Ecclesiastes part 7
There is One Who is Eternal | Ecclesiastes part 7
I mentioned an interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson awhile back in which he asked this question:
Interviewer: “Can you explain what our current suffering means in the context of a potentially infinite galaxy?”
Tyson: “No” <chuckles>
Tyson: Here’s my thing. We have come to define significance as ‘I’m special and everything else isn’t.’ Religions thinking they’re special. Cultures thinking they’re special. Individuals thinking they’re special. The top four ingredients in life, in your body, top four atoms ion order: Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen. Those four atoms. Do you know the top four atoms in the Universe? The top four chemically active atoms in the Universe? Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen.
Interviewer: I am the Universe
Tyson: Yes! So upon learning that you are not special because you do not include special ingredients, is the same fact that includes that the idea that while we live in this universe, the universe lives in us. We are special because we are the same.
I have been captivated by this line of reasoning ever since I watched the interview. Now, I honestly enjoy listening to Tyson. That’s why I watched the interview. He is an amazing educator. Anyone who can make learning science fun is a hero in my book. But it is heartbreaking listening to his argument, because it is the argument from someone who has taken in the lie that “under the sun” is all there is. There is matter, and this life, and that’s it. It is a worldview of pure materialism, and now, he is asked to make sense of this life. So he ends up grasping at straws, because without eternity, without God, without accepting there is life “above the sun,” this life is meaningless. And so, he comes up with this notion that because we are made of the same stuff as the rest of the Universe, then we can have significance. Because we are built by the same atoms that build everything else, we are somehow special.
It sounds good (I assume—the interviewer loved it), but I reject it. The fact that we are made of the same substance as everything else points us to a Creator. The Universe has a common design, because it has a Creator who has designed it with order and purpose. And if there is a Creator, Who designs with purpose, then that means we are designed with purpose! And that is what makes us special. God made us, on purpose, with purpose, and for His purpose. This fact transforms life under the sun. And even more so, He has given us wisdom to live this life as He designs it.
As we finish our series on Ecclesiastes, I want us to keep mind 12:11:
The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.
Ecclesiastes 12:11
If we go through an entire book of wisdom, but it does not prompt us to live better, then we have wasted our time. Ecclesiastes, like the rest of the Bible, is not given to us so we can gain head knowledge. The words of the wise are not for enriching our Trivia Pursuit game. They are meant to transform our thinking which will transform our living. Consider how James says it in 1:22:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22
If we know the truth, and the right way of living, but never put it into practice, then we deceive ourselves. We think we are in a better place, but the truth of our actions demonstrate we are no better than before.
Wisdom is to be put into action, not kept on the bookshelf.
With that in mind, I mentioned last week there are two major takeaways from Ecclesiastes. The first is this:
We can enjoy the life and work given to you by God, because we know it will be used by God to build His Kingdom.
Whatever we do in this life, we do as for the Lord, because ultimately it is the Lord who gives us this life, and all good gifts. It is this attitude that will keep us going through even the darkest times.
Second, Ecclesiastes reminds us:
There is only One Who truly knows eternity—our Creator and Savior.
This last theme, at first glance, may seem redundant, especially in light of the ephemeral themes we have been looking at, but it is important to remind ourselves the simple truth: “There is a God, and I’m not Him.” The traps Ecclesiastes describes are traps that fall under the category of trying to be God ourselves rather than leaning on Him to do the things that only He can do.
This theme is best described in the last chapters, so let’s begin in chapter 11.
Invest in Life | Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Cast your bread upon the waters,
for you will find it after many days.
Give a portion to seven, or even to eight,
for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
There is a direct link between the acceptance (not just knowledge, but acceptance) that everything we have will be gone one day and the ability to be generous. We invest our time and energy into producing value to the world around us, but we also can invest in the lives of others when we understand that everything is temporary anyway.
Verse 1 has an interesting saying that is actually interpreted a couple of different ways. In fact, if you happen to have a NIV and a CEV Bible, you can compare them and see how theologians have interpreted this. The more literal translation is what we read in the ESV. But, in the NIV we read,
Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 NIV
While the CEV reads,
Be generous, and someday you will be rewarded.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 CEV
So, which is it? Well, the context of the chapter lends itself to the second. Look at verse 2 and verse 6 together. The principle is simply this:
Invest in this life because you do not know what God will make of it.
We should do as much good as we can, because we don’t know what God will make of it. Sometimes we will cast our bread, and it will produce an abundance. Sometimes we might not get a thing. But, do good anyway, because it’s better to try than to do nothing.
Consider this wisdom in light of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
A man goes on a journey, but before he leaves, he gives three of his servants a portion of money. The first two take their money and invest it, doubling their money. But the third decides to bury his money, because he is afraid to lose it. Now, when the man returns, he is of course joyful at the work of the first two. But listen to what he says to third servant:
But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Matthew 25:26-27
The lesson is simple: do something with what you are given. It is better to invest a little, gaining a little, than to do nothing having nothing to show for it.
