12. The Knowledge of Man

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Hymns: FECCC THEME SONG, 354 God Leads Us Along 365 Teach Me to Pray

 

Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes

(Remember Now Thy Creator)

– The Knowledge of Man

Ecclesiastes 3:18-22

 

18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

 

OUTLINE

  • Of Dust (v18-20)
  • Of the Spirit (v21-22)

 

INTRODUCTION

“Theology is the study of God. It is the study of God’s dealing with man whom He has created, but fallen into sin. The study of God and study of man that is inseparable from the study of God is true wisdom… We would add to the statement that they are the apex of all knowledge… They are the two highest strata of learning, the study of God and the study of man leads us to God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ, Mediator between God and man, by whom we are saved (1 Tim 2:15). The Bible is God’s book for man, the textbook of our salvation (2 Tim 3:14, 17).”[1]

So we see in this statement of confession from Solomon in our text of Scripture as he delinates for us what is man.

 

Two thoughts: (1) Of Dust (v18-20) (2) Of the Spirit (v21-22)

 

(1) Of Dust (v18-20)

18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

He makes here an observation the plight of fallen man. He described them as the creatures of the animal kingdom for death befalleth them all. When man or animal, they both die. They are made from the dust and to dust they are turned after death.

As is observed in Job 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.

And also in 1 Peter 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them…

Bridges observed well, “It is sad that fallen man degraded himself from the dignity of a son of God, to walk before men like a beast…For indeed they will never know their honour until they have known their shame. Yet this they will never see, until God manifest unto them their true state. So degraded is man, that he cannot understand his own degradation.”[2]

Psalm 49:12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

This is his spiritual level.

Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon experienced 7 years of beastly life in Daniel 4. Nebuchadnezzar was made to realize that there is a vast difference between man and beast. Man, made in the image of God, is to have dominion of God’s creation. But sinful, fallen man would reject the rule of their Creator. Nebuchadnezzar was made to see that His Creator rules over all.

The existence, power, dominion and everlasting nature of God is made known to king Nebuchadnezzar. He came “face to face” to experience the awesome power of the Almighty God.

The king was at ease and self-indulgent, luxuriant. All seemed well when God sent Nebuchadnezzar a vision that troubled his heart. It sent fear in him. The dream was vivid and real. This was not the first time that God sent him a dream (Dan. 2). God had told him through Daniel that his kingdom will come to an end and another will rise.

 The dream was described in Daniel4:14-18 with the concluding thought in verse17b “to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”

 Daniel 4:30-37 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. 34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

God is in charge and in control. He rules in the kingdom of men and it is He who decides whom He will set over the kingdom. It is His prerogative. God used Daniel to warn Nebuchadnezzar of the sin of pride to think that all his achievements are due to himself. God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to realize that He lived under the realm of the God of heaven. He is not to be a law unto himself but to acknowledge his spiritual poverty and that it is God who raised him as king and also has the power to bring him down.

 19 …as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Truly, if we do not have the knowledge of God revealing to us our great privilege, we will think we come from the apes through millions of years of evolution and therefore since he came from the beast, he is no different from the beast. It is true that both die and return to the dust. But there is an observable difference.

 

