The Vanity of Life Without God

Ecclesiastes, Vanity, and the Meaning of Life

Little bit longer. Open your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 1. The words of the preacher the son of David king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity.

What prophet has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the Sun? One generation passes away and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The Sun also rises and the Sun goes down and Hastens to the place where it arose.

The wind goes toward the south and turns around to the north. The wind whirls about continually and comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea. Yet the sea is not full To the place from which the rivers come there.

They return again. All things are full of labor man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing or the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done.

And there is nothing new under the Sun. Is there anything of which it may be said. See this is new. It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things nor will there be any remembrance of things which are to come.

Things that are to come by those who will come after I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man By which they may be exercised.

I have seen all the works that are done under the Sun and Indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight? And what is lacking cannot be numbered? I? communed with my heart saying Look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem.

My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge. And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also Is grasping for the wind? For in much wisdom is much grief and he who increases knowledge.

Increases sorrow. You may be seated when I was a small child. My parents read to me the story of.

Solomon they read to me about him praying that God would give him wisdom and that the Lord was pleased with that prayer.

I.

Remember as a Small boy recognizing that I too should pray for wisdom and Being encouraged to think about that and having ringing through my head this idea that wisdom was the thing that the Lord was pleased Solomon would ask for.

God told Solomon He didn't ask to rule your enemies. You didn't ask for wealth. He didn't ask for power. But because you've asked for wisdom You might rule your people. Well, I Will give you all of those things to a greater King.

The Lord Jesus Christ said seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be added to you. What were the things there. I was talking about the idea of clothing.

Food.

Provision from God all the things. That are the blessings that God can give that the seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness that that is. Something that God gives other blessings with as well.

That we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The shorter catechism Asks, what is the chief end of man. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. This question of the goal the main purpose the highest thing to be achieved is.

The question that the book of Ecclesiastes is asking about and it begins with the wrong answer. Solomon was a very good marketer. If you post something online and it's right and everybody agrees with you.

Nobody responds if you put something up and everybody disagrees with you or you're wrong. Then you get lots of responses. And so he starts with the wrong answer. This is the words of the preacher the son of David King in Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity. Hey, what what does that word mean? The word vanity means uselessness. Everything's useless. Everything's vain. Everything's meaningless and There are some amazing word pictures in this book that help you to think about useless activities.

My favorite one is grasping for the wind almost had it that time maybe this time. Did you keep it there? I like to ask my children If we're reading this to go. Hey Brett real quick credit grab the wind for me.

Did you get it this time? Did you keep it? Is there anything there in your hand? Was that was your hand more full than before you did that? Because it's a great picture for this idea of activity that gets you nothing.

It does nothing for you. It's useless and so Uselessness, I want to encourage you when you see vanity or something being vain. I want you to remember this idea that we're talking about useless activity.

Now if the goal is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Remember the shorter catechism. It also breaks into down for us. How do we know how to glorify God? Well the Bible the Bible tells us how to glorify God.

Okay, we spent a lot of time on that in 2nd Timothy. So then well, what are the major things that are taught there? Well, the shorter catechism breaks it down into two major areas. The knowledge of God.

But man is to believe concerning God and the duty that God requires of man. And that answer does not just come from the Westminster Assembly go to the very end of Ecclesiastes. We start with the wrong answer and the book ends with the right answer.

This is one of my favorite texts the whole book of Ecclesiastes. But also chapter 12, which I've taken to you too many times. Chapter 12 verse 9.

And moreover.

The preacher was wise he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many Proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable words and what was written was upright words of truth.

The words of the wise are like goads and the words of scholars and the literal wording there in the Hebrew is masters of assemblies. He's like the moderators that govern councils. The words of the wise are like goads.

The words of the masters of assemblies are like well-driven nails given by one shepherd and. Further my son be admonished by these be admonished by the words of the wise be admonished by the words of the masters of assemblies and further my son be admonished by these of Making many books there is no end and of much study and much study is wearisome to the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Okay, so here's this part. That's the conclusion of the whole matter. This is the answer to the whole thing. Here's the goal in life. This is How do you glorify God how do you fulfill the highest end.

Well in the way that the Scriptures tell you to the knowledge of God and The knowledge of the duties he gives and then applying it. Well, what does it say here? Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

Fear God and keep his commandments. Remember the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It's the beginning of wisdom so the knowledge of God and The keeping of his commandments that is the life that glorifies God and allows us to enjoy him for this is man's all.

This is the chief end of men. This is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment. Including every secret thing whether good or evil. Everything has everlasting consequence and will be as publicly known as is possible.

