QT 8/16/2024 Eccl 1:10-15, Finding life in God not things on earth

Ecclesiastes 1:10–15 (ESV)

10 Is there a thing of which it is said,

“See, this is new”?

It has been already

in the ages before us.

11 There is no remembrance of former things,

nor will there be any remembrance

of later things yet to be

among those who come after.

12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,

and what is lacking cannot be counted.

 

NOTE: The key to understanding Ecclesiastes is the phrase "under the sun" which explains the first 11 chapters, and "Remember … your Creator … Fear God" which explains the last chapter, Eccl 12.  Verse 1:11 is telling to me, "no remembrance of former things." As the saying goes, we are cursed to repeat the mistakes of the past because no one learns from the past. In some schools, they've stopped teaching history. We can argue about what has replaced history, but I doubt it is math or science.

 

Garret writes concerning verse 1: "Everything is transitory and therefore of no lasting value. People are caught in the trap of the absurd and pursue empty pleasures. They build their lives on lies."

 

Would it make any difference if we learned from the past? Probably not. Even Solomon felt his research into these things was worthless. Well then, what do we learn from this book? The only conclusion of a very pessimistic book is that God alone provides meaning to life. All else falls short and fails to fulfill. But we don't believe that God can provide what we deeply desire, since I don't think we even understand what we deeply desire. We certainly think we do by our preoccupation with sex, things, status, power, appetite, and 'meaningful' causes. We think that these little doses are enough to make life worthwhile, but since we never truly seek God, we miss out on what is really good.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I know God truly or do I play at it?
2. What do I think makes me really happy and satisfied?

 

PRAYER: Father, I confess that I am not much better than Solomon's audience is pursuing things that don't really satisfy. You have been good to me and have changed my life tremendously, and yet I still doubt that you will meet a certain need. Forgive for my fears. Help me to trust in your promises.