I am the vine; you are the branches. He helps us to grasp whether repentance should occur if a similar situation happens again. It is as though it is coming toward us and moving away from us simultaneously. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”. Ecclesiastes 1:3 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. In Ecclesiastes 1:9, the statement is used negatively, suggesting life is nothing but repetitious vanity. Thus, Solomon's comment in Ecclesiastes 1:9 is a parallel: “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (ESV). It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. H In fact, he has just begun! And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Is he right in his litany of mankind's purposeless, hamster-like, monotonous life that leads nowhere? He is only considering life “under the sun”; that is, a human life lived to the exclusion of any consideration of God. 100 Bible Verses about Under The Sun. ‣ I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ‣ For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun? Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. He then states, "All things are wearisome" (Ecclesiastes 1:8, margin). Should we sacrifice our pride? 1 Corinthians 16:16 to submit to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. J Definition of everything under the sun in the Idioms Dictionary. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. L He pictures mankind as little more than a milling mass. He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the Lord is his name; The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. I made great works. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ‣ What are you doing, son of my womb? The entertainment industry thrives on this desire by trying to fill people's need for emotional satisfaction by devising new angles to tell the same old stories. T Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. So, any search for real meaning and lasting profit cannot come from under the sun. A laser will have no more impact than an automobile does. U Though time is involved in this statement, the emphasis is more on the events that happen within time rather than time itself. For example, a lot of new things have come along, such as lasers, hydrogen bombs, and automobiles. For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. John W. Ritenbaugh The "thing" in this context is not what we might normally think of. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Our Savior God is a Redeemer. The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. ‣ And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! No more than the automobile, no more than the buggy did before it and the wheel before it—because human nature never changes. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. ‣ This verse suggests that, since we are God's work, He will use His powers to make sure that our labors are not in vain. What instruction is there for us here? In Ecclesiastes 3:15, though, it is mentioned explicitly within the context of God's sovereignty—He is in control, and He makes positive use of history repeating itself for mankind's benefit. Nothing new under the sun And God separated the light from the darkness. B For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. To picture this more clearly, we have to perceive time as a moving reality. Ecclesiastes 1:9 ESV / 16 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. So the more things change, the more they stay the same. But when the sun rose they were scorched. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. All is vanity. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. One might wonder why God would essentially repeat what is said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 just two chapters later. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. The book ends with the statement that God will bring every deed into judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14), pointing directly to a reason why everything matters. So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. Solomon’s words especially ring true when you look at the theological and spiritual trends that are popular today. However, Ecclesiastes 3 shows that this concept is not totally true because history keeps repeating itself. Though each translation is somewhat different, each has two elements in common: God is looking for something, and it involves time, an event that occurred in the past. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt. Verse 15 confirms this fact once again, but it adds a positive twist to it. On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. V Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. No matter what men invent, the basic motivation that brought the thing into being is not new. Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. It is the spiritual reality we have been created to participate in. He may reveal to us how an event's outcome could have been far more profitable for all concerned. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. ‣ John W. Ritenbaugh Remember, this is a treatise on life, not on technology. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. A partial reason for this is that mankind seems to be cursed with a short memory while at the same time having an insatiable thirst for novelty. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. See what over 145,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Earlier in the chapter, Solomon says that the work of God endures forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Privacy Policy. Ecclesiastes 3:15 is an illustration that shows the breadth and depth of God's sovereignty over time and the events of life. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. Therefore we want to know what these things mean." It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. None of this means that mankind is not moving about. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Why is He doing this? OpenBible.info The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. By saying "there is nothing new under the sun," he is attempting to stimulate the reader to consider what might effectively improve the quality of his life. Nothing new under the sun, Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part One), Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1), Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Four): Other Gifts. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. But test everything; hold fast what is good. In fact, we are learning that God causes this repetition. Why would God do this? ‣ You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Isaiah 47:13-14 ESV / 31 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. The key phrase is under the sun, which is repeated throughout the book. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.