Ecclesiastes 1:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Ecclesiastes 1:9

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Solomon then turns to an entirely different argument, asserting that without God, we are impotent in terms of human achievement. We cannot accomplish anything substantial. He says: ‘The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.’Is this really true? Are there not great discoveries made all the time? We have in the world today technologies which were undreamed of when this preacher wrote. Time marches on, with mankind constantly opening up new horizons. In Solomon’s day man had not set foot on the moon, or even put a simple aircraft into the air. The preacher is not denying that there will be a vast array of new discoveries as human history unfolds. He is speaking in the context of life being futile if we have no contact with God. He is saying that all new things will be bound by certain limiting factors, just as all previous developments have been. Every human invention will be subject to the foibles of human weaknesses, and will fail to solve any of their deepest problems (such as inequality, oppression, immorality, marital breakdown, and the need for inner happiness). What is more, every new development will have side-effects, and a heavy price tag. Every major innovation will in some way upset the existing order of things. A very obvious example is the discovery of nuclear fission. The first application of human beings was to make a nuclear bomb. Human nature corrupts everything to some degree.This is not an argument against new discoveries. The Bible encourages a spirit of research and discovery. The human race is commissioned by God to have dominion over the created realm. But the preacher tells us not to trust in human discoveries for spiritual or moral help. We are to make as much progress as we can, always remembering that human advances will not alter the basic moral and spiritual facts of life. It is naive to think that they can. Whatever we discover, we shall still be fallen creatures, inadequate without God, and needing spiritual life.

Application

The only really ‘new’ factor in anyone’s life will be the receiving of new life from God. Those who seek and find the Lord once lived for material things, but now they live for spiritual things. The Lord Jesus Christ said to a proud Pharisee named Nicodemus, ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ We have all been born physically once. Being born again means that by a conscious experience of conversion to God our soul comes to life. We are then able to know and enjoy a whole new dimension of life – a walk with God. If, however, we remain as unbelievers, we shall be only half the people we are meant to be, the highest part of us (the soul) being like a dead limb.

What confidence people approach life with, as if nothing that they do had ever been done before, as if they will fall into none of the traps of former generations, though they are preceded by they know not how many earlier generations. Flawed human behaviour is then repeated generation after generation. Young people growing up thinking that they have discovered life for the first time and broken the mould; they are sure that they have done what their parents never did and yet repeat all the same mistakes and set their hearts on all the same illusory goals in life.

Questions

It must be emphasised that there is no discovery which cannot be turned to selfish use, bringing heartache to many. If we think that life will be brighter, better and full of purpose through technological progress, we shall be cruelly disappointed. People will still have their selfishness, pride, dishonesty and hostility. They will still need forgiveness, along with a new nature from God. Without this we are morally and spiritually powerless. We cannot know the Lord or have any relationship with Him. We cannot mend our ways, or control our tempers and passions. We sometimes see the worst about ourselves, but there is little or nothing we can do about it. ‘That which is crooked,’ says Solomon, ‘cannot be made straight.’ The entire field of human discovery and achievement can contribute nothing to solving such problems. As far as these are concerned – ‘There is no new thing under the sun.’

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Ecclesiastes 1:9 Commentary and Bible Study