Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Scripture Reading]
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
[Introduction]
Good morning my name is John, I’m one of the pastors here at GCF.
Today marks the official start of “summer vacation.” The bad news is that
we are taking a break from our sermon series in the Gospel of Matthew. The
good news is that we’ll begin a short series in one of my favorite books of
the Bible: the book of Ecclesiastes. At first glance, Ecclesiastes can seem
overly pessimistic. But there are number of reasons why we need to hear
from this book:
1. Because it is honest about the troubles of life.
2. To learn what will happen to us if we choose what the world
tries to offer instead of what God has to give.
3. Because it asks the biggest and hardest questions that people
still have today.
4. It will help us worship the one true God.
5. It teaches us how to live for God and not just for ourselves.
Join me in asking God to speak to us through his Word this morning.
[Prayer for Illumination]
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Anticipatory Set]
Sam Polk could be the poster boy for the American dream. After
graduating from college, he got a job at Bank of America…at the end of his
first year he was thrilled to receive a $40,000 bonus… A week later, a trader
who was only four years his senior got hired away for $900,000. After his
initial envious shock he grew excited at how much money was
available…Just four years later, Citibank offered him a salary of $1.75
million per year… Sam says of those days, “I felt so important. At 25, I
could go to any restaurant in Manhattan just by picking up the phone and
calling one of my brokers.… I could be second row at the Knicks-Lakers
game just by hinting to a broker I might be interested in going. The
satisfaction wasn’t just about the money. It was about the power.”
At age 30 his bonus was $3.6 million — and he was angry because it wasn’t
big enough. Reflecting on his desire for more and more, Sam admitted: “It’s
staggering to think that in the course of five years, I’d gone from being
thrilled at my first bonus — $40,000 — to being disappointed when, my
second year at the hedge fund, I was paid “only” $1.5 million.”1
Most of us hear Sam’s story and think that we would certainly be
satisfied with a $40,000 bonus. But perhaps we’re not all that different.
Could it be that all of us have been influenced by the materialism in our
culture? Could it be that we, living in a nation of unprecedented wealth, have
inadvertently bought into the materialistic values of our society?
1
Sam Polk, For the Love of Money,
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/for-the-love-of-money.html.
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Like us, the Preacher of Ecclesiastes has experienced life in the
context of great prosperity. He understands the temptation to find one’s
meaning and significance in what this world has to offer. Now, as an older
man, he reflects on his experience and looks to discover what has lasting
value.2 Ecclesiastes is his memoir, designed to teach his readers what he has
discovered. And he begins his book by warning his readers: “Apart from
God, people gain nothing from all their toil.”
[Proposition]
The Preacher makes three main points all designed to
show that “Apart from God, people gain nothing from all their toil:” 1)
All is Vanity, 2) No Gain From Our Toil, and 3) Nothing New or
Remembered.
2
T. Desmond Alexander, Editor, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, p. 212.
3
[Main Point 1]
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
All is Vanity
Look with me at verse 2. The Preacher begins by stating the overall
theme of the book, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities!
All is vanity.” So the first point is the theme of the book: All is Vanity.
[Subpoint 1]
Nothing Lasts
The word translated here as “vanity” is literally “vapor” or “breath.”
“All is vanity” is literally “all is vapor,” “all is breath.” Picture standing
outside on a cold winter morning…now breathe out. What do you see? You
see your breath as a vapor and it is only there for a second and then
disappears. All things in this world are like our breath, the Preacher says. It’s
here one moment and then it’s gone. The Psalmist makes the same point
when he says
You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as
nothing in your sight. Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. (Psalm
39:5)
In the New Testament, James uses a similar image. He writes, “You
are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Our
lives are like “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Here
today, gone tomorrow. The Preacher wants to teach Israel and us that our life
on this earth is extremely brief; it’s like our breath on a cold winter morning:
we see it for a moment, and then it’s gone. “Vanity of vanities, says the
Preacher, vanity of vanities.”
And just in case we haven’t gotten the message, he concludes: “All is
vanity.” Everything we see on the earth is short-lived.
