1

Eternity in our hearts

Ecclesiastes: An honest look at life – Session 4i To show that if we take an honest look at life, there are different seasons in life and even if we understand these well and embrace them, we still face the question of: what do we gain in life? - from Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. Life goes by so quickly…

Q1. What do you think of Al Stewart’s comments? The story so far…the book of Ecclesiastes is part of the “Wisdom Literature” of the Old Testament. The “Wisdom Literature” is all about understanding how we can live wisely in our world. The book of “Ecclesiastes” is all about how we make sense of life and find meaning and purpose. The book is called “Ecclesiastes” because it’s the words of the Teacher to the assembly (“Ecclesia” in Greek). The Teacher could be Solomon, King David’s son, legendary for his wisdom. That would date the book to about 1000 BC. (Alternatively the author could be another teacher writing through the eyes of Solomon.) The Teacher is a believer in God, but interested in working out things from his observations of life. Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 – 1000 years before Jesus There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

“When you’re a teenager think you can do anything and you do…your 20’s are a blur…in your 30’s you have a family and make a little money and think to yourself “where did my 20’s go?”…in your 40’s you’ll grow a little pot belly and an extra chin, the music starts to get too loud, and one of your friends from school becomes a grandmother…in your 50’s you’ll have minor surgery, although you’ll call it a “procedure” but it’s surgery…in your 60’s you’ll have major surgery, the music is still too loud but it doesn’t matter anyway because you can’t hear it anyway; in your 70’s you and your partner will retire to the central coast, start eating dinner at two in the afternoon, lunch at 10am and breakfast the night before, you’ll spend all your time walking around shopping malls looking for the ultimate soft-serve yoghurt and saying to yourself “how come the kids don’t call?”…you’ll get to 80 and you’ll have a major stroke, babbling to some nurse your partner can’t stand but whom you call “mama”.” – Al Stewart, with acknowledgement to Billy Crystal’s speech in “City Slickers”

2

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. 15 Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.1 16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there. 17 I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” 18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them? Q2. The first eight verses are very poetic. If we look at the “vibe” of these verses, rather than analyzing each verse, what will wise living look like? • It will mean understanding what time/season you are in. Notice there is not a right and a wrong action (for example, there is a time to love and a time to hate) – so wisdom is knowing the time/season and acting appropriately.

1 Or God calls back the past

3

• Wisdom is also in seeing that these times/seasons are outside of our control – for example, mourning the death of a loved one is something that is imposed upon us – so wisdom is about “relaxing” into the season, rather than trying to control it. The Teacher then asks that all too familiar question: “What do we gain from it all anyway?” This is the question he raised way back at the beginning of the book (Ecclesiastes 1:3). It’s the question that sparked this investigation “under the sun” – using his powers of observation to work out whether there is anything that will give lasting meaning and satisfaction in life. Q3. From the passage (Ecclesiastes 3:9-22) can you work out the 4 problems that the Teacher identifies, which make it all seem a bit meaningless? (Remember “meaningless” is about not providing lasting meaning, purpose or satisfaction). These are things that the Teacher observes in the world around him. Problem #1: There’s the burden of having eternity on our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11) • The “burden” is that while we can appreciate that the right action in the right time is a beautiful thing (the beginning of verse 11 seems to be a reference to the poem) we still long for something that will deliver in a lasting way. While we crave meaning and purpose, we’re at a bit of a lost in terms of achieving it (“no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end”). Problem #2: We can’t change our world (Ecclesiastes 3:15-16) Note: given the context of the first 2 lines of verse 15, the footnote “calls back the past” is probably a better translation. Problem #3: There is corruption and exploitation in our world (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17) • We believe in the concepts of fairness and judgement. Ecclesiastes v17 is an example of the reality of God “breaking in” to his observations “under the sun”. Problem #4: We have eternity in our hearts and yet we die like the animals (Ecclesiastes 3:18-22) Q4. What do you think of the Teacher’s observations? • These are things any thoughtful reflective human being could deduce from looking at the world. Q5. What do we learn about those who are able to find satisfaction? (hint: see Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, 22) • It’s the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3:13) • They may as well enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 3:12). It’s about embracing the time/season they are in. • That’s the best you can do when “under the sun” no lasting meaning can be found (Ecclesiastes 3:22) The Teacher’s analysis is that there is nothing better than to eat and drink and gain satisfaction (if you can) in life. What does the rest of the Bible say about this? The words of the Apostle Paul – written within 60 years of Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:12-29

4

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith….20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…. 29 Now if there is no resurrection,…… If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Q6. What does the Apostle Paul think of the philosophy “let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die”? • That this is a wise way to live if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. May as well make the most of this life because that’s all there is. Q7. If the resurrection of Jesus is true then how does that make a difference? • There is the hope of eternal life – that if Jesus was raised from the dead, for those who trust him they can be raised too. Q8. How do we know that those who trust in Jesus will in fact be raised from the dead? • The resurrection of Jesus (in the past) is the evidence that what is promised in the future will come true. To work out whether he really did rise from the dead, it’s about assessing the reliability of the historical evidence. Remember that the Teacher is operating “under the sun” – working out what he can deduce from observation. He concludes that there are times and seasons in life and so may as well embrace them. If you are able to enjoy what you have and do, then do so, because that’s a gift. He does mention God – he is a believer after all – but how God really fits into all of this is still to be addressed. i COPYRIGHT City Bible Forum (www.citybibleforum.org) a ministry of Evangelising Commerce Inc (NSW), 2013. This material may be reproduced free-of-charge for non-profit use only as long as this copyright notice appears, and the study is not modified in any way. For any other use, or to modify the material, please contact us to arrange copyright permission, which may involve a small fee to help finance the production of such resources by the staff of City Bible Forum. Contact info@citybibleforum.org or tel: (02) 9251 1166 or GPO Box 3266, Sydney NSW 2001.