I’ve been thinking about restlessness vs. rest since last Sunday. If John sees fit to make that contrast as a vision in Revelation of future hope or despair, it seems appropriate to consider the importance of both for our lives now. This is going take two sermons: today is about finding rest through the centering of our lives around God; next Sunday will be on establishing the principles and rhythms of Sabbath rest in our lives- which is actually about a lot more than just what we do with our Sabbath days.
We are going to talk about Solomon this morning. His wisdom and wealth was perhaps unparalleled in ancient times. He is responsible for three books in the Old Testament: The Song of Songs, written first; Proverbs, written second; and then Ecclesiastes, most likely written at a time his kingdom was crumbling around him due to the idolatry he had allowed in the land. And by the time he wrote Ecclesiastes,[1] he may have also been one of the most restless men on earth.
He is addressing a universal human condition. What is the point of life? How does one find meaning and purpose and hope in the midst of a world that can be very confusing?
The Problem: Meaninglessness, or “Hebel” (1:1 – 1:11)
The Search for Meaning (1:12-6:12)
The Solution (7:1-12:14)
Ecclesiastes is not a smooth read. Solomon focuses on particular ideas, then summarizes by giving short lists of principles that he wants to make sure the reader remembers (they read a lot like proverbs). He goes back and forth a bit – just like real life. I was reading this again thinking, “This reads like a journal in some ways.” It seems to chronicle a journey, and it has to be understood in its entire context. It’s not the kind of book that you necessarily want to pull individual verses from because, like David in Psalms, Solomon has some ups and downs here. So, I decided to write Ecclesiastes like a journal.
Each entry summarizes the main thoughts of a section. In doing this, I consulted a number of different translations and commentaries to be sure I stayed true to the main ideas, though as you will see I added a little of my own tone here and there. You may hear some pop song lyrics and bumper stickers.
It’s a chronicling of the search for meaning. Not every entry is easy to read or hear; the book is not what I would call “inspirational,” but it’s honest, and its conclusion is true. And it will help lay the foundation for the next couple weeks.
King’s Log, Entry 1 (Ecclesiastes 1)
Okay, God, here we go. This is going to be very different from that Song I wrote about love, and the Proverbs I compiled. I was younger then. A lot of life has flowed under the bridge. This time’s going to be tougher, but I am committed to being honest with you in what I write. It’s not like anyone else is going to read it.
Here is my opinion about life: everything I see around me is meaningless, insignificant. I see the vapor rising from the lake in the morning, and I think “That’s what life is like.” It’s worthless. It’s….hebel. Everything we do in life vaporizes like that mist under this hot, miserable sun. We are like mice in a wheel; we run in circles for no apparent reason. I’m sure it’s entertaining to watch, but it’s pointless. All in all, it’s just another brick in my palace wall.
Honestly, God, looking at the world you made doesn’t help. The earth, the sun, the wind, the rivers - it’s just the same thing over and over again – the earth spins, the sun rises, the wind blows, the rivers run to the ocean. Then they do it again. Sure, it’s pretty, but it’s pointless. I don’t find this encouraging. I am afraid that’s my life too – pretty but pointless.
“All things are wearisome…I’ve seen so many wonders, but all I think about is what I haven’t seen yet. I have heard so many things, but it just reminds me of all the things I haven’t heard yet. There is nothing new under this blazing hot, predictable, futile sun. Nobody even thinks about things that don’t happen to them right here, right now. When my friends die, we mourn for an hour and forget them. Is that what’s waiting for me?
HOW CAN I BE SIMULTANEOUSLY SO SELF-CENTERED AND SO UNSATISFIED?
(I am thinking of a new bumper sticker for my chariot: “Hebel happens.” Or something like that.)
King’s Log, Entry 2 (Ecclesiastes 2)
Okay, I gave it my best shot. I am really trying to find a way to make this life meaningful.
You would not believe how much I studied. I tried to learn as much as I could about as many things as I could find. It was like chasing the wind. I never quite caught it, and even if I would have, what’s the point?
I hired all the best comedians, They were stupid. Nothing is funny anymore. A man can walk into a bar only so many times. Good humor is based in reality, and reality is hebel. (Have I said that already?)
Did I mention I drank a lot of wine? And it wasn’t the cheap stuff in a box? I didn’t just do it to get drunk. I tried to do it purposefully, as an experiment. Nothin’.
I built a ton of stuff. I had over 100,000 people working on just the temple and my palace. I built vineyards and gardens and blah blah blah. One day they will all crumble, thanks to that sun and rain I mentioned last time..
So I went shopping. I bought everything I wanted. Now, even the singing fish on my wall is getting old.
I hired musicians and started Solomonpalooza. It was boring. There is only so much you can do with a harp and a zither. And nobody had a bass player, so whom was I supposed to pay for the pizza?
So…I got some more wives. If they looked good at all, I brought ‘em home. I probably should not have done this when I was experimenting with the wine. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but they bored me too. (I recently re-read that Song about love I wrote when I was a LOT younger, and I think I may have overstated my case). Bottom line?