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Illustration]
When I was in college I worked at one of the most popular restaurants in
Spokane, Cyrus O’Leary’s. It was the place to go. So, you had to be
prepared to wait in line to get a table. In fact, it was common to see a long
line of people outside the front door waiting to get in. Now college was a
long time ago for me but still I was surprised a few years ago when the
restaurant was closed. Later, I was shocked to find out that the building was
completely demolished. If you go downtown today, there is no trace that a
Cyrus O’Leary’s ever existed. In thirty short years it went from a thriving,
lively restaurant to literally nothing.
Here today, gone tomorrow. The Preacher says this is what life is like. “All
is vanity” is the theme of book and the Preacher’s first point.
[Main Point 2]
No Gain From Toil
To prove his point that “all is vanity,” the Preacher will look at life
from different angles. In verses 3-8 he is going to look at life from the angle
of what we gain from life with our work. And he concludes there is no gain
from toil. This is the Preacher’s second point: No Gain From Toil. Look at
verse 3. He begins by raising a question, “What does man gain by all the
toil at which he toils under the sun?” The expected answer is, Nothing.
“People gain nothing from all the toil at which they toil under the sun!”
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Definitions
[Subpoint 1]
The word “gain” appears nine times in Ecclesiastes3 and nowhere else
in the Old Testament. Some have described it as a
…word [that] comes from a verb ‘to be left over,’ ‘to remain’ – as
when one invests in business, paying expenses and receiving income,
and at the end of the year one checks what is left over. So ‘gain’ can
also be translated ‘profit.’4
So we could read verse 3 as “What do people profit from all the toil at which
they toil under the sun?”
The qualifier to the Preacher’s question is the expression “Under the
sun.” It is used twenty-nine times in Ecclesiastes and nowhere else in the
Bible. So what does this expression mean? Most commentators agree with
Philip Ryken that “under the sun” is “what life is like when we view it from
a merely human perspective…” It’s life viewed from only what can be
observed. It’s life apart from God. “What do people gain from all the toil at
which they toil under the sun?” The answer is, Nothing. Apart from God,
people gain nothing from all their toil.
[Subpoint 2]
Textual Illustrations
The Preacher proves his point by illustrating from the natural world.
He compares the futility of human life with the cycles we observe in nature.
Look at verses 4 through 7,
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains
forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place
where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the
north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind
returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place
where the streams flow, there they flow again.
3
4
Ecclesiastes 1:3; 2:11, 13; 3:9; 5:9, 16; 7:12; 10:10, 11.
Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes, p. 42-43.
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[Subpoint 2]
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Textual Illustrations
“A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”
At first glance verse 4 appears to speak to the brevity of life. But actually the
Preacher’s point is that there is no gain. “A generation goes, and a
generation comes…” There is constant turnover with humanity. In spite of
constant changes, “the earth remains forever.” In other words, nothing
changes. There is no gain. Verse 7 is similar, “All streams run into the sea,
but the sea is not full.” Although water is constantly pouring into the sea, it
is not full. There is no change. There is no gain.
Verses 5 and 6 are also meant to illustrate the same point: For all the
activity we witness yet there is no gain. One commentator summarizes:
Activity abounds; everything is in perpetual motion, like a hamster in
a wheel, but no destination is reached.5
The Preacher sums it all up in verse 8, “All things are full of
weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the
ear filled with hearing.” Just as all this activity in nature gains nothing, so all
human activity of speaking, seeing, and hearing gains absolutely nothing.
So, the Preacher’s second point is there is No Gain From Toil. No Gain
From Toil.
[Main Point 3]
Nothing New or Remembered
The Preacher’s final point approaches his idea of “no gain” from a
different perspective. He says there is nothing new or remembered, hence
there is no gain. Look at verses 9-11.
5
Brown, Ecclesiastes, p. 23
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[Main Point 3]
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Nothing New or Remembered
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be
done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which
it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any
remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.
[Subpoint 1]
Nothing New
The Preacher says there is nothing new and nothing remembered,
hence there is no gain. What about ‘new’ inventions and technology? I think
the Preacher’s statement of “nothing new” speaks to our basic human
condition not inventions or technology. There is nothing new in the sense
that human beings repeat the same things over and over. When we say things
like “history will teach us nothing” or the “more things change the more they
stay the same” we are basically saying the same thing as the Preacher. So
there is no gain because there is nothing new.
