PM Home Bible Study Group; July 8, 2009
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Theme: Solomon sets forth the thesis of his address: Measured strictly ‘under the sun’, all of life is ‘vanity’.

OZYMANDIAS
Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This poem captures something of the dilemma that Solomon—another great king—addresses in Ecclesiastes. How does one find meaning and value in life, if this life is our only experience—where all the “works” we do eventually turn to dust? The first eleven verses give us the thesis that Solomon will develop and explore throughout the rest of this little book.

Two things need to be kept in mind as we explore his thesis. First, it needs to be remembered that Solomon is deliberately arguing from a particular perspective—and that perspective is expressed in the phrase “under the sun” (see verses 3 and 14; see also 2:11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22; 3:16; 4:1, 3, 7, 15; 5:13, 18; 6:1, 12; 8:9, 15, 17; 9:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 10:5). By his use of this phrase, Solomon means for us to understand that he is arguing rhetorically from a strictly “horizontal” view of life—one that does not take into account the ultimate day of God’s justice. He means to prove that, strictly in that narrow viewpoint, all things things are “vanity”.

The second thing that needs to be kept in mind is that Solomon doesn’t intend to advocate for that narrow viewpoint. He doesn’t even mean for us to remain in it for long. He presents us with the opposite viewpoint at the end of the book (see 12:13-14). His intention is to prove that life has meaning before God by showing that, when any other viewpoint is pushed consistently to its ultimate implications, meaning is impossible.

I. THE THESIS STATED (vv. 1-3).

A. The speakers’ identity (v.1). The speaker begins by calling himself “the Preacher”; although “preacher” may not be the best translation. The Hebrew word that’s used is Qoheleth; and it basically refers to someone who “convokes” or “calls” an assembly and addresses it. A better word might be “Teacher” (NIV). He also calls himself “the son of David, king in Jerusalem”. As was argued in the introductory lesson, this study holds the author to be Solomon. Solomon’s identity as the author is crucial to the integrity of his conclusions (see 1:12-14; 2:10-11, 25). This book, then, is “the words” of the man to whom God had given sufficient wisdom and ability to credibly explore its thesis (1 Kings 3:12; 4:29-31).

B. The situation of life (v. 2). Solomon offers a superlative assertion for his thesis: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”. The word translated “vanity” is the same word (abel) as Adam and Eve gave as the name for their second son (Genesis 4:2). It means “nothingness”. The word “vanity” is found 33 times in this book. The superlative form (“Vanity of vanities”) is repeated twice in the opening lines of this book; and then, its scope is qualified by the phrase “All is vanity”. This truly reflects the consequences of Adam’s sin on all of creation (Genesis 3:17-19; see also Genesis 5:29 and Romans 8:20).

C. The painful problem that results (v. 3). Because of the inherent “vanity” and “meaninglessness” of all of creation brought about by the fall—and viewed strictly as an end in and of itself, apart from hope in the justice of God—the preacher asks what “profit” (or “gain”) man has from all his labor “under the sun”. Thus, he forces the unbelieving reader of this book to look into the mirror—and see “Ozymandias” looking back!

II. THE THESIS DEMONSTRATED (vv. 4-7).

A. In history (v. 4). He argues that one generation of humanity passes away, and another comes and takes its place. No single generation of humanity can make itself permanent on earth. It must give way to the generation that follows. And yet, for all of generations replacing generations, the earth is unchanged. What good, then, do all these generations of humanity—one after another—accomplish?

B. In astronomy (v. 5). Solomon is not speaking as a scientist; but as a human being who employs the language of everyday phenomena. The sun “rises”, and then “goes down”. It “hastens” (that is, “is panting”) to return to the place from which it arose. And yet, for all of the orbiting of the heavenly bodies, nothing is changed or improved. It just seems like great energy exerted to accomplish nothing.

C. In meteorology (v. 6). Similarly, the wind blows toward the south, and turns around to the north, and whirls about in constant motion. The view of the earth from the heavens today shows the cycle of the winds upon its surface; but it looks no different now than it would have in Solomon’s day. When is the last time you heard a truly “new” weather report? A television station this morning could easily “re-run” last year’s weather reports; and no one would know, because things haven’t changed. What good is accomplished by it all? Has the weather “improved”?

D. In hydrology (v. 7). All the rivers run continually into the sea. The waters have cut deep channels into the surface of the earth in their constant flow to the ocean. And yet, for all of it, the ocean isn’t full. The water simply evaporates from the surface of the ocean, drifts above the plains to the mountains, and pours out on the earth to once again flow to the ocean. This is simply a visual illustration of so much of what occurs “under the sun”—constant, continual, meaningless, fruitless motion and activity. Nothing is made better by any of it “under the sun”.

III. THE THESIS EXPERIENCED (vv. 8-11).

A. As inexpressible weariness (v. 8). Solomon doesn’t leave the matter strictly in the realm of the theoretical, but brings it down to our own experiences. He says that “All things are full of labor” (or more literally, “wearisome”). It’s impossible for man to trace and catalog all of the activity on the earth. If he were to try, he’d find that “the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing” (see 4:8; 5:10; Proverbs 27:20). Man—viewing it all strictly “under the sun”—will never be able to say, “I have successfully understood the godless cosmos; and now, it all makes sense to me. I have now inductively arrived at its meaning.” To even try would be to wear one’s self out in the effort.

B. As monotonous repetition (vv. 9-10). Any time, in examining it all, anyone might come to the conclusion, “Ah! I have found something new in all of this!”; it won’t take long for them to realize that someone else had already made that declaration long before they did. The popular phrase, “nothing new under the sun” comes from this passage—and it’s a painful thing to come to terms with. Any new “discovery” is only that—a “discovery” of what has already been. In fact, if there’s ever any time anything seems “new”, it’s only because its new discovery is separated by great spans of time from what had already been known in ancient days. Life, under the sun, is an endless, monotonous repetition of “the same old thing” over and over.

C. As forgettable endeavor (v. 11). No one seems to learn from all the endless repetition. “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.” Great efforts are expended, and great monuments are built, in order to help future generations “remember” what had occurred in the past; and yet, the efforts fail, the monuments crumble, and people to come forget what was before. No one learns from history. “Round the decay” of man’s best works, “boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.” If they sincerely looked upon it all strictly ‘under the sun’, the “Mighty” of this earth would truly “despair”.

* * * * * * * * * *

What a grim way to begin a Bible study!! And yet, this passage ought to encourage us to rejoice in the hope that is ours in the promises of God’s word. We are not a victim to the despair of those who live “under the sun”. We look to a future reign with Christ (Matthew 19:28), and eager expectation of the deliverance of creation from its vanity (Romans 8:18-22), and the creation of a new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-2).

But as we present the hope of the biblical worldview to the people around us, it’s important that we understand the practical value of Solomon’s method as it’s illustrated in these opening words. The “under the sun” view of life is not the worldview we are held captive to —but it is the only view that is possible if the biblical worldview is rejected. Apart from a divine Meaning-giver, there is no meaning; and we must — by the Holy Spirit’s help show the unbeliever the inherent “meaninglessness” that will result from holding consistently to a strictly “under the sun” view of life; so we can then point them to the Savior who gives hope and meaning through a relationship with Himself.