Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #4: The Dust of Death
in the Way of the Wise
Ecclesiastes
2:12-23
12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for
what can the man do that cometh after the king? even
that which hath been already done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom
excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14 The wise
man’s eyes are in his head; but the
fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth
to them all. 15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the
fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in
my heart, that this also is vanity. 16
For there is no remembrance of
the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be
forgotten. And how dieth the wise man?
as the fool. 17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is
wrought under the sun is grievous
unto me: for all is vanity and
vexation of spirit. 18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken
under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19
And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I
have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. 20 Therefore
I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under
the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that
hath not laboured therein shall he leave it
for his portion. This also is
vanity and a great evil. 22 For what hath man of all his labour, and
of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23 For
all his days are sorrows, and his
travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also
vanity.
Introduction:
Reminders of the unique aspects of Ecclesiastes that must
be observed to appreciate what the author has done
Reminder of the inspired and inerrant nature of
Ecclesiastes as the Word of God
Reminder of the impact of Ecclesiastes on proud
unregenerate philosophers and mankind in general
The questions of Ecclesiastes, whether explicit or
implied
Outline:
Questions, explicit and implicit, and the 6 “D-words” of
the Wise Man
I. What Can He Do? (2:12) — The Deeds of the Wise Man
II. Why Am I More Wise? (2:13-15) — The Darkness of the
Wise Man
III. How Does The Wise Man Die? (2:16-17) — The Death of
the Wise Man
IV. Who Knows What He’ll Be? (2:18-19) — The Doubt of the
Wise Man
V. What Is Wrong With This Picture? (2:20-21) — The Despair
of the Wise Man
VI. What Is The Result? (2:22-23) — The Days of the
Wise Man
Transition:
Fans of Marvel comic book heroes will recall:
“The Red Skull's most
infamous personal weapon was his so-called "dust of death". It is a
dust created by Red Skull with an unknown chemical composition, that kills his
prey by making contact with the victim's skin, causing the skin on the victim's
head to tighten, shrivel, and take on a red discoloration, while at the same
time causing all the hair on the victim's head to fall out; as a result, the
victim's corpse appears to have a "red skull"/"masque of the red
death" for a head.”
Science fiction afficionados may be aware of:
“"The
Dust of Death" is a science
fiction/mystery short story by Isaac Asimov that was first published in the January 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine and reprinted in the 1968
collection Asimov's Mysteries.”
Evangelicals have gotten into the act:
Os Guinness, The
Dust of Death: A Critique of the Establishment and the Counter Culture and the
Proposal for a Third Way (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1973; Wheaton:
Crossway, 1994).
It all goes back to:
“My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.” (Psalm
22:15)
And this recalls the truth of creation and the effect of
the curse:
Gen. 2:7 — And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen. 3:14 — And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every
beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen. 3:19 — In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return.
I. What Can He Do? (2:12)
— The Deeds of the Wise Man
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for
what can the man do that cometh after the king? even
that which hath been already done.
what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which
hath been already done
done — The deeds of the Wise Man
II. Why Am I More Wise? (2:13-15)
— The Darkness of the Wise Man
13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth
darkness. 14 The wise man’s eyes
are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived
also that one event happeneth to them all. 15 Then said I in my
heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I
then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
that
one event happeneth to them all (2:14c)
darkness —
Positive statements ! (2:13a, 14a)
“Wisdom excels folly!” (“as far as light excels darkness”)
“The wise man’s eyes are in his head!” (“but the fool walketh in
darkness”)
Death the “great equalizer”
— On this see especially Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen.
ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), pg. 62 —
“Many years ago, when I heard Dr.
