Is There Life Before Death?

The title. The title of today's study is, Is There Life Before Death? Is There Life Before Death? In our study this morning, we're going to read in the Old Testament, and specifically the Book of Ecclesiastes. So let's turn there now, if you will, Ecclesiastes chapter 1, in verse 1. Ecclesiastes 1, in verse 1.

Now, the writer here of this book introduces himself as the preacher. He introduces himself as the son of David, and as the king of Jerusalem. We see that in verse 1. So, although he doesn't actually say, I am Solomon, we certainly could say that is the best description. And the purpose of this book is really to wrestle with the enigmas of life. As Solomon writes, you'll quickly notice that he's not presenting his readers with various notions, only to then stand back or remove himself from the situation or from the discussion. Rather, what he does is, and what we see is, the writer, the preacher, is fully involved in and participating in the very questions that he raises. So Solomon has involved himself here in this case study, if you will. And it's a case study to find out if there is life before death.

And one thing that becomes very apparent with this book is that it understands you and I. Very quickly, we see that this book has, in a way, turned its spotlight onto us, and you realize that this author, it seems to know me. And see if you find that to be the case as we read through this. So let's begin reading Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Let's read verses 1 through 18. This is a fascinating opening passage here. Ecclesiastes 1 verse 1. The words of the preacher, the son of David, the king of Jerusalem.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. What prophet has a man from all his labor in which he tolls under the sun? One generation passes away, another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun also rises. It goes down and hastens back to the place where it arose.

The wind goes towards the south, turns around to the north. The wind whirls about continually and comes back again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, and yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, they return there again. All things are full of labor. Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

That which has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which may be said? See, this is new. It's already been done in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after. Verse 12, I communed with my heart, saying, Look, I have attained greatness, that I have gained more wisdom than all those that were before me in Jerusalem. My heart understood great wisdom and knowledge. I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceive that this is also grasping for the wind. For as much wisdom there is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Let's stop there.

Well, absolutely fascinating. In coming to this book of Ecclesiastes, it is unique. It's unique from any other book in the Bible. We can certainly say that what is described here is a life in which— and to use the words of Winston Churchill— life is, we could say, Churchill's words, a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Now, Churchill wasn't describing life when he uttered those words, but certainly that phrase is very descriptive of life, especially as it's given to us here in this opening chapter.

We could say that life is much like one of those nesting dolls. Some of you have those in your house or have seen those. You take a look at the outside, and you think you've seen all there is to present, only discover there's another layer underneath, another layer of life, so to speak, there. And you examine that for a while, then you realize there's another layer to follow, you keep going through the layers that are presented to you, different layers of life, we could say. Another dimension to open again and again. It seems as though you could just keep opening and never get to the core of things. But Solomon sets out here on this journey to get to the core, to get through the layers of life to that very core. And you'll notice here in verse 2—this is interesting— he begins with his conclusion, puts it right up front, and he says, I want you to know, first of all, the very first thing I want you to understand is that everything is vanity. In other words, I want you to know that about life, it's meaningless. It's absolutely meaningless. Don't try to adjust the knob on your binoculars of life. The reason it looks out of focus is because it is out of focus. That's just life. It's out of focus. It's the reality in which we live in. We feel frustrated and confused. Well, the reason you feel frustrated and confused is because it's all meaningless, he says. So we're off to an encouraging start. Thank you, Solomon. But now, there is a certain phrase here that's absolutely crucial for us to bring forth in reading this book and to take notice of. It's this little phrase in verse 3, the phrase, under the sun. It comes to us some 29 times, they say, in this book.

What the writer is saying is, in the writing, my perspective largely in this survey is not taken from the vantage point of an infinite, personal creator God who has established a link with his creation. No. Rather, he says, my perspective here is going to be established in the framework of secular thinking.

In this book, I'm writing, and I'm being bounded by the framework of those things solely under the sun. And he says, what I did is to examine the course of life from this perspective.

And in doing so, I am forced to conclude that if you simply stay in that box, then I can adequately convince you that, as Hemingway puts it, life is a dirty trick. It's a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.

If solely under the sun we look for sensible or cohesive answers to life's questions, you're not going to find it. In this realm, of and by itself, it will not answer those questions of the innermost being that you have. But let's follow the line here. Do the facts as presented here by the preacher bear out this conclusion? Namely, that life under the sun is meaningless. Well, look at what he points out here. First, he says in verse 3. Here's a fact of life. It's marked by a tool with no profit. Again, verse 3. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he tools under the sun? So what's the inference?

