THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Ecclesiastes: The Quest For Meaning In Life

II. Meaning In View Of The Futility Of Human Wisdom

(Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

From the human viewpoint, even gaining great human wisdom becomes a meaningless quest in this life:

(1) Wisdom reveals the frustrating blindness that globalist progressive elitists have about society especially as we face the midterm elections: In “France, . . . riots are breaking out all over . . . (because) generations of Western elites have treated their nations as . . . merely pieces of a larger global order. They strangled the dynamism from their society and tried to bandage it by importing millions of people from culturally distinct lands with no plan to integrate them. Gross domestic product went up a little; government burdens went up a lot. Discontent grew . . .” (Jarrett Stepman, “France’s multiculturalism experiment goes up in flames,” Op. cit., October 21, 2026, p. A6)

Nevertheless, Representative Ro Khanna, a prospective candidate for the 2028 presidential election, speaking of the riots in France, commented, “‘This is what happens when nations let wealth and power accumulate in the hands of a few’ . . . (However,) (a)s with most issues, the far-left Californian has it backward: The economic and social ideas dear to his own Democratic Party are what have destabilized France . . . France spends an inordinate amount of its budget on welfare and social protection programs – a larger percentage than virtually any nation on Earth . . . nearly 59% of the country’s budget. It will never be enough for rioters. Because such a significant percentage of its budget is dedicated to keeping the welfare state operational, any reforms aimed at reducing spending or debt will be greeted with immediate social turmoil . . . The more you hook people on state dependency, the less likely they are to break free of it. The more unassimilated people and illiberal ideas you import into your country, the less social cohesion you’ll get. France is the future Ro Khanna imagines for us.” (David Harsanyi, “France: Dems’ Dream,” The New York Post, October 26, 2026, p. 31)

(2) Wisdom reveals the frustrating ignorance that key elected officials typically have about business: “The battle over the efficacy of Connecticut’s 10-cent bottle-deposit law continues, almost three years after it took effect – and the warnings that this would be a financial debacle for the state and retailers began well before that . . . The problem, of course, is that . . . scammers scoop up returnable containers in other states, and double their value by hauling them across the border into Connecticut . . . For those responsible for redeeming bottle deposits, the costs have been staggering . . . (but) House Majority Leader Matt Ritter offered a truly hilarious mea culpa in a telephone interview Oct. 7, telling a Hearst CT reporter, ‘I am as disappointed as anyone that we’re having these problems of cross-border fraud. It’s something I never anticipated.’ Never anticipated? A 1996 episode of the situation comedy ‘Seinfeld’ included a scene where characters tried to transport and redeem bottles from a no-deposit state to one with a deposit law. In 2017, a widely reported news story described a similar ploy involving thousands of containers trucked from Indiana to Michigan between 2012 and 2015. The perpetrator, who pleaded guilty, was found to have owed $400,000 to Michigan as a result of the scheme.” (“A bottle-deposit blunder,” Ibid.)

Need: So we ask, “How do we find meaning in life with the frustrating futility of even having human wisdom?”

I. King David’s son Solomon who authored Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 1:1) stated the theme of the book in Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV when he wrote, “Everything is meaningless” (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 975-976).

II. He qualified this statement in the book by repeatedly using the phrase “under the sun” (as in v. 3) to mean that his argument was based on viewing man’s existence only in regard to this life on earth.

III. Accordingly, Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 expressed the great frustration he personally experienced upon gaining great human wisdom about the things of this life (as follows):

A. As the king of Israel in Jerusalem, Solomon reported that he devoted himself to study and explore by human wisdom all that is “done under heaven,” that is, all that occurs in this earthly life, Ecclesiastes 1:12-13a.

B. We also know from 1 Kings 3:11-12 that God Himself asserted that He gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart so that no mortal before or after him (except Jesus Christ Who is God Incarnate) would possess what Solomon possessed of wisdom and understanding!

C. However, that great wisdom revealed to Solomon that are all of man’s activities were hinyan ra in Hebrew, meaning, “a bad or unpleasant task” (Ibid., p. 981) that God has given man for his activities, Ecclesiastes 1:13b! Solomon’s human wisdom revealed that all the things done in this life “under the sun” are in themselves meaningless, a mere chasing after the wind, Ecclesiastes 1:14.

