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Ecclesiastes in Context

Genesis 1 - Revelation 22
2008.05.25
one28 Sunday worship

This is the final, final word; the end of the end of the matter. Even though we finished our verse-by-verse study of Ecclesiastes last week, this is like titling your head back to get the last drop even after you finished your cup of water. Before we send the series packing I wanted to take one more morning and try to glue the piece of Ecclesiastes into the bigger Bible puzzle, making some comments about Ecclesiastes in context.

One of my main goals Sunday after Sunday was to let Solomon speak for himself and not steal or muffle his thunder. At times it was painful for me to keep certain things quiet. It would have have been easy, and was often very tempting, to read something confusing or seemingly contradictory in Ecclesiastes and run to another part of Scripture for a quick fix. There are 65 other books that confirm a lot in Ecclesiastes and that clarify some of its most cloudy parts.

But there’s at least a few reasons why I avoided that approach. First, Solomon expected his readers to understand what he wrote without jumping to another book, especially a New Testament book since obviously none of them were written yet. Besides, the goal of studying the Bible is to figure out what the original author meant by what he said, not by what someone else said about what he said. I wanted to show that the best understanding comes by searching a paragraph for its own clues.

Second, Solomon asserted that his argument was sufficient (Ecclesiastes 12:13). He presented all the evidence necessary to make his point. I believe it was important to let the preacher make his point the way he wanted to. Repetitions of themes like vanity and toil and death and joy were his, and they were for a reason. Besides, it was enough work to understand what he wrote, let alone think I could add to his case or correct him.

Third, I didn’t take a Tigger bounce to a bunch of happier, feel-good truths because that is our modern tendency for everything. We don’t like being depressed. We avoid heaviness and hurt. We soft-pedal the bitterness and uncertainty. It’s no wonder we’re not prepared for it. So we’re benefited by feeling the burden of vanity, wrestling with emptiness and coming to the end of our rope so that we would fear God.

Only a couple times did I allow myself to take a step back from Ecclesiastes, most notably on Christmas when I talked about the Incarnation as a story of God embracing vanity and considered what it meant for the Son of God to enjoy the process. Then again on Resurrection Sunday we spent some time considering why Ecclesiastes needs Easter. The empty tomb proclaims the story of God conquering vanity and putting death to death, shining a lamp of hope for life under the sun.

But now that we’re done with Solomon’s sermon I want to remind you and encourage you by showing how Ecclesiastes fits in God’s revelation, and in particular how it both braces us for almost unbelievable eternal hope and warns us about almost unbearable eternal misery.

To do that I’d like to point out just two elements of context: what got us into Ecclesiastes and what gets us out? In other words, why is life under the sun full of trouble and hassle and pain and vanity? Where did that come from? And then is there an answer to the absurdity? Can meaning be found in meaninglessness? If yes, how can we sign up for that?

What Got Us into Ecclesiastes?

Or, how did we get into this mess in the first place? Is the negative, pessimistic picture Solomon presents an accurate perspective? Is it consistent with the rest of what Scripture teaches about life under the sun?

Yes, it is consistent, and we believed it would be since Ecclesiastes is as much God-breathed and profitable as the other books. But we’ll see the clear connection by considering just three events on which everything in Ecclesiastes hinge.

1. Creation

You might think of this as a “duh principle,” since if there was no creation then there would be no life, no sun, and no search for satisfaction in life under the sun. But don’t miss the profound foundation.

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 reveal that God created the universe, the earth, the sun, and humans, out of nothing. It is entirely His work. It exists due to His creativity and operates under His authority and prerogative. Ecclesiastes corroborates this truth over and over. God’s sovereignty crawls under every verse you turn over. Every time you turn a chapter His control and our lack of control jumps out. What He does endures forever; no one can add to it or take from it (3:14). He manages the weather and causes plants to grow or not (11:5-6). He determines whether we receive love or hate (9:1). He dispenses joy or withholds it (5:19, 6:2). He is explicitly called our Creator (12:1).

Life under the sun starts with creation; it is the stage on which everything in Ecclesiastes is played out.

2. The Fall

Though the word sin is not frequent in Ecclesiastes (only 7 times), it is the culprit behind the oppression, behind the jealousy, envy, and strife, behind foolishness and rash behavior, behind vain worship, and behind the search for satisfaction in idols (like pleasure, work, money, entertainment, relationships, sex, etc.).

In Genesis 3 we learn that Adam and Eve are to blame for bringing vanity into the family. Adam’s disobedience opened the door for sin and gave sin run of the house. Give sin and inch and it takes over under the sun.

It was the first time someone pursued satisfaction outside of God, in something on earth. The first couple could not have been in a better situation to enjoy the process since there was no problem with the process, but they went after worthless things.

Sin blinded all humanity so that they would not look beyond the sun. You may remember how this exact thing described the nation of Israel in Jeremiah 2:5, 11-13.

Thus says the LORD:
“What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?”

Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Idolatry was no less a problem in Israel than for the Gentiles. They went after “worthlessness.” They tried drinking from empty, broken, dirty cisterns. They offended creation itself by their failure to seek satisfaction in God.

All the misery and endless, empty searching under the sun in Ecclesiastes, and in our day as well, started with the fall. A failure to fear God and keep His commandments plunged us into this mess. Ecclesiastes reminds us how dangerous and consequential sin really is.

3. The Curse

Though the story of the curse isn’t repeated in Ecclesiastes, God’s curse on creation and men explains the tangible results of sin under the sun.

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:17-19)

In Genesis 3 the curse accounts for why life is hard, why the business God has given us is difficult. The curse is the cause for why gathering and collecting is sweaty and never ending. The curse brought pain. More than anything else, the curse brought death. The certainty of death in Ecclesiastes corroborates God’s faithfulness to keep His Word, His anger toward sin, and His mercy to let us know and think about our death. It is God’s righteous judgment on sin.