The Day of Judgment has a revealing of all things that have occurred and been done by rational creatures. And a displaying of it and God's rewarding of the righteous in Christ rewarding of the righteous angels punishing reprobate men and punishing reprobate angels.

These things are done on the Day of Judgment in a public way. Go back to the beginning of Ecclesiastes and you see. The words of the preacher the Son of David King in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities says the preacher vanity of vanities all is vanity in Hebrew.

What does repetition mean? Emphasis. When you have repetition and it's vanity of vanities you go. Wow, that's pretty vain. And then it goes, you know. Let's repeat that we're gonna double the doubling.

Vanity of vanities vanity of vanities. Is that kind of like? That times four. I mean, how does the math work on this? There's two times two or. So we end up there and then it's all is vanity. Is that like an exponent?

Like we just now have this even larger thing. By the power of vanity so we have vanity of vanities vanity of vanities all is vanity. So the repetition here is meant to emphasize. Everything seems useless and this is what happens from a certain perspective.

So when you look at the book of Ecclesiastes There are two major headers that you need to know that allow you to interpret the book. Properly throughout there are labels that are used by Solomon to help you to organize the whole book as you read it.

And.

I would encourage you in your Bible If you have a red pen or a highlighter. To highlight or underline every time you see one of these two phrases. So, you know, this is being used to interpret a chunk of text.

Here are the two phrases. Under the Sun which is used first time in verse 3 and under heaven Which is used for the first time in verse 13. Under the Sun Explains a view of the universe that says the highest thing here is the Sun.

The the most important thing the biggest thing the central thing is the material universe. And you know. There's either not a God or if there is a God. It doesn't matter. He doesn't govern things. He doesn't judge things.

There are no everlasting consequences. If there is a God is not a God to be feared. That is the perspective of under the Sun. It's this practical atheism Which so often even those who profess to believe the Christian religion?

Live out a.

Practical atheism. And the way they view the world and walk around. Interpreting their experience is to make everything meaningless. Give me let me give you an example of this. If you walk around and something bad happens and you go, of course.

What's that mean. What's that? Whoa, whoa, wait, wait a second something bad happened. You go, of course, of Course, of course is in bad stuff always happens to you curses. The way that you live in. Of course is in you expect the God who rules heaven to give you bad things.

When you ask him for bread he hands you stones and when you ask him for fish he gives you snakes. Is that how you're interpreting life? Or you say Murphy's Law. Bad stuff's gonna happen like all the time.

That's not what Murphy's Law is right. Murphy's Law is supposed to be anything that can happen given enough time will happen. That's Murphy's Law and we take that and kind of use it in a popular way to joke about.

You know anything bad that can happen is gonna happen to me. If we interpret the world that way.

God.

Controls everything and he works all things together. For the good of those who are called according to his purpose. That is not of course that is not Murphy's Law. That is not. Everything's meaningless and no matter what I try it's all gonna end up the same way.

To say that everything is meaningless is the wrong answer that we start with. Why does Solomon start with the wrong answer? First I want to take you. To think about who Solomon is for just a minute longer.

There's a couple of interesting places where Solomon gets talking about. Go to first Kings chapter 4 in Chapter 1 of first Kings. David intervenes to make sure that Solomon's proclaimed King when one of the other sons of David presumptuously tries to take kingship to himself.

David gives instruction to Solomon. David dies. Solomon deals with the execution of certain rebels in the state and we get to chapter 3 and we have the famous story of first Kings chapter 3 of Solomon asking God for wisdom and so I'm gonna read to you a little bit from there from Solomon from first Kings chapter 3.

Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt and marked and married Pharaoh's daughter. Then he brought her to the city of David. Until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall all around Jerusalem.

Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days and Solomon loved the Lord walking in the statutes of his father David except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and God said ask.

What shall I give you? Now right there God tells you to ask and I shall give you and you think to yourself. Wow, if God would just tell me to ask for something and he'd give it to me. That'd be great.

Well, the Lord Jesus Christ does tell us that. We're told that the things that we ask for in his name will be given. And that we have not because we ask not. We are to ask for things according to his law the things that he teaches us to ask for and we have that.

Sometimes we act like we don't but we do. But Solomon was asked by God. What you ask what shall I give you. And Solomon said you've shown great mercy to your servant David my father. Because he walked before you in truth in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you.

You have continued this great kindness for him and you have given him a son to sit on his throne as It is this day. Now O Lord my God you have made your servant King instead of my father David, but I am a little child.

Boys girls. Sometimes when you're talking to your parents talking to other people. Do you feel like that? Do you feel like? What what can I do? I'm just a little child little children. Remember to follow this example of Solomon this request.