D. To explain, Solomon reported that his great wisdom revealed that what was twisted in human experience could not be straightened, and what was lacking could not be counted, Ecclesiastes 1:15.

E. Solomon communed with himself, claiming that his acquisition of greater wisdom than all who had ruled Jerusalem before him, and his acquisition of the great experience of wisdom and knowledge coupled with insight into madness and folly was just an exercise in futility when viewed in terms of this life, Eccl. 1:16-17!

F. Solomon’s discovery was that with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and the more knowledge one has, the more grief he experiences along with it when viewed only in terms of this earthly life, Ecclesiastes 1:18.

IV. Thankfully, the conclusion of the book in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 gives real meaning to this life (as follows):

A. Solomon concluded that man must revere God and keep His commands as his whole duty in life, for God will bring each human being’s every deed into divine judgment, whether it be good or evil, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

B. Scripture elsewhere greatly expands on this conclusion by Solomon (as follows):

1. For those who believe in Christ for salvation from sin and hell, at the rapture of the Church, they will be taken to heaven where they will stand before Christ’s judgment seat to have their works evaluated by the Lord whether they be good or bad, 2 Corinthians 5:10. If one’s work was good in having been performed by relying by faith on God’s power and obeying His will, the believer will be rewarded, 1 Corinthians 3:13-14. If his work was bad, he himself will still be saved due to the believer’s unconditional salvation security, but his work will be destroyed by God’s purifying fire, 1 Corinthians 3:15 with John 5:24.

2. For those who do not believe in Christ for salvation from sin and hell, they will be judged by Christ at the Great White Throne judgment that occurs after Christ’s Millennial Kingdom on earth, Revelation 20:1-10, 11-15. When that judgment occurs, the old universe will pass away, proving that this life on earth was just a stage for man to test how mankind would function in relation to God, Revelation 20:11. The unsaved whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life, the “Lamb” being Jesus Christ (John 1:29), will be cast into the lake of fire to experience constant torment forever and ever, Revelation 20:15 with 20:10.

3. Thus, all the saved and the unsaved will give an account to God for their lives on earth “under the sun”!

Lesson: Since even gaining great human wisdom and understanding brings with it the awareness that what is twisted in the human experience cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted, leaving one frustrated with sorrow and grief, we find meaning in life by revering and obeying God for our accountability to Him in eternity, for this life on the earth is a mere stage the Lord has provided to test how we will relate to Him.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we utilize what wisdom and understanding we have in this life better to revere and obey the Lord in preparation for giving an account to Him in eternity.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . . )

In view of our accountability to God, we can apply His Scriptural directives on the issues in our introduction:

(1) On the blindness of globalist elitists regarding society itself as seen in the riots in France that have been hijacked by the imported ideology of Marxism and the great influx of radical Islamist immigrants, as we have often taught in past messages, Daniel 2:40-43 predicted that Western Civilization nations not long before the rapture of the Church and going on into the Great Tribulation will be divided racially and politically. Part of these nations will retain their original strong culture and military prowess where part of these nations will be weak. The arrival of the ungodly Marxist and radical Islamic complex in Western Civilization societies can be identified as the weak, brittle clay faction where the original cultures are represented in the iron faction that was inherited from the Old Roman Empire as predicted in Daniel 2:40-43. Our assignment as believers is thus to acknowledge that this prophecy is being fulfilled today and to focus on living for the kingdom of Christ to come that is predicted in Daniel 2:44 to replace today’s nations. That lifestyle involves using the spiritual gifts God has given us believers in Christ to serve the Lord in the ministries He has assigned us in the local church (1 Corinthians 12:1-31).

(2) On the ignorance of elected state officials to the functions of business seen in the state’s unwise 10-cent bottle-deposit law where other nearby states have lower deposit laws, we can respect elected officials, redeem the bottles we use and vote to change the current law to make it more sensible while we remain as law-abiding citizens like 1 Peter 2:13-17 directs. We can also long for the eternal state where unfair bottle redemption situations will be a thing of the past (2 Peter 3:10-13) and focus all the more on God’s assignments for us in this life.

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we use the wisdom we have to revere and obey the Lord in preparing to meet Him in eternity.