Prayer: O Most Holy and Wise God, all authority and power in heaven and earth belong to You. May we see Your wisdom as You order the world according to Your divine purposes. Amen.
Sermon: People of God, William Ernest Henley once said: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”[1] Henley embraced the idea that man is in charge. He is the pilot when it comes to his destiny. He is controlling every step of his life. He is unhindered by outside forces. Man is the great I AM.
If man is the master of his fate and the captain of his soul, then there is no need for the triune God. He has mastered his ways, he leans on his own understanding and he believes that he can construct his future on the basis of his past.
However, the book of Ecclesiastes tells a different story. In fact, it tells an exactly opposite story. It says that the idea of being in control of your life is a myth. It simply does not exist. It is true we can prepare for life, we can study with the hopes of knowing certain things better than others, we can save money in the bank, make intelligent investments, but according to Solomon, it is all vapor.
The reality of the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes is that no matter how much we try to get a good grasp of our lives, we are only grasping at vapor.
Before we elaborate further on Ecclesiastes 1, it is important to understand this linguistic question right at the beginning. We know that the son of David is Solomon. Solomon’s perspective of life is a very mature one. He has gone through various stages. II Kings 11 gives us a tour of Solomon’s apostasy, which can be summarized in two words: Immorality and Idolatry.
Though Ecclesiastes begins dark, it has a bright future. The words of Solomon are a “repentant rejection of his previous apostasy.”[2] We understand Solomon’s repentance when we read his words in verse 2. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Traditionally, the Hebrew word “hebel” has been translated as “vanity” or “meaninglessness.” But Solomon does not have that in mind. If life is completely meaningless or if all we do is vanity, then this undermines the beautiful redemptive history of the church. It undermines the celebratory nature of our gathering on this Lord’s Day, it undermines our feasting, and it undermines the fruit of the labor that we bring in our tithing. If our labor is vanity and meaningless, then why does God take pleasure in our gifts to Him? Continue reading “Pentecost Season: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Vapor of Vapors!”
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