IS LIFE WORTH LIVING
ECCL. 1
The theme is given in 1:1-3, and might be expressed, “Is life really
worth living?” Solomon looks at life with its seeming contradictions and mysteries, and he wonders if the “endless
toil” of existence is worth it. People toil all their lives, then die, and somebody less worthy inherits their wealth
and wastes it. Solomon comes to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to enjoy the blessings of God today, fear God,
and keep His Word. Of course, with the added light of the NT we know that “our labor is not in vain in the Lord”
(1 Cor. 15:58).
Some of the key words and phrases in Ecclesiastes are: man (52 times),
labor (21 times), under the sun (27 times), vanity (28 times), wisdom or wise (48 times),
and evil (19 times). Keep in mind that Solomon is reasoning about what he sees and knows “under the sun.”
If you stop with Ecclesiastes, you will stay in the shadows; you must move on to the full revelation of the NT to have the
whole counsel of God. Many of the false cults quote isolated verses from this book to prove their strange doctrines.
God’s truths are not fully revealed all at once; there is a progressive
unfolding of truth in the Bible. We must interpret Ecclesiastes in the light of the NT. If death ends all, then life is not
worth living, and human beings are indeed miserable. But when we know Christ as Savior and Lord, life becomes a thrilling
adventure of faith. And our labors are not in vain in the Lord, because one day we shall be rewarded (1 Cor. 15:51-58). Salvation
and resurrection in Christ make life worth living. “He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17).
“Their works do follow them” (Rev. 14:13).
Solomon’s conclusions in chapters 11-12 bear this out: live by faith,
obey God, and He will take care of the rest. Enjoy His blessings now and invest your life in that which really counts.
The writings of Solomon in Ecclesiastes are as up-to-date for us as they
were in his time.
Solomon reviews his search for true happiness and satisfaction:
I.
SEEKS SATISFACTION IN
NATURE AND SCIENCE. 1:1-7
A. Article from
Encarta.
1:6 - WIND
On a global scale, hot, humid air near
the equator rises and is replaced by denser air that sinks in the subtropics and blows back to the equator along the ground.
The winds that blow toward the equator are called the trade winds. The trade winds are among the most steady, reliable winds
on the earth.
The tropical circulation cell is called the
Hadley cell. It shifts north and south with the seasons and causes tropical monsoons in India. For example, around July the
warm, rising air of the Hadley cell is located over India, and humid winds blow in from the Indian Ocean. Around January the
cooler, sinking air of the Hadley cell is located over India, and the winds blow in the opposite direction.
A variable circulation cell called the Walker
Circulation exists over the tropical Pacific Ocean. Normally, air rises over the warm waters of the western Pacific Ocean
and sinks over the cold waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador and Peru. Most years around late December
this circulation weakens, and the cold waters off the coast of South America warm up slightly. Because it occurs around Christmas,
the phenomenon is called El Niņo (The Child). Once every two to five years, the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean warm
profoundly. The Walker Circulation then weakens drastically or even reverses, so that air rises and brings torrential rains
to normally dry sections of Ecuador and Peru and hurricanes to Tahiti. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, air sinks and
brings drought to Australia. El Niņo can now be predicted with reasonable accuracy several months
in advance.
Since the early 20th century, great strides
have been made in weather prediction, largely as a result of computer development but also because of instrumentation such
as satellites and radar. Weather data from around the world are collected by the World Meteorological Organization, the National Weather Service, and other agencies and entered into computer models that apply the laws of motion
and of the conservation of energy and mass to produce forecasts. In some cases, these forecasts have provided warning of major
storms as much as a week in advance. However, because the behavior of weather systems is chaotic, it is impossible to forecast
the details of weather more than about two weeks in advance.
Job 37:9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold
out of the north.
Job 37:17 How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind?
1:7 Water Cycle
Water Cycle or Hydrologic Cycle, is a series of movements of water above, on, and below the surface of the earth. The water cycle consists of four distinct stages: storage,
evaporation, precipitation, and runoff. Water may be stored temporarily in the ground; in oceans, lakes, and rivers; and in ice caps and glaciers. It evaporates from the earth’s surface, condenses in clouds, falls back to the earth as precipitation (rain or snow), and eventually either runs into the seas or evaporates into the atmosphere. Almost all the water on the earth has passed through the water cycle countless times. No water has been created or lost
over the past 6 thousand years.
II.
SEEKS SATISFACTION IN
WISDOM AND EDUCATION. 12-18
Eccl. 12.12
Man by nature has a desire to know,
and yet is not able to come to the perfection of knowledge, which is the punishment of sin, to humble man, and to teach him
to depend only on God.
V:18 - Wisdom and knowledge cannot be
come by without great pain of body and mind: for when a man has attained the highest, yet is his mind never fully content:
therefore in this world is no true happiness.
I Cor. 3.18-20; James
3.13-17
2 Timothy 3:7 Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. WHAT A
PICTURE OF TODAY!
III.
SEEKS SATISFACTION IN
PLEASURE. 2.1-3
James 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth,
and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Ill.
– Wal-Mart made $1.52 billion on “Black Friday”
A. God created us for His pleasure.
Revelation 4:11
The problem in these last days.
Rev. 3:14-
The Laodician Church
2 Tim. 3.1-4
IV.
SEEKS SATISFACTION IN
BUILDING PROJECTS. 2.4-11
V.
LIFE IS WORTH LIVING
WHEN IT INCLUDES GOD. 12.13,14
A. To be satisfied is to fear
God. Prov. 19.23
B.
Jesus said in John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
C. Judgment day is coming.
1.
Heb. 9.27
