SERIES: “UNDER THE SUN.”
TEXT: ECCLESIASTES 9:3-11.
The passage of scripture we have read today is very depressing concerning human life “Under the sun.” You need to keep in mind that Solomon is writing this text from the view point of the natural man “Under the sun”-Vs. 3. Life without Jesus Christ is madness of the heart and mind.
If you take God, heaven and faith out of life’s equation, life is vanity, empty and less than nothing. In a twist, what you are reading in the book of Ecclesiastes is God’s perception of the lost man’s perception of life (madness).
In the passage of the scripture before us this morning we notice “Five foolish people under the sun” and one wise person “under the sun” living above the sun. Let us learn:-
THE SENSUOUS MAN: Eccl. 9:3.
- This man lives for worldly pleasure (Hedonism).
“This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all; Yeah, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”
- Notice that this man is full of evil and madness of the heart. The “sensuous man” lives from party to party.
- He is a party-party man. He lives his whole life just to satisfy the lust of the flesh.
- Life of pleasure (hedonism) is no better than animal life. “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
THE SURVIVOR MAN:
- The man who lives just to stay alive (survivor).
Eccl. 9:4-6, “For to him who is joined to all the living there is hope. For the living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.”
- The dark world thinks that the dead are wiser than the living, so as to consult the dead or to pour libation, through ancestral worship.
- The “survivor man” lives to simply stay alive.
- He does not know where his next meal is coming from. His life is filled with poverty.
- To the “survivor man” life has been reduced to either being a “living dog or dead lion.” If you are not a dog, then you are dead.
- The “survivor man” then is dead. He knows that he is to stay alive, this is sad life indeed.
THE SOCIETY MAN:
- This is man who lives for his family and friends-Eccl. 9:7-9.
“Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun.”
- The “society man” appears to be reasonably happy.
- He has a good job, a wife, children and he belongs to a country club.
- He goes to work every day to pay off his bills.
- He wines and dines his wife on Friday nights, but if you look closely at the text, he too is living his life in vanity.
THE SOCIAL MAN:
- This man lives to make a difference in the lives of others and build a lasting legacy.
Eccl. 9:10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.”
- The “social man” sees the “hour glass” running.
- He is racing against time. He digs in and determines to take his best shot at life.
- He is a missionary minded person, a man on mission.
- He joins the Red Cross and other social charities.
- He contributes, but still in the final analysis, an empty grave awaits his worn out body.
- Mother Teresa finally found out that an empty grave was waiting for her in Calcutta, so did Prof. Wangari Mathai. They left a legacy of charity to poor humanity and environment.
THE STATUS MAN:
- The man who wants to leave a mark in history. He wants to be remembered for years after death.
Eccl. 9:11, “I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to the men of skill, but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
- The “Status man” achieves much personal recognition by his peers in this life time.
- He has trophies on his mantle, there are diplomas and degrees on his wall.
- He has pictures of himself with presidents and other very high class people.
- He may have pictures of himself with military decorations on his back shelf.
- But he too soon will be gone and forgotten, his life is vanity.
- Someone will break his record, a future yard sale awaits his tarnished trophies.
- But my dear friends, is there an alternative?-Eccl. 9:11.
“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor battle to the strong, neither yet men of understanding, nor yet favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
- Please notice the last part of this verse.
- “Time and chance” is God’s providence!
- Jehovah is the God of providence. By God’s providence let us see a way out of the utter delusion of Solomon’s world of life “Under the sun” and introduce you to the sunlight of the New Testament.
LIFE UNDER THE SON OF GOD.
- There is an alternative.
- The spiritual man!-1st Cor. 2:14-15.
- You can live your life for Christ.
- Let us contrast Eccl. 9:4, and Philippians 1:21.
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
- In Solomon’s world of living life “under the sun” without the son. In this life you were a dog and in death you were a dead lion, just dead.
- To those who have come to know of God’s salvation through the blood of Christ we have an entirely new perspective.
- In this life I am not a dog, I am a child of God, a child of a King.
- My daily mission is to serve a Living Christ.
- My death is not a world of being soon forgotten and ceasing to exist. My death is gain.
- I gain a better body, I gain a better home, I gain a better family and friends, I gain better service and better master.
- Are you living your life like one of the five fools that King Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes nine or have you come into a living relationship with the son of God?
CONCLUSION
- Are you experiencing the abundant life or are you nothing more than a loving dog?
- I’d rather have Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of my life.
- If you are not saved, Now is the time to give your life to Jesus Christ.
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