Today I turned in my two weeks notice at my current job. It made me a little sad because I do like working there overall, my boss is great, and I've been there almost four years. But yes...it is time for a change. Plus, there's no real point in me getting a law degree if I continued working in the real estate world. So beginning in February, I will be a law clerk working for my mom -- which I am SOOOO excited about!
Tonight I continued my study of Ecclesiastes. This time I looked at chapter 1, verses 4-18 and continued reading the book, Be Satisfied by Warren Wiersbe. In these verses, Solomon is looking at life as a circle, and this cyclical view of life was a burden to Solomon - For if life is only part of a great cycle over which we have no control, is life worth living? If this cycle is repeated season after season, century after century, why are we unable to understand it and explain it? Solomon came to three conclusions in these verses.
First, he concluded that nothing is changed (vs. 4-7). During these verses, Solomon approached the subject as a scientist and examined the wheel of nature - the earth, sun, wind, and water. He noticed that people came and went, but nature remained the same. He said that these four things - earth, sun, wind, and water - were evidence that nothing changes. From the human point of view, nothing is more permanent and durable than the earth. The sun is in a continuous cycle of day and night that doesn't seem to change. The wind is in constant motion and change of direction - but it goes on forever. And the sea remains the same through the water cycle that sustains life. Yes, it is true that all of this about the monotonous of life if you look "under the sun" and leave God out of the picture. But when you bring God in, He has shown us that He can change nature and is above that. In Joshua 10:6-14, He held the sun in place for Joshua's battle. In Isaiah 38:1-8, He moved the sun back as a sign to King Hezekiah. In Exodus 14, He opened the Red Sea. In Joshua 3 and 4, He opened the Jordan River. In 1 Kings 17, he turned off the rain for Elijah. In Mark 4:35-41, He calmed the wind and the waves. Clearly, nature can be changed to do whatever the Lord desires.
The second conclusion Solomon came to was that nothing is new (vs. 8-11). Here, Solomon is looking at the problem as a historian. Man continually wants something new, however, Solomon sees that the world provides nothing new. Whatever is new is simply a recombination of the old. Man cannot "create" anything new because man is the creature and not the creator. He points out that man thinks things are new because we have bad memories and forget the past. Although in our day and age, new technologies are continually coming about, none is really "new." It really is a recombination of the old. An ipod is just a combination of computer chips and metals and whatever else is in there that someone figured out could go together. But no one "created" anything that went in it - all of that was still around. Even when new technologies and gadgets come out, people are never satisfied with them for long - that is why companies continually have to bring in new models. None of it lasts.
The third conclusion Solomon came to was the nothing is understood (vs. 12-18). Solomon is looking at the problem as a philosopher here. He comes to various conclusions within this section. He states that life is tough, but it is a gift of God. He states that life doesn't get easier if we try to run away from it. He also states that nothing can be changed. The past can't always be changed and it is foolish to fret over what you might have done. However, God can change the way we feel about the past if we allow Him to guide us. Solomon has found that wisdom and experience will not solve every problem. In fact, he found that the more wisdom and knowledge he had, the more problems he had. Isn't that so true? The more technologies we have, or the older we get and the new knowledge we get from new experiences, all of it just creates more problems for us. I've spent hours trying to fix a computer in the past. TV takes over my life at times. All this "new" stuff and new "knowledge" that has been poured out on us simply gives us more problems and time constraints to deal with on a daily basis.
Wiersbe points out that this side of heaven, there are no explanations for some things that happen. God has ordained that his people live by promises, and not explanations. Solomon searched for answers in everything in the world, and this chapter shows how hopeless he had become. He felt like life was worthless and it was simply a meaningless circle. With God in the picture, life can be a new experience every day. We are able to have joy and hope in our life and know that there is so much more after this life. We need to not get caught up in the worries of this life. We need to not feel like we have to explain everything in this world - we can't. We have to live life by faith, by God's promises. This side of heaven is all we see right now. The other side of heaven is what we have faith in and what we have our hope sustained in.
When life feels monotonous and like we are simply living the same days over and over again, we need to wake up and turn to God to lift our spirits and we need to take charge to stir things up a bit. Doing the same thing over and over is actually considered insanity. We are not insane people. We must grab on to Jesus to pull us out of the circle we are in and start living life, every moment of it, to the fullest, remembering what is waiting for us on the other side of heaven.
