Through the Bible - Ecclesiastes

That of Father God, we do thank You for Your word. We ask that You would speak to us now. Give us insight, Lord, as we consider this book. Help us, Lord, to learn and to glean from it, walking away with new understanding that maybe we haven't recognized before. Or perhaps we need to reestablish something in our hearts and minds as we follow and seek You. So guide us through Your word, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Most certainly, we live in an environment that is filled with injustice. As you look around the world, it seems like it is a world that is falling apart, and really, it is. The book of Romans tells us that the whole of creation groans, looking forward to that day when God will return. He is going to right all the wrongs and set everything back in its rightful place.

However, ever since the fall, this world has been under the curse, and it is in a state of disarray. As we look around in our own lives, we see pains, injustices, and difficulties that every single one of us faces. The question often arises: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we go through difficult things? Why do we see injustice in this world, especially if we believe in an all-loving God, an all-powerful God? How can these things be?

As you examine the history of philosophies over the last thousand years, you see an interesting progression. There was a time when the predominant philosophy in the world, especially in the West, was a theistic worldview. People believed in a God who had created everything and was intimately involved with His creation. However, slowly there began to be a shift from theism to something called deism. This shift occurred during the Renaissance, particularly in the West, while the East remained largely unaffected.

There is a God who created everything, but He just wound up the clock and let it go. From there, you have this downward progression through various philosophies. One of the predominant philosophies that emerged in the last 150 years, which continues to invade our culture and snowball, is nihilism. Nihilism comes from the Latin word meaning "nothing," suggesting that there is no purpose in this life.

We live during a time when nihilism is one of the underlying philosophies, promoting the idea that there is really no meaning or purpose. This philosophy permeates our entire culture; we see it in the movies on the big screen and in the books being written. Everything reflects this kind of thinking, which stirs up the notion that man is all there is.

From nihilism arose a significant philosophy after the Second World War called existentialism. Perhaps you have heard the term existentialism, which deals with individual existence. Life, according to this philosophy, is about each person trying to find meaning, satisfaction, and enjoyment for themselves. This is why everyone has their own truth; your truth might bring you satisfaction, while my truth might provide me with some form of meaning.

Many philosophers over the last several hundred years believe these ideas are new. However, they should probably revisit the Book of Ecclesiastes, written 3,000 years ago. They will find that these concepts are not new at all. In fact, the author of Ecclesiastes states clearly that there is nothing new under the sun. The idea that human existence is pointless, worthless, and meaningless, and that one must find their own source of happiness, was present during the time of Solomon.

Solomon, a man of great wisdom, decided to conduct a grand experiment to discover the meaning of life and where satisfaction can be found. This is an age-old question that even the Rolling Stones pondered: Where is satisfaction? Imagine, if you will, having everything at your fingertips. You are the most powerful person in your empire, possessing all the wealth anyone could desire. You would think that at that point in time, you would be happy, right?

But just imagine: what would you do if you had everything at your fingertips? Here was King Solomon, the son of David. He lived during a time of great peace in the nation. He was the wisest man, the richest man, and the greatest in the kingdom. So, he set out with all of his riches and wisdom to figure out where satisfaction is found. This is a very interesting book; it serves as his thesis on the whole thing. Where are you going to find satisfaction?

As you start in chapter 1, we read the words of the preacher, the son of David. Now, "preacher" may not be the best translation of that word. It might be better translated as "the debater." The words of the debater, the son of David, the king of Jerusalem, present his thesis statement: "Vanity of vanities," says the preacher. "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

When we think of the word "vanity," we generally think of someone who is constantly looking in the mirror to ensure that everything looks beautiful and perfect. However, that is not a good definition for the word in this context. The word really means "meaningless." Meaninglessness. Everything is meaningless. As you go through it, it carries the idea of chasing the wind. It's for nothing; it's all for nothing. The end statement he comes to is that everything is meaningless. This is where many different philosophers throughout the years have arrived: the idea that everything is meaningless.