Well, he says, you know, life is really about punching in and punching out. You have punching in the morning, you punch out in the evening, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, comes, Friday, so on. Until you get to that point in which you punch out finally in life. And whether you're an engineer, an executive, a teacher, a mother at home, it doesn't matter. The fact is that life is inconsequential. There's no point to it, really. You awaken every morning, you turn the light on, you get dressed, you walk down the same hallway, you do your daily activities. The shadows come in the evening, you walk back down the same hallway, you get undressed, you lay down, only to be awakened again by the sun. In the morning. And to keep our sanity, we look towards some possible change, maybe, that we can grasp onto. And then we say, oh, if I could just get beyond this level, if this could just occur, then things would be different. No, that's not the case. It's meaningless. It's meaningless, Solomon says.

You're going to punch in, punch out, simply go through life, try to make sense of it, and finally die. It's a fact of life, the preacher says. Okay, duly noted. Thank you for that. What else? Secondly, the preacher says in verse 4, life is marked by frailty. Verse 4, one generation passes away, another generation comes, but the earth abides forever. So, you walk through a graveyard, and what do you find? You find the same thing in every graveyard. You find what it always is. On average, 70 years, maybe 80. And it's exactly the way the Bible says. If you look at Psalm 90 verse 10, we won't turn there, but Psalm 90 verse 10, you can check it out later. Three score and 10, it says. And that's true. So, our eventual departure of our life this morning is not in question. Okay, got it? Thirdly, the preacher says, verse 5 through 7, life is repetitive. Life is repetitive. Verse 5, The sun also rises and goes down. It hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes towards the south. It turns around and goes to the north. The wind whirls about continually. It comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place from which the rivers come, they will return again. So, he says, think of your life in this way. Think about the sun. It's on its course every day. It never does anything different. Round and round it goes. It hurries back to where it rose the next morning. The wind blows. It never seems to quit. It goes here to there. There to here every day. The streams flow. The sea never becomes full. It evaporates only to be filled up again to evaporate again. So, he says, I'm reminding you of these things because that's the human experience. We belabor in this same way, he says. Alright, this is a pretty strong case. I see you have more, Solomon. So, he says in verse 8, verse 8, life is in fact unquenchable. All things are full of labor, verse 8. Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. So, it can never be satisfied. If things would have only been different, if I'd only been a little bit taller, if I'd only been a little bit prettier, I don't say that to myself. If only I'd gotten two more floors up in the office building, been recognized for what I was really worth. If only this dynamic in my personal life or family life was different.

If only my house was a little bit bigger, if my yard a little bit wider, if my gadgets, if I had these gadgets, it'd make my life so much better. No, it doesn't matter. You've experienced this. If I could only make this amount of money, just this amount of money, it'll make all the difference in the world. And you get to that amount of money, and it's still not enough. Ultimately, there's no satisfaction. Life is never satisfied. So he continues, verse 9 and 10. A fact of life? It's the same old, same old. Verse 9 and 10. That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done. There's nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which may be said? See, this is new.

It's already been done in ancient times before us. So that's a significant phrase. So just when the Wright brothers discovered flight, well, someone said, well, the birds have been doing that for centuries. So there's no surprises. There's no breakthroughs. It's all been done before.

Is this pessimism? No. The preacher says this is life under the framework under the sun. And he continues, verse 11. Life is marked by insignificance. Think of this. Verse 11. There's no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.

Ah! What's his name? You remember what's his name with the glasses? Oh, he was a great guy. Ah! Yeah, he was. What was his name again?

And so on. You know, we think that we'll be remembered.

A few generations pass, and we discover that's not the case.

Well, are we depressed yet?

You know, really, there's a reason for the alcohol-induced and the drug-induced stupor, isn't there?

This is life. We're here, slowly cooking under the sun's heat. And we say, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to do this.

Continuing, verse 12 through 15, I, the preacher, verse 12, was king over Israel and Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that's done under heaven. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of men, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, vanity, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. Well, Solomon's an educated person here. In fact, he's about to say, I'm the most educated who's ever set on the throne in Jerusalem. So he's really going to apply himself now to this case study, verse 16 through 18. So I communed with my heart, saying, look, I have attained greatness, and I have gained more wisdom than all those before me in Jerusalem.