[Subpoint 2]
Nothing Remembered
And there is no remembrance. There is no remembrance in the sense
that none of us can guarantee we will be remembered. A wise observer put it
this way, “A life oriented toward ensuring its “legacy” for posterity only
pursues the wind. The future cannot be controlled any more than the past can
be fully remembered.”6
6
Brown, ibid., p. 28.
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Illustration]
As human beings our collective memory is remarkably short. Take, for
example, this headline in USA Today “100 years later, the ‘Great War’ fades
into obscurity.’7
Remembering was easy when World War I was still vivid — when
Veterans Day was still called Armistice Day, and the former
doughboys would squeeze into their old uniforms and march, a bit
more stiffly each year.
But 100 years after an assassination in Sarajevo…led to World War I,
America's memory of its second-deadliest foreign war is increasingly
tenuous.
Our memory of the ‘Great War’ is slipping and fading into obscurity a
mere 100 years later. “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will
there be any remembrance of later things…”
[Objection]
At this point you may object that your life is quite profitable apart
from God. Your work feels profitable: it provides meaning and significance;
your work enables you to buy food, a house, cars, education, and vacations.
The Preacher would say, “Yes, of course, there is limited gain.” But if you
take your life “under the sun” to its logical conclusion the equation changes.
Each of us will die. The death rate is still one per person. And not only will
we die but eventually even our sun and this earth will die. So, let’s say you
are a rich and famous baseball player. In our culture that would represent
great gain. You hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the major leagues this
season. And you do that for ten years in a row. You make a lot of money and
punch your ticket into the hall of fame. So, will there be gain?
7
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/28/world-war-one-warsarajevo/11050151/
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Well, from a subjective perspective, your life feels meaningful and
significant; it feels like there is gain. However, objectively it is not
meaningful or significant; there is no gain. Why? Because you will die and
all the importance, money, and fame will mean nothing – no gain. But,
you’ll be remembered as a hall of famer, right? At best you will be
remembered only for a time. Anyway, at some point the sun will die and the
earth will die and your 400 home runs and 400 stolen bases will mean
absolutely nothing – no gain.
Though we live in an age where many believe there is only life ‘under
the sun’ yet the possibility of something more haunts them. Steve Jobs’
biographer relates this interaction just before his death
One sunny afternoon, when he wasn’t feeling well, [Steve] Jobs sat in
the garden behind his house and reflected on death. “I’m about fiftyfifty on believing in God,” he said. “For most of my life, I’ve felt
there must be more to our existence than meets the eye.”
He admitted that, as he faced death, he might be overestimating
the odds out of a desire to believe in an afterlife. “I like to think that
something survives after you die,” he said. “It’s strange to think that
you accumulate all this experience, and maybe a little wisdom, and it
just goes away. So I really want to believe that something survives,
that maybe your consciousness endures.”
He fell silent for a very long time. “But on the other hand,
perhaps it’s like an on-off switch,” he said. “Click! And you’re gone.”
Then he paused again and smiled slightly. “Maybe that why I
never liked to put on-off switches on Apple devices.”8
The Preacher begins his analysis of our activities ‘under the sun’ and
his evaluation is clear: All is Vanity, there is No Gain From Our Toil, and
there Nothing New or Remembered that provides lasting value. Apart from
God people gain nothing from all their toil.
8
Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011), pp. 570-71.
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Christ in Ecclesiastes]
In the New Testament Jesus makes a similar point when he asks, “For
what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?”
(Matt. 16:26). When people forfeit their life, they have gained nothing – no
profit. Jesus illustrates with a simple story:
The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to
himself, ‘ What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? ’
And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger
ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say
to my soul, “ Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘ Fool! This night
your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose
will they be? ’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is
not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16-21).
Apart from God, people gain nothing from all their toil.
Is there then nothing to be gained from our life on earth? Yes, Jesus
says, there can be a profit, but not by storing up treasures for ourselves but
by being rich toward God. So how do we become rich toward God?
We do not become rich toward God by doing more and trying harder.
