SERMON TITLE: Ecclesiastes (Jesus, the Only Guarantee in Life)
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 9:1-12; 10:8-9 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 6-12-22
Watch the sermon here.
Take notes with the Sermon Discussion Guide here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re in the fourth week of our Finding Jesus series. This is a series where each week I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. I give an overview of the entire book and then we focus on a section of it. And finally — and this is what I hope is most helpful — each week I show you how to find Jesus. I show you how to find the one story the whole Bible is telling — the story of Jesus. Because the whole Bible is ultimately pointing us to him.
And in this iteration of our Finding Jesus series — we’re looking at five books in the Old Testament often called the Wisdom literature. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Ecclesiastes. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Ecclesiastes chapter 9.
In previous weeks, we’ve looked at the books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs — and next week we’ll look at the Song of Songs. And parents — next week you’ll either want to be prepared to have “the talk” with your children — or — make sure you drop them off in Kidway if you’re not ready to have “the talk” yet. I’ve given this warning each week as I don’t want anyone to be surprised when we get to the Song of Songs.
Now my hope — for all of us in this series — is that we’ll grow to know and love these books and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.
So let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of Ecclesiastes — and I hope you’ll see that Ecclesiastes is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.
First, what do we know about the book of Ecclesiastes — for example — who wrote it? Solomon — King David’s son — is believed by many to be the author of this book. As we learned last week — when looking at the book of Proverbs — Solomon was king of Israel for forty years. We also learned that “Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. 4 The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. 5 That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” 6 Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. 7 “Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.” (1 Kings 3:3-10 NLT)
Solomon was given the opportunity to ask God for anything and he asked for wisdom. And — in the book of Ecclesiastes — we’re given insight into some of his wisdom. One theologian — from the 19th century — summarized Solomon’s three books — Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs this way.
Song of Songs is written from the perspective of wisdom in the springtime of youth. Proverbs is written from the perspective of wisdom in adulthood. And Ecclesiastes is written from the perspective of wisdom in the disappointment of old age. (Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, vol. 1 (reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1874), 1-2.) Last week — we saw wisdom in adulthood. Today we’ll encounter wisdom in old age. And — next week — wisdom in the springtime of youth.
Now — what about the title of our book — Ecclesiastes. The title comes from the Septuagint — the Greek translation of the Old Testament — from the word’s translated in our English Bibles as “the Preacher” or “the Teacher.” In Greek — the root of the word Ecclesiastes means “assembly” — or what we commonly call today “the church.” So the Teacher — in our book — is speaking to the “assembly.”
Now — when you read Ecclesiastes — you’re going to notice that it’s not the most uplifting piece of literature you’ve ever read. On a surface level — you may wonder if the author’s just a super negative — glass is half-empty — kind of person. It seems as if he’s depressed because life hasn’t met his expectations. And this is because of a phrase you’ll read multiple times in the book. The phrase is “Vanity of vanities…”. (ESV) Or — as other Bible translations try to capture the meaning of the expression with “Meaningless! Meaningless!” (NIV) or “Futile! Futile!” (NET) or “Everything is meaningless…completely meaningless!” (NLT) or “Smoke…vapor!” (Emily Hanson translation. You can find her Bible memory videos, including all of Ecclesiastes, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgohOK7H4BC9jiUjiQyCkWQ/videos) Words used to describe the reality for all of us — everyone’s favorite subject — we’re all gonna die.
Yet — upon closer inspection — you’ll find that the author’s point is that — though the pleasures of life can’t fulfill our ultimate longing and desires — there’s always a hollowness to life’s pleasures, isn’t there — it’s why we’re never satisfied and always longing for something more — what the author’s teaching us is that though life’s pleasures can’t fill this longing we all have — they can be enjoyed when they’re received as gifts from God. Meaning that — no matter our circumstances in life — we can look for God’s hand of blessing — his working behind the scenes — orchestrating all that we experience in life — both in seasons of rejoicing and in seasons of sorrow. The Teacher wants us to understand that — no matter how much we strive and try to achieve and fight for control over our lives — ultimate comfort and rest and joy are found in knowing, believing, and trusting that God is sovereign — that he’s in control over all things — including all the details of our lives.