“ I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom was well known. All that my eyes desired I indulged in. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure... I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:9-11)
(Bumper sticker idea; “He who dies with the least hebel wins.” I hope people don’t mess with this one like they did with “Hebel happens”.)
King Log, Entry 3 (Ecclesiastes 3-4)
I think I have nailed the problem: Everything is in flux, everything changes, and it’s unpredictable. And I can’t stand unpredictability.
I understand you have to have change: One day you are born, one day you die. One day you kill, one day you heal. One day you laugh, one day you mourn. One day you war, one day you have peace. One day you marry, the next day you shop.
There is a season for everything. Fine. Why can’t I know what season is coming up, or why I just had the season I did? Is it too much to ask for a “heads up”? I know my chariot has to break down….I know I’ll probably get sick from green figs…my wives and I will disagree…my son will one day want to be king…I just want to know when. I want to be able to prepare. I WANT PREDICTABILITY!!!!!
God, in my clearer moments, I know you plan the right seasons of life for the right time – that predictability I complained about in nature makes that possible. I get it. I just wonder why you can’t show us what you have planned from the beginning to the end. The seasons of the year are predictable; why not life?
We’ve got tons of information directly from you about what seafood not to eat, and how not to yoke an ox with a donkey. Would it be too much to talk about life – specifically, my life - with me? At this point, the best I can conclude is that people should be happy with what they have. It is what it is. My friends don’t have answers, and neither do politicians. No one can help anyone else understand what’s to come.
I used to be angry at how futile and unfair life is; now, I’m just a fatalist.
(New T-shirt idea: It will say, “I’m with hebel” and have arrows pointing all around.)
King’s Log, Entry 4 (Ecclesiastes 5)
I’ve been trying hard to find a way to live a meaningful life in spite of how I am feeling about everything.
Here is what I have seen to be good, to my best definition of good: eating, drinking wine, and enjoying yourself during the few years of this brief life you have given us; as far as I can tell, this is our reward in this life. If you allow people to have stuff, you must want them to enjoy it. It’s a reward for hard work. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s a gift from you. And since we can’t take it with us, we might as well enjoy it now.
If we can just embrace what we are given, and focus our attention on what’s right in front of us, we won’t worry about what’s going to happen, or how long we have to live.
Maybe this is how you offset our ignorance about life. You wants us to enjoy life, to seize the day and the things in it. For whatever reason, You can’t let us see everything you see – but you expect us to enjoy what we have. Anything less would be…uncivilized. And let’s be honest, I kind of like this approach, because I have a lot :)
God, you give us a few unpredictable years. I’m still not happy about that “unpredictable,” but I’ll take the years and enjoy what I’ve got.
(Wow, that T-shirt really tanked. I’m thinking of another bumper sticker, “Life is like a box of fig dates – sweet. Or rotten. Eat em’ up anyway.”)
King’s Log, Entry 5 (Ecclesiastes 6)
I heard a guy say recently, “All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.” I get that now. I was feeling good about my new embrace of life, but… how do I know what’s good for me during this lifetime, during the few years of this vaporous life? I mean REALLY, truly good for me? I have seized day after day, I’ve tried to enjoy what you have allowed me to have, and I still feel empty. I feel this overwhelming guilt like I am still wasting something that is already so fleeting.
I know you gave me something substantial – my life – and you gave me this new desire to maximize my days (whee!)…but I feel like I am wasting them because I don’t think I actually know what true enjoyment looks and feels like. I am experiencing a shadow of the real thing. I’m playing at the mud puddle when I should be at the ocean, but I don’t know where the ocean is.
Someone should write a song: “If it makes you happy, why are you so sad?”
King’s Log, Entry #6 (Ecclesiastes 7)
Feeling a little better for this reason: I believe I now know what it takes to focus me, to center me, to help me see life for the precious gift it is.
Feeling a little worse for this reason: I believe this new appreciation for life was found by looking into the face of adversity. I thought maximizing my personal happiness and trying to overlook the harshness of life would help me appreciate life, but it turns out that confronting the reality of death, and entering into mourning and sorrow - these are the things that make us take life seriously. The more I grasp that one day life will end, the more I appreciate that the life I have has not. I tried to drown Hebel in pleasure. Bad move. Maybe now I will starve it with pain. (But even as I write that, I think I’m still missing the point).
HOWEVER…. I also feel a little better for this reason: I used to think you messed up the world, and that my disillusionment was your fault. Bad God! But I have been reminded again that you made the world good; we messed it up. I need to stop blaming you for something we did. What’s the problem with the world? We are. Wait…I am. The sickness is myself. Oddly enough, that’s comforting. I couldn’t fix you to my liking, and that was depressing. But you can fix me to your liking and to mine, and that’s not depressing at all J
King’s Log, Entry #7 (Ecclesiastes 8)
Wow. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by what I see and hear as king. Clearly I was right: we are the problem. It weighs on me, but it also gives me perspective.
