Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
Nothing New

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun? One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there a thing of which it may be said, "Behold, this is new?" It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us. There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.

World English Bible

It is hard to ignore the despair Solomon felt as we wrote these words, describing a "weariness beyond uttering." If life was measured by the knowledge gained, or the thrills experienced, or the wealth spent, then life was empty. Solomon had the intelligence, opportunity, and means to experience all the world could offer, but he found it to be meaningless, a "vanity of vanities".

We, too, like to experience what is new, but we, like Solomon, are often disappointed. At the worst, we are immediately disappointed when the new challenges, new pleasures, or new possessions don't meet our heightened expectations. At the best, what is new inevitably becomes old and loses its allure and fades into a dull familiarity. Elsewhere in Ecclesiastes, Solomon compares our pursuits to "chasing after the wind", and we know well that sense of futility.

On the other hand, there is comfort in the absence of new.

We are not the first to face the challenges of life. We might be one of first to be frustrated by the most recently released computer software, but the frustration is the same as our ancestors coaxing an obstinate donkey. We are stressed by a lack of time to accomplish our plans, but so have past generations that hung their clothes out to dry, heated their houses with firewood, or ground their own wheat for bread. We are hurt by life's events, but many before us have experienced broken relationships and personal loss.

We are not the first to have failed, either. Many before us have taken risks that jeopardized their way of life. Many before us have failed others with broken promises and failed themselves with poor choices. Many before us have been trapped in destructive sinful patterns... and each of us knows how we have sinned. All of us have pushed God away to choose our own selfish paths. We might think that we are all alone with the consequences of our rebellion, but our condition is not new at all.

Over the span of humanity, God has already seen it all. God has been present at every challenge, every failure, and every sin throughout history, and God already knows the way back for each of us. God is already at work to provide to us what is best for us, if we will merely take it.

We are never alone. We are never in a situation so unique, or so twisted, or so desperate that it surprises God. It is true that in his earthly ministry, Jesus did not experience rush hour traffic, computer crashes, explicit rap lyrics, illegal narcotics, or any of thousands of other features of modern life, but God has always been with us. We will never be alone in a situation for which God doesn't already have the answer.

The same God that has seen everything before still surrounds us with an unfathomable love.