Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #16 - Empty Souls Herding the Wind (Ecclesiastes 6:7-9)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #16: Empty Souls[1] Herding the Wind[2]

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9

[There was no audio file for this sermon.]

⁷ All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. ⁸ For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? ⁹ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

Outline:

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

1. The Physical Purpose of All Labor

All the labour of man is for his mouth,

Bread on the table

our daily bread

a table in the wilderness

manna from heaven

2. The Spiritual Inability of All Labor

and yet the appetite is not filled.

NASB: “All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.”

NASB note on the word translated “appetite”: “Lit., soul”

NASB note on the word translated “satisfied”: “Lit., filled”

This is where the first part of this sermon’s title, Empty Souls Herding the Wind, comes from.

New Geneva Study Bible note: “…earthly labor does not fill the emptiness of the soul…”

MacArthur Study Bible note: “Lack of soul satisfaction comes from working only for what is consumed.”

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Prov. 16:26 — He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

Eccl. 1:8 — All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

1. The First Unanswered Question

For what hath the wise more than the fool?

Eccl. 2:15 — 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.

2. The Second Unanswered Question

what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

New Geneva Study Bible note: “Those, though poor, who know how to live effectively in the world avoid the discontentment of wandering, unsatisfied desires.”

“Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind”[3]

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

1. The Recommended Option

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire

NASB: “What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.”

NASB note on the word translated “desires”: “Lit., goes after”

materialism and consumerism

Eccl. 11:9 — Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

2. The Final Mention of Vexation of Spirit

this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

 “The reason for this wise advice is that constantly longing for more is futile or meaningless, a chasing after the wind. This is the last of nine occurrences in Ecclesiastes of the phrase “chasing after the wind” (cf. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16). This phrase fittingly opens and concludes the first half of the book on the futility of human achievement.” [4]

Eccl. 1:14 — I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

“Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.”

— Hosea 12:1

HCSB: Ephraim chases  the wind and pursues the east wind. [5]

NLT: The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. [6]

RSV and NRSV: Ephraim herds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long; [7] [8]

This is where the second part of this sermon’s title, Empty Souls Herding the Wind, comes from.

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Conclusion:

“Catch The Wind

In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty
I want to be in the warm hold of your loving mind

To feel you all around me
And to take your hand along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide a while behind your smile
And everywhere I'd look your eyes I'd find

For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing, it's what'd make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

When rain has hung the leaves with tears
I want you near to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind

For standing in your heart
Is where I want to be and long to be
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Donovan (1965)[9]

[Sermon preached 31 JAN 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

1. The Physical Purpose of All Labor

2. The Spiritual Inability of All Labor

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

1. The First Unanswered Question

2. The Second Unanswered Question

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

1. The Recommended Option

2. The Final Mention of Vexation of Spirit

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979)/

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 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).

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Notes:

[1] Compare Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls (Russian title Мёртвые ду́ши; 1842).

[2] Suggested by Hosea 12:1 in the Revised Standard Version (1971), and the New Revised Standard Version (1989.

[3] Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ In The Wind,” (©1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music), on Bob Dylan at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind [accessed 30 JAN 2016].

[4] Glenn, D. R. (1985). Ecclesiastes. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 990–991). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ho 12:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ho 12:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[7] The Revised Standard Version. (1971). (Ho 12:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[8] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ho 12:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[9] AZ Lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/donovan/catchthewind.html [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. See also “Catch the Wind” on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_the_Wind [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. Donovan may be heard performing his song on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hjEYTpwE8 [accessed 30 JAN 2016], and with the lyrics at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls60hHYyYE [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. See also especially The Blues Project cover of this song on their albums Live at the Café Au Go Go (1966), Reunion in Central Park (1973), and The Blues Project Anthology (1997); on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnSNlz62gg [accessed 30 JAN 2016], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBvLkLJ9_P4 [accessed 30 JAN 2016], and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMjxf_jxnro [accessed 30 JAN 2016].