Take your Bibles and open them to Ecclesiastes
chapter 5 Beginning in verse 8 And we're going
to take this through about chapter 6 verse 9
kind of a longer text today and Let me just by
way of introduction while you turn there just
Tell you something that you may know that at
times Ecclesiastes can be a challenging read
Especially as we get further into the book we
see times where it's difficult to discern What
is the section of scripture? How do things go
together? Ecclesiastes is going to start looking
a little bit like Proverbs and if you've ever
tried to discern the sections the pericopes of
Proverbs it can be a real challenge and the same
thing exists within Ecclesiastes But there's
also this that there are topics That Kohelet
which is the name for teacher or preacher we
believe to be Solomon there are things that he
addresses within this book that are challenging
for us to read and That's going to be true within
this text as well. But what is he doing? Solomon
is giving you his his honest Observations of
life under the Sun and he doesn't hold back right
And so when he addresses things that might make
us feel uncomfortable, know that these are the
things that he sees and they may be the things
that you see as well. And so we need God's wisdom
to help us understand these things. And so with
all of that out of the way now, let's go to the
text, Ecclesiastes chapter five, eight through
six, verse nine. If you see in a province the
oppression of the poor and the violation of justice
and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.
For the high official is watched by a higher,
and there are yet higher ones over them. But
this is gained for a land in every way. A king
committed to cultivated fields. He who loves
money will not be satisfied with money. Nor he
who loves wealth with his income. This also is
vanity When goods increase they increase to eat
them and what advantage has their owner but to
see them with his eyes Sweet is the sleep of
a laborer Whether he eats little or much, but
the full stomach of the rich will not let him
sleep There is a grievous evil that I've seen
under the Sun riches were kept by their owner
to his hurt And those riches were lost in a bad
venture. And he is the father of a son, but is
nothing in his hand. And as he came from his
mother's womb, he shall go again naked as he
came, and shall take nothing for his toil that
he may carry away in his hand. This also is a
grievous evil. Just as he came, so shall he go.
And what gain is there to him who toils for the
wind? Moreover, All his days he eats in darkness,
in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold,
what I have seen to be good and fitting is to
eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil
with which one toils under the sun the few days
of his life that God has given him, for this
is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given
wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them
and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil,
This is the gift of God, for he will not much
remember the days of his life, because God keeps
him occupied with joy in his heart. There is
an evil that I've seen under the sun, and it
lies heavy on mankind, a man to whom God gives
wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks
nothing of all that he desires, yet God does
not give him power to enjoy them. but a stranger
enjoys them. This is vanity. It is a grievous
evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and
lives many years, so that the days of his years
are many, but his soul is not satisfied with
life's good things, and he also has no burial,
I say that a stillborn child is better off than
he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness,
and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover,
It has not seen the sun or known anything, yet
it finds rest rather than he. Even though he
should live a thousand years twice over, yet
enjoy no good, do not all go to the one place?
All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his
appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage
has the wise man over the fool? And what does
the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself
before the living? Better is the sight of the
eyes than the wandering of the appetite This
also is vanity and a striving after wind He who
has ears let him hear and let us pray Blessed
Lord Who caused all of Holy Scripture to be written
for our learning grant that we may in such a
way learn and hear and mark and hide in our hearts
that we would inwardly digest your word. Father,
as we come upon this challenging text, Lord,
we ask that you would give us insight and encouragement
and point our way to the one who is making all
things new. We pray it in his name. Amen. Children.
Do any of you get up on Saturday mornings and
watch cartoons? I used to do that too. Saturday
mornings, parents are sleeping in a little bit.
Do you want to know the cartoon I used to watch
a lot as a kid? DuckTales. Do you remember DuckTales?
I'm not talking about the new one. I haven't
seen that. I can't endorse it. But the old DuckTales,
the one with Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey
Dewey and Louie. Do you remember what I'm talking
about? Yeah, it was a great cartoon. But you
know what I remember the most about the main
character Scrooge McDuck? He was really rich.
He had a lot of money. Matter of fact, the enduring
image that I have of Scrooge McDuck, and Scrooge
obviously comes from That old movie, that old
book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You
remember that one? Ebeneezer Scrooge. But Scrooge
in Duck Tales had so much money that he filled
up like a barn. He had like a silo filled with
gold coins. And you know what that character
used to love to do? He'd put on his bathing suit
and he would dive into the money and swim around.
