Part 3 of 3
In the previous article, we started looking at the prologue to Ecclesiastes, which is found in the first eleven verses of the book. We saw three observations about life from the under-the-sun point of view, namely, labour is futile, life is an endless cycle, and life is wearisome and without satisfaction.
This brings us to the fourth observation in verses 9-10, which may be summed up in the words – there is no progress in history.
Observation 4: There is no progress in history (vv. 9-10)
The preacher says, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us.”
History is as repetitive as nature. Ceaseless activity but endless cycles nevertheless. What has been will be again and what has been done will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun.
In verse 11, the preacher states his observation in the form of a question, “Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? The answer is clear – there is nothing. Why? Because long before you were born, it was already there.
Now it’s important not to misunderstand what the preacher is saying. He is not saying that there is absolutely nothing new. He’s not denying that there are new inventions or new discoveries or that new things take place among people and cultures and societies.
Rather, he is saying that human nature has not changed. Man has always been looking for some new thing that would satisfy him and that would give meaning to his existence. But he has not found it. Each new invention is but some variant or type of an older thing.
Or as one author wrote, “Stop thinking that meaning and happiness and satisfaction reside in novelty. What is new is not really new, and what feels new will soon feel old.”
In the final analysis, there is nothing new under the sun.
This bring us to the fifth and final observation, namely, no one will remember you.
Observation 5: No one will remember you (v. 11)
Verse 11, “There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”
Perhaps one of the reasons why things appear novel to us is because we have forgotten or are ignorant of the past. We don’t remember or are ignorant of much of what has gone on in the past. For every famous person who is remembered, there are millions of people who are forgotten.
Think about your own family line. How many of us know or remember anything about our great grandparents or our great great grandparents and beyond?
And the same thing will be true for most of us as well. Our great great grand children (provided we even have them!) will probably not know or remember anything about us at all. We will be forgotten by the generations to come just as we have forgotten the generations before us.
It is like a child who is determined to make his mark in the sand on the seashore. He stamps his feet hard into the sand and he takes a long stick and writes his name large and deep into the sand. But once the tide rises and the waves come in, those marks that he has left in the sand will be all washed away in an instant.
So too, the foolish man who thinks he can leave an indelible mark in human history by his great accomplishments and achievements. Alas, the tides of time flow over them and wash them all away. All men must face the fact that they will not live long in the memory of succeeding generations.
And so, we have briefly considered the prologue of this book and it’s clear that in these verses, Solomon is standing in the shoes of one whose perspective on life is restricted to the material and temporal realm.
This is the under-the-sun way of looking at life. But this is not the only way.
As we end, I’ll like to briefly go over the things that we’ve talked about but this time from a believing point of view.
Life from another perspective
First, for the Christian, labour or work is not futile and meaningless. On the contrary, work is most profitable and meaningful when it is done for the Lord and through the grace and strength of Jesus Christ. (See 1 Cor. 15:58 and Col. 3:23-24)
Second, the Christian does not view life as an endless and meaningless cycle. It is true that one generation comes into this world and goes away, and another replaces it, but this is no mere cycle. Why? Because each generation and each person who leaves this earth goes somewhere. There is progression in man’s existence. Death does not end it all.
Third, life is not all weariness and without satisfaction for the Christian. Yes, it’s true that the Christian experiences the frustrations and difficulties of living and working in this fallen and sinful world. Nevertheless, he experiences also true delight and joy and peace and satisfaction and contentment, which transcend or go beyond this world.
Fourth, the Christian, unlike the earth-bound person, sees true progress in history. Why? Because he knows that history will come to an ultimate conclusion and end someday, and everything that happens in history builds up to that end.
In a sense, everything is new in history, because everything is unique and significant. The Christian view of history may be summarized in three simple statements: God controls all of history, God will bring history to its final and intended end, and God Himself acts in history.
The godless point of view is that there is nothing ultimately new thing under the sun. The Christian view is that not only is everything in history new and unique but that everything is in the process of being transformed and renewed by God, and that this transformation process will end when Christ comes again and brings to a close this present age.
Finally, the Christian and his work will not be forgotten even long after he has left this earth. Yes, men may forget him and what he has done, but God will never forget.
Conclusion
Which of these two perspectives on life do you have?
If you are an unbeliever, then life is indeed ultimately meaningless and hopeless for you. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. This is life under the sun.
Your work is futile and unprofitable, nature is an endless and meaningless cycle, life is wearisome and without satisfaction, history is going nowhere and you will not be remembered. What a miserable life that is!
But there is another way to approach life and another kind of life to be lived. It is a life that is found in Jesus. He is the eternal Son of God who came from another world into this world in order to rescue sinners from a life of sin and misery and meaninglessness, and to give them hope and joy in the midst of life under the sun.
Indeed, life under THE SON, Jesus, has true meaning and purpose. Seek Him right now. Call upon Him to give you a new heart and a new life.
But if you are a believer, then may I challenge you to live with the right perspective all the time and in all the situations that you face.
So often, we allow the world to hijack our Christian point of view and to replace it with a temporal, earth-bound and godless one. Oh how we need to return again and again to seeing things through the eyes of Christ and living with our final home and destination in view.
Remember that the details of our life only make sense when viewed from the perspective of eternity, and that eternity teaches and reminds us of what is really important in this life.
—Ps Linus Chua