He asks God for wisdom the little children even while you're young boys. Even while you're young ask God for wisdom girls. Even while you're young ask God for wisdom. Look at what Solomon does here. I am a little child.

I do not know how to go out or come in and your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen a Great people too numerous to be counted or numbered to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to your servant an understanding heart to judge your people that I may discern between good and evil.

What a beautiful thing it is to know your right hand from your left. What a beautiful thing it is to be able to discern good from evil for who is able to judge this great people of yours. The speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.

Then God said to him because you have asked this thing and have not asked long life for yourself. Nor asked riches for yourself nor have asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice.

Behold I have done according to your words. See I have given you a wise and understanding heart so that there has not been anyone like you before you. Nor shall any like you arise after you and I have also given you what you have not asked both riches and honor.

So there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked. Then I will lengthen your days. Then Solomon awoke and indeed it had been a dream and he came to Jerusalem.

And stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord offered up burnt offerings offered Peace offerings and made a feast for all his servants. The Lord used to give messages by dreams. There are various ways that he would speak to his prophets.

Dreams was one of them. The Lord no longer gives new prophecies. He does not communicate by vision or dream or voice booming to you from the sky. He once did. But he has told us that he has given to us the wholeness of his message in the scriptures and we have the complete scriptures.

And so we have the scriptures now and if you want a word from God you go there. When Solomon awoke he stopped doing unauthorized worship and went to do right worship. There's a story that follows that's the famous story of the two women with the baby and Solomon offering to split the baby.

That displays his wisdom. The beginning of chapter 4 talks about the system administer of administration of his government. And so we have wise Administration of justice and wise logistical ordering for the rule of the land and its defense and We move to the application of that wisdom to seeing what happens in chapter 4 verse 20.

So first Kings chapter 4 verse 20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude eating and drinking and rejoicing. We're told in Proverbs that it's a glory to a king to have many subjects and the lack of people.

As a downfall of a king Solomon here has this blessing and it's kind of funny, you know, because he wrote that proverb too. And so we have Proverbs written by Solomon a book of wisdom. We have here this explanation.

Given to us an inspired history talking about the blessings that he had verse 21 so Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines. As far as the border of Egypt. You know, the promise was to Abraham that from the River Euphrates to the River Nile.

His descendants would rule. That all that space would be dominated by them. The kingship of David resulted in a hegemonic rule of that zone. Received by Solomon as a great king ruling from the river to the river.

They brought tribute. He wasn't directly governing all of them, but he was governing all of them in the sense that they were all tributaries. They were all paying Money to Solomon. They were the vassal they were the tail.

He was the head. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. Now Solomon's provisions for one day was 30 cores of fine flour. 60 cores of meal. 10 fatted oxen. 20 oxen from the pastures and 100 sheep.

Besides deer gazelles row bucks and fatted fowl this is Basically the kitchen budget for Solomon. So whoever he had managing the kitchen is like this if you could just prepare this for service. So it could be eaten by the people in my household.

Every day.

The hundred sheep you might need to hire some assistants to butcher them. Maybe the 20 oxen also, you probably need at least one butcher for those maybe another one for the 10 fatted oxen and Probably you might need to hire some help to deal with all the grain.

I Don't know. I don't do these things. There's a lot being consumed there on a daily basis Verse 24 for he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river from Tifsa even to Gaza. Namely over all the kings on the side of the river and he had peace on every side all around him.

Right, the curse of strife was gone from him. There's the Toil, no, there's there's there's wealth. There's prosperity strife. No, there's there's peace peace by victory and Judah and Israel dwelt safely each man under his vine and his fig tree.

Remember those being talked about as blessings. Each man under his own vine in his own tree. Not being a slave of being a master of his own domain these blessings of prosperity and Liberty from Dan as far as Beersheba all the days of Solomon so from river to river.

From this city to that city from this city in the north to that city in the south. It is all this east to west. North to south river to river. We're doing very well right this whole zone. Has all of these benefits.

That's the idea here the people of God have all of this stuff. The fruits of the wise administration had been laid up by David and now administered by Solomon. Solomon had 40 ,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12 ,000 horsemen and these governors.

Each man in his month provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table. There was no lack in their supply. They also brought barley and straw to the proper place for the horses and steed steeds each man according to his charge and God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding and Largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.

Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than all men then Ethan the Ezra height and Heman. And Calico and Darda the sons of Mayhole and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

He spoke 3 ,000 Proverbs and his songs were 1 ,005. Also, he spoke of trees from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He spoke also of animals of birds of creeping things and of fish and men of all nations from all the kings of the earth.