As one person has said, “We may summarize the message of Ecclesiastes as the emptiness of life, even at its best, without God, and the richness of life, even at its worst, when lived with God.” (Kenneth G. Hanna, From Moses to Malachi: Exploring the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2014), 314.) Without God — life is empty — even at its best. But — with God — life is rich and full — even at its worst. And this is good news.
So that’s the bird’s eye view of what’s going on. Now, let’s turnto the book itself. The book has 12 chapters with 222 verses. And here’s one way to outline the book. (https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Ecclesiastes.html)
Chapters 1 and 2 mention many of the things we humans try to find fulfillment in — the things we turn to in order to find what we believe is ultimate. And you may be surprised by all that’s covered. For instance, the discovery of something new — as ultimate — is mentioned. Could be a scientific discovery, a technological discovery, and so on. As are wisdom and philosophy, self-indulgent pleasure, alcohol, architecture, property, and luxury. All of these things — the teacher says — are meaningless without God — even morality is meaningless without God. Here’s a lesson for parents. If the goal of your parenting is to raise a good, well-behaved child — the teacher would tell you you’re traveling a path of meaninglessness. Our goal — as parents — should be to raise children who know, fear, love, and obey God.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 highlight other things that are meaningless when God’s taken out of the equation. Things like politics, death, wealth, and friendships — all meaningless without God.
Chapters 6 through 8 is where the teacher pivots a bit and asks the reader to consider how God makes all of life meaningful.
The final chapters — which is where our passage comes from — chapters 9 through 12 — wrap up the book by summarizing what the meaning of life is. The closing words being, “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13b-14 NLT)
Christian or not — explore this book. Wrestle with what the teacher says and your longings in life. Especially that life — without God — no matter how good — is meaningless. And that life — with God — no matter how difficult — is rich and full and has meaning.
Which leads us to the section of the book we’re going to focus on today. Hopefully you’ve had time to find Ecclesiastes chapter 9. We’ll begin in verse 1 as we discover a way to find Jesus in the book of Ecclesiastes — and in all of the Bible.
But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. 7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
And — now — examples of the “vanity of vanities” — the “meaninglessness” that’s found throughout Ecclesiastes.
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
Another example is found in chapter 10 — beginning in verse 8.
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. (Ecclesiastes 9:1-12; 10:8-9 ESV)
Anyone like to be in control of your life? I’m sure you not only like being in control — but have no desire for others to be in control of your life. We want control over who we are, what we do, our passions and vocation, right? We don’t want anyone to tell us those things — we want control.
But — if we’re honest — we find ourselves in the midst of a conflict when it comes to control. It starts early on in life — experiencing the expectations of our parents or other authority figures. These aren’t always bad expectations — though some have experienced the abusive control of others and their expectations.
We also find conflict — with wanting to be in control of our lives — when we smack into the brick wall of reality that keeps us from our dreams. It could be your physical makeup — which means you’ll never play a professional sport — you’re just not the right size for what the sport requires — it’s out of your control. Maybe you lack natural talent — whatever that is. I experienced this when I played the saxophone. I could practice all I wanted but I was never going to be as good as others — something was missing — something out of my control. There are all kinds of examples — of this conflict we’re in — for control over our lives and — yet — we don’t have the kind of control we want to have.
And most people in our society don’t know what to do with this reality. They’ve taken God out of the equation — thus they’re left with a mind boggling scenario where they desire to control their own destiny, sincerely believe they can control it, and yet constantly find themselves lacking control. And — without taking God into account of all that happens in their life — all they’re left with is to find an enemy. Someone or something that’s controlling them and keeping them from achieving their ultimate fulfillment in life. The popular enemy today being oppression and systemic “this or that” as the reason why no one seems to be in control of their destiny.
Yet — the Christian faith offers a different answer as to why we feel this tension of desiring control of our lives while so often experiencing the out-of-controlness of life. For Christianity keeps God in the equation. And — even more so — the Christian faith teaches that God’s providence — that he’s working behind the scenes — orchestrating everything in our lives for his ultimate purpose — and God’s sovereignty — that he has the power tomake what he wants to happen to happen — the Christian faith teaches that God’s providence and sovereignty are often right in the middle of the conflict of our desire to be in control and the experience that our life is out of our control.