Haddon Robinson preach from Ecclesiastes, he recounted what it was like for him
to stand at the graveside of a man who had a working knowledge of thirty-four
languages. Most people know only one or two languages, at the most, but here
was a man who understood nearly three dozen. Yet in the end it didn’t matter
how smart he was — he was still as dead as could be.”[1]
III. How Does The Wise Man Die? (2:16-17)
— The Death of the Wise Man
16 For there is no
remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be
forgotten. And how dieth the wise man?
as the fool. 17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is
wrought under the sun is grievous unto
me: for all is vanity and vexation of
spirit.
I hated life (2:17a)
death — The death of the Wise Man
Ryken quotes Jean Paul Sartre,
“Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal.” (Op.
cit., pg. 63)
On the relative advantage of wisdom
vs. the ultimate reality of death see William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Christian
Focus, 2012), pp. 54-55.
IV. Who Knows What He’ll Be? (2:18-19)
— The Doubt of the Wise Man
18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun:
because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19 And
who knoweth whether he shall be a wise
man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have
laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
I hated all my labour
(2:18a)
doubt — The doubt of the Wise Man
V. What Is Wrong With This Picture? (2:20-21)
— The Despair of the Wise Man
20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the
labour which I took under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose
labour is in wisdom, and in
knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he
leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
I went about to cause my heart to despair (2:20a)
despair — The despair of the Wise Man
VI. What Is The Result? (2:22-23)
— The Days of the Wise Man
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his
heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief;
yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart
taketh not rest in the night (2:23a-c)
days — The days of the Wise Man
“Up every mornin' just to keep a job
I gotta fight my way through the hustlin' mob
Sounds of the city poundin' in my brain
While another day goes down the drain
But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
And there's a five o'clock me inside my clothes
Thinkin' that the world looks fine
Tradin' my time for the pay I get
Livin' on money that I ain't made yet
Gotta keep goin', gotta make my way
While I live for the end of the day”
I gotta fight my way through the hustlin' mob
Sounds of the city poundin' in my brain
While another day goes down the drain
But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
And there's a five o'clock me inside my clothes
Thinkin' that the world looks fine
Tradin' my time for the pay I get
Livin' on money that I ain't made yet
Gotta keep goin', gotta make my way
While I live for the end of the day”
Source:
The first three stanzas of “Five O’Clock World,” written by Allen Reynolds (Screen
Gems-emi Music Inc., 1965),
and performed by The Vogues and others; on SongLyrics
at http://www.songlyrics.com/the-vogues/five-o-clock-world-lyrics/ [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. The
first verse was cited by Ryken, op. cit., pg. 67, and Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes
(Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015), pg. 46.
Psalm 127:1-2 — Except the LORD build the house, they
labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman
waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat
the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Conclusion:
Our view, the view of Solomon, must take us above the
sun, and beyond the grave.
[Sermon preached 1 NOV 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, in Everyman’s
Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes:
The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series
(Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).
Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale
Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL:
Inter-Varsity, 1983).
Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman, 1993).
Tremper Longman III, The Book of
Ecclesiastes, New
International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1997).
Roland Edmund
Murphy, Ecclesiastes,
Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).
Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes:
Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
Philip
G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The
Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus
Publications, Ltd., 2015).
J. Stafford
Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5,
Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1991).
End Notes:
[1] This sermon by Haddon Robinson may
have been: 1) “An Overview of Ecclesiastes,”
(7 FEB 2007), at the been Moody Founders’ Week Conference; on Moody Audio at http://www.moodyconferences.com/con_mainPage.aspx?id=15048 [accessed 19 NOV 2015]; or, 2) “The Message of the Preacher”
(Eccl. 12:13-14; 12 JAN 2004), at the Irish Preachers Conference; at http://www.irishpreachers.org/conference-audio/?sermon_id=29 [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. It was not mentioned in another sermon
by Robinson, “The Message of
Ecclesiastes;” on PreachingToday at http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2005/august/248.html [accessed 19 NOV 2015]. I sent an email to Dr. Robinson on 19 NOV
2015 enquiring about the identity of the deceased polyglot, and the sermon that
Dr. Ryken heard him preach. However, as of the date of this post I had not yet
received a reply.
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