When we “cast our bread” upon the waters, we are putting to action the principle of sowing and reaping. As any gardener or farmer can tell you, if you want apples, you have to plant apple seeds. If you want corn, you have to plant corn seed. Whatever you want out of this life, you have to plant seeds for it.
The same is true for anything in this life, including goodness, justice, righteousness, faith, and fairness. The more you plant seeds of joy and goodness, the more you will reap. Now, it is not a mathematical principle, it is a life principle. Sometimes, people being sinful people will not return your goodness in kind. If we plant seeds, there is a chance for a return and a chance of failure. But, if we never plant seeds, we will certainly receive nothing. As verse 4 says, if we just watch the wind, we won’t sow, and if we just watch the clouds, we will not reap.
If we sit back and do nothing, we can expect nothing to happen.
With that in mind, skip down to verse 9, because here the passage begins the transition into what eternally matters.
Enjoy life in light of Eternity | Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
Every once in awhile, Christians, or those who observe Christians, get it in their heads that the Christian life is about trouble and constant torment in following rule after rule. But, that’s just simply not true. In fact, the Christian life is about living a truly fulfilled life.
It is perfectly good to pursue a joyful life. In fact, Ecclesiastes says, go for it! Enjoy life while you can! But, it also says, just know that whatever we do in this life will fall under the judgement of God.
We tend to read that very negatively, but that feeling is a leftover of the guilt of our sin. For the lost person, the judgement of God is absolutely something to be feared. If we remain in our sin, and we live our life filled with sin, it is eternal damnation.
But for the forgiven Christian, God’s judgement is not condemnation, it is discipline. Consider what Paul says in Romans 8,
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
Now, why can he say that? Because Christ is in us. Skip down to verse 9.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:9-11
Christ changes everything—even death into life! If we focus on things only “under the sun” as the Preacher has been doing, then we will either live this life on eggshells hoping to not “make God mad,” or we will live this life recklessly, believing there is nothing we can do to change anything. Here, the Preacher is saying, “Live well, but know there is judgement coming.” On this side of the cross, we can say, “Yes, that’s true, but for those in Christ Jesus, there is only eternal life! The judgement of God is not the end of us.”
The principle in Ecclesiastes is this,
Enjoy your life while you have it, but remember that God will reckon all that is done.
Now, if you have not turned from your sin, then this is dire news indeed. But, if you turn from your sins, turn to Christ who freely gives eternal life and forgiveness, then it is freedom! It is freedom to live this life well, and live this life knowing the end is not really the end!
Living in light of eternity gives us freedom to live well in even the darkest times.
And with that in mind, turn with me to Ecclesiastes 12.
The End of the Matter | Ecclesiastes 12
Verses 1-8 describe one of these dark times. It is one of those rare passages that holds two meanings. The first is a poetic description of the end of our lives. There is a time when this world fades away for us, and that is when our bodies fade away. But, it also can refer to the time when this world fades away, because this world is fading away. Read 1-8 with me.
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8
These verses summarize the lessons of the last 11 chapters. Remember you have a Creator. Place that as priority 1, because evil days are coming when we will have no pleasure in them. Notice in the following verses, the imagery is very similar to the imagery found in prophecies regarding the End Times. The sun is darkened, and the moon and stars quit shining. The rain stops. Commerce comes to a halt. Terrors fill the cities and hearts. It is a time of mourning. These same signs are foretold by Jesus and the prophets.
Remember your Creator during the days of your life, because there is an end to this life.
This principle is not just about our individual lives, but also it is about this world’s life. The age of this world is coming to an end. It will culminate in some bad times, but when we look at the coming end in light of eternity, we can recognize the Good News!
The Lord will re-create Heaven and Earth, and those who turn from their sin will take part in the New Creation.
And this truth is why we can live out the wisdom found in Ecclesiastes. We are taking part in a much larger story than the handful of decades we live on this earth.
Let’s read the final summation of Ecclesiastes with our eyes on eternity.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments, because the fact of the matter is this:
The only truly eternal thing in this life is our relationship with God.
Our wealth will pass away.
Our families will pass away.
Our success will pass away.
Our “good time” will pass away.
But, our God will never pass away. And for those in Christ Jesus, though we die, we will not pass away either. He will grant us eternal life!
So, how we live this life really does matter! Even though in light of eternity it seems like a meaningless blip, it matters, because God is using our lives for His glory and to build His Eternal Kingdom. So yes, everything comes under judgment, because not everything is worth bringing into eternity. God is building a perfect Creation that is good and wonderful. There is no place for our sin.
So, we live this life in light of eternity and in light of the coming Kingdom that God is building.
So, fear God, keep His commandments, and be part of the coming Kingdom. Turn from your sin, and turn to Jesus who grants forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life to all who will take hold of it.