That's how much he loved money. that he loved
to swim in it. Now the other thing that I remember
about that character is that he was rarely happy,
right? That unless Scrooge was playing in his
money or being handed a bag of gold, he always
looked miserable. And so children, here's what
I want you to hear today. Having a lot of money,
Having a new bicycle, having the newest electronic
device, maybe one day having this car that you've
always dreamed of, maybe one day the house or
the boat or whatever it is. These can be good
things, but they will not ultimately make you
satisfied. They will not ultimately make you
happy. We need more than these things. And so
the lesson is this. that are you finding satisfaction,
happiness, blessedness in Christ? It's in Christ
alone that you can truly be satisfied, right?
And so there's a few different ways that Solomon
shows this to us in this text here. Four ways
to be specific. One, the love of money is a bad
investment. Number two, the love of money is
a foolish investment. Three, the love of money
is a joyless investment. And four, the love of
money is a fleeting investment. And so that's
what we're looking at today. And ultimately we
must learn that in order to be satisfied, we
must know God through Christ. and then and only
then we'll be able to enjoy what he gives to
us. And so let's look at this first point. The
love of money is a bad investment, particularly
in verses eight through 11 there of chapter five.
He says in effect, don't be surprised, don't
be amazed at the oppression of the poor. And
don't be amazed that there is injustice in this
world. Don't be surprised that there's unrighteousness
in this world. And then as he proceeds in verse
10, don't be surprised that these things have
to do with money. Don't be surprised when you
see corruption or oppression and that it has
to do with money. Because what does it say? He
who loves money will not be satisfied with money.
Nor he who loves wealth with his income. This
also is vanity Right and so kind of what the
problem is here is misplaced trust What are you
trusting in? Are you trusting in your bank account?
Are you are you trusting in your 401k? Are you
trusting in your wealth? And as I say this is
kind of misplaced trust We should also acknowledge
here that what he's really getting at is the
love of money, right? The love of money is the
problem and you see this really really well Kind
of the go -to text for this is first Timothy
chapter 6 And I'll just read three verses of
this first Timothy 6 verses 7 through 10 And
this is one of the places that it would be good
to just have a marker in your Bible as you think
about wealth. It says, for we brought nothing
into the world and we cannot take anything out
of the world. But if we have food and clothing
with these, we will be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation, into
a snare. into many senseless and harmful desires
that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil. It is through this craving that some
have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many pangs. Friends, the problem
is the love of money. You remember that Jesus
and Matthew 22 sums up the law and what does
he say to love there? he says to love God with
everything you've got and Then he says you are
to love your neighbor as yourself And so if you're
loving God with everything you've got and if
you are loving your neighbor You cannot possibly
be giving all of your devoted love to money and
so don't do it for you remember what Jesus says
In Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, you cannot
serve two masters, can you? Friends, if money
is your God, then God is not. If money is your
God, then God is not. And it's at this point
that there's usually some objections that are
made. That those with money will say, Hey, it's
not wrong to have money. It's okay, matter of
fact. And that is true. But the other objection
might come from those who are doing without,
and they might say, you don't know what it's
like to do without. And both of those things
may be true, but if we're jumping to the... to
the objections too quickly. If we are seeking
to defend our wealth or to defend our poverty,
we are missing the point of this passage. We
are missing the point of this passage. I want
you to really take this in here. And the way
in which I want you to take it in is our second
point to see that the love of money is a foolish
investment. Look at verse I think it's about
verse 13 and 14. There's a grievous evil that
I've seen under the sun. Riches were kept by
their owner to his hurt, and those riches were
lost in a bad venture. This is talking then about
the mismanagement of money, about corruption,
about bad leaders, bad investors, skyrocketing
prices, all the things that we see that can happen
with money. I wonder if you remember this particularly
bad deal or maybe we should say lack of a deal.
Since I've already referenced my childhood and
watching cartoons, anybody remember going to
Blockbuster Video in the 90s and early 2000s?
