The famous American philosopher Yogi Berra may have said it well: “déjà vu all over again!” There are periods of war, followed by periods of peace, then other wars follow. Life is far more boring than modern man admits. If we are waiting for some new thing to excite our interests or fill our lives, it is futile. He wants us to learn from his book (as early as possible) what he finally learned late in life. Solomon doesn’t intend to merely express gloom. Most people are trying to get what they really need from “under the sun” instead of from the Maker of the Sun!
What does all this mean? “Under the sun” there is no answer, no ultimate fulfillment, no meaning. In the natural world, there is a cycle that is simply repeated over and over, taking the objective observer to the conclusion, “there is nothing new under the sun.”. So, any search for real meaning and lasting profit cannot come from under the sun.Įxamples are given from nature (sun, wind and water). In fact, history repeats itself and no great thing emerges from “under the sun” that changes the essence of our existence here. Nothing ever really changes except for the faces, the names, the methods and perhaps the social/political dynamics. If, therefore, we root our hope in the next generation or time, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.” There is a transience about human existence on earth, that really fails to bring us in touch with something that is absolutely new. This is a poetic expression that says, for all of man’s efforts against the reality of God, he gains nothing earthly activities are repetitive and unfulfilling. In the above section, there is really a simple thought reported by the writer: When life here on earth is lived without God, it is really soon to become very boring. No matter how exciting life may seem to be “under the sun,” ultimately, it has no value without God. Reading and navigating Ecclesiastes can be confusing and perplexing, if we neglect this simple working premise: Solomon is dramatically describing life here on earth, and the folly of that existence when God is left out.
Of later things yet to be among those who come after. There is no remembrance of former things, A generation goes, and a generation comes,Īnd what has been done is what will be done,
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