September 16 - Ecclesiastes 9-12 - "Known Unknowns"

MPC 16th September 2018.

Phil Campbell

Are you old enough to remember the famous press conference with Donald Rumsfeld. US Secretary of State, explaining the reason for the invasion of Iraq?

It was alleged that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction. It was alleged that Baghdad was supporting terrorism. But how much did American intelligence actually know?

I want you to think about this morning the question what can we actually know. What we can be sure of and what we can't.

And there's no better place to start that with Donald Rumsfeld's famous words. People laughed when he said it. But if you listen carefully, there's actually a truth in it...

There are things we know we know. There are things we know we don't know. And then there are the unknown unknowns. Things we don't know we don't know.

And the importance is, knowing the difference.

Look it's so true isn't it? Better you know about your own ignorance. Than be blind to it.

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes we've been following the words of a guy who calls himself the Teacher. And he's been searching high and low for what you can know. About what you can take with you in the end.

That's his overarching question. Right from chapter 1 verse 3.

What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?

To which he gives the first reply in chapter 1 verse 14.

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Meaningless. The Hebrew word he-vel. More accurately translated vapour. A mist. Ungraspable. Like the wind. Unfathomable. Unknowable.

He says, I looked at everything and there's nothing I can hang on to. Literally. And metaphorically as well. Nothing to grab hold of.

KNOWN UNKNOWNS

And here in the final section of the book from chapter 9 to 12, the Teacher is going to pile up a whole bunch of known unknowns. A whole bunch of things he knows that we just don't know.

It's like a thread that runs right through chapters 9 to 12. All the things we don't know. And look, the Teacher's got some good life hacks for living in an uncertain world like that.

But the main thing to notice is that it's all followed by one thing we do know. Which is going to make all the difference. Stay tuned for that one.

Here's unknown number 1. The Teacher says, You can't know how God's going to greet you when you meet him.

Now I want to flag for you right from the start, Jesus changes that. In fact it's the most profoundly significant thing that Jesus changes. And I'll come back to that later.

But from the Teacher's point of view, it's an absolute unknown. Say to the Teacher, "What's God going to say to you when he meets you? Thumbs up, or thumbs down?" And the Teacher says, how can I know?

You might say the same. It's the ultimate question, isn't it? And can hang over your life like a black cloud.

How can you know? Have a look. Chapter 9 from verse 1. And see what he says.

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny-the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.

For the Teacher, here's the great unknown. That from where he's looking there's no way to know whether love or hate; is waiting for us when we die. Good or bad, righteous or wicked, kosher or unclean, good bad or indifferent, no matter what your track record, no matter what oaths you've taken; no difference, says the Teacher. no one knows what's waiting.

Jesus tells a famous story about a son; who grabbed half the inheritance. Do you remember it? And blew the lot on parties and prostitutes. Ended up living in a pigsty. He comes to his senses and says I'll go back to my dad. And on the road he's rehearsing his lines; what can he possibly say to his dad? What kind of reception is he going to find when he gets home?

The Teacher says, who can know that? Maybe you've wondered yourself.

Because it's the ultimate question. You can put off thinking about it if you like. But it's unavoidable.

I was reading the other day there's a new app for your phone called WeCroak. That automatically reminds you five times a day. That you're going to die. Which is what most of us are trying not to think about. Not sure there'll be much of a market for it. But it's meant to encourage contemplation.

And so every few hours it pops up a reminder. And then a quote like this one from Allison Choying Zangmo.

We're not going to take any of these unimportant things with us after we die.

Let me tell you, if you're reading Ecclesiastes, you don't need the app.

Verse 3 to 5. And it's not the first time.

3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope-even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead... know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.

See, there's a known. The living know they'll die. No app needed. But here's the second unknown. And it's the great unknown. From where the Teacher's looking, when you're dead you can't know anything. Your knowing days are over. Even a live dog is better of than a dead lion. Because the one thing the living know is they're going to die. Even without the app. And the dead. Know nothing.

So nobody knows, he says, what's waiting at the end of the road. Because there's nobody around who can tell us.

Which brings him to one of those chirpy little sections that keep popping up through the book where he says, eat up, throw a party, put on some perfume. Enjoy life! Live with all your might.

Because, he says, it's vapour.

And in the realm of the dead - where you're going, verse 10... there's neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

You're not going to know nuthin. Pffft. So enjoy it while you can. That's the picture. That's the Teacher. With all his wisdom. Summing things up.

Nobody knows when their hour will come

Here's the next great unknown.

NO ONE KNOWS WHEN

Though Woody Allan says it's not the question he wants the answer for. Woody Allan says, most people want to know when they're going to die. But I'd rather find out where I'm going to die. And then I just won't go there.

But verses 11 and 12, the Teacher puts the when question. Unless you're on death row and you've got a date set. He says, all of us, we're beset by time and chance in every direction. We're surrounded by uncertainties. No matter how rich you are, how successful you are; you can win lotto and walk across the road and get hit by a bus.

