Nothing New Under the Sun

   
Solomon, the presumed writer of Ecclesiastes, coined the phrase "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9), and indeed, he is right.  Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man has tried everything under the sun to do things HIS way and found as Solomon did that "all is vanity and a striving after the wind" (Eccles. 2:17).  Whenever we leave God out of the equation, we come to the same conclusion.  However, it was not always that way.

A crown at "The Residence" in Munich, Germany

     King Solomon was David's son with Bathsheba.  When he came to the throne, the kingdom had been well established by his warrior king father David.  Solomon began well as we read in I Kings 3:4:  "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places."  His love for God was right, however, Solomon offered sacrifices on pagan altars and continued to do this even after he had built the Temple.  This was a sign of problems ahead as using pagan altars was forbidden in Israel.  Nevertheless, at the beginning of his reign, after offering many sacrifices to the Lord, God appeared to him in a dream by night and asked what He should give to the king.  Solomon asked only for wisdom by which to guide the people: "Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? " (I Kings 3:9).
     God was pleased with Solomon's request and not only gave him great wisdom but also riches and honor even though he had not asked for that.  Yet, the Lord did make one prerequisite:  "And if you will walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days" (I Kings 3:14).  It was a wonderful beginning, but Solomon squandered the grace and mercy of the Lord.
     Over his life, Solomon, indeed showed much wisdom in his judgments which became famous throughout the known world of his day.  He gained tremendous wealth, and took for himself seven hundred wives and 300 concubines.  Unfortunately, like many of us, he lost his way to the world.  His wives and concubines brought in foreign gods and worship, and Solomon participated with them even after he built a great temple to the one true God.  Because of his unfaithfulness, the kingdom which the Lord helped him build was to be torn from his descendants.  Only one tribe would remain under his descendants rulership.
     Thus, we come to Ecclesiastes a message written from an older king who is now reflecting on his life and sharing with us the message that life is all vanity without the revealed wisdom of God guiding us daily.  Solomon asked for wisdom and God anointed him with great wisdom.  However, when Solomon struck out on his own and used only empirical evidence around him instead of God's wisdom, he found emptiness and vanity.  Ecclesiastes 1:17 reads:  "And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly.  I perceived that this also is but a striving after the wind."  The footnote to this verse in The MacArthur Study Bible says this:  "When Solomon depended on empirical research rather than divine revelation to understand life, he found it to be an empty experience."  Isn't this what we see today?  So many scientists try hard to explain the universe and its creation without a Creator.  They base their findings on empirical data without considering divine revelation.  "We cannot have God in the mix", they would claim.  As Solomon wisely noted, it is "a striving after the wind."
     Then, Solomon tried all the pleasures he could possibly enjoy as a result of his wealth and many women.  He never denied himself anything.  Again, in all of this exercise of lust for the things of this world, the king did not find the satisfaction he sought.  Apart from God, life is indeed vanity of vanities.  It is meaningless without the truth of God and His Word to us.

His Word is Truth!

     When we know the Lord, as Solomon did, and decide to walk away for our own pleasures, we will find nothing but emptiness in life.  Because Solomon did look back on the wreckage of his own life and repent, he was able to write under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit this book of the Bible for our benefit and instruction.  Here was a man who had it all:  wealth, women, fancy chariots, a palace, lots of servants, and great wisdom.  Was he happy?  No, not without God in his life.  That is why he could say there is "nothing new under the sun."
     Life without Jesus Christ as our confessed Savior and Lord is every bit as empty as Solomon's  while he was engaged in sin.  There is nothing new about this.  It started in the Garden.  As Romans 3:23 tells us:  "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..."  We inherited the sin nature of Adam and are dead in our trespasses.  However, by God's regenerating power, we are awakened from this death and have the privilege of repenting and coming to Jesus Christ.   I will wager that a poor man who gives his life to Christ is far richer and wiser than Solomon when he strayed from the Lord.
     All the knowledge in this world, all the riches there are to offer cannot make us whole, secure or happy.  Joy comes from knowing, serving and living for Christ.  Even Solomon concludes his book of Ecclesiastes with these wise words:  "The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."   Life has meaning when it is lived for God.  Selah!

How Do You Treat Others?

