The Encourager
“Nothing New Under the Sun - by Jeff Curtis”
Nothing New Under the Sun
By Jeff Curtis
The wise man Solomon observed, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl.1:9). He had noted that generations come and go, as they always have (1:4); that the sun rises and sets as it always has (:5); and that the wind continues to blow (1:6) and rivers to flow (1:7) as they always have.
The fact that “there is nothing new under the sun” can be viewed in two ways. First, we might consider it proof of a hopeless monotony in life, seeing life as being boring, unchanging, and wearisome. Second, we might find the idea that “there is nothing new” to be a comforting, stabilizing truth. There are some things we can count on.
Solomon wanted to teach a very important point: Life without God is wearisome, repetitive, and hopeless. But life with God is comforting, exciting, stable and filled with hope.
Let’s consider the statement that “there is nothing new under the sun,” and think about a few truths related to God that are not new.
The nature of God is not new: He is still the all-powerful God of the universe. In the New Testament, this idea is comforting because we know that God (and Jesus) will never change (Heb.13:8).
God’s work is not new: (Eccl.3:14), it will remain forever and not be added to or taken away from. False teachers may misrepresent the gospel or the plan of salvation, but they cannot change any part of the unchangeable will of God.
God’s plan for man is not new: God wants people to fear Him (3:14), to live holy lives ((3:12), and to prepare to face Him in eternity (He has “set eternity” in man’s heart, 3:11).
The nature of man is not new: God created people upright, but they have sought out many devices. The truth teaches us that it is not “natural” for men to sin, in other words, God didn’t create man so that he would sin. This would have been against the basic character of God, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed” (James 1:13-4). Rather, man was created good. Yet, all have sinned (Rom.3:23). This was true in Solomon’s day and remains true in our time.
Solomon emphasized that each person should seek to do good and live to please God. The same truth applies today. God wants everyone to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29-30) and to obey His word (John 12:48).
Meditate on this:
2 Kings 20:15
And he said, “What have they seen in your house?”
So, Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