Who had heard of his wisdom came to hear the wisdom of Solomon? He knew many things and Considered them carefully and thought upon them and pondered them in light of the glory of God and God raised him up so much with such power and such wealth and such honor and such reputation that In his being raised up in this way his rejoicing and gratitude became replaced.

With rather than looking to be under heaven he began to consider things as though Reality were just under the Sun. You see the two dividing portions for the whole book for interpreting it rightly to rightly divide the word of truth to be able to Rightly sort and organize the book of Ecclesiastes.

You have to consider under the Sun and under heaven. Please turn back to Ecclesiastes. When we talk about under the Sun we're talking about Looking at things in terms that there is not a God who governs there is not a God who commands with his law.

There is not a God who judges and sometimes even while affirming those things we can live like that's not true. We are all a mixture of belief and unbelief. And we must war against that unbelief. But to live under heaven is To live with the recognition that there is a God in heaven who rules all things he controls every event and he is a law that instructs us and the way that we should go and Everything will be brought into judgment.

The contrast between those No governance. No law. No judgment. All things are governed. The law is sufficient to tell us how we should live and everything will be judged. Maximally meaningful life under heaven and maximally meaningless life under the Sun and Solomon's point is basically There are really only two options.

You can try to make a lot of things into your goal into your purpose into your meaning. But they're all either living under the Sun. We're living under heaven. In other words you might say if you're not for Christ You're against him.

If you're not living under heaven, you're living under the Sun now. I'm not saying that living under heaven perfectly is how you are right with God. But we do not require. We do not require to have perfect obedience to be justified before God.

If that were the case we would all be damned. The law of God does require perfect obedience and we're forgiven because Christ died and paid for our sins. But we need to recognize that when we live life our goal needs to be to live under heaven.

With every thought every word and every deed. That's the goal. That's the how we glorify God. We want to live in that manner. So now as we come in the words of the preacher the son of David King in Jerusalem.

I Hope that this preacher Saw him in the son of David who is King in Jerusalem. Who he is is a little bit more front of mind. And when we think about him as a preacher, this is a preacher who had 3 ,000 Proverbs memorized and a hundred and I'm sorry a thousand and five songs memorized.

You have all of these things stored up in his heart. He had a great heart a.

Large heart.

To be large-hearted is to know much and to have much zeal. Right. He was he cared. He was not blase. He was knowledgeable. He was not ignorant and in addition to that He is one who chose much. He he wasn't indecisive.

He's decisively getting things done. He appoints an effective government. He makes judgments in court. He has things he studies he teaches other people. Kings come to him for counsel all of these things show.

And he was a man who was not afraid to act and he was not afraid to speak wise Zealous and effective a terrifying man a man who dominated the Near East the center of the world. This would mean that Solomon's domain the places that he Dominated would have been enormous.

It would have been similar to the Persian Empire. And this is the man who's in a position to say, you know, I can do whatever I want whenever I want. And you know the place I've come to is It kind of just doesn't matter.

That's how he starts the book and if that's how it seems to Solomon the preacher Son of David King in Jerusalem then what hope does a farmer or a mayor or a marginally well-to-do lawyer or Anybody have if if Solomon who has everything just goes, you know.

It's all kind of meaningless. Do you see how? Powerfully Depressing that would be if that's just sort of the conclusion. This guy is super wise and has access to Everything he could possibly want and he just thinks it's meaningless.

This is the conclusion that will come to whenever we make anything other than God and his glory the chief end. We make anything else into the thing to be pursued. And so this is the effect and so I need you to understand.

Not only is this a matter of truth? Not only is it true that God's Word gives to us a sufficient understanding of God and what he commands not only is it true that the Bible reveals the purpose of things and Tells us the nature of reality and not only is it true that the Bible tells us what's good and how to get it.

But also you need to understand That apart from that apart from pursuing the knowledge of God and pursuing his law to apply it All that is left to you is meaninglessness and despair and Despair is the Direction that things go when we are not seeking the knowledge of God are not growing in the knowledge of him are not seeking To apply what he commands when we make other things into the distractions that keep us from the knowledge of God.

The result is.

Despair.

Depression. Sadness to be overwhelmed by pain and sorrow. And so let's let's consider. Why is this? What is it that causes this? I asked the question in verse 3 What prophet has a man? From all his labor in which he toils under the Sun if you're just working for things from a perspective of Not taking into account the last judgment by God and The question is what prophet is and that's going to be the thing that's considered over and over again.