     Speech is a powerful tool that God has given to man.  How we use that tool can either build someone up or tear them down in a minute.  Daily, we encounter people who may not be the kindest individuals.  Many are unbelievers.  Do we snub them?  Do we hate them or treat them as "less than"?  Are we concerned about their salvation?  Do we feel superior because we have truth and they don't?  How we answer those questions is important because the Lord wants us always to be wise in our actions and speech with believers and non-believers as well.
     In writing to the Church in Colosse, Paul, the Apostle, wrote these words concerning our conduct towards those outside the faith:  "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person" (Colossians 4:5-6).  Paul is right.  We need
wisdom towards those we meet who may not share our conviction that Jesus Christ is Savior.  Our faith is more than just believing in the Lord, it also requires a change in our lifestyle.  Where before, we might have made fun of someone or treated them unkindly, now we are called upon to treat them with the love of Christ.  Why?  Because our conduct speaks volumes to those who know us to be Christian and watch our actions to see if they line up with our words.
     This is especially true for those of us that work outside our homes.  In our case, we have a family business.  We meet all types of people every day.  We see our focus as one of service, professionalism but also one of extending kindness and care even if the other person doesn't react that way in return.  No one knows when someone comes into your store or business what has just happened to that person on the way there.  Perhaps they are a caregiver for a sick spouse or a recent widow.  This forms how they might respond to others.  This is why we need godly wisdom every day so we may know how to respond instead of react to others.  It is human nature (the sin nature) to snap back at someone who has just snapped at us.  However, if we use words of grace, seasoned with salt, we might win that person over and open the door for further conversation in the future.  Many people come to accept Christ because of a relationship with a Christian who lives their faith in both speech and actions.
     I recall a story that Corrie Ten Boom shared in a talk she gave.  She had been traveling all over telling others about what she and her sister experienced in the concentration camps and how Christ sustained them.  At one meeting, Corrie said that a person there came up to her and told her that he had been a guard in the concentration camp where she had been held.  This person had become a Christian and asked Corrie to forgive him for playing a part in her nightmare.  She was stunned and in herself she did not want to forgive this person.  However, as she struggled within, she knew that the Lord would want her to forgive this person.  She was able, by God's grace, to extend a hand of forgiveness to this person even though it was the hardest thing she had ever done.  God helped her with her actions and her words.
     Kind words, a friendly smile, and an effort to reach out to someone does not cost us anything.  When we share this with those outside the faith instead of criticizing them, we will have opened a door for further communication and a chance to perhaps share our faith.  However, when we act like the world, we close a door that might not open again.  Lets watch our speech and conduct ourselves with wisdom around family members, co-workers, friends and neighbors who may not share our faith in Christ and see what the Lord does in opening up opportunities.  We are God's ambassadors and as such, we must be careful how we conduct our lives for many are watching.  Selah!

Have you been able to encourage someone who is not a Christian?  How has God used you?

A Wise Guy or a Wise Believer

A crown in the gallery of "The Residence in Munich, Germany

     Reading in the Book of Ecclesiastes, I came to realize that the author, whom many Bible scholars believer is Solomon, doesn't seem to be a very positive writer.  Rather, his gloomy reflections on life and existence (chapter 1:1-18) can make us feel weighed down unless we look beyond what he is saying to the answer for our lives...Jesus Christ.
     Life is, indeed, vanity without the Lord.  There really is "nothing new under the sun" when we consider all the ideas and false religions that abound in this world.  In fact, "the preacher's" outlook is that of someone who has tried everything but found no answers inside himself.  This is not unlike our society today.
     Some years ago on the Larry King Show there were two Jewish rabbis,  the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the head of "Jews for Jesus".  The discussion revolved around a book published by the Baptists on how to witness to Jews.  The rabbis concluded that this booklet was racist in its approach whereas the other two guests contended that it was merely a tool for learning how to initiate conversation with someone of another faith.  It was a heated discussion.  One of the rabbis stated that in his opinion all roads lead to heaven so there is no need to change anyone's religion.  In short, there are no new ideas under heaven presented by either of the gentlemen who did not know Christ as Messiah.
     If we key in on verses 12-18 of Chapter 1, we get a glimpse of what Solomon thought of wisdom and ideas.  In verse 12 and 13, he writes:  "I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man by which they may be exercised."  It is, in fact, a burdensome task to seek out wisdom when you don't have Jesus, but the Lord said that His burden is light and His yoke is easy.  What a difference He makes in our lives!
     Knowledge and wisdom are certainly all vanity without the relationship with Jesus Christ.  The sad part for Solomon was that he was given all this wisdom by which he became famous, but his heart turned away from the Giver.  Instead, he became captivated by many women and their false religions.  Therefore, his life was empty and meaningless even though he was the richest king in the history of Israel.  Verse 18 reads:  "For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
     Solomon could see that knowledge and wisdom only made him more aware of the awful effects of man's sin in this world.  All we have to do today is look around at how man has misused all the great knowledge he has attained:  abortion, euthanasia, nuclear weapons and the Holocaust are a few examples.
     Without Jesus Christ, wisdom and knowledge are empty and in vain.  Our Savior is our hope, our light, and our very life.  If our hearts are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can apply correctly the learning we have received with glorious results.  However, those who do not know Christ can only see futility in life just as Solomon did.
     So as we read the Bible today, or work on a project or read a book, let us invite the Holy Spirit to illumine our minds so that we may have the wisdom of our heavenly Father to guide us.  Then, we will know what a marvelous world He has created and how glorious is His love for us!  Selah!


How has God given you insight at the time you needed it?   I welcome your thoughts.