In 1942, Roy Sullivan got hit by lightning. And again in 1948. And again in 1950. In fact, Roy's famous for being the only guy in history struck by lightning seven different times.

In 1954 Anne Hodges got hit by a meteorite. In her lounge room.

You just never know.

Because, the Teacher says in verse 11, I've seen something else under the sun; the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant... but time and chance happen to them all. And so, verse 12, no one knows.

There it is again. You just can't know. When your hour will come. Like a fish in a net. Like a bird in a snare. Evil times. Fall unexpectedly. You just never know.

And look, sure, wisdom is better than folly, if you've got the choice. He talks about that from verse 13 to 18, and it carries over into the start of chapter 10.

If you've got the choice, be wise. And he piles up a list of proverbs to prove it. Proverbs about wise kings and poor fools; you can read them later. And maybe pick up some good life skills. But they're all making the same point. Chapter 10 verse 14.

No. One. Knows. What is coming - who can tell someone else what will happen after them? All sorts of unknown unknowns. That we can just never imagine.

While if you're a fool, verse 15, everything's a surprise. You don't even know the way to town.

More proverbs to the end of chapter 10. Verse 16. Kings and princes. Wise and lazy. Feasts and money.

Into Chapter 11 verse 1 and 2. investment advice.

And look, again, it's all coming from the same big principle. In an uncertain world, make sure you've got a diversified investment portfolio. You have, right? If you've got a super fund. A financial adviser. Because you might, verse 1, if you keep shipping stuff, you might receive a return. Just make sure you've invested in seven or eight different ventures, verse 2, because you just don't know. There it is again.

Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

All the things. We just don't know. It might be monsoon. It might be drought. The tree might fall to the north it might fall south. You just don't know which way the wind's going to blow.

Follow in verse 5. And you'll see it again and again. You don't know. The path of the wind. Or how the body is formed in a mother's womb.

You reckon we know that stuff now? Still. Not even a fraction. How the stuff they were calling junk DNA somehow isn't junk at all. And maybe has the whole roadmap in it for how a body forms. Or consciousness. What even is it? How does it work? Your wife. What makes her angry? Your husband. Why he's such an idiot. Your teenage kids. How to stop them playing Xbox. The weather next weekend. Even the small stuff like that.

And so you certainly can't understand, chapter 11 verse 5, the work of God the maker of all things.

As you don't know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mothers womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things.

The maker. In that original garden. Where we grabbed for a knowledge that wasn't ours. And so we were sentenced to go back to the dust we were made from. And yet with that splinter of eternity in our hearts. That leaves us with such big questions. And so many known unknowns.

So the Teacher says the only logical thing to do is get on with it. And have a go at everything you can. Because you don't know what's going to work. Verse 6.

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

Not that the Teacher's depressed. There's lots to enjoy. And the best stuff is all free.

Light is sweet, verse 7, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. So however many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all.

It's a great way to do life.

And yet straight away he puts a pin through the bubble. As the WeCroak app kicks in.

But let them remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. And everything to come is meaningless. Is vapour. In the original language. Is like mist.

For the 31st time in the book.

If you've been here through the series you'll be getting desperate for some resolution; and we're nearly there.

Because here it comes.

At the end of all the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns, all the things we don't know and we can't know; all the reasons to just eat and dance and drink to forget; there's finally... one thing that the Teacher says he knows. And we need to know. That changes everything.

Just take a look at the screen for a reminder of where we've come from this morning.

Don't try to read it. Just watch for the red highlights. All the unknowns. The things we don't know.

ONE THING WE KNOW

And then the landing. One certainty. That puts all the unpredictabilities of life into a new perspective. And all our life decisions.There's one big known known. That changes everything.

Sure it's good to enjoy life. Sure it's good to eat and drink. But in the end it's not just a matter of doing what you like in a totally material under-the-sun world and then a dead stop. With nothing. Hedonistic nihilism. That's the culture we're living in.

So here's the one thing to remember. Make the most of your youth. Chapter 11 verse 9. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know one thing. And don't forget it. Here's the one thing to know in the midst of everything we don't know. but know that for all these things, God will bring you to judgement.

Enjoy it. But know that for everything you do, you're accountable to your maker.

You're going to be judged. By the God who made you.

REMEMBER YOUR MAKER

Which is the thought that takes us into chapter 12, and that vivid picture of the way we're all growing old. Fast. He says remember your maker. Before it's too late. Because this life's not all there is.

And there's going to be judgement. Still to come. Which is why the Teacher says in verse 1 of chapter 12, remember your creator in the days of your youth. Which looking at some of you might be stretching it a bit. I hope you've done it already. And you're not too stubborn.

Because look, I don't care how old you are, he's saying if you haven't got round to getting things right with God, do it now. Before it's too late. If you're thirteen years old and you haven't done it, do it today. If you're you're 85, and you're still living like there's no tomorrow, the Teacher says, you need to wake up to yourself. And do it now. Before the days of trouble come, he says, before your senses dim, and your mind slows, and the concrete sets rock solid round your feet. Because it's not going to get any easier.

