Ecclesiastes
5:8 – 6:12
Ten Empty Pursuits Apart From God:
Wisdom 2:15-16; Work v.19-21; Possessions v.26; Status 4:4;
Companionship 4:7 -12; Fame 4:16; Money 5:10; Long Life 6:6; Feasting 6:7;
Desire 6:9
5: 7 - 8 Solomon tells
how crooked politicians oppress the poor.
They violate the law by using their authority to help themselves and not
to serve others. He cautions to not be
surprised. It seems that scholars agree
that Solomon is saying that an organized government is better and a king over
the land rather than anarchy. In spite
of corruption in the bureaucracy, it is better.
A few dishonest people may profit from corrupt practices, but everybody
benefits from organized authority. The
ideal is to have a government that is both honest and efficient. Creighton said “Power tends to corrupt;
absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Solomon’s observations bears this out.
The human heart is made to be satisfied only by God 3:11. Jesus warned. “Take heed and beware of
covetousness for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things
which he possesses.” Luke 12:15. A person who loves money is never
satisfied…he always wants more. “The
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
I Tim. 6:10 MONEY DOES NOT SATISFY.
Many think that money will solve every problem. V.11 As money increases relatives and friends will
show up to partake and you can only watch it disappear as they eat it.
v. 12 Solomon says that possessing of wealth does not
guarantee that you nerves will be quiet and you will sleep well. He actually says that the laboring man will
rest better than the rich one. In
paraphrase, the verse would read “The man who works hard sleeps well whether he
eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.”
Rockefeller was the world’s only billionaire, earning about a
million dollars a week. But he was a
sick man who lived on crackers and milk and could not sleep because of
worry. When he started giving his money
away, his health changed radically and he lived to celebrate his 98th
birthday!
Yes, it is good to have the things that money can buy,
provided you don’t lose the things that money can’t buy.
Money cannot provide security. V. 13-17 Two men – one hoarded all his wealth and
ruined himself by becoming a miser; the
other man made some unsound investments and lost his wealth. He was right back where he started from and
had no estate to leave to his son. He
spent the rest of his days in the darkness of discouragement and defeat and did
not enjoy life.
Solomon is not advocating poverty nor riches because both have
their problems. The Preacher was warning
his listeners against the love of money and the delusions that wealth can
bring. In v. 18 – 20, he affirmed once
again the importance of accepting our station in life and enjoying the
blessings that God gives to us.
The thing that is good and fitting for us is to labor
faithfully, enjoy the good things of life, and accept it all as the gracious
gift of God.
There are three ways to get wealth: work for it, steal it or receive it as a
gift. Solomon saw the blessings of life
as God’s gift to those who work and who accept that work as the favor of
God. V. 19!!!
We should take each day as it comes and use it to serve the
Lord, to express gratitude for it and receive it as a gift. The important thing is that we love the Lord,
accept the lot He assigns us and enjoy the blessings He graciously
bestows. If we focus more on the gifts
than on the Giver, we are guilty of idolatry.
If we accept His gifts, but complain about them, we are guilty of
ingratitude. If we hoard His gifts and
will not share them with others we are guilty of indulgence. But if we yield to His will and use what He
gives us for His glory, then, we can enjoy life and be satisfied.
Ch 6 Do you sometimes feel that life is a dead end
street? It will sometimes feel that way
when we don’t teach our goals or when we reach our goals but don’t feel
fulfilled in the achievement. Many Bible
characters experienced discouragement with life…perhaps they wanted to die or
wished he had never been born…Moses, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah, and Jonah. Even Paul despaired of life during a
particularly touch time in his life II Cor. 1:8-11.
It could be that the basic problem is that life confronts us
with too many mysteries we can’t fathom, and too many puzzles we can’t
solve. We want life to make sense. When we can’t see a purpose in life, especially
when we go through deep suffering, we might question God and even wonder if
life is worthwhile.
Solomon discussed three of life’s mysteries in this chapter:
1.
Riches
Without Enjoyment 1: 1-6 No one can
enjoy the gifts of God apart from the God Who gives the gifts. To enjoy the gifts without the Giver is
idolatry and this can never satisfy the human heart. Enjoyment without God is merely entertainment
and it does not satisfy. But enjoyment
with God is enrichment and it brings true joy and satisfaction.
How fortunate a person would be to lack
nothing but how miserable if he or she could not enjoy the blessings of
life. What could keep one from enjoying
life..trouble in the home, illness, death.
Someone else could reap the reward of your labors.
Solomon is saying – enjoy the blessings of
God now and thank Him for all of them.
Don’t PLAN to live – start living now.
Be satisfied with what He gives you and use it all for HIS glory.
In v. 3-6 Solomon is exaggerating in order to
make his point…no matter how much you possess, if you don’t possess the power
to enjoy it, you might just as well never have been born…the man had it ALL but
was not grieved when he died. Relatives
stayed around him only to use his money…wanting to know when he would die. STORY: little boy wanting his grandpa to make
a sound like a frog – “When he croaks, we will be rich!” The rich man was really poor! Solomon’s ? was, “Why did God permit this man
to have wealth and a big family if the man couldn’t enjoy it?”
The problem Solomon faced was not whether
existence is better than nonexistence, but whether there is any purpose behind
the whole seemingly unbalanced scheme of things. He could find no reason for a person to be given
riches and yet be deprived of the power to enjoy them.
It is a matter of character and not
circumstances. Phil. 4:11. Paul carried WITHIN all the resources needed
for facing life courageously and triumphing over difficulties.
Preacher confronted his listeners with the
certainty of death and the futility of life without God.
2.
Labor
without satisfaction v. 7 – 9
Rich and poor alike labor to saty alive. We must either produce food or earn money to
buy it. The rich man can let his money
work for him, but the poor man has to use his muscles if he and his family are
going to eat. After all the labor, the
appetite of neither one is fully satisfied.
Solomon is not suggesting that it is wrong
either to work or to eat. You can enjoy
both. BUT if life consists ONLY in
working and eating, then we are being controlled by our appetites. Self preservation is a law of life, but we
are made in the image of God must live for something higher.
The two questions of v. 8 are answered with a
“NONE”. If all you do is attempt to
satisfy your appetite, there is no satisfaction. Solomon is not belittling either education or
self-improvement. He is saying that we
must have something greater for which to live.
Solomon is saying “It is better to have little and really enjoy it than
to dream about much and never attain it.”
Dreams have a way of becoming nightmares if we don’t come to grips with
reality
Dream dreams…yes, but take care that our
ambition is motivated by the glory of God and not the praise of men. True satisfaction comes when we do the will
of God from the heart. John 4:34.
The will of God can be riches with enjoyment
and labor with satisfaction. Psa. 16:11
3.
Questions without answers v. 10-12
True happiness is not the automatic result of
making a good living…it is the blessed by product of making a good life. We must not devote our lives to pursuit of
happiness…we will be miserable. If we
devote our lives to doing God’s will, we will find happiness as well.
Solomon is saying, “There are some questions
about life that nobody can answer. But
our ignorance must not be used as an excuse for skepticism or unbelief. Instead, our ignorance should encourage us to
have faith in God. We don’t live on
explanation; we live on promises.”
v. 10 The fact that God has named everything
does not mean that our world is a prison and we have no freedom to act. We must not alter the names that the LORD God
gave things…sin is sin; obedience is obedience; truth is truth. If we alter these names, we move into a world
of illusion and lose touch with reality.
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