Life Under the Sun....

The book of Ecclesiastes is written from a world view that leaves God out of the picture. It’s about pursuing everything under the sun, from Wisdom to madness and folly. Solomon, having everything he ever needed, forgot about the relationship with God. He figured God provided everything for him, so it was his duty to use these provisions to learn, explore, and experiment. The problem that occurred was that when Solomon pursued these things, he lost sight of the most important thing, God. He worshipped creation and not the Creator. He started to try to please all of his pagan wives, which lead to idolatry. He gathered horses, which God told his father never to do. He indulged himself in the lap of luxury, using the things God gave him, to serve his own purposes, not God’s will. In this book, the term “under the sun” refers to a life without God’s help (or at least an attitude that doesn’t acknowledge God). The majority of this book is written from the spoiled and apathetic view of a king in his old age, writing about the disappointment that resulted from his pursuits in life that left God out, a truth still relevant today. Glorifying God is the only pursuit in life that provides lasting meaning. And we must live our lives in the opposite direction. We must pursue God Himself. Our lives must be viewed from a different perspective, one I might call “under the Son”. “You have made us, O Lord, for Yourself, and our heart will find no rest until it rests in You”. 1 These are the words of the Teacher,King David's son, who ruled in Jerusalem. Everything Is Meaningless 2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. The Teacher Speaks: The Futility of Wisdom 12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless–like chasing the wind. 15 What is wrong cannot be made right.What is missing cannot be recovered. 16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind. 18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18