Pr Ko Lingkang

What is Life? (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

Introduction

In life, we all strive to find meaning and fulfilment in the things that we do. Nobody wants to live an aimless, unfulfilled life, one full of regrets and laments. However, do we know how to find this fulfilment? Do we want to have a meaningful life that brings glory to God?

The book of Ecclesiastes was a book written to address these issues. It asks the right questions about life, and then seeks to find the solution. We see Solomon as he asks: what profit does a man have in all the labours which he has in this life? Does it not all end in misery and death? He thus brings us through his journey as he experiments with life and observes the way people around him live, all in a bid to try to find fulfilment in this life. It is not a direct path that he takes, for he makes many mistakes along the way in his quest for meaning. Yet at the end of it all, he rightly concludes that above all, we must fear God and keep His commandments, for that is truly what man was made for.

As we read the book of Ecclesiastes, we have a timeless commentary on the frailty of human wisdom, and the vanity of a Godless life. It is a book that is highly applicable for our current atheistic age, where men refuse to acknowledge God, living lives only in pursuit of worldly pleasures and selfish gain. It is also pertinent to a world that is faced with so much pain, suffering and injustice. It is a world that on one hand questions the existence of God, and yet on the other blames God for all that is wrong in this world. In some sense, Solomon’s world was not too different from what we are facing now, and he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes as a reflective and retrospective look at the vanities of life that he had observed and experienced. This is therefore a book that is filled with practical wisdom to guide a man in any age to know the true meaning of life, and to realize that a life lived apart from God is a vain and pitiful existence. It is a book that can direct us away from the world, and to understand that the final conclusive answer to everything, can only be found in the worship of the one, true, living God.

However, it is sad to see that in every age, so many people, even Christians, throw themselves headlong into the world, and chase after the things of the world. Such was the case in the time of Solomon, of John (1 John 2:15-17), and even more so in today’s day and age. In many ways, the current reader will be able to realize that the same vanities that Solomon faced in his day are what confound man in the present as well. There is that same elusive pursuit for meaning and fulfilment that manifests in a myriad of different ways, but is likewise one that can never be found outside of God.

In reading this book, the question that we would have to continually ask ourselves is this: Do I truly understand the meaning of life? And is my life a life of vanity, doing all things apart from God, or do I truly fear God, and desire to keep his commandments?

A Vain Effort? (v. 1-3)

Ecc 1:1-3 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (2) Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (3) What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

The introduction that Solomon gives to the whole book is also the main point that he is trying to make – that life apart from God is meaningless and can never bring fulfilment. He declares the vanities of life in a most emphatic way, that all is vanity – vanity to the highest degree!

He asks a rhetorical question, stating that life lived apart from God (under the sun) really has no true meaning nor lasting value. It is a picture of a man who seems to have done much in his life, only to look back at the end of it all and realize that all that he had done was meaningless, futile and worthless. This is not because life is intrinsically vain and futile, but only if it is lived in opposition to the purpose for which it was created – to glorify and serve his Creator.

It is with this summary introduction that Solomon gives a most interesting introduction of his comparison of life with God’s creation, to show how insignificant man really is, and that there can really be no profit if it is lived under the sun. It is a thought provoking passage that ought to lead us to refocus our priorities and understand what is important in our lives.

An Endless Cycle? (v. 4-7)

(4) One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever. (5) The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. (6) The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. (7) All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

Continuing in his introduction, Solomon now gives a series of observations which he makes concerning life in general. He first looks at nature and the created world around him, and observes it’s never ending cycle of life. It is interesting to note how astute and scientifically accurate his observations were, again a testament to his amazing God-given intellect.

He comments on the repetitiveness which he sees in the passing of one generation to another. The wheel of time just keeps turning, and waits for no man. The cycle of life will always continue as it is, as children become adults, and then grow old and die, and then another generation comes to take their place.

In nature, there is also continual repetition – the sun which rises in the east and sets in the west, then rises in the east again the next day; the wind which whirls about continually, and never seems to end; the waters of the earth, which continue on in their cycle and never run out. In all this he sees nature as fixed, constant, never changing, for the earth abideth forever. No matter how many times the sun goes down, it will always rise, the wind will always blow, and the rivers always run. The cycles keep repeating, and they always return to their place.