Run your eye through from verse 2 to verse 5. The one thing you can know is there's going to be judgement. So he says remember your creator now... before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark and the clouds come back after the rain. It's not the sun and the stars changing. It's you.

And before long your legs are going to give way; and the grinders are going to cease grinding. It's a word picture of an old house; those looking through the windows grow dim, when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; he says your teeth fall out, you can't chew. And finally, he says, you go to your eternal home; and the funeral procession winds its way through the streets. And the guy at the crematorium pushes the button. And the soft music plays. It's over.

And you think you'll get around to getting things right with God... one day. But you've never quite got around to it. Do it now. While you've still got a mind you can make up.

Verse 6 and 7. Remember him - before that fragile silver cord of life is severed and the golden bowl crashes to the floor. Do it now. Before - he says in verse 7 - before the dust returns to the ground it came from; ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

There it is again. The Genesis 3 problem. Dust to dust. Life outside the garden.

Remember. Your maker. Before the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to god who gave it. Because then it's too late. And you've missed your opportunity.

And who knows what you're going find then?

Remember that story Jesus told? The runaway son. On the road back to his dad. Not knowing what reception there's going to be waiting for him?

So verse 8. A final word from the Teacher.

The word we've seen over and over again. Hevel hevel. Vapour vapour. In our translation, meaningless meaningless.

What can we take with us in the end? Nothing. Chasing the wind. Everything's vapour.

CONCLUSION

Money. Not the answer. He's tried it.

Wisdom. Not the answer. He's tried it.

Success. Not the answer. He's tried it.

In a life where you just don't know when the end's coming. In a life where you just don't know which way the wind's going to blow and what's going to work out and what's not. In a life where you don't know whether or not you'll be welcomed home in the end...

But where the one thing you do know is you're going to meet your maker.

What can you do? That's the Teacher's final word.

From verse 9, the last paragraph, it's a sum up. And you can hear, it's a different voice; it's the narrator in a play. That Teacher who's just been teaching us, he was good, wasn't he? Not only was he wise, he also imparted knowledge to the people. Pondered proverbs. Crafted his words. Words with a sharp edge to them, verse 11, like goads. They sting a bit don't they? But they keep us in line.

So what's the conclusion? Verse 13 and 14. "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter;" here's what it all boils down to.

Here's the conclusion of the matter. fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Because one day, it's all going balance.

JESUS

Although the problem with that is, there's still that big unknown. How's it going to go for you? In the balance? And how can you know?

My Roman Catholic neighbour, she says the same; she says, well, we all just give it a shot and hope for the best.

Friends, the great news is, this side of Jesus we can say more than that. This side of Jesus, we're in a position to know. What the Teacher in Ecclesiastes couldn't know.

That story Jesus was telling. The runaway son. Did everything wrong. And he's on the road home in fear and trembling; who knows what anger he's going to find. What rebuke. What punishment. And Jesus says, he comes home with his humbled heart; and the father runs out to meet him. On the road. And orders a party. You can know that. For sure. If you're ready to come home humble yourself.

Another time, Jesus is with his disciples, John 14. And he says to them, it's time for me to go. He's about to be arrested and crucified. But he says to them, you've been with me a while now, you know the way to where I'm going.

Thomas says to him; the famous doubting disciple, Thomas says to him, Lord we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way? To which Jesus answers in words that went on to become some of his most famous. You might have heard them. John 14 verse 6. He says,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In other words, if you want to know the answers, stick with me. If you want to know the way, stick with me. If you want to know how the last day's going to go for you, the day when you get to answer before God; stick with me.

Because - and here's the heart of our Christian confidence - because he says, when I die perfectly innocent, I'll be standing in the way of the judgement due to you. I'll take your guilt. You. Get to hear God say welcome home.

Not because of the great job you've done. Not because you've done your best and been sincere. Not because of your acts of charity. Because of me.

Which means, not because of yourself. But because you're trusting him, you can answer all those unknown unknowns with astonishing confidence. Like nobody else in the world.

Who knows what's waiting when that day of judgement comes, whether good or bad? You say "I do." Because I'm trusting Jesus who took on God's judgement for me. Who took the bad that I deserved. So I get to take the good.

It's a way to face the future with profound confidence. And yet no arrogance. Because it's from him and not from me. It's grace and grace alone. It's a way to face life's uncertainty and pain with a humble fearlessness. To enjoy the good without fearing the bad. Knowing that in the end, it's all good. Because of him and not because of me.

And so meaningless meaningless, vapour, vapour; we're not spending our lives busy trying to catch hold of the wind. And build a future for ourselves. But giving thanks for the now because of the promise of a sure hope ahead.

The Teacher didn't get to see that. But we do. This side of Jesus. And so let's give thanks.

Table of Contents

KNOWN UNKNOWNS

NO ONE KNOWS WHEN

ONE THING WE KNOW

REMEMBER YOUR MAKER

CONCLUSION

JESUS