Ecc 1:9 | KingComments | STEP | “That which has been” are the circumstances ( ). A man always finds himself in certain circumstances given and directed by God ( ) which greatly determine his life. “Which has been done” are the human efforts. Man always tries to create the most favorable circumstances for his life. So he has always been busy in and with his life and so he will always be busy. What he invents to make life more pleasant, is only building on what has already been invented ( ). There is quite simply “nothing new under the sun”. Start to involve God in all things and all things will gain their meaning. Everything remains subject to the laws God has laid down in creation. Nothing can break these laws. Therefore, nothing really new can ever come, only variations on what has always been and will always be. Although there is constant change, there is nothing really new ( ). Everything is a repetition of what has been before and what will soon be over, while the heart remains empty and hungry. A new discovery or invention does not change anything essential to man or to creation. It does not make him happier or more satisfied. We also find out that the progress that has been made also has unforeseen disadvantages. We need to come up with another solution for that too. All efforts for something new proves the emptiness of man at the same time. Man dreams of realizing ‘Utopia’, the ideal society. Although the dream shatters again and again, man still believes in it because he is blind to the fact that he has not made any real progress. There are new things, but they belong to another world, the world above the sun. So there is the new birth, or the birth from above ( ). And he who has repented is “a new creation” ( ). “A new song” will be sung ( ) and there will also be “a new heaven and a new earth” ( ). This all comes from Him Who is unchanging in Himself, but Who makes new things out of Himself over and over again. He will make everything new and create a situation that has never existed before and that will never end ( ). If we say of something that it is new, it is because we do not remember “the things of the past” ( ). As the ancient Greeks said: ‘All learning is only remembering’ ( mathesis is anamnesis ). Someone can gain ‘eternal fame’ through a particular achievement, but that ‘eternal fame’ is of no use to him who has accomplished it. His achievement survives him, but what use is it to him when others remember him after his death? Can that give him any cooling if he is in the place of torment? Can all of those after whom streets or cities have been named ( ), draw any comfort from it in hell? If anyone knew anything about it, what satisfaction would it offer in that world where other standards of judgment are applied? Future generations make the same mistake that all previous generations have made, namely that they learn nothing from past things, from the past. They do not remember the lessons history teaches. It is simply forgotten that all technological progress does not mean progress or improvement of human nature.

‏ Ecclesiastes 1:9

There Is Nothing New Under the Sun

“That which has been” are the circumstances (Ecc 1:9). A man always finds himself in certain circumstances given and directed by God (Gen 8:22) which greatly determine his life. “Which has been done” are the human efforts. Man always tries to create the most favorable circumstances for his life. So he has always been busy in and with his life and so he will always be busy. What he invents to make life more pleasant, is only building on what has already been invented (Gen 4:20-22). There is quite simply “nothing new under the sun”.

Start to involve God in all things and all things will gain their meaning. Everything remains subject to the laws God has laid down in creation. Nothing can break these laws. Therefore, nothing really new can ever come, only variations on what has always been and will always be.

Although there is constant change, there is nothing really new (Ecc 1:10). Everything is a repetition of what has been before and what will soon be over, while the heart remains empty and hungry. A new discovery or invention does not change anything essential to man or to creation. It does not make him happier or more satisfied.

We also find out that the progress that has been made also has unforeseen disadvantages. We need to come up with another solution for that too. All efforts for something new proves the emptiness of man at the same time. Man dreams of realizing ‘Utopia’, the ideal society. Although the dream shatters again and again, man still believes in it because he is blind to the fact that he has not made any real progress.

There are new things, but they belong to another world, the world above the sun. So there is the new birth, or the birth from above (Jn 3:5). And he who has repented is “a new creation” (2Cor 5:17). “A new song” will be sung (Rev 5:9 ; Rev 14:3) and there will also be “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev 21:1). This all comes from Him Who is unchanging in Himself, but Who makes new things out of Himself over and over again. He will make everything new and create a situation that has never existed before and that will never end (Rev 21:5).

If we say of something that it is new, it is because we do not remember “the things of the past” (Ecc 1:11). As the ancient Greeks said: ‘All learning is only remembering’ (mathesis is anamnesis). Someone can gain ‘eternal fame’ through a particular achievement, but that ‘eternal fame’ is of no use to him who has accomplished it. His achievement survives him, but what use is it to him when others remember him after his death? Can that give him any cooling if he is in the place of torment? Can all of those after whom streets or cities have been named (Psa 49:11-12), draw any comfort from it in hell? If anyone knew anything about it, what satisfaction would it offer in that world where other standards of judgment are applied?

Future generations make the same mistake that all previous generations have made, namely that they learn nothing from past things, from the past. They do not remember the lessons history teaches. It is simply forgotten that all technological progress does not mean progress or improvement of human nature.