Apr. 26, 2023

“LIFE ACCORDING TO THE WORLD”

“LIFE IS EMPTY”

ECCLESIASTES 1:1-3

Ecclesiastes 2:24 “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.”

1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”

Life without Jesus Christ is indeed “vanity and vexation of spirit” Ecclesiastes 1:14. But when you know Jesus personally and live for Him faithfully, you can experience:

Psalm 16:11 “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

1.   Is Life Worth Living?

“Vanity”-means emptiness, futility, vapor, that which vanishes quickly and leaves nothing behind.

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Is life really worth living?

2.   The Author

Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.”

God made us for eternity, and only His eternal presence in our lives can satisfy our thirst for meaning. 

3.   The Aim

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?”

In these verses, Solomon introduces some of the key words and phrases that are used repeatedly in Ecclesiastes, so we need to get acquainted with them.

Vanity of vanities- It is the Hebrew word “hevel,” meaning emptiness, futility, vapor.

“Under the sun.” vs.3- You will find this important phrase twenty nine times in Ecclesiastes, and with it the phrase “under heaven” (1:13, 2:3, 3:1). It defines the outlook of the writer as he looks at life from a human perspective and not necessarily from heaven’s point of view. 

“Profit” vs.3- The Hebrew word “yitron”-usually translated profit, is used ten times in Ecclesiastes (1:3, 2:11,13, “excelleth”; 3:9, 5:9,16, 7:12 “excellency”; 10:10,11 “better”) It is used nowhere else in the Old Testament, and it’s basis meaning is “that which is left over.”

“Labor” vs.3- “amal” used twenty-three times in Ecclesiastes. It means “to toil to the point of exhaustion and yet experience little of no fulfillment in your work.” It carries with it the idea of grief, misery, frustration, and weariness. 

Deuteronomy 26:7 “Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.”

Psalm 90:10 “The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

“Man” vs.3- This is the familiar Hebrew word “Adam” (Genesis 1:26, 2:7,19) and refers to man as made from the earth.

Jesus asked:

Mark 8:36 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Solomon experimented with life and discovered that there is no lasting satisfaction in possessions, pleasures, power, or prestige. He had everything, yet his life was empty!

So, the first message from Ecclesiastes is: turn from the futility of sin and the world, and put your faith in Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-10

American novelist Peter De Vries said, “Life is a crowded superhighway with bewildering cloverleaf exits on which a man is liable to find himself speeding back in the direction he came.”

Are you ready for the journey? What will life be for you: vanity or victory?