Remember that? That's just what you did on Friday
nights as a young man, kid even. You look forward
to perusing the aisles. Finding a VHS tape that
you could take home and you could watch and just
there's so much nostalgia there Well, I wonder
if you remember this that in the early 2000s
I forget the year there was a small startup company
It was kind of small that approached blockbuster
video and said hey Would you buy our company
from us for the sum of 50 million dollars? Anybody
remember? what the company was that asked Blockbuster
to buy them? It was Netflix, right? In the heyday
of Blockbuster, there were 9 ,000 stores. Do
you know how many there are today? There's just
one. And it's more of a tourist attraction in
Oregon than a place that actually rents videos.
But just think about that. Netflix approached
them asking for $50 million. Blockbuster reportedly
laughed them out of the room. Today, Netflix
is worth about $360 billion, what might have
been for Blockbuster. And so all of this is showing
us here that yes, bad financial decisions can
lead to significant problems and ruin, right?
There's also this danger that the more that you
have the more you have to lose. And verse 12
kind of paints this picture of the more that
you have, the more that you might be constantly
worrying about it. The more that it might keep
you up at night worrying what's going to happen
with all of your wealth, bad business deals,
a stock market crash, corruption. Your wealth
can be gone as quickly as it came. And so what's
the answer then? Is it to cling tighter to our
wealth? Is it to have better financial advisors?
Is it to invest in AI? I'd love to know what
Solomon would think about artificial intelligence.
Knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord. But
is the answer to cling tighter to our wealth?
You know the answer to this. It's not to cling
tighter to our wealth. No. You remember what
Jesus said in Mark 8, what does it profit a man
to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
We are to cling tighter to the one who humbled
himself becoming obedient even to the point of
death on a cross. This should show us that we
need to cling to Christ for what Christ offers
to us will not go away. What Christ offers to
us is eternal. And so friends, don't put all
of your stock in stocks. Put it in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Why? Because of point three. Wealth does
not produce enjoyment. God does. To put all of
our effort and all of ourselves into money is
a joyless investment. And so look at verse 18.
Behold, What I have seen to be good and fitting
is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all
the toil with which one toils under the sun the
few days of his life that God has given him,
for this is his lot. We are to find enjoyment
in God and in what he gives us. God gives us
the wealth. God gives us the possessions. And
according to verse 19, he gives us the ability
to enjoy those things. But friends, the sad observation
from Solomon is here that there are people who
have everything and yet enjoy nothing. And just
in case you're wondering, can I trust Solomon
on this? Remember how wealthy Solomon was. For
those who are in the fellowship Sunday school
class, you'll know that. We just covered it.
Solomon was, during his time, perhaps the richest
man on the face of the earth, right? And so he's
saying, listen, I've been there. I've done that.
I've tried that. Wealth does not ultimately satisfy.
Whatever it is. Maybe it's the bursting bank
account. Maybe it's the house or houses. Maybe
it's the cars. You name it. But without the ability
to enjoy it, friends, what is the point? It's
like, imagine having the most savory meal laid
out before you, just your favorite food, but
not having the taste buds to taste it. Imagine
having the fastest car on the planet and not
having the open road. If you can't enjoy what
God gives, friends, what is the point? God gives
his children good gifts to enjoy the fruit of
their labor, but some are given wealth without
the ability to enjoy it, and the text says that
a stranger will enjoy it instead. And then he
gives us some illustrations. Look in verses three
through six of chapter six. Illustrations. He
talks about this man. who lives for a very long
time and has a hundred children, but yet he can't
enjoy it. His soul is not satisfied. And from
an ancient perspective, to have a quiver full
of children would be seen as incredible blessing,
right? But those 100 blessings for this man,
for this illustration, those blessings are not
enough for him because he lacks one more blessing,
the ability to enjoy it all. And so a life without
joy is under the sun compared in kind of a difficult
way compared to a stillborn child. Why would
why would Solomon speak in this way? Because
he's saying to us that a child who does not live.
A child who is elect, a child of believers perhaps,
this child has something that the rich man does
not have. Child has rest. Hear this from Zach
S. Wine who says, for all of his wealth, he possesses
no contentment. Restless and unfamiliar with
true joy, the wealthy neighbor is impoverished.
The stillborn child possesses the riches of rest
and provision with God that the wealthy neighbor
knows nothing of. And then the second illustration
is here, if a man lives a thousand years twice
and does not enjoy, what good were all of those
years? This is all getting to discontentment.
And friends, we only have so long to learn contentment.
