then you die. You can’t bask in the sun when you’re dead, so you better get busy. There are many, dark days in your future and then there are no more days. As with earlier in Ecclesiastes, Solomon isn’t denying an afterlife, he’s simply concerned with this life. And this life doesn’t last. When it’s done there is no more sun, at least not like we experience it now.
It is such a battle, a fight to stop and bask in the sweetness of the sun. We use the sun, we don’t enjoy it. We use it to complete our task list, thinking our accomplishments will bring us joy. Or we’re hoping for another sunny day, we don’t have time to enjoy this one.
I know people who ruin the last day of their vacation because they know it’s the last day. They spoil the remaining moments instead of reveling in them. So we should bask in life while we can.
Conclusion
Those who are best able to bask in the sun pay the worst attention. We’ll turn our attention to these young men next week as we consider Basking in Youth in verses 9-10.
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