10.27.21
History Expresses Vanity
Last week we saw that Solomon found many examples of the vanity of life, its endless cycle, in nature. The wind, the water cycle and the rising sun all speak of endless repetition. Things change but they also stay the same.
Solomon also found examples of the emptiness of life in human history (9-11). The thing that has 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 anything whereof it may be said, “See, this is new?” It has been already of old time, which was before us. 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.
Solomon did not claim that history repeats itself, but rather that there is no significant progress in history. Without God in the picture, life is like spinning wheels in a rut. A lot of effort takes place, but nothing of consequence happens.
Solomon is taking the point of view of the secular person, the person who does not consider God. Eventually he would demonstrate that this way of thinking is totally wrong. His strategy is to start where most people are in their thinking and to show them the frustration of living without God in the picture. From that stand point, generations of people repeat the folly of their ancestors. Each person has to learn himself that life cannot have fulfillment without God.
If Solomon were transported to our age of computerization and technology, do you think he would have written the same things? He asked if anything in life is genuinely new? We may think immediately of recent advances in science and technology and say they are new. Man is definitely making advances, but they are in the same realms in which precious generations made advances. For example, going to the moon is advancement in the realm of exploration, but exploring is not new. Adam began exploring immediately after he was created when he took his first stroll through the Garden of Eden.
Our text today is really talking about the law of thermodynamics: there is only so much matter/energy in the universe—it cannot be created or destroyed; there is nothing new. While these verses can be applied to this scientific principle, Solomon may have had moral issues in mind—there is no new sin under the sun.
Thomas A. Edison, one of the world’s great inventors, said that his inventions were only “bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of mankind.” Only God can create new things.
Furthermore, though the modern period has seen many advances, much knowledge and many skills have been forgotten. For example, no one has yet figured out how the pyramids in Egypt were built.
This introduction to Ecclesiastes paints a dismal picture for those who have no room for God in their lives. Solomon was painfully honest in showing the waste of a life without the Lord. The next ten chapters will continue to illustrate this frustration. However, for those who listen to the full message of the wise man, they will learn in the end that there is hope!
The book challenges us to stop and take stock of what we are doing in life. How am I spending my time? What am I living for? Is my lifestyle really fulfilling? Have I made God the center of my live?