But — when we remove God from the equation — as many have done — which maybe you’ve done — all we’re left with is a life with no guarantees. Which is what we find in our text from Ecclesiastes — a life without God is a life with no guarantees. Let me show you — we’re back in verse 1 of chapter 9.
But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 ESV)
The teacher begins with the only guarantee a godless view of life can offer — everyone will die. Righteous people die. Wicked people die. People full of love die. People full of hate die. Good people, evil people, the religious, the irreligious, the one who keeps his word and the one who breaks his word — everyone dies. How you live doesn’t matter — if there’s no god — because death’s coming for you no matter what. So it’s all meaningless! What hopelessness in this godless worldview.
Add to this that — the teacher says — this fate of death is evil. As one commentary explains, “Death is ‘the evil’, not simply a natural phenomenon…The astonishing thing, however, is that instead of reckoning with the meaning of death, humans fill their lives with the distractions of a thousand passions and squander what little time they have to immediate but insignificant worries.” (Duane Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1993), 331.) Death is evil and it’s coming for all of us while we distract ourselves to death. What “distractions of a thousand passions” are you squandering away what little time you have? We don’t have to wonder — Ecclesiastes is full of examples of the distractions we squander our lives away with.
And — then — the teacher says the last thing we’d expect. He says there’s still hope for those who are living. What — why? Because they know they will die. And — in knowing you will die — you can choose to live in a way that matters. But be careful of your definition of what matters — because — the teacher warns us that often — the things we think that matter — don’t matter after our death — for they’ll be forgotten.
This is the meaninglessness in the words of actors when they say they’ll live forever in their films. They think being a movie star will make them immortal — yet think of how quick we are to forget even actors. Those who are the stars of today will be forgotten in 20 or 30 years — definitely in a hundred years.
And — if this is true for actors and other celebrities — what does this mean for the average person like you or me? Two examples from my own life of how this has played out. First, I know practically nothing about my great-grandparents. I know a little about my grandparents — but in many ways — they lived entire lives that I know very little about. And — if someday I have grandkids — my life will be virtually unknown to them. I’ll be a figure in their family tree — someone they may have fond memories of — but most likely — for any great-grandchildren — I’ll be as much of a stranger to them as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.
Second — and don’t worry — this example’s freeing — even though it may seem equally depressive. I remember when I had the thought of how — in the history of the Christian faith — there’s usually one or two key people in each generation that’s remembered. Why does that matter? I’m gonna let you in on a little secret about pastors. We pastors have the same desire to be a somebody — to be remembered — to not be forgotten — like everyone else. And — I remember the freedom in realizing that — just as all the other centuries of church history have one or two key figures — Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon — I remember when I realized that I’m not going to make the cut for our century of church history. We think our generation’s gonna be remembered, don’t we — even our Christian generation — because we’re so focused on the present. And I remember thinking, “I wonder who — in 500 years — will be the one or two people remembered from this century of Christianity? Rick Warren? John Piper? Tim Keller? Andy Stanley? Charles Stanley? Louie Giglio? Steven Furtick? Craig Groeschel? Joel Osteen?” Those are only American names — by the way — maybe it’ll be Pastor Cho who pastored the largest church in the world in South Korea. But — here’s what I do know — it’s not going to be me. And do you know what this thought did for me? It freed me to get off the treadmill of trying to control my ministry influence — and making a name for myself — and freed me to be satisfied in simply being a faithful pastor who’ll be forgotten.
Which leads us to verse 7.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 ESV)
How about this for a surprise? Life can be enjoyed even though death’s inevitable. Food, and clothes, and relationships, and work can all be sources of joy in life — even being a pastor who won’t be remembered can be a source of joy — but life will constantly come up feeling empty and meaningless when God’s removed from the equation. For when we remove God — when we ignore him and live apart from him — as if he’s not the Giver of these gifts we’re to enjoy — in a life without God everything becomes meaningless.
Which — before we get to Jesus — one last look at how a godless life leads to everything being vanity — meaningless — like vapor blown in the wind. We’re in verse 11 of chapter 9.