Because just like point number two shows us that
wealth can go away, point number four shows us
that we go away, right? That to put all of our
stock in wealth is unwise because there will
be a day that we will not have it, not because
it goes away, but because we do. Wealth can be
a fleeting investment. Look at verse 15 of chapter
five, and I read that part again. As he came
from his mother's womb, he shall go again, naked
as he came and shall take nothing for his toil
that he may carry away in his hand. It's been
said by nearly everybody, right? You can't take
it with you. It's been said there are no pockets
in a shroud, right? He's showing us here that
we will all die. And so to put all of our investing
into money and not the Lord is unwise because
you can't take it with you. And as you get to
chapter six, verse six, maybe you see something
that might trip us up a little bit. It says at
the end of that verse, do not all go to the one
place. This is the point where I might say is
Solomon confused or is Solomon not understanding
heaven and hell friends? He's not talking about
heaven and hell here. He hasn't got there yet
He's making observations under the Sun and his
observation is this that yes, we will all die.
We will all perish He's pondering life under
the Sun and saying those who die alone unsatisfied
lacking joy. There is no advantage to that To
live in complete misery is the way of the fool.
God has given us this life in order to enjoy
his good gifts. And so are you enjoying what
God has given to you? Are you thankful for what
God has given to you? I would love to see some
heads nodding here, right? But also understand
this, Solomon's not talking about living your
best life. Sometimes we think that he is. Years
ago, I heard maybe the worst sermon that I have
ever heard. I heard a preacher at one time title
his sermon YOLO. Do you know what that means?
You only live once. He titled the sermon YOLO.
He'd read from the scriptures, closed the Bible,
and never proceeded to talk about Jesus whatsoever,
and just talked about living your best life.
Friends, that's not what Solomon is getting at
here. He is not urging you to live your best
life. He is urging you to see where true joy
is found. And friends, it's not found in your
wealth. It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And as you are in Christ, and I pray that all
of us are, we then recognize there are good things
we need to be doing with our wealth. We need
to be tithing to the church. We need to be supporting
mercy ministries. We need to be sending out missionaries
to go all over the world to send out the gospel.
Right. These are good ways to use our money,
helping the needy. Right. And using wealth for
a godly means means loosening our grip on wealth
because we realize and I hope that you do that
it was never yours in the first place. It was
never yours in the first place. And so, yes,
we should recognize from where it comes. We should
also use wisdom and knowing how to give. But
God has not given you wealth to hoard it. God
has not given you wealth to keep it all to yourself.
He's given it to you to take care of your family.
He's given it to you to bless others, to bless
Him. And He's given you wealth in order that
you would learn to trust Him. And so what are
you striving for? For whom are you striving?
Are you striving simply for yourself? Or are
you striving for God and his kingdom? As I begin
to conclude, I want to remind you of a story
from Scripture. You remember, I'm sure, because
we covered it recently, the story of Jesus feeding
the 5 ,000. And remember, feeding the 5 ,000
men, there were also women and children there,
so a whole host of people. Jesus feeds well the
next day after he does that the crowd that he
is fed made up of believers and unbelievers follow
Jesus and Jesus says to them truly truly I say
to you you are seeking me Not because you saw
signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves
Do not work for the food that perishes but for
the food that endures to eternal life. Friends,
money, stuff, the next great meal, these are
good things, but it all will pass. And so if
you are chasing after wealth and wealth alone,
you are chasing after the wind. To bow to wealth
is to worship that which cannot save you. cannot
provide eternity for you and may run dry before
you die. And so Jesus promises a better way to
bow not to money but to God. In Christ is where
true satisfaction is. Money like that good meal
might be good for a time, but without God you
will not have the ability to enjoy it and you
will be impoverished in the end. Instead, look
to the one who sought you out. Look to the one
who, speaking of joy, according to Hebrews 12,
he is the author and the perfecter of your faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right
hand of God. Look to the one, speaking of satisfaction,
whose life and death satisfied divine justice.
Look to the one who atoned for your sins perfectly.
And knowing what Jesus has done for us, should
we not then pursue him with everything we've
got? Of course we should. And doesn't Jesus promise
us much better things than we could ever attain
in this fallen world? And so friends, remember
the introit from today's worship service. Seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all of these things will be added unto you. Let
us pray.