Life Under the Sun: The Unexpectedly Good News of Ecclesiastesናሙና

As the introduction passage of Ecclesiastes closes, the text becomes increasingly pessimistic about life under the sun. Ironically, though, this places us exactly where we need to discover the wisdom that makes sense of it all.

The final verse of the introduction section takes on an increasingly pessimistic tone, almost as if the cycles of the previous verses are now spinning out of control. While passages like this can feel deeply disorienting, they do the necessary work of putting us in the right place to receive what’s coming next. As it’s been said, “You have to know that you’re lost before you can be found.” So too, you must come to a place of honesty about the difficulties of life before you can make peace with them.

Twice in these opening verses, the Narrator includes one of the most quoted lines from Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing new under the sun.” On the surface, this is an easy claim to dismiss. A lot has changed since Ecclesiastes was written. How then should we understand the statement “there is nothing new under the sun?"

At the very least, Ecclesiastes is reminding us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This applies, in particular, to human nature. Our basic needs, desires, foibles, fears, insecurities, and questions remain the same. In this sense, the fact that there is “nothing new under the sun” lends credibility to Ecclesiastes as a source of wisdom despite it being thousands of years old. The words of the Teacher are just as pertinent today as they were back then.

The same things we wrestle with today are the same things the Teacher wrestled with thousands of years ago. And by giving attention to the timeless wisdom of this ancient text, we might just discover how to navigate our present lives.

Embedded in this seemingly pessimistic passage is a statement that almost dares us to prove it wrong: We will not remember what came before. But instead of forgetting, could we learn from previous generations? Instead of seeking only new developments, could we seek timeless wisdom? Thus, the challenge and invitation is issued, setting us up for the Teacher’s entrance: Don’t forget the wisdom of the past. Learn from the Teacher.

Curiously, part of the reason that we can learn wisdom from the past is because the ultimate source of that wisdom—Jesus Christ himself— transcends time (Heb. 13:7-8). While we hear the words of Ecclesiastes from the Teacher, we are actually hearing the words of God. And the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever will guide us all our days under the sun.

Read Ecclesiastes 1:8-11. In modern society, we tend to equate new discoveries and technological developments with progress. If it’s new, it must be good. How does the claim that “there is nothing new under the sun” challenge this assumption?

For more of this study by Hannah Anderson, visit lifeway.com/lifeunderthesun.