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
And in verse 8 of chapter 10 we read…
8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12; 10:8-9 ESV)
The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race. The strongest army doesn’t always win the battle. The wise and intelligent don’t always find success. Sometimes you fall into the pit you’ve dug. Or you’re injured when cutting stones or wood — no matter how many safety protocols you have in place.
I’m sure you’ve heard of individuals — who were the picture of health and fitness — who died of heart failure. Every now and then we hear of a plane crash in which all the passengers — those who could pay cash for their first class seat and those who put their economy seat on a credit card hoping to pay it off over the course of a few months — regardless of their financial situation — all die in the tragedy. Or take the 2007 New England Patriots who had an unbelievable season until “the helmet catch” ended their undefeated season with a loss in the Super Bowl to a team that had an average season at best. According to one report, the Giants win cost Las Vegas sports books $2.6 million in losses. It seemed like a sure bet — but — the win doesn’t always go to the team with the best record and the most talent, does it? There are no guarantees in life — without God — other than death.
Which leads us to Jesus and to really great news. For Jesus is the only guarantee in life that leads to victory over death. Jesus is the guarantee that a life with God is a life that overcomes death.
We looked at part of this passage last week — but if we turn to the New Testament book of Colossians — we find these words of Paul. He writes, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.” (Colossians 1:15-23 NLT)
Jesus Christ — who is God — who eternally exists — who created everyone and everything and reigns supreme over all — holds everything together. Jesus Christ — who’s the head of the church — is its Leader — its Shepherd — its Pastor — is the One through whom God has reconciled a rebellious and sinful people to himself. Jesus Christ is the One who makes unholy people holy. Who gives fulfillment to life. Who gives us reason to rejoice even while surrounded by death itself. Jesus is the Giver of every good gift in our lives — the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the people in our lives, and the work we do. A life with Jesus is a meaningful life.
In addition to these marvelous truths about Jesus — to the Christians living in Rome — Paul writes, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)
Because of all that Christ has done for us — in his life, death, and resurrection — through faith in him — through living — not a godless life — but a God-centered, Christ-exalting life — we know with certainty that all things are working together for our good. For we are loved by God and we love him in return — knowing that we’ve been called according to his purpose. Thus we’ve found the only guarantee in life — Jesus Christ. And though our eyes may see what only appears to be vanity and meaninglessness — just the passing of a vapor in the wind — we fix our spiritual eyes on Jesus Christ. The One who said death no longer has the final word — for he defeated death on our behalf on the cross and has declared that life without him is meaningless — but life with him is rich and meaningful.
Many are searching for meaning to life while they live as if God doesn’t exist. But the full life — the life of joy and hope and peace and love and purpose — the life you long for — is found in Jesus Christ and in him alone. This is what the teacher wants you to know — this is what I hope you’ll believe today. Jesus sees that we’ve all fallen into a pit that we dug ourselves — a pit of wanting to control our lives and find purpose and meaning without him. And — in love — Jesus sees you in the pit — and he’s offering you his hand. He’s offering to lift you up out of the pit with only one guarantee — death. Look to Jesus Christ — believe in him — let him take you by the hand, pull you up out of the pit, and give meaning to your life. You can trust him — for he loves you. You can trust Jesus to give your life meaning for he’s the only guarantee in this life and in the life to come. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the words of the teacher. Words of wisdom of a long life lived. Words we can learn from and avoid many heartaches and regrets if we listen to his wisdom — wisdom you gave to him.
Spirit of God, give us the eyes to see the meaninglessness of a godless life. This is the life so many in our world are caught up in. If we look carefully — we’ll see that we’re living in the book of Ecclesiastes — with people chasing after meaning in things that always leave them unfulfilled and searching for more. Help us to not get caught up in this godless worldview — but to lovingly and graciously show a godless world the rich life you offer to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
And — Jesus — thank you for giving meaning to life. For making it even possible for us to know the meaning of life. To live a God-centered life — which is impossible for any of us to live without the work you accomplished in your life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. What a gift you’ve given to us — yourself — so we might know and experience the rich and full life of life with you — both in this life and in the life to come. In your name we pray. Amen.
May you go trusting Jesus to give meaning to your life — for he is the only guarantee in life. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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