Lesson 2

Is Life A Gigantic Circle?

Ecclesiastes 1:4-18

"Everything an Indian does is in a circle," said Black Elk, a Sioux holy man. "The seasons form a great circle, always coming back to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood..."

You might think that Black Elk had been studying the first chapter of Ecclesiastes! However, for centuries men and women in different nations and cultures have been pondering the mysteries of the "circles" of human life. Whenever you use phrases like "life cycle" or "come full circle", you are joining Solomon and Black Elk and a host of others in taking a cyclical view of life and nature.

The cycles of life can be a blessing. They make life predictable and dependable and help us to plan for what is ahead. But the cycles of life can also be a burden. For if life goes in cycles, do we have any control over it? Does it make any difference what we do? Isn't life boring and monotonous if it runs in cycles? Solomon pondered these questions as he looked at the cycle of life "under the sun," and he came to three bleak conclusions.

Nothing Is Changed, 1:4-7.

Solomon takes that approach of a scientist and concludes ...

The earth doesn't change, v.4. From the human point of view, nothing seems more permanent and durable than the planet on which we live. When we say, "...as sure as the world ..."we are echoing Solomon's confidence in the permanence of planet Earth. With all its diversity, nature is uniform enough in its operation that we can discover its "laws" and put them to work for us. These laws are the basis of modern science (the law of gravity, etc.). Solomon's comment is that people come and go, generations are born and die, nations and empires rise and fall, but nothing changes. The world remains the same. The sun never changes, v.5. Some say, "As sure as the world" but others say, "As sure as night follows day." The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and then hurries back to the place where it will rise again. What does it accomplish in this daily journey? To what purpose is all this motion and heat? As far as nature is concerned, one day is just like another.

The wind never changes, v.6. Oh, it may constantly change directions or intensity but it also continually repeats its cycles.

Even the water is in a cycle, v. 7. So, whether we look at the earth or the heavens, the winds or the waters, we come to the same conclusion. Nature does not change. There is motion but not promotion. So much of life is cyclical. Meteorologists tell us there are weather cycles. Economists say that many upturns and downturns in the economy are natural business cycles. I once went to a seminar where a man who was interested in getting me into his business described and drew on a art pad how his life was a cycle - get up, go to work, go home, get some sleep, get up, go to work ...

For that reason, most people do not awake each morning motivated about the day. How many people genuinely enjoy their job? How many are excited about life, full of zest and enthusiasm? How many are bored with their life? How many would say, "Life is a drag"?

If you leave God out of the picture, nothing changes.

Nothing Is New, 1:8-11.

The logical conclusion of nothing changing is that nothing is new. That statement may startle us, because we are surrounded by and increasingly dependent on a multitude of marvels that modern science has made for us - telephones and pacemakers and miracle drugs. How could anyone who watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon agree with Solomon that nothing is new under the sun?

In the first section, Solomon looked at life like a scientist. In this section, he looks at life like a historian.

Man is curious for something new, v.8. Everything in this world seems to ultimately bring weariness. People long for something to distract them or deliver them. Man's curiosity is impossible to satisfy. You never see enough and you never hear enough. I use to wonder why when the President had a news conference, he would never stay and answer every question. I have come to the conclusion that reporters would never stop asking questions! No matter how silly the question may be or how many times it has already been asked, they would still want to hear more. "The eye is not satisfied with seeing and the ear is not satisfied with hearing." The New Testament describes some this way, (Acts 17:21) "(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)" The entertainment industry is grateful for this human hunger for novelty and takes advantage of it at great profit. But exotic vacations, extravagant possessions, delicious food and professional entertainment bring only a few moments of pleasure. Then we are looking for something new to experience, to see, to hear.

The world provides nothing new, 9-10. Whatever seems to be new is really just a recombination of the old. Because something is recent doesn't mean that it is new. Novelty doesn't mean originality. Man cannot create anything new because man is the creature, not the Creator. Ecc. 3:15 "That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been." Thomas A Edison, one of the world's greatest inventors said that his own inventions were only "bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of mankind." We think that some things are new because, according to verse 11, we have bad memories. Someone has said, "They that come after us will see nothing new, and they who went before us saw nothing more than we have seen.

Just last week a family visited our church. It was not his first visit. He left after Sunday School. I urged him to stay for the worship service. He said, "I thought maybe something had changed here but there is nothing new at this church." When you are without God, nothing is new.

Nothing Is Understood, 1:12-18.

The scientist became a historian and now the historian becomes a philosopher. As the king of Israel (v. 12), Solomon had the resources and authority to investigate every possible avenue in life that might bring meaning and fulfillment. But before wading in (chapter 2) Solomon took time to try to think things through. He applied his wisdom to the problems of life. He made up his mind to learn about everything that happens on earth, v. 13. There was "seeking" which means to investigate the roots of a matter. There was also "searching" which carries the idea of exploring, experiencing all sides of it. I sought to research, says Solomon, every approach to life and try it out. I discovered that God gives us terrible things to face here. When you consider life, you soon discover that life is tough. The difficulties in life can make a cynic out of you. One Christian writer described his feelings as he listened to a robin sing in his backyard. He wrote, "Since early dawn, that bird has done nothing but try to survive. He's been wearing himself out hiding from enemies and looking for food for himself and his little ones. And yet, when he comes to the end of the day, he sings about it! Here I am, created in the image of God and saved by the grace of God and I complain about the little annoyances of life. I should be singing God's praises just like that robin."

As he pondered and observed life, Solomon discovered that life doesn't get any easier, v. 14. Everything is "vain" (empty) and "vexation of spirit" (grasping at a breath, chasing the wind). He also discovered that not everything can be changed and you cannot count that which you cannot find, v.15. He also discovered that wisdom and experience will not solve every problem, vs. 16-18. We just cannot seem to understand it all. "All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance" (T.S. Eliot). Sometimes the more you learn, the more disappointment and pain you experience.

The scientist tells us that the world is a closed system and nothing is changed. The historian tells us that life is a closed book and nothing is new. The philosopher tells us that life is a deep problem and nothing is understood.

Life without God is boring. It is pointless. It is nothing but a meaningless cycle. There is no purpose. There is nothing new. No matter how much you learn and experience, without God it is grasping at breath and chasing the wind. This is life "under the sun." If there is nothing but nothing under the sun, our only hope must be above it. If a man investigated everything visible and found nothing of value, then what he needed must be invisible!

With God, life is not boring. It is not pointless. It is not a monotonous cycle. God breaks into nature to do great and wonderful things. He hears and answers prayers. He makes the sun to stand still and turns the sea into dry land. He turns the rain off and on again and calms the winds and waves. God makes all things new and refreshing and different. He makes us new creatures who walk in newness of life and sing a new song. And though we cannot explain everything, we do not live on explanations, we live with the understanding that everything that happens in this life has a purpose which will ultimately bring glory to God. Having God turns us from being a prisoner of this world to a pilgrim just passing through this world. Don't live another day without God!