Imaging Bearing

  • Speech: We speak because God speaks. In Genesis 1, God speaks repeatedly. In Genesis 2, God speaks to Adam and Adam speaks to God. The contrast to animals is total. Psalm 19 exults in the fact that God communicates with us. Proverbs 2 points to God’s words as the source of wisdom for us, so that we can become wise also. [3]
  • Morality: We are to obey God and be holy because God is our Master and He is holy (Lev. 19:1). God’s right to place obligations on Adam and Eve is given in Gen. 1-2.
  • Personal Nature: Persons are able to enter into relationships. Gen. 1:26 records the Lord saying, “Let us make man in our image…”. This divine consultation regarding the creation of human kind suggests that God was not stranger to personal relationships prior to creation. He was not lonely before He created man. God made Adam and also gave him a wife as his companion and helper. We are not meant to be individualist except by special calling, but those who develop meaningful relationships with other people and with God. In Gen. 3:8-9, we read of God’s relationship with Adam and his wife. After they disobeyed, they hid. When the Lord did not find them, He called out, “Where art thou?” Such questions are addressed to our consciences, which we have because we are spiritual personal beings.
  • Dominion: We have dominion because God is Ruler of all. Gen. 1:26-28 refers explicitly to rule over the animals and the Earth. There is also the command to subdue the earth. Psalm 8:6-8 draws from these words in “6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” The “dominion” emphasis leads to a positive and active lifestyle. As God’s children, we are always looking for ways to express our calling to be image-bearers. Our working lives provide us with many opportunities. As we obey God’s call, we cannot help but to be witness to Jesus Christ through our actions, to make this Earth a fit place to inhabit, complements our calling to be witness for Christ and to spread the good news of salvation.
  • Creativity: We create because God creates. Man’s creativities emerges very quickly in biblical history. In Gen. 4, we read of people building cities, making and playing musical instruments, and working with bronze and iron.
  • Rationality (the ability to reason and think logically): We are rational because God is rational. Gen. 1-3 reveals not only God’s rational communication, but also man’s. After sin entered, man’s rationality became compromised as blame was passed and weak excuses were invented in an attempt to escape the feeling of guilt. We are not like the “brute beast” Jude 10, unreasonable animals.
  • Sanctity of Life: We value human lives because God value human lives. Abel’s death was a serious matter, Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
  • Aesthetic appreciation: We appreciate beauty and design because this mirror’s God’s character. In Gen. 3:31, the Lord declared all that He had made to be “very good”. In Gen. 2:9, God made trees that were pleasing to the eyes as well as good for food. It is significant that the first person in the Bible who is mentioned as being filled with the Spirit of God was Bezalel (Ex. 31:2-3). He had skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of craft and design work.[4] Man writes poetry, composed music, writes song to describe the created world.

(2) Of the Spirit (v21-22)

21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Man consists of not only a physical part but also an invisible part called the soul. The soul of an animal dies and the soul perishes but for man, his soul does not perish.

Bridges observed well, “Though there be no animal pre-eminence of man above the beast, yet vast indeed is the difference as to their spirits. The one goeth upward to “the Father of spirits,” “returning to the God that gave it. ”

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

 “The soul of a beast is at death like a candle blown out; and there is an end of it; whereas the soul of a man is then like a candle taken out of a dark lantern, which leaves the lantern useless indeed, but doth itself shine brighter. We must not pass by this clear proof of the immortality of the soul. The spirit even of the wicked goeth upward. It appears in the presence of the Great “Judge of all” – Who, though “filling heaven and earth with His presence, hath prepared His throne in the heavens.” 

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Here is our lively hope – immortality is brought to light by the Gospel.

 2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

 When men sinned he died in three senses of the word (a) He became dead in sin (Eph. 2:1) (b) He became subject to physical death (c) Man became liable to “the second death” (Rev. 20:6, 14).[5]

Death is not the end all for man as Solomon tells us in the last verse of the last chapter of this Book – Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

 Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 Judgment after death is real and man is to take heed for his eternal spiritual well-being.

 Luke 16:22-28 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

 

CONCLUSION

As we said in our introduction…They are the two highest strata of learning, the study of God and the study of man…which we have explored. It leads us to God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ, Mediator between God and man, by whom we are saved. Thank God for this true. May we appropriate Christ for our eternal well-being. Amen.

 

[1] Timothy Tow and Jeffrey Khoo, A Theology for Every Christian, 1998, 1.

[2] Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1992, 76.

[3] David Tyler, Creation – Chance or Design?, Evangelical Press, 2003, 61.

[4] David Tyler, Creation – Chance or Design?, Evangelical Press, 2003, 62-64.

[5] J. Oliver Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, 281.