He says in verse 3, "Now I want you to circle those words or underline the words 'under the sun' in your Bible," because those words are seen several times throughout this book. In every single chapter, you will see the words "under the sun" used. These words speak about life and existence here on earth; it's only this temporal existence. If you focus on just this temporal existence, you exclude God from the equation completely. Do not even think about God. Just turn away from God, which is what philosophies have done for the last thousand years.

From theism down to deism, they have sought to cut God out of the equation. Finally, the end of all of it is nihilism or post-modernism, where we are today in Western civilization, where there really is no meaning.

There's no point. But why? Why did man come to this point of saying, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity"? The same thing that Solomon said 3,000 years ago. Man is saying that even today, in the year 2008. As all the philosophies filter down, the whole reason man comes to that conclusion is that he has cut God out of it. When you cut God out of the equation and think only on a temporal, earthly level, your ultimate conclusion will be, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Meaninglessness. There is no purpose in this life if you cut God out of it.

Solomon essentially asks, "What's the point?" Why should I work so hard and gather everything that I can if there is really no purpose to it? What does it profit a man for all of his labor which he does under the sun? He introduces the idea of everything being completely meaningless. He illustrates this point in verse 4, saying, "One generation passes away and another generation comes, and the earth abides forever." One generation comes up, they die out, and another generation comes. They die out, but the earth continues on. So, what's the point of my existence? I can't affect it.

The sun rises and sets, returning to its place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, turns to the north, whirls about continually, and returns again according to its circuits. The rivers run into the sea, and the sea is not full. To the place from whence the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labor, and man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that has been is that which shall be, and that which is done is that which shall be done. There is no new thing under the sun.

Solomon says, basically, it's all just meaningless. You can look at all the things that are going on. He talks about the wind going about on its circuits, swirling from the north to the south. He mentions the sun just coming up and setting, rising and setting, over and over. He discusses the water cycle, where the waters come down through the streams into the sea, then go back up through the clouds and come back down. It's just this constant cycle, and it's all meaningless. What's the point? There is nothing new under the sun. It just continues as it was from the beginning. This is a similar idea that many evolutionary scientists come to as well.

This idea of uniformitarianism suggests that everything continues the same constantly. It just keeps going on and on, and it has for eternity. It will continue to go on, even if man dies and ceases to exist on the earth. The earth will still continue to spin. The sun will come up, and the sun will set. All these things will just continue to go on.

So, what's the point of my life? When you start to teach and impose upon a culture that there is no God and that you came about by the process of evolution, that's the end result. What's the point? You arrive at a place where everything feels vain, meaningless, and empty. Why would I want to live if this is all there is? I might as well eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. This conclusion is echoed in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, verse 24.

Look at what it says: "There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy the good of his labor." This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

You need to understand that when you read through the book of Ecclesiastes, this is a man who has departed from God. He has cut God out of the equation and is discussing temporal existence under the sun without God. Yet, he still goes back to talking about God. There are many things in the book of Ecclesiastes that you cannot draw upon and say, "This is my life verse." The phrase "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is not a directive from God. No, this is a man who has departed from the Lord and is on a mission to examine the purpose of life.

What's it all about? What's the point of living? His first conclusion in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, verse 24 is, "Hey listen, just eat and drink. Make your soul enjoy your labor because there's nothing else." You have to find meaning somewhere.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 22, he states, "Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own work, for that is his portion. For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?" He emphasizes that all man should do is rejoice in his work, as everything else is vanity.

When you look around the world, wisdom is vanity, pleasure is vanity, and great accomplishments are vanity. It's all empty. In Ecclesiastes chapters 1 and 2, he expresses his quest for wisdom, only to find that it is ultimately empty and did not help him in any way. Then he goes on to say, "Fine, you know, I'm rich."

I'm wealthy. I can have whatever I want, so I'm going to bring pleasure to myself. Now remember, this is the guy who had a thousand wives. This is the guy who had wine flowing freely. He had all these great vineyards and everything. So he brought pleasure to himself. At the end of the day, he comes and says, "That's empty."