My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge, and I've set my heart to know the wisdom, and even to know madness and folly. And I perceived also this as grasping for wind, for in so much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. So he went down the avenue of wisdom. I checked that out. I even checked out madness and folly. No stone unturned here in his search for life before death under the sun. But he says, well, you know, that's enough for chapter one. I'm going to really go home. And in chapter two, I'm going to really apply myself here. What am I missing? What haven't I tried? Ah, I know. Pleasure, pleasure and indulgence. Surely, meaning is found in that. What about pleasure? Chapter two, verse one through eleven. So I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth, and therefore enjoy pleasure. But surely this also was vanity. I said of my laughter, madness. End of mirth, what does it accomplish? I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine while guiding my heart with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all these days of their life. I made great works. I built myself houses, planted myself vineyards, made myself gardens, orchards, planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which the water, the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants, and there were even servants born in my house. And I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all those who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and special treasures of kings and of provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, the musical instruments of all kind. So I became great and excelled more than all those before me in Jerusalem. And also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold from my heart from any pleasure, from my heart rejoiced in all my labor.

And this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked at all the works that my hands had done, and all the labor in which I had told. And indeed, all was vanity, grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. Well, that didn't work either. How many of you have been down that avenue? That road. Trying to find meaning, trying to find significance in this life, something through pleasure.

And moving forward, you eventually come to chapter 3, and the description continues. Here in chapter 3, in verses 1 through 8, some commentators say what you have is 14 pluses and 14 minuses. So what does that add up to? Zero.

Chapter 3, verse 1, verses 1 through 8.

A time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones, a time to embrace, a time to refrain from embracing, a time to gain, a time RS, a time to keep, a time to throw away, a time to tear, a time to sow, a time to keep silence, a time to speak, a time to love, and a time to hate.

A time of war and a time of peace. So let's stop there. So let's stop there. Most of you recognize some of these verses. The birds. Anybody recognize that? To everything, turn, turn. I'll stop there. There is a time for all these things. And the most crucial, there's a time to be born and a time to die. And we're not in control of either one of those things.

Something so precious to us, not in control of either. A time to kill, a time to heal. The farmers here know about that. Often there's a time to take the life of the animal that you cared for for so long. It's the cycle of life. And the real problem is we see such a just a fraction and try to make sense of our little time and our little part in the vastness of it all. And we realize it's tremendously insignificant.

Tremendously insignificant. And when that dawns upon us, that does something to our psyche. And we ask, is this a wonderful rhythm or is this a terrible tragedy that I'm in? We look at the jigsaw puzzle of life. We look at that picture on the box. And we look at the pieces we have. And we realize we don't have enough pieces to complete that picture. Why is that? Well, the preacher would say, chapter 3 verse 9, there is no prophet.

What prophet has a worker from that which he labors? No prophet at all. Why am I doing this? Why am I even here? Why do I do all of this? Well, I'm glad you asked. I'm glad you asked. Because we're about to discover something here. And it's in the very next verse. Verse 10, we're about to discover something remarkable that emerges from verse 10, a remarkable understanding about life under the sun.

And it's really good news. Verse 10 of chapter 3, he says, I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied or exercised. Did you pick up on it? What did he just say? I have seen the task that God has given man. In other translations, it's burden.

I have seen the burden that God has given man. In other words, the frustration that men and women experience is actually a result of a God-given task. A God-given task. So you mean to tell me that God has tasked me in this way? That God has given man these burdens of life to be occupied with? Yes. God has tasked man with a life under the sun that's ultimately fleeting. God has tasked man with a life under the sun that is ultimately frail. God has tasked man with a life under the sun that cannot fill the deepest longings of the heart.

God has set these burdens upon them. And because of these God-given tasks to burden them, mankind of and by themselves will always be restless, will never be satisfied. In the framework under the sun, mankind will always be frustrated by everything and confused by it all. So, thank you, Solomon. I realize under the sun I'm nobody and I'm going nowhere and I'm making plans for no one. Why? Why would God task man in this way? Well, it's because of this. The burden on your back has now weighed you down enough to realize there is no answer here. The burden on your back has weighed you down enough to realize there must be an answer somewhere else.

There must be an answer in someone else. There must be something else for me beyond this and greater than this heat. And of course there is. Solomon says, I know this about you. You have a restlessness in your life. Well, let me tell you something that's going to change your life forever. That restlessness has been given and laid upon you by God. In order that, when you face up to that, He the task giver might become to you the task taker. Solomon says, I know this about you, but I'm about to give you some information that's going to change your life.

The restlessness has been laid upon you in order that when you see that and you face up to it, the burden giver might become the burden taker. You see, you've never asked anyone for help walking down the street carrying nothing. When you're walking down the street carrying it all, then you say to yourself, well, if someone doesn't come along soon to help me, I'm in trouble. So, first man is tasked. Man has the burden awareness, then the cry for help, and then the solution provided.

