Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 98:1-9
• Hymn — Come, Let Us Sing unto the Lord (#16)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Psalm Reading — Psalm 18:1-19
• Hymn — God Is Our Refuge and Our Strength (#40)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:11
• Sermon
• Hymn — Be Thou My Vision (#642)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: No Gain in Striving Under the Sun

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:11

I. Introduction: The Central Problem

A. The passage is part of the larger unified fabric of Ecclesiastes, which instructs in wisdom that works backward from death and is informed by faith B. A shift occurs between Ecclesiastes 1:11 and 1:12: the preacher moves from third-person introduction to first-person autobiographical instruction C. The central question from Ecclesiastes 1:3 — "What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" — is answered: there is no gain D. Tonight's passage presents the problem; subsequent sermons will address the reason (Ecclesiastes 2:12-23) and the resolution (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

II. The Gainless Striving Is Given by God

A. The preacher's program (Ecclesiastes 1:13)

1. He applied his whole heart — all thinking and willing — to seek and search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven
2. Here wisdom is the instrument of his labor, not yet its object

B. The preacher's perspective (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

1. "I have seen" — the perspective is man-centered, creaturely, finite
2. "All is vanity and a striving after wind" — life is the pursuit of that which cannot be contained or held

C. The problem is God-given (Ecclesiastes 1:13, 15)

1. The preacher calls it "an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with"
2. "What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted" — our striving to fix things proves futile
3. This echoes God's curse on Adam in Genesis 3: painful, unending, repetitive toil marks all of life

D. The God-given nature of this problem is meant to surprise and reassure

1. The alternative perspectives — blind chance or vague fate — offer no comfort
2. God's sovereignty means the unhappy business is not random, arbitrary, or purposeless
3. C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce: "Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory"
4. Faith gives an eternal perspective that already begins to work backwards, changing how we see all of life now

III. The Gainless Striving Is Pursued in Possessing

A. The pursuit to possess wisdom proves gainless (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18)

1. The preacher comforts himself in his surpassing wisdom and knowledge, basking in comparative abundance over others
2. He forgets the Giver for the gift — quantity of wisdom becomes an end in itself
3. Dissatisfied, he adds "madness and folly" — experimental knowledge of evil — to his wisdom, as Eve before him tasted what was forbidden (Genesis 3)
4. True wisdom is rooted in the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 3); when Godly wisdom is collected like trinkets and mixed with worldly experimentation, it leaves the preacher vexed and proves gainless

B. The pursuit to possess pleasure proves gainless (Ecclesiastes 2:1-10)

1. The preacher gives himself over to pure hedonism — laughter, drunkenness, great building projects, gardens, pools, slaves, herds, silver, gold, singers, and concubines
2. The "striving self" is at the center (David Gibson); the preacher speaks to his own heart and pursues whatever causes pleasure
3. He achieved partial success: "my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward" (Ecclesiastes 2:10) — a brief buzz, fleeting fulfillment, short-lived significance
4. Illustration: Tom Brady, after winning his third Super Bowl, said in a 60 Minutes interview: "There's got to be more than this… I wish I knew" — the striving self can never be satisfied

C. The verdict (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

1. "Behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun"
2. We are not so different from the preacher — we too fall into thinking that more possessions, better experiences, or greater achievements will bring lasting meaning

IV. Conclusion: A Better Perspective, Not Better Pursuits

A. The answer is not to dismiss gifts or live in ineffectiveness

1. Charles Bridges: "God would have us rejoice in our labor, enjoy our earthly blessings, but not rest in them. Let earth be the cistern only, not the fountain."

B. Christ is the answer

1. As the eternal Son of God, Christ had everything and gave it all up to give his people all the gain they would ever need — himself
2. Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"

C. David Gibson: "There is no gain to be had under the sun — and that's precisely the point. None need be sought. The striving doesn't even need to happen, because, believer, you already have all that you need in Christ."