Then he says, "I'm going to build great buildings. I'm going to build great vineyards. I'm going to plant all this stuff." At the end of the day, he says, "Oh, it's just vanity. It's empty." It didn't bring the fulfillment that he thought. Well, fine, he figures, "I'm just going to work hard with my hands. That'll make me feel good." He thinks, "I'm a man, so I'll just work hard with my hands." No, at the end, it came to the point of, "Oh, it's just emptiness."

So what does he say? "You might as well just eat, drink, and be merry. There's no other point. What's the point?" In Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 18, he says, "Behold, that which I have seen." Remember, this is his observation. "It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he takes under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him, for it is his portion."

Now, this is the life that God gives him. It's not that God has given man just to eat, drink, and be merry because he's going to die. He recognizes that God has given him life, but he wonders, "What else is there?" Then he concludes that he might as well just work and enjoy the fruit of his labors. "Eat, drink, and be merry," because that's all there is under the sun.

Again, we see the same thing in Ecclesiastes chapter 8, verse 15. "Then I commended mirth, enjoyment, pleasure, laughter. A man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for that shall abide with him of all his labor of his days and his life, which God has given him under the sun."

He says, "Listen, under the sun, in this temporal existence, if it's only about this existence, then you might as well just try to make yourself happy." The end of all being is the happiness of man, which is basically what he concludes when you cut God from the equation. There's no other point.

But, you know, it's interesting when you follow this through in Ecclesiastes chapter 4. He comes to the point and finally says, "You know what? I might as well just die." He begins to despair of life. If that's all it's about—just enjoying the things of this world—he does everything. He builds great buildings.

He enjoys pleasure. He goes after wisdom. He goes after folly. He goes after everything that you could possibly pursue. In the end, he finds that they all lead to the same place in his mind: emptiness. It's pointless. His conclusion is that it would have been better if he had never been born. It would be better for him if he were like the man who is in the grave. He reaches a point where he despairs of life because it seems meaningless.

In reality, life is meaningless if it is only viewed under the sun. If one is never able to look above this existence, then life truly is devoid of meaning. It is no wonder that people take their own lives and even the lives of others. We saw this at Columbine back in 1999 and in various school shootings since then. If we teach children from a young age that there is no meaning to life—that they just evolved from an ape, from the goo to the zoo to you—then what is the meaning of it all? All they have are the days of their lives. They might as well just eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

If we instill this belief in people, they may reach a point of despair. What will they do then? Take their own lives? Perhaps the lives of others? Who knows? There seems to be no point anymore. Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 7 states that there is really nothing else to do. This same thinking afflicted the children of Israel in Isaiah chapter 22. They were about to be destroyed by the northern ten tribes. A civil war was raging in the nation, and their brothers from the north were coming down to destroy the city of Jerusalem, which had been besieged.

The people reached a point in Isaiah chapter 22, verse 15, where they were looking at death the next day. In verse 13, it says, "And behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen, killing sheep, eating flesh, drinking wine. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die." If you knew for certain that tomorrow you were going to die, what would you do? If you cut God out of the equation, you might just say...

Well, I've got 24 more hours to live it up. Eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow I die. Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 19 says, "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers all things." That's the conclusion of some people who just focus on this life. They seek the best food, the finest drinks, and as much money as they can accumulate because they believe this is all there is. However, even in that pursuit, there is still emptiness.

Solomon reflects on this when he states that he has gathered everything he possibly could to himself and made his nation great. Yet, he wonders who will take over after his death and whether a fool might destroy it all. He spoke prophetically, as right after he died, his son Rehoboam took over the kingdom and divided the nation, departing from the Lord. Solomon concludes that it is all vanity and emptiness. Even if he builds a great empire, he will die, and someone else will take it over. What is the point?

What really is the point in this life? A man with great wisdom, who had everything imaginable at his fingertips, undertook the greatest experiment one could imagine. He set out to find meaning and satisfaction in this life, under the sun. What did he find? Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. There is no point.

