Chasing The Wind: Notes On Ecclesiastes

Chasing The WindNOTES ON ECCLESIASTES Henry Martyn excelled in his studies at St. John’s College, Cambridge, England. But his search for God so dominated him that, when awarded the highest academic honor, he said, “I obtained my highest wishes, but was surprised to find that I had grasped a shadow.” 1 In 1994, Tim Allen rewrote the standard for success in show business by headlining in a top-rated television show, writing a best-selling book and starring in a block-buster movie all at the same time. When interviewed, he said he had been thinking a lot about despair lately: “This is the most creative time I’ve ever had in my life, and yet I feel like I’m half empty, the tank is half empty.” 2 Are these examples unusual? Upon achieving our goals, do we find that success has been overrated, that the prize was not worth the struggle, that pursuit of happiness is trying to make reality out of a dream? And might we, because our lives seem to have been wasted, slip into depression or even despair? What Some Say
About 4000 years ago, Qoheleth, the Preacher, recorded similar views in Ecclesiastes. He wrote “All is vanity” several times in this philosophical book. It was true before he said it, when he said it, and it’s still true today. But it doesn’t apply to everybody, only those who are trying to find satisfaction in personal achievements apart from God. These are the ones who are chasing the wind. About Ecclesiastes, Ray Stedman wrote, “The greatest experiment ever designed to test approaches to success, enjoyment, and contentment in life is recorded in this book.” 3 However, there are some otherwise reasonable believers who do not accept this conclusion. They consider Qoheleth’s account to be only a negative commentary on life, telling us that life is not worth living (Eccl. 6:3-6). Does God intend that His people have such a pessimistic reaction to His Word? Or is His purpose to increase our joy? Others have gone so far as to say that it was a mistake to include Ecclesiastes in the Bible, it couldn’t possibly be inspired for is was written when Solomon had grown old and cynical. They also say there are half-truths and untruths in this book of man’s wisdom. These opinions are possibly the result of only superficial readings of this intriguing book. Still others say that since this book teaches us to seek a life of pleasure, it should be ignored (Eccl. 2:24, 5:18, 10:7-9). The point they miss is that the ability to enjoy these material blessings – to eat, drink and enjoy our work – is also one of God’s gifts to us. Paul wrote against this negative attitude and said instead that the things which God created should be “received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:3 NIV). Ask why God made the snowflakes, flowers and trees so beautiful if not for our enjoyment: “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccl.3:11). This should encourage us to “be joyful always” (1 Th. 5:16), which is what God intended for His children. What Others Say
Qoheleth wrote that his book contained “just the right words ... upright and true” (Eccl.12:10). These are not the words of a pessimist or cynic, but of a brilliant, unbiased reporter guided by the Holy Spirit. To those who question the place of certain books in the canon of Scripture, C. J. Davis wrote: “I do not believe ... that only some portions of God’s Word are ‘essential’ and that others are ‘non-essential.’ Such terms are of man’s introducing. I believe that every portion of God’s Word is essential for a Christian to know ... every portion has its bearing on Christian practice.” 4 On the same subject, F. W. Grant wrote: “To keep Christ’s Word implies the going on with Him in steady progress, permitting willingly no part of it to be dark, or barren, or in vain for us; not suffering ourselves to be robbed of whole books or chapters, and remaining content with this.” 5 And Paul wrote: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful” (2 Tim. 3:16). If we believe that our Bible is God's inspired Word, then we must carefully study and meditate on the portions that appear difficult. If we don’t understand we must ask God for wisdom, and it shall be given us (Jas. 1:5). We should never decide that certain portions are of little significance, too difficult or that they don’t apply to us today; for then we eliminate the baseline by which to measure our conduct, and we become intellectual anarchists. We have no God-given right to choose some parts of the Bible and ignore others. If we do, we might fall under the condemnation of Revelation 22:19; God’s Word does not become ineffective because we ignore or disobey it. Instead of becoming existentialists, we must study to show ourselves approved so we may grasp the true meaning of God’s communications: “If you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding ... then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:1-5). Those who are ignoring or condemning what they do not understand would do well to repent and admit with Job, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3). About Ecclesiastes, Jacques Ellul wrote: “Everything passes in review in this book ... but certain themes stand out ... vanity and wisdom. They contradict each other ... We witness a kind of debate between wisdom and vanity. On the one hand, wisdom demonstrates the vanity of everything, but is itself vanity. On the other hand, vanity loses its sharpness and bitterness, since the wise person has passed beyond all vanity.” 6The Preacher’s Point
In Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth tells it like it is, and the accuracy of his reporting is unimpeachable. Roland Murphy refers to him this way: “He is not a killjoy; he is a realist.” 7 But the truth is never popular. People do not enjoy being told that they must face life with all its problems. They don’t want to be made aware of the high stakes involved in making a choice between enjoying eternal blessing or enduring eternal punishment. Without question this choice is by far the most important decision of one’s life. You must vote! A non-vote is a no vote! Qoheleth’s study of life leads us to the only reasonable choice. And the sooner we make our decision the better our lives will be: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come” (Eccl. 12:1). The Grim Reaper, death, will not allow us to take with us anything we struggled so hard to acquire in our lifetime. When we die it’s all over – our property will be given to someone else. In a coming day, everyone, good and bad, will be judged for what they have or have not done in this life. What we do now is important; it counts forever. Nothing can be changed once we have left this earth (Eccl. 9:4-6). “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). This is neither pessimism nor cynicism, but a critical warning! The Point For Us
Consider now the greatest investment we can make – investing our lives for God. It’s a sound investment that pays outstanding dividends: “He shall receive an hundredfold now in this time ... and in the world to come eternal life” (Mk. 10:30). Its maturity is in eternity: “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mt. 6:20). We have one life to spend for ourselves or God. Which will it be? If we please ourselves by pursuing happiness in this world, we will find, as did Qoheleth, that we have chased the wind. Our best achievements will be like a wisp of vapor. But what is seen so pessimistically under the sun may be seen positively, in the light of faith, as the generosity of God. All that happens is designed to bring us to God, so those ignoring these warnings may be without excuse. The message of Ecclesiastes is clear: life is not worth living apart from redemption. Blaise Pascal wrote: “Ecclesiastes shows that man without God is totally ignorant and inescapably unhappy, for anyone is unhappy who wills but cannot do. Now he wants to be happy and assured of some truth, and yet he is equally incapable of knowing and of not desiring to know.” 8 The door to understanding God’s Word only opens when the Holy Spirit has given the key. We need His key to unlock the mystery of this book: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God ... he cannot understand them” (1 Cor. 2:14). We have been given God’s answer to those seeking liberation from our culture’s quest for meaning and purpose in life: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32). In summary, Ecclesiastes teaches us:The futility of trying to find meaning and happiness apart from God.
That we need God to make sense out of this broken world.
That any form of self-reliance is without value.
That life’s pleasures aren’t worth the energy spent pursuing them.
That we can be delivered from a self-confident, Godless life of cynicism and bitterness and from trusting in wisdom, pleasure, wealth, human justice or integrity.
That God is ther and He is good and generous, and that only such an outlook makes life coherent and fulfilling.
That God wants us to enjoy a full and satisfying life with Him. The good news is that Christ is the answer to all of man’s problems: “The Spirit of the Lord ... has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor ... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed” (Lk. 4:18). These unfortunate people, including us and our problems, are what Qoheleth discussed in this book. If we believe that life and liberty are among the unalienable rights with which we have been endowed by the Creator, we must accept the Creator’s plan for us. And Jesus, the Creator, said, “If you hold to My teaching ... the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32). Doing The Truth
Just knowing the truth, however, is not enough: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (Jn. 13:17). We are not discussing a spectator sport: we must actively participate. We must put this knowledge to work in our lives, then we will achieve real freedom, not just being alive but leading the abundant life that Jesus promised: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn. 10:10). Qoheleth recorded his journey through everything the world has to offer, and his verdict was, “All is vanity.” We do not have to discover this for ourselves. We can accept his conclusions, eliminate the emptiness in our heart and escape the Valley of Despair. We will find that the way leads only to God. St.Augustine (354-430) said, “Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart cannot be quieted till it may find repose in Thee.” The main purpose of Ecclesiastes is to bring us to God by showing us the emptiness of life without Him. As Qoheleth wrote, “The conclusion of the matter is to fear God and keep His commandments” (Eccl. 12:13). If we keep this conclusion in mind while studying this book, we will not be among those who consider Ecclesiastes the work of a pessimist or cynic. We must agree with Qoheleth that “all is vanity” refers to all godless activities. God’s way is the only way to escape eternal punishment and to find true happiness both in this life and the life to come. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting God’s plan of salvation: “God ... made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). END NOTES
1. Frank Wallace, Grace and Truth Magazine, July/August 1991.
2. Bill Carter, New York Times, September 1995.
3. Ray Stedman, Is This All There Is To Life?
4. C. J. Davis, Aids To Believers.
5. F. W. Grant, “Thou Hast Kept My Word,” Things New and Old, vol. 11.
6. Jacques Ellul, Reason For Being.
7. Roland Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Word Biblical Commentary, 23A.
8. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pensees.By James Paulsen