I'll repeat that. First, the burden, then the awareness of the burden, then the cry for help, and then the solution provided. Because with no burden, there's no cry for help, is there? I think, you see, I think many of us have reached the point in our lives, and I know I have been in this position, we've reached the point where we have an awareness of the incredible burden of this life.

But in many ways, we have stopped there. With no true cry out for help, we must cry out to the task giver. Cry out to him and ask him to be for us, the task taker. Cry out to the burden giver and ask him to become to you the burden taker.

Now, the unbeliever will come and say, you're telling me that these things are God-given? This sorry state of my life? You're telling me this is of God? I don't see it? Of course they don't. But what's the truth? The truth is, it doesn't matter what your routine is. We all go down the same road. We all go down the same path. We all experience the same tollsome rhythm.

One looks at it and says, this is absolutely meaningless. The other person looks at it and says, no. This is a task given to me by God. You see, the despair that the preacher describes here and the conclusion that it's meaningless? In the end, he describes it in a way to tell us, this needn't be your conclusion. In the end, he describes it in a way where he says, this needn't be your conclusion, that it's meaningless. You recognize that you come to the cycle of life, you build up, and you lose it. You have some successes and then failure. You come in with nothing and essentially you go out with nothing. That's the process of life. But that's okay, because I realize now with absolute clarity, thank you, Solomon, I realize now that God is involved in my life. And he's actually the task giver, the burden giver.

Imagine that.

But what a tremendous thing to realize, tremendous understanding that our Creator God would be involved with us in such an intimate way. And if He's involved in my life with that intimacy, nothing's meaningless.

There must be an overarching purpose in my life.

There must be something being built in me that will go beyond the sun. And my significance is not in these things.

My significance is in my Creator God.

And I realize that I exist for Him.

And I know He's involved with me.

How's that for a significance? How's that for meaning?

I exist for a purpose much greater than answering these phones, driving this bus, teaching my children. I exist for a purpose much greater than being a dad or a mother. I am all those things.

But all those things, solely within the cycle under the sun, will only become for me a source of confusion and a source of frustration.

Until I understand that in this process, God is involved, and He's doing something greater in me.

And all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

And He's preparing a children. And God is operating purposefully in everything, even in the enigmas of life. God is operating purposefully.

It's a task.

It's a burden He's actually given you.

It's an amazing thought, operating through it all.

So we're not at the mercy of the heat of the sun. Rather, God is moving with us through life, fashioning us for His purpose.

And that perspective, it changes everything. It changes everything.

And it's the perspective that gives us our perseverance.

That moves us with purpose.

We go through the same things. It's the same leaves fall. It's the same diabetes. It's the same cancer. It's the same heart disease. It's all the same. Same challenges with our family. You name it. Being a called one of God doesn't take you out of all that. God leaves you right in the thick of it all.

But I'm confident, Paul says, that He who has begun a work in me will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 11. Verse 11.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Also, He has put eternity in their hearts.

Except that no one can find out the work that God does from the beginning to the end.

He makes everything beautiful in its time.

And what a blessing this is. He puts eternity in our hearts. That eternal perspective. The eternity perspective in our hearts.

So I have the ability to look beyond the sun.

God's given me that ability. And life's not beautiful.

But I know it will be.

Thank you for that eternity perspective.

God has no abandoned projects. No forsaken children. Why would He?

Why would He be so intimately involved in the life cycle of a sparrow, but not be profoundly involved in the life of His children?

So here you have it.

The same old routine.

Ah, but a brand new perspective.

Eternity perspective, if you will.

Well, I've had a bad week. Something happened to me here or there. Same stuff. You'll leave here today. And the same stuff is going to hit you in the face when you leave here. So what changes?

What changes?

The cycle? No.

The perspective.

God makes everything beautiful.

In my time, He says, but just hold on. I've got you. I'm involved with you. Every bit of it.

Hold on. I've got you.

Does He have you?

Do you have Him?

And some of us, and myself included, are frustrated. And the reason we're frustrated is we're trying to find some solution or some satisfaction that the world does not offer.

Solomon says, I think I've presented my case pretty well.

You're not going to find it there. And we will remain forever dissatisfied until we find the ultimate perspective and the ultimate pleasure in knowing that God created us, and He's got a purpose for us. And He's moving us towards that purpose.

God made you for Himself, and it's a grand purpose.

So don't let yourself abandon that understanding.

So you may have made yourself restless this morning because you haven't truly found your rest in Him.

If we try to make sense of a tragedy with our own philosophical meanderings, I'll tell you where that will be concluded. You'll conclude that you're not going to be as Solomon first concluded. This is horribly trivial. This is futile.