It was a sad time for Solomon, and it is likely that this reflection occurred near the end of his life. In the book of Ecclesiastes, from chapter 7 to chapter 9, there are some proverbs that discuss the foolishness of pursuing worldly things and the value of seeking righteousness. However, the only good that comes from this book is found in the very last chapter, where he summarizes his entire examination and comes to the conclusion of the matter.

In chapter 11, verse 7, he states, "Light is a good thing, and it is a pleasant thing to be able to look upon the sun." It is interesting that many older people, when they are near death, do not want the light to be turned off.

They want the light to shine. I remember years ago, my sister was taking care of a man who was in the last days of his life and had slipped into a coma. The nurse on that floor at Palomar told her to keep the light on, as they like to have the light on.

It's an interesting thing. He says, "Truly, light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun." But if a man lives many years and rejoices in all of them, he says, "Listen, if you're only going to live this temporal existence under the sun, even if you live many years and rejoice in all of them, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many also." All that comes as vanity. He says, "Even if you live a long life on this earth, and you may have really good, pleasant years, remember that there are still going to be some pretty dark days." This presents a pretty sad and gloomy, pessimistic outlook.

Then he says in verse 9, "Listen, young man, you can live it up. You can do as I have done. You can go after all the things that your heart desires. You can grab hold of all the things that your eye looks upon." But you need to remember and understand that there is coming a day of reckoning when you will stand before God, and He will examine you.

As he begins to wind down his search and conclude the whole matter of his examination of satisfaction in this life under the sun, he offers this exhortation. The ultimate conclusion is, "Listen, don't do as I have done," is what Solomon says. "Remember the Creator in the days of your youth." This is the first time he pulls God into the whole situation. Now God is brought back into the equation.

In the first eleven chapters, he discusses life under the sun: amassing great wealth, building great kingdoms, having pleasure, and enjoying prosperity. However, all these pursuits lead to emptiness. But now, in chapter 12, verse 1, he brings God into it and says, "Remember now the Creator in the days of your youth."

My exhortation to you, based on all of my findings and everything that I have examined, is this: While you're young, seek the Lord and serve Him before those difficult days come. In verses 2 through 7, he speaks about the difficult days, and it's very interesting how he describes old age and what it's like to get older. He explains it in a very poetic way to those who are younger.

Notice what he says in verse 2: "While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain." Solomon is speaking about getting older. He mentions that the first part of aging is that the sun, the moon, and the stars become darkened, referring to the eyes. As you get older, your eyesight begins to decline. He also mentions, "And the clouds return after the rain," which may resonate with you as well; one pain comes after another. The eyes begin to darken and become dim as you age, and one pain follows another.

Then, in verse 3, he says, "In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble." Your body is the house, and he refers to the days when you're getting older, when the keepers of the house tremble. What do you think he might be speaking about here? Your hands begin to shake. He continues, "And the strong men shall bow themselves low," which speaks about the legs beginning to give way.

Notice this one; it's interesting: "And the grinders cease because they are few." What do you think he's talking about? The teeth. There comes a day when the grinders begin to cease because they are few. He also mentions, "And those that look out the windows be darkened." What do you think he means there? The eyes again.

He says, "Remember now the Creator in the days of your youth before these difficult days draw near." What difficult days? It can be very hard for a young man, young woman, or young person like myself to look ahead to these difficult days that will come. However, one of the things that he points out in this book is that every single person experiences the same thing, whether they are wise or foolish, rich or poor. They all come to one conclusion: the day of death. Everyone will experience this.

So, he urges us to remember the Creator when we're young, before these difficult things begin to arise. The eyes begin to fail, the pains start to accumulate one after another, and the body begins to shake.

The legs begin to give out. The grinders begin to cease because they are few, and those that look out the windows are darkened. The doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low. He is speaking here about not being able to speak as well. When the doors shall be shut in the streets, the lips no longer open to speak clearly and loudly. He talks about the sound of grinding being low; it's difficult to chew. Once again, the grinding.