But yet amidst the constancy, there is much movement, restlessness, for the sun ariseth, goeth down, hasteth; the wind goeth, turneth, whirleth continually, and the rivers run and return hither again. The verbs used are very active verbs, full of movement and activity. So much hustling about, shifting from place to place. This is how nature is, as it was created by God. Ever moving, but never changing. God in His creation placed all these physical laws in place that the natural world will always follow, and serves as a constant reminder to us as to the glories of His creation.

In the middle of this whole cycle of nature, is man and his insignificant life. We last but for a single generation. With or without us, the world rushes on, and the earth continues to abide. Understanding nature in such a light really does help to put us in our place, and help us realize how unimportant we really are. Man in his delusions of self-grandeur thinks he is far greater than he really is. Compared to God’s magnificent creation, we are but dust! Yet through it all, God has a plan and a purpose for our life – one that can only be fulfilled when the life is lived for God.

A Soon-Forgotten Existence? (v. 8-11)

(8) All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (9) The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (10) Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. (11) There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

As Solomon stands and considers nature, he sees that it is so full of movement, activity, as what he describes as ‘labour’. Amid all this, man can never fully comprehend or explain all these movements. He can never finish seeing or hearing all the works of nature. Before the mighty waves of the sea, the gusts of wind, and the heat of the sun, man is indeed so small, and so insignificant. Our lives here on Earth are so short, and we will experience only that many number of sunrises and sunsets, before our end comes. We will never be fully satisfied, if all we seek for is meaning in this life alone, and not life eternal.

Through all this, he observes that there is no end to it. Everything will just continue in the way they were, and there is no new thing under the sun. The mighty forces of nature are fixed, and nothing that happens, can be considered to be something new, for nature has been around since the beginning of time, and has continued in its way ever since. Everything is fixed, and will continue in its daily pattern. There is no remembrance or record of what has happened in the past, and neither shall anything that is to happen be remembered. Man prides himself in the legacy that he would leave behind, because of whatever accomplishments that he has attained in his lifetime. But really, compared to our Creator God, the awesomeness of nature and the rushing tide of time, even the greatest of men are but a footnote and a short sentence in the historical records of the world.

It is perhaps therefore not inappropriate for the contemporary expression of describing life as a ‘rat race’, or the humdrums of life as being hamsters on a running wheel. Like the rivers and the wind, we keep labour and labour, but to what end?

In light of all this, Solomon asks, what is man? What great things can he do to effect any change at all in God’s works of creation? Can he change the patterns of the weather? Can he alter the direction of the sun? Can he make wind to blow in the way he wants it to? For all the scientific advances that man has accomplished, he has yet to control nature. One only has to look at the ruins of great civilizations of the past – cities from which great rulers once reigned over vast portions of the known world, but yet are now nothing more than a pile of rocks, ravaged by the processes of time. Generations of people resided there – experienced the joys, sorrows of life. They celebrated their achievements, fought over things that mattered to them. Yet nothing but some rock and scattered artefacts remain – silent witnesses that can never give the full ‘remembrance of former things.’

Indeed, there is no invention of man that has not already been seen in God’s grand design of nature. In fact, for all our ‘scientific advancements’, we are only beginning to understand a small fraction of God’s amazing works of creation. God in making this world had already planned and designed all things. Man is but slowly discovering nature, and learning to use it for his own purposes. But the essence of nature itself remains unchanged. Therefore man, and all his wisdom and pride, is but folly and futility, when compared with the might, power and constancy of nature.

As we consider all this, we are led to ask the question – “then what is the point”? If life is just an endless, forgettable cycle, then why strive so hard? If all we care about are for things “under the sun”, apart from God, then yes life is meaningless.

However, Solomon did not pen these words to lead us to despair of life and give up, but rather to awaken us out of our spiritual slumber, and direct us to find meaning only in God, and shows us that only in Christ can we ever find true satisfaction and fulfilment.