This book is a meandering consideration of the question. What value is it? What profit is it? What's the meaning of life? What's the goal? How do I get anywhere other than depression land? I keep driving for a bit and I keep ending back up in depression land, but I'm not trying to get there.

That's not where I want to go. Where I would like to go is to be joyful and rejoicing. So, how do I go there and it keeps taking a drive and the roads just keep circling back to depression land. That's what this is it's a meandering effort to consider it.

It's said of Augustine's writings. That digression is the method. When you read again, Augustine, he comes up with sort of this like, you know. Have you ever considered how you actually would know what's true or whatever and he goes that's a really interesting question.

You know and he takes you on a side journey for a while and after a while he kind of comes back and he goes and this thing that relates to the original question and You all of a sudden you go. Oh wait, that's actually way more clear that's really helpful.

You've set me up and he takes you back and he goes to the next point and Kind of digresses the other direction. The book of Ecclesiastes is like that. The question of what's the use of it all and he starts to give the answer and then he goes.

Yeah, but that's hard.

And.

He comes up with another answer that comes in that's an imposter and he gets distracted for a while. The imposters keep distracting him and he follows them for a ways and at a certain point he says Yeah, this was a bad idea.

Here. I am back in depression land followed the wrong road and He comes back to his senses and realizes he needs to pursue the knowledge of God and of his law. And so that's the thing here with Ecclesiastes and you might go really.

I mean that seems a little bit unrealistic. I don't know that sounds like life to me. That sounds like this constant. Pulling to be distracted from what really matters that the world pulls on us in the flesh.

Demonic doctrines and influences how they pull us away to distract us from pursuing what is really profitable. So verse 3 what profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the Sun? And he's gonna give us a bunch of different answers.

Well, what about pleasure or what about reputation or what about power? These are things he's gonna bring up and he's gonna look at the profit of these things from an under the Sun perspective. So verse 4 gives you the reason why under the Sun is really problematic.

Because you die. One generation passes away and another generation comes but the earth abides forever. There's this cycle. It's like people start off they get going and then they die. But here's other people starting off getting going and then they die.

And so it just begins this sense of like oh, is this just a meaningless cycle of repetition. And so much of the world says this right the world says, you know. Death is just part of the cycle of life.

That's paganism. That is under the Sun. Death is not part of life. Death is the end of life. Death is something that came from curse. Death is a result that comes from the fall sin brought death into the world and Death is a problem that must be conquered has been conquered Christ Conquered death and we have a resurrection.

Because he was raised and so we know that this doesn't just end here when we die. There is meaning because life doesn't just end. If life just ends. This is just a short bad movie and then it ends and there's no credits.

However, if instead it does not end then it is meaningful not meaning less. One generation passes away and another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. So now we have another cycle. There's the cycle of what looks like from an under the Sun perspective birth life death.

Redo.

And you know any philosophies are like that. Any philosophy that teaches reincarnation is teaching that birth life death redo. Makes it meaningless. The Sun also rises and the Sun goes down and hastens to the place where it arose.

This cycle the Sun over and over again the cycle of life the cycle of the Sun.

The.

Wind goes toward the south and turns around to the north. The wind whirls about continually and comes again on its circuit. We have life As a cycle, we have the Sun as a cycle. We have the wind as a cycle and here we come another one.

Verse 7. All the rivers run into the sea yet. The sea is not full to the place from which the rivers come there. They return again. The water cycle is a cycle here.

Life the Sun.

The wind.

Water.

We have all of this and you know, what's interesting is This the the earth that he deals with. He says that there's life that's on the earth, but the earth abides. You have all of these things with sort of some of the these these the pagan elements with this idea of earth and Sun and wind and water the basic elementals that are used in all sorts of pagan philosophies.

Laid out here as being cyclical. And so he is dealing with these philosophies that exist people talk about and they pretend like Thales in Greece. Several centuries later is the beginning of philosophy.

I don't know. Kind of seems like Solomon is dealing with philosophical issues. Substantially before that time these cycles that make everything meaningless that never in and you know what he does with the water.

He draws out something interesting. He says. All the rivers run into the sea yet. The sea is not full. This is something he's gonna harp on over and over again when he examines other false views of the good, you know, I.

I Could give pleasure. But I was never satisfied. I could eat. It was never Sufficient. I could pursue sexual gratification, but it was never enough. I could listen to nice songs. But my ears were never full.

None of these things ever.

Sufficiently.

Satisfied. And so there's this problem that.

These other things never finish the cycle that there's never full. It's just a treadmill. It's got to keep going and going and going. All things are full of labor. Verse 8. Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing or the ear filled with hearing so now man's activity becomes this treadmill of.

Work.