He shall rise up at the voice of the bird. Some of you may be able to identify with this: sleep becomes difficult, and the smallest noise causes you to rise. All the daughters of music shall be brought low, speaking about the voice not being able to sing and use the voice quite as you once were able to do. In verse 5, he says, "Also, when they shall be afraid of that which is high." There comes a point where your equilibrium begins to go, and it's difficult to climb upstairs. You don't want to do it anymore, and fear shall be in the way. Many times, as people grow older, they come to the point where they say, "I don't want to go out so much at night," or "I'd just rather stay indoors." He is speaking about that there.

The almond tree shall flourish. Have you ever seen an almond tree as it's getting ready to put forth almonds? What do the buds of an almond tree look like? They're white. The almond tree shall flourish, and the hair begins to turn white. It says there, "And the grasshopper shall be a burden." There comes a point as you get older that you don't have the strength you once did. Even picking up something as small as a grasshopper looks like it would be difficult.

Desire shall fail. The appetites for food, but also for pleasure, begin to go because man goes to the long home. Man is near the point of death, which is what he is speaking about there. The mourners go about in the streets. The mourners are beginning to gather already because that day of death is drawing near. Even the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish alike, all see it.

"Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken." There are many Bible teachers who believe that the silver cord being spoken of there refers to the nervous system, the spinal cord, and that the golden bowl is speaking about...

The mind and the brain begin to go. It goes on to speak about the pitcher being broken at the fountain or the wheel being broken at the cistern. What do you think that might be speaking of? The fountain or the cistern? It speaks about the heart. The heart begins to give way as well.

He says, "Remember now the Creator in the days of your youth before these difficult days draw near." What sort of difficult days? The days that every single person will go through. Though you live a long life, as he said in verse 8 of chapter 11, even if a man lives many years and rejoices in all those years, still there are going to come these days of darkness that are being spoken of. These difficult times at the end of one's life. His counsel is to remember the Lord while you're young.

Following the Lord while you're young doesn't mean that you won't experience these things, but it does mean that you have something else to look forward to at the end of those things. In verse 7, it says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was." What happens there? Dust to dust. Then the dust shall return to the earth. Death takes place. And what does he say? "And the Spirit shall return, where? Unto God."

Why is it important to remember now the Creator in the days of your youth? Because there is a time coming, and every single person will go through it. This time when life begins to cease on this earth under the sun. If you go after all the things that this world has to offer, he tells us in chapter 11, verse 10, that if you pursue all the things that your heart desires and your eye looks upon, there is coming a day when you will stand before the Lord in judgment.

However, if you remember now the Creator in the days of your youth, before the end of life comes, then there is that day when the Spirit shall return to God. In verse 8 of chapter 12, he says, "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity." Everything else under the sun, if you're looking for satisfaction only in this life under the sun, then you will come to the same conclusion that he does: it's all emptiness.

What is life all about? What's the purpose? It's pointless. It is a sad thing that people come to that point, but many do, especially if they're considering the wisdom of man, which is only wisdom under the sun. The philosophies of men come and go; they rise and fall. There are so many different philosophies that emerge year by year. We are living during a time, as I already mentioned, of this post-modern era.

Philosophy in our nation and in our world often suggests that there really is no purpose and no point to life. People might as well just create and find meaning for themselves. However, the exhortation of the Lord, as well as the exhortation of Solomon, is to remember now the Creator.

Moreover, because the preacher was wise, he taught the people knowledge. He gave good heed, sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find acceptable words, and that which was written was upright, even the words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads and nails fastened by the master of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.

The words of the wise are like goads, which a farmer would use when tilling his field. When plowing, the farmer would have his ox in front, and the goad would be the tool used to guide the ox in the right direction. Similarly, the words of the wise keep us on the right path. They are also like nails fastened by the master carpenter. Notice what he says at the end: these words are given by one shepherd. Who is the good shepherd? Jesus, in John chapter 10, tells us, "I am the good shepherd." Therefore, the best way to go is to follow the words of the wise, the words of the good shepherd.

Furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end. This is certainly true. Go on Amazon.com, and you can see there are countless books available. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is weariness of the flesh. How many of you can agree with that? Much study is indeed weariness of the flesh.

So let us hear the conclusion of the matter. What is the final word on the whole thing? Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man. You may think that I read that wrong because, in many of your Bibles, it says this is the whole duty of man. However, the word "duty" is not present in the original text. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man.

What will make man whole? The only thing that can make man whole is to fear God and to keep His commandments. If you cut God out of the equation, all you will find is emptiness and vanity. There is nothing.

There is nothing worthwhile in this world apart from God, but to fear God and to keep His commandments; this is the whole of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, and with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

As you look around this world, there are a lot of people who live with the mindset of "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." I would say that this is the predominant or pervading mindset of Americans today. Just get whatever you can, make yourself happy, seek pleasure, and pursue prosperity, whatever it may be, because there really is no intrinsic meaning or purpose in this world. Where does that mindset come from? It comes from a culture that has been taught that there is no God. This is the ultimate outcome when you cut God out of the equation; there is really no point.

However, if we recognize the truth of verse 14, the very last verse of chapter 12 of the whole book, there is coming a day when God shall bring everything into judgment. There is coming a day when all mankind will stand before God. This recognition changes the whole course of a person's life. The awareness that there is a reckoning, that there is a day when I will stand before God, is significant. It has been appointed unto all men to die once, and then comes judgment. That day is coming, so what ought we to do? We should fear the Lord and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man. This is what will make man whole; this is what will prepare him for that day that every single person will see.

Whether you be wise or foolish, every single person will stand before God. You've heard it said before, and it's very true: the statistics are staggering. Ten out of ten people die. But if we are able to look outside of just this existence and recognize that life is not only about things happening under the sun here on this earth, if we can take a step back and acknowledge that there is another life, that there is an eternity, it will change the whole course of the way we live.

Although Solomon's way of going about things was flawed, as you look at this book, I don't think he really needed to examine all these things personally to figure out the answers.

Here because God gave it to us beforehand. What is the command that God gave to us? Well, fear the Lord and serve Him. That's what Moses spoke to the children of Israel. That's what Joshua reiterated to the children of Israel. If Solomon would have done that, he wouldn't have had to experience all these things. Ultimately, when he did experience all these things, what was his conclusion? Fear the Lord and serve Him, because that's the only way. There is no meaning found in building big buildings or having everything that the world has to offer. Yes, those things might be fun under the sun, but there is another kingdom that is going to come.

We are going to finish tonight. If you would turn in your Bibles over to Hebrews chapter 11, I think it's important for this mindset. Hebrews chapter 11 speaks about those who lived and followed God by faith. They recognized the truth of what Solomon finally concluded: Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth and follow Him, serve Him, fear Him, and keep His commandments.

We read about one key character, the father of our faith, Abraham. It starts in verse 8. Hebrews 11:8 asks, "Why did he do this? Why did he leave all the things that he had in Ur?" It's interesting; archaeologists have told us that Ur was one of the first places in history that had hot tubs. They had hot baths there. So here’s Abraham, enjoying his hot tub in Ur, and God calls him, saying, "I want you to leave your home and dwell in a tent. Leave all this that you have here under the sun and follow Me." And he did it.

Why did he do it? Verse 10 says he recognized that this world was not all that there was. There was something greater, something bigger and better. He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith, also Sarah, his wife, received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, there sprang even of one, and him as good as dead.

As dead. I want you to underline that in your Bibles: as good as dead. So many as the stars of the sky and the multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore, are innumerable. But these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. They were persuaded of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Truly, if they had been mindful of the country from whence they had come out, they might have had an opportunity to have returned. Notice what the author of the book of Hebrews is saying. He says these people, if they were focused on this life under the sun, would have just given up and turned back to their old life. It was a lot harder to be a pilgrim in this earth and follow the Lord as a stranger in a strange land, dwelling in tents. It would have been a lot easier just to say, "Forget this, we're going back to earth." Sarah, pack up the stuff; we're going back to the hot tub.