I’ve seen evil people get away with a hundred atrocities and still live a long life. That used to make me question your justice, but over time I have seen that the truly good life is reserved for those who fear you, and who aren’t ashamed to let people know. Evil people might live long, but that’s not the same as living well. They fear things to – just not you – but that doesn’t make them better people at all. Those who fear you build towering lives that cast a long shadow: people find shade and rest close to them.
But the Others, the evil ones…they cast a small shadow, or no shadow at all. They are nothing, even if they think they are. What they do and how they live is truly hebel, no matter how long their life lasts.
But those with the good life….hmmm….. They live well – their reputation covers the land - because they fear you. It’s not the work of adversity and pain in their life that casts this shadow; it’s not their enjoyment of the wealth you gave them either. This is different. There is nothing hebel about them.
I’m trying to understand how their fear of you nourishes them. I don’t usually associate fear with well-being. Honestly, I’ve been afraid of a lot of things, but never you. I have been afraid of boredom, and loneliness, and emptiness, and poverty…but not of you. None of those fears served me well, which is why I need some help on this one.
I read somewhere “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Where was that again? :)
King’s Log, Entry #8 (Ecclesiastes 9-10)
I want wisdom more than anything.
I’m struggling with the unpredictability of life again. I have looked everywhere, and I can’t figure what you are ultimately doing on this earth. I have been having these great revelatory insights about you, I have learned to embrace the hard times and the good times, I have been getting a handle on “the good life” – I thought I was really doing well. I’m back to the beginning again. Back to the basics.
Premise 1: All of us will die (and pay taxes, one of those comedians said.)
Premise 2: I can’t figure you out.
Premise 3: I can’t figure life out.
Premise 4: If all the news I get in court is true, the swift don’t always win the race; the warriors don’t always win the battle; the wise and noble don’t always prosper; no one knows when they will die. The deck is stacked; Time and Chance are the house, and the house always wins.
Conclusion: Whatever I do, I’ll do it well until time and chance overtake me. I’ll eat happily and drink cheerfully; clearly, if you bless me with stuff, you want me to enjoy it. I’ll dress up and put on cologne, and enjoy life with my spouse. Spouses. (What was I thinking?!?!) This is what I have worked for and earned. And if I can be wise instead of stupid, I will do even better.
Life is fleeting and temporary, so I will enjoy it with gusto.
This is the best I can do with the wisdom you have given me. But you know what? At one time that would have upset me, but it doesn’t anymore. Oddly enough (for me), I’m good with this. I am content to know just this much. It is enough. If this is how God made this life to be, I accept it.
King’s Log, Entry #8 (Ecclesiastes 11)
Sorry I haven’t written in a while. I tend not to write when life is good. After I “gave up” last time, something settled inside me. I recently realized there have been a couple cool changes in me.
I don’t live in fear. I don’t understand the wind, but I still sail and do business on the seas. I prepare for the unexpected - I send boats out 8 different directions, so that if storms sink one, the other still go on. I don’t know when it will rain, but I don’t stop planting. I just plant at different times. I don’t understand how babies are formed in the womb, but I still have children. I don’t understand how you work any better now than I did then, but that’s okay. Wind, rain, and life are in better hands than mine.
Life is sweet. I have finally stopped looking to this world to give my life meaning, and have started looking to God. I’m learning to appreciate the good years I have had, while not forgetting I had some bad years too – and I will have more of both.
Nothing has fundamentally changed about the world. I could still complain like I did before. I have changed. And that makes all the difference, come hebel or high water.
Kings Log, Entry #9 (Ecclesiastes 12)
If I were to give the younger me some advice now, I think it would be this.
Live boldly. You won't be young forever; your youth is fun, but it’s a vapor. Make the most of your youth and vitality. Be bold; go after good things. Don’t live in fear! But…. know also that at some point you will have to answer to God for every last bit of what you do, so make sure it’s truly good things you pursue, not just things that look good. Choose wisely.
Fear God. Commit yourself to love, serve, and be in awe of Him while you are still have energy and enthusiasm. If you do this, you will live a meaningful life; the towering life you build will cast a long shadow. You will never fear anything else. You will not fear the future, or uncertainty, or loneliness, or poverty, or boredom. None of them can control you.
Revere God, because if you don’t, you will revere something else that does not deserve your worship. If you revere God, you won’t put so much weight on fleeting pleasure to meet your needs, and you can avoid the addictions of overindulgence. If you revere God, trials and adversity will be trusted to him rather than hoarded inside as you turn cynical, bitter, and despairing.
Keep His commandments. That which we fear and revere will control us, for better or worse. God’s commandments are good and true (Thanks, Dad, for writing some good stuff on this in your psalms). The more they guide your life, the better off you will be.
Serve God… Worship God… Obey His commands.
It is here we find rest.
* * * * *
Remember how John described those who overcome in Revelation? They hold fast to the testimony of Jesus, and keep His commandments. There is rest in surrender and obedience to Jesus.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
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[1] The title means “one who addresses an assembly.” The word he uses for God is Elohim, which – more than other words he could have used- focused his audience on God as a Creator, and us as the created. Solomon is apparently wanting to address a wider audience than just the Jewish people.