But in the end, Solomon says, the preacher, don't do that. And he issues us an invitation, an invitation to all those who are still trying to make sense of life here under the sun, of and by ourselves.

And he invites his readers to two things we know. Fear God and keep His commandments.

In many ways, this is the cry out for help. After you've become aware of the burden, your cry is, your cry manifests itself through fearing God and keeping His commandments.

So let's move to that end, the end of the case study. Ecclesiastes 12, in verse 9 through 14. And here, the true conclusion on the matter.

Ecclesiastes 12, in verse 9 through 14.

The true conclusion.

Ecclesiastes 12, verse 9.

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge. Yes, he pondered and sought out, and said in order many proverbs, the preacher sought to find acceptable words that what was written was upright, words of truth. The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars, like well-driven nails, given by one shepherd.

And further, my son, be admonished by these things of making many books. There is no end, and much study is wearsome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.

Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all, for God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

So let's stop there. So here's this pointed conclusive statement here in verse 13.

Fear God and keep His commandments. And there is in these words the meaning you seek, the rest you seek, a person whose life is just one long search under the sun will never discover the answer.

And if you feel restless this afternoon, maybe it's because you haven't truly embraced the true conclusion. And you're stuck in the other conclusion.

There's tremendous frustration and confusion when our life is void of these two things.

And until we face up to the burdens of sin, until we face up to the lack of fear that we have shown and displayed, we might assume that we're not in need of anyone to come help us.

Such a crucial aspect.

Don't get stopped in the awareness of the burdens.

If there is no cry for help, there is no relief given.

And if you've been trying to find balance in these things of your life, and you've been searching down these dead-end streets that Solomon takes us through, it's time to come to the actual conclusion of it all. In verse 14 here again, the exhortation here is given in light of the final appointment to be faced. Verse 14 again, For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. So God brings every deed into judgment. Therefore, we can't succumb to the heat of the sun.

Nothing goes unnoticed. Nothing goes unassessed.

Not even the things it says that we try to hide.

God sees it all. And I want you to realize that's actually wonderful news.

It's wonderful news. There's encouragement in that.

Because if God cares that much, again, nothing is meaningless. Nothing is pointless in your life.

Look how much God is involved in our life. And His purpose is to complete you.

Have you complete when His Son returns.

He knows every detail. Every detail of your life is known to God. Your life, insignificant?

I don't think so.

That fills me. And I want to say, thank you, God, for being involved in my life. With such intimacy. For giving me this purpose. Now help me to fulfill this purpose. Help me to better fear you. Show me where I'm not fearing you properly.

Help me to adhere myself to your commandments. To show you the love in that way.

What a conclusion.

Fear God and keep His commandments. I want to conclude by saying, I want to conclude by turning to the Psalms. We read there that there were many Psalms written by Solomon. Let's turn to, actually Proverbs, excuse me, not Psalms, Proverbs 2.

Let's turn to Proverbs 2 in conclusion.

We're going to read verse 1 through 5. There were many Proverbs Solomon wrote.

And Solomon, our same Solomon here in Proverbs 2 verse 1, he's speaking to his son here in these Proverbs, and he's urging this exact wisdom upon his son. And he gives a few lines that, what will this final conclusion look like? What would it look like? Fearing God and keeping His commandments.

And we'll conclude with this.

Proverbs 2 in verse 1 through 5.

He says, Yes, my son, if you receive my words, not if you hear them, but if you receive them and treasure my commands within you so that you do not incline your ear to wisdom, so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding, verse 3. Yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

So the converse of this, if you don't seek her, you won't find her in this life.

If you don't apply your heart to understanding, cry out your voice aloud.

You won't find her. You won't find what you're seeking.

Ah, but if you do, if you cry out, search for understanding, you will understand the fear of the Lord. In the end of verse 5, the conclusion will be, you will find the knowledge of God. Now, that's a precious thing.

Let me ask, what roads have we been searching down? Dead-end roads? Four of these hidden treasures?

You haven't found it.

Try the road of crying out to God.

Let me finish by with some encouraging words to the restless.

Jesus also issues us a wonderful invitation, and with this we'll finish. He says, Come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, because I am gentle and lowly of heart.

And you will find relief.

You will find relief from the sun's heat.

So take hold of those tasks.

Acknowledge them. Embrace them.

Thank God for His involvement in your life.

And then cry out for help.

Cry out for help.

Ask the burden giver to be your burden taker, and He will become that for you.

Lay hold of this eternity perspective. Fear God and keep His commandments.