Christianity is unique in this respect. All other religions teach that we
become rich toward God by earning it through our own effort. But this leads
to either pride or despair. Pride, if we think we’ve been successful in our
attempts to earn; despair, if we think we have failed in our attempts to earn.
Christianity alone teaches that we cannot be rich toward God by our own
efforts but only through Jesus Christ. It is given to us as a gift. We simply
receive it. This is good news of the Gospel! Jesus says, “Do not work for the
food that perishes, but the food that endures for eternal life, which I [the Son
of Man] will give you” (John 6:27).
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
Jesus came to work something new for us, in us, and through us. He
came to give us new birth – to awaken us to God. What’s real is not just life
‘under the sun’ but the God who is there. He came to inaugurate a new
covenant – his life for ours – to cancel our debt of sin and make us rich
toward God. He came to give us new life through his Spirit so that we can
live out his new commandment – love one another as he has loved us. And
he came to enlist us into a new workforce. Now, everything we do matters,
as it is done for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God. Jesus’ work for,
in, and through us is a new work that makes us rich toward God and will
forever be remembered. In the gospel of Jesus Christ we have great gain that
is ours today, tomorrow, and forever.
Paul confirms this good news when he says, “Therefore, my beloved
brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
But if our labor is not “in the Lord,” if our work is apart from God, we
gain nothing. Therefore Jesus warns us, “Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth…; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matt.
6:19-20).
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Application]
We need to hear these warnings because we live in a culture that tells
us that apart from God we can gain something important: wealth, fame, and
success. Look at the magazine covers at the checkout stand. The faces you
see are our cultural gods – celebrities, CEO’s, and the superrich. And every
one of us has been influenced by our culture’s values. The apostle Paul gives
a similar warning in 1 Timothy 6,
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought
nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But
those who desire to be rich fall into a snare, into many senseless and
harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving
that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves
with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
Our pursuits and priorities demonstrate where and what we think will bring
gain.
 “There is great gain in godliness with contentment.” Does “godliness
with contentment” characterize our pursuits and prioritizes this past
week?
 “But if we have food and clothing with these we will be content.” My
list of “necessities” is much longer than food and clothing. Cell
phone, laptop, internet, cable TV, car, etc.
 “But those who desire to be rich fall into a snare.” What drives our
desire for excellence, our career choices, our work ethic, and our
anxious glances at the stock market? Is it for the sake of the gospel
and the glory of God? Or is it simply a desire to be rich – to get more
and more?
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
 Is it wrong to be rich? A few verses later Paul says, “As for the rich in
this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes
on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with
everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17).
 The issue is what we set our hopes on. What is our hope set on?
Where do our minds tend to wander? What do we think about most?
What do we pursue and prioritize? What do we fear losing? What are
our “if onlys?” “If only I had _____.” I’m guilty. My hope is often set
on those things are culture tells us are gain: money, fame, intelligence,
etc. The good news is that Jesus set his hope on God for me and died
on a cross to cancel the debt of my misplaced hope. If that’s you this
morning Confess, Affirm, and Request.
 Finally, if you are a Christian, Jesus has enlisted us a new workforce
so that everything we do matters for time and eternity. Whether God
has called you to study, answer phone calls, manage and plan, change
diapers, design graphics, do mechanical design, teach – whatever he
has given you to do you can do with Jesus for the sake of the gospel
and the glory of God. It all matters!
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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
No Gain From All Our Toil
[Conclusion]
It has been said that the Preacher’s aim in Ecclesiastes is to
“show us the absolute vanity of life without God, so that we finally stop
expecting earthly things to give us lasting satisfaction and learn to live for
God rather than ourselves.”9 The Preacher begins by warning us that Apart
from God people gain nothing from all their toil. He assesses and
analyzes life and shows us in these opening verses that ‘under the sun’ All is
Vanity, ‘under the sun’ there is No Gain from Our Toil, and ‘under the sun’
there is Nothing New or Remembered.
Fortunately, the Preacher’s assessment isn’t the end of the story.
There is something new. God is making all things new in Jesus Christ –
including you and me! Jesus has come to make us rich toward God today,
tomorrow, and forever. In Jesus Christ there is great gain.
9
Philip Ryken, Ecclesiastes, p. 21.
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