If they had been mindful of this earth, of this world, of life under the sun, they might have had an opportunity to have returned. But now, verse 16, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country. Notice this: this is so amazing to me. Wherefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God because they have this mindset, not focused on everything under the sun. God is not ashamed to be called their God.

What does that imply? That there are people whom God is ashamed to be called their God. What kind of people is that? A people who say that they follow the Lord with their lips but are completely focused and consumed with this life and the things of this world. But those who have this heavenly perspective understand that everything under the sun is all going to burn anyway. They recognize that there is a heavenly kingdom, something greater than this, and they remember the Creator when they are young and follow the Lord all the way into their later years.

They declare plainly that they seek after this country, and God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. Listen, their seeking is not in vain. Their seeking for this heavenly kingdom is not an empty pursuit. Even though the world may look at you and look at me and say, "You guys are foolish. You really believe..."

Are you going to this kingdom of heaven? God has prepared a place for you. That's just goofy. You give money to this church, you follow the Lord, and you give up the comforts of this world to follow after Him. Why would you do that? Listen, it's not a vain pursuit. As we are told, God has prepared a city for them.

By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac. He that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it is said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead, from whence also he received him as a type, as a figure. Because Abraham had this focus on God, his perspective was a heavenly perspective. Because of that, he was willing to give up even his most prized possession on earth, his only begotten son, because he recognized that God had something greater in view. He understood that God was greater than everything this world had to offer, and he was willing to give up whatever it was that God said, "Give it to me."

Ultimately, God didn't take his son from him. We are told that he received him as a figure, as a type. A type of what? Well, the type of another who would give His only begotten son completely.

I think the teaching of Ecclesiastes is really that we would understand that life is not only about eating, drinking, and being merry. If that's all it's about, then we're just like the animals. We're no different than the animals, but God has made us different. He has breathed into us the breath of life and given us a purpose that surpasses the purpose of this world. It involves an eternal purpose.

Here, He has called us to follow Him, to fear God, and to keep His commandments because this is the whole of man. This is what makes man whole. If we don't serve and follow the Lord and fear Him, we are not whole. We will just have an empty existence eternally as well.

May we learn the truth of this book and glean from it. I think it's an important book to read and to study. I encourage you to study it more deeply than we have here on Saturday night. I know that we just give a real quick glance over the scriptures. It's my hope...

As we go through the Bible book by book, just once a week, I hope it stirs your interest to go back and look at each book because you might have missed something. I also encourage you to dig deep and see what the Lord has to speak to you.

Let's stand and pray. Lord, I thank you for giving us this book so that we might learn from it. We don't have to follow in the same footsteps as Solomon, but we can learn from his words. Just as Paul spoke in 1 Corinthians, all these things happened to them as examples. Hopefully, we will learn from the lessons of what we see the children of Israel went through, or from the king of Israel, Solomon. He traveled down the road towards folly and all these different things, and he has given us the conclusion of the matter.

Lord, may we take it to heart and remember it, that we would remember You our entire life. Even as we grow older and see all the things come to pass that we've read poetically here in chapter 12— as the eye begins to dim, the voice goes, the hair turns white, the legs become feeble, and the hands shake— all these things begin to take place. That is the way every single human will go.

But, Lord, we know for the person who has set You apart in their heart, for that person who has eternity in view, there is coming a day when this body will return to the earth, dust to dust, but our spirit will be with You. We look forward to that day.

Lord, I ask that You would help me to be one of those who is looking for that city which has foundations, the one that You have built. Not the city or the empire that I could build, or someone else here on earth could build, but the heavenly kingdom that You have created for us.

Lord, we look forward to that day when we will stand in Your presence. God, help us to have that mind of heaven, our eyes fixed upon You, running this race, looking to You, the author and the finisher of our faith. Lord, we praise You and we thank You in Jesus' name. Amen.