Tag Archives: ECCLESIASTES

BIBLE, ECCLESIASTES

WHAT DOES “THERE IS NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN” MEAN? — BOB PRICHARD

The book of Ecclesiastes reflects the experience of King Solomon of Israel, the wisest man who ever lived, but who often lived very unwisely. In Ecclesiastes, he set out to show what the world looks like to man “under the sun.” The “under the sun” perspective is a limited, “this world” perspective, which ignores the fact that God exists and there is much more to life than this world. Solomon wrote just as if there is no God, and this life is all that there is (which is how most people have always lived their lives). They know how they ought to live before God, but usually choose to do things their own way. When Solomon had tried and found wanting every worldly pleasure he concluded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

In the introductory section of the book he wrote, “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” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In our age of modern technology, it seems almost absurd to say “there is no new thing under the sun,” because practically every day brings forth a new technological advancement, and there is always a new gadget or product for us to enjoy. Solomon was not talking about technological advancements, however, but unchanging principles, especially from the “under the sun” perspective.

His statement about “no new thing” is found in the midst of a discussion of the fact that weather and water cycles continue from year to year, and no matter how hard man works, or what he gets, he always wants more (Ecclesiastes 1:4-10). As Solomon looked at things from the pessimistic view of a man living just as if there were no God, he saw that in the basic areas of life, nothing ever really changes. He recognized that there were technological advancements, but they could not provide the fulfillment he sought: “I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

As long as one has only an “under the sun” perspective, the outlook must be pessimistic. Man may find increasingly sophisticated ways to entertain or kill himself, but what really matters is obedience to God. Solomon realized that all the world offers is simply “vanity of vanities” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) without God. His cyclical perspective, his “under the sun” view, of no real change as time passes, was common in the ancient world. The heavenly perspective, however, reveals that history is not going in circles. It began with the creation, and is moving toward the future, under God’s control. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). We now await the return of the Son, when time will be no more.

BIBLE QUESTIONS, ECCLESIASTES, OLD TESTAMENT

WHAT DOES ECCLESIASTES 3:15 MEAN? — BOB PRICHARD

Men have described the book of Ecclesiastes, authored by the wise man Solomon, in many different ways. Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, said it is the truest of all books. Others have applied Winston Churchill’s description of Russia, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, to this great book. This sometimes puzzling book shows that the things of the world offer no lasting happiness, and that this life, with all of its labors, is valueless, if there is no future. The book is the story of a man (Solomon), who deliberately tasted every worldly delight, including the forbidden, only to discover that all that the world offers is vanity of vanities (Ecclesiastes 1:2).

Chapter three begins with the familiar words, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted… A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 8). The general theme of this chapter is the unchanging regularity of the world created by God.

The words of verse 15, as with so many others in the book, seem very cryptic at first reading. “That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Remember that the general theme of the chapter is the unchanging regularity of life. Solomon expressed the same idea earlier in the book. “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The verse closes with the statement, “there is no new thing under the sun”, meaning there is nothing new in the temporal life. He then asked, “Is there anything of which one might say, ‘See this, it is new’? Already it has existed for ages which were before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:10). As we look at our world, we see that there are technological advancements, and advancements in other fields, but so far as man’s concern for his fellowman, and the basic things of life, there is no change, no new thing under the sun. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Since we live in a regular universe, with God in control, it is up to us to recognize God’s control, and bend our wills to be in conformity to His will. After all, this is what God requires. As Solomon looked at the world under the sun, living as if there were no God, his vision of an unchanging world changed to a conclusion that God truly is in control. The end of Ecclesiastes 3:15 states, “for God seeks what has passed by.” These words parallel the last words of verse 14, which also talks of God’s purpose, and says, “…for God has so worked that men should fear Him.” This points to the fact that God designed our regular universe to draw men to Him.

Solomon ends the saga of his search for happiness with the words, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Literally, the whole of man is to obey God.