Ecclesiastes shows us a world that is marred by sin, condemned to futility, full of oppression and evil. Even though there are joys in life, sometimes it seems that we have been forgotten, that God has abandoned this world and left us to fend for ourselves. In the midst of such circumstances, all of us are on a search for meaning in life, a way to reconcile the fact of our existence in time and space with the apparent chaos and coincidence and futility of so much of what goes on under the sun.
We have seen that ambition and good deeds do not secure us an eternal remembrance, that the ultimate outcome of the universe is out of our control, that some of our questions will not be answered on this side of eternity. So what is one to do? Is there any point to a search for meaning? Or does each individual find their own way to make meaning for themself, something just quenching enough to that thirst for eternal life?
Some will go on searching endlessly. They will go on making books and books of speculation on the matter. They will study and search, always learning but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth (Eccl. 12:12, 2 Tim. 3:7), because in truth, they love the study and speculation too much to ever accept a final answer.
But for those who are willing to listen, who want the truth no matter what implications it has for them, the author of Ecclesiastes offers The Answer. After all of his weighing of the futilities of life and the joys of life, after all of his study and asking and thinking, he comes down to "the end of the matter", and it is this: "Fear God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."
There you have it--The Point of Life. We are made with eternity in our hearts, and as Augustine put it, "our hearts are restless until they find their rest in [God]." Humans were created for a purpose, and the whole of that purpose is to live in accordance with the commands and boundaries that God has set for us as servants follow the will of their master. We are to worship and follow him alone, not all the created things he has put here on this earth for us to enjoy, and certainly not ourselves, for we have seen our finiteness, our lack of control and wisdom, our "dust-ness".
This book ends on a jarring note, for the final word is the promise of judgement. We are to live our lives in light of the certain fact that nothing we do escapes God's notice, and that for every word, thought or deed that is not in accordance with God's commands, we will have to give an account. That means we're in pretty big trouble!
But before we despair that the end of the matter means life really is futile because we have no hope of ever meeting God's standards, let's look at that last statement from a slightly different perspective. God will judge every deed with every secret thing. Do you realize what that means? If God knows every single last deed, and every most fleeting secret thought you have ever had, then God is NOT far off and uninvolved. He is actively aware of everything in your life, and he cares enough about you to deal with it. Ecclesiastes only goes this far, but Ecclesiastes is a piece of a larger biblical narrative that tells us that, in fact, God cares so much about every last little thing that goes on in this world he made, and about the problem of our being unable to measure up to his standards, that he came into our world in human flesh in the person of Jesus, experienced all the sorrow and grief and oppression of humanity, even being put to a horribly unjust death on a cross--the worst form of torture at the time. But unlike us, he never committed one sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. He lived up to every last one of God's standards and then took the judgement that we deserved for breaking them, so that we could go free. He took the punishment for every secret sinful thing so that those who trust in him would never have to.
Hebrews 4:12 starts off as Ecclesiastes ends, but it goes further to take us to Jesus. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
If you are searching for the meaning of life, look no further. And if you are already trusting Jesus, let us live every day, even in every secret thing, to bring glory and honour to the name of the one who conquered futility and sin and death and who will one day take us to his eternal home where death will be no more, neither will there be any mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the present corrupted world will be no more. Then there will be no more hard questions, no more hard answers, no more seeking a name for ourselves, no more oppression to weep over, no more toil, only joy and pleasure in Christ forevermore as we live in perfect community with his people in the new heavens and the new earth.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
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