Ecclesiastes Archives - Resurrectio et Vita

Prayer: Our Lord Christ, in You are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We pray that the word of Christ would dwell in us richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God. For this is our prayer, O Lord. Amen.

Sermon: People of God, Ecclesiastes is an apologetic against nihilism and fatalism. Ecclesiastes is not about the meaninglessness of life, it’s about trusting God to control what we cannot. The preacher says life is vapor, because we are not called to be in control of our lives, we are called to live faithfully and place our cares on the Faithful One.

In our passage this morning, Solomon speaks much about wisdom and knowledge. He has gained wisdom both by prudent men and foolish men; the slothful and the diligent.[1] Solomon devotes himself[2] to search and explore wisely all things done under heaven. If there is anyone who can search things out, it is Solomon. He has received wisdom not only from man, but as a gift from God. This is a kingly wisdom. He searches out the earth. He seeks all things that are under heaven and he concludes that it is an unhappy business that God has given to keep us occupied. Continue reading “Pentecost Season: Shepherding the Wind; Ecclesiastes 1:12-18”

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June 29, 2009

Pentecost Season: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Vapor of Vapors!

SERMON AUDIO

Prayer: O Most Holy and Wise God, all authority and power in heaven and earth belong to You. May we see Your wisdom as You order the world according to Your divine purposes. Amen.

Sermon: People of God, William Ernest Henley once said: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”[1] Henley embraced the idea that man is in charge. He is the pilot when it comes to his destiny. He is controlling every step of his life. He is unhindered by outside forces. Man is the great I AM.

If man is the master of his fate and the captain of his soul, then there is no need for the triune God. He has mastered his ways, he leans on his own understanding and he believes that he can construct his future on the basis of his past.

However, the book of Ecclesiastes tells a different story. In fact, it tells an exactly opposite story. It says that the idea of being in control of your life is a myth. It simply does not exist. It is true we can prepare for life, we can study with the hopes of knowing certain things better than others, we can save money in the bank, make intelligent investments, but according to Solomon, it is all vapor.

The reality of the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes is that no matter how much we try to get a good grasp of our lives, we are only grasping at vapor.

Before we elaborate further on Ecclesiastes 1, it is important to understand this linguistic question right at the beginning. We know that the son of David is Solomon. Solomon’s perspective of life is a very mature one. He has gone through various stages. II Kings 11 gives us a tour of Solomon’s apostasy, which can be summarized in two words: Immorality and Idolatry.

Though Ecclesiastes begins dark, it has a bright future. The words of Solomon are a “repentant rejection of his previous apostasy.”[2] We understand Solomon’s repentance when we read his words in verse 2. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Traditionally, the Hebrew word “hebel” has been translated as “vanity” or “meaninglessness.” But Solomon does not have that in mind. If life is completely meaningless or if all we do is vanity, then this undermines the beautiful redemptive history of the church. It undermines the celebratory nature of our gathering on this Lord’s Day, it undermines our feasting, and it undermines the fruit of the labor that we bring in our tithing. If our labor is vanity and meaningless, then why does God take pleasure in our gifts to Him? Continue reading “Pentecost Season: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Vapor of Vapors!”

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June 24, 2009

Meaningless

Ecclesiastes begins with an important matter of debate. If we are to translate “hebel” as “meaningless” or “vanity,” we are asserting that the book has little to offer us and that life is an existentialist’s dream come true. But if we treat “hebel” as “vapor,” we are asserting that life is difficult to understand and in many ways incomprehensible. Ecclesiastes calls us to debunk what Pastor Jeff Harlow calls the “myth of control.” In other words, we are not the captain of our ships or our destiny. Yahweh alone controls our lives and in Him our actions are not meaningless.