Ecclesiastes 2:18–3:15 Did God Create Monday Mornings?
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Solomon is wrestling with the realities of life ‘under the sun’, life under the present curse of our separation from God – our exile from his garden, his presence and our true home. Perhaps the point at which we can feel the curse most sharply is our work – our toil (Ecclesiastes 2.18; Ecclesiastes 2:20; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Ecclesiastes 3:9). This is to be expected since God’s words of judgement on the man when banishing him from the garden mostly dwelt on work being hard and exhausting (Genesis 3:17-19).
Though deep down we have a need to work – it is written into the hard-drive of the human condition and into society (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:15) – there is a grim reality to be faced. The most treasured of our efforts are ultimately brought to nothing by the arrival of death and the ongoing hebel (vanity) of life under the sun. So in the end what is there to be gained by all the work we have done? (Ecclesiastes 3:9)
To make things worse, the best of our achievements, those things which usually give us our sense of identity and worth, are just reasons to be anxious. We think we have built them, so we must sustain them and fear they will dwindle and go the moment we make a wrong step – or calamity comes.
So we either opt out and give ourselves to labour which is meaningless to us (like most of the characters in The Office) or we build our whole life on our career, becoming driven by it and sacrificing all other aspects of life to it (including God). Either way we hit despair in the end.
This begins to explain the presence of the poem in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. The fact that it has been used for a chirpy (and annoyingly catchy) folk tune by a 1960’s rock band adds to the irony. This is not meant to be good news for the man or woman under the sun. Far from it. From the vantage point of Adam’s curse this is very bad news…
Apart from anything else the song points to our powerlessness over the affairs of life. There is an appointed time/season for the matters of our lives. We don’t choose when, where or how we are born (or even to be born in the first place). The same pretty much goes for our death. The rest of the poem applies the same point to everything in between.
So rather than write a flower power ballad about it, the most appropriate reaction from under the sun is right there in Ecclesiastes 3:9 What gain has the worker from his toil?! We cannot control it and it’s not going anywhere anyway!
What’s the point? Hebel, hebel, hebel…
We hate this. Don’t we? I can tell. I’m preaching it every Sunday and I’m getting fewer pats on the back after church… (It’s about time: Luke 6:26.)
There’s a reason we hate it. It’s all wrong. We live and die under the sun – but we are still God’s image bearers – built for eternity, built for glory (Ecclesiastes 3:11) so we cannot handle the futility. Life (and work) must mean something! We feel this in our depths. And we are right.
The truth is that God has provided, for us exiles, a way back into the Garden – into meaning, fruitfulness and gutsy joy. But it must be on his terms – it is a gift (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
The issue is our attitude to him. A God who is not there – or is there as decoration or a mere convenience – will lead us to futility. Our work is still meaningless and will disappear. But the true eternal God does things which endure forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
You either line up with him, his rhythm and his purpose (which makes everything – including our 9-5 in a call centre – beautiful in its time) and all your work and your play becomes sacred (1 Timothy 4:4-5), or you stay self sufficient and independent of God and it all becomes meaningless.
Your choice...
It seems that Ecclesiastes 3:14 is the antidote to Ecclesiastes 1:2-3. Things done for God will last for eternity. Colossians 3:23-24 points out that this applies directly to our work place (even for slaves). In fact that is the primary place where we serve Jesus. Not in church meetings. And not even by leading all our colleagues to Christ. Just doing your job for Jesus (and not for kudos or selfish gain) brings it eternal meaning.
Want proof? 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 is Paul’s great statement about the resurrection – and how does it end? Read verse 58. The resurrection means all labour for God is not in vain. Jesus took Adam’s curse upon himself at the cross – and destroyed it through his death. His resurrection started the break-out of a new creation. We see its effects partly here under the sun – but one day we will see everything made new. And everything we’ve done for Jesus will be beautified (Ecclesiastes 3.11; 1 Corinthians 3.11-14).
The misery of life under the sun sets us up for the wonder of Jesus and his resurrection. The most apparently meaningless aspects of life, if done for him, now have glorious weight. I know that is hard to believe when you sit in your boring job – but so was the resurrection, right?
And for the person who has placed their security in their job (or anything other than God) and received back futility – Jesus is a new master. And he is such a different kind. The things which ruin our sleep (Ecclesiastes 2:23) and leave us stressed are replaced by a master who makes us lie down (Psalm 23:2).
He comes to take our burdens away and replace them with ones he knows we can carry (Matthew 11:25-30). We stop chasing worldly goals which vanish. Instead we seek his Kingdom which cannot be shaken.
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