Difficult toil until we die is God’s curse on everything under the sun. God did that.

It is safe to assume Solomon and his readers saw the direct relation between creation, the fall, and the curse with the vanity of life under the sun in Ecclesiastes. They would not have questioned how we got into this mess; there is nothing new under the sun. Vanity didn’t come out of left field, Ecclesiastes is just an organized case study with observations and conclusions about the misery and emptiness resulting from a broken relationship between man and his Creator. That’s how we got into Ecclesiastes.

As a footnote, it sure does seem like that Genesis book as some good stuff in it. Maybe we should study that sometime.

What Gets Us Out of Ecclesiastes?

Or, is there a remedy to the vanity? Is there light at the end of Ecclesiastes and hope for life under the sun?

Yes. Ecclesiastes itself clears some space for the answer, but the rest of Scripture fills in the gaps. Similar to how we got into the mess, I want to highlight three events that get us out. These are things Solomon and his readers would not have known, but they are things that we can know that give us greater wisdom if we will pay attention.

1. The Resurrection

As celebrated this past Resurrection Sunday, Jesus is the solution to every problem in Ecclesiastes in one way or another. His perfect life enabled Him to be a worthy Lamb slaughtered in the place for those who believe. His death on the cross satisfied God’s judgment on all us sinners who confess our failure to fear Him and keep His commandments.

The resurrection killed death. It simply does not have the sting for those in Christ any more. It is not the enemy, even though we still don’t know when ours will be. When or perspective is right we realize death is more exciting than excruciating (even though the process of death might be painful). The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our resurrection to eternal life because God says so. God did that too.

The resurrection keeps us from dying in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17), it keeps us from being pitied (15:19), it makes suffering unjustly worthwhile (15:30-32), it keeps enjoying the process from being condemnable (15:32), it takes the sting out of death (15:54-56), and it makes work (in the Lord and for the Lord) not in vain (15:58). The resurrection is the ground for our salvation from sin and vanity.

2. Pentecost

Pentecost is the descent of the Holy Sprit on the disciples after Jesus ascended. The coming and individual indwelling of the Holy Spirit is an advantage that cannot be overstated.

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:13). Ecclesiastes never really lets us touch that kind of assurance or certainty about our eternal condition. But the Holy Spirit secures us.

And we have another huge advantage that Solomon and his readers could only have imagined. The indwelling Holy Spirit works in us while we’re still under the sun, in a supernatural way, producing fruit that corresponds to our needs in the midst of vanity. For example, but not limited to:

• love - whether you get love or hate or hate back (9:1)
• joy - even in the day of adversity (7:14)
• peace - even when wickedness is in the place of righteousness (3:16)
• patience - when unrighteous go unpunished (8:10) or when we cast our bread on the waters (11:1)
• kindness - toward oppressors
• goodness - when no one else is obeying around us (8:11)
• faithfulness - to fulfill our vows/commitments (5:5)
• gentleness - toward foods (10)
• self-control - while basking in youth (11:9)

In addition, the Spirit gives wisdom and illuminates Scripture for our understanding. He grants us power for ministry and produces holiness and shapes us into Christlikeness. The Holy Spirit is the effective, empowering influence that enables us to endure and enjoy, to fear and obey.

3. Final Redemption

It gets even better. The resurrection of the Son and the indwelling of the Spirit culminate in final redemption. All of the vanity under the sun is temporary. It will eventually be overcome, fully and finally for believers and creation. For example, the apostle Paul said,

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8)

The word futility in verse 20 is the same Greek word used to translate hebel, vanity, in the Septuagint. Creation feels the effects of the curse, it groans under vanity, and waits to be set free. So do we. But redemption is our hope now and our certain future. Just because we can’t see it right now doesn’t mean it isn’t certain. We need to wait with patience.

Things will begin to change at the end of the tribulation as Christ’s kingdom comes (Revelation 11:15-18). This is what we pray for, “Your kingdom come.”

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants,
the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

Wrath will be poured out on the nations and on men who failed to fear God and who set themselves against His authority. But those who fear His name, both the significant and the insignificant, will be rewarded with eternal joy.

And then there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1-8).

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

In the new heaven and the new earth there will be no distance, no separation between us and God. And as we dwell with God, He will remove every hint of vanity and hurt and death!

Even to the point where we’re no longer living under the sun or dependent on the sun or basking in the sun as something God allows. We will live under God’s glory and in the light provided by the Lamb.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. (Revelation 21:22-25)

“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” will be replaced with “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). And we will sing forever, Revelation 15:3-4–

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Conclusion

If you hoped Ecclesiastes was just hot air, the ranting of a cranky old cynic, you’ll be disappointed. The vanity of life is the Biblical reality under the sun due to sin and the curse.

Because of that Ecclesiastes is an evangelism tool if there ever was one. Vanity is common ground, accepted by believers and unbelievers, for proclaiming the gospel. We can explain how we got into the mess and the gospel explains how to get out. Vanity and the blinding of sin and the broken cisterns beg for a Savior. The good news doesn’t promise your best life now, but it does promise salvation from sin and corruption and depravity that are part of the cursed world and lead to eternal damnation. Your best life comes later.

Those who do not fear God, who do not put their faith in Christ, have no experience in His resurrection, they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, and instead of awaiting final redemption, they are storing up wrath for themselves and they will bear that just wrath of their Creator forever in hell. God will bring every deed into judgment, and every death verifies how serious He takes sin.

For those of us who do fear God, we say with the apostle John in Revelation 22:20-21–

“Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Amen.”