Ecclesiastes 6 (Fill-in)
Notes
Transcript
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
“evil” - something bad, not necessarily talking about a specific sin
must keep in mind that since this is something bad, we have to think about what is good in the situation
very common
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
“either because they are suddenly taken away from him by the hand of God and curse of God and given to others or because God gives him up to a base and covetous mind”
God had very much blessed this person, wanted nothing
God gives us blessings in this life, even things as simple as eating and drinking good stuff
family, good times, america, air conditioning, etc
God gave us these things for a reason
God does not want us to be down here being miserable all of our life
think of the blessings not only in the physical sense, but also the spiritual sense, we have so very much to be thankful for and to look forward to.
the guy was not able to enjoy what God had given Him, and it was taken away
3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
“untimely” - stillborn in the Hebrew
so this guy could have lived the greatest life, he had so much, he lived to be old and had a large family, but he could not enjoy it
why couldn’t he enjoy it? his soul was not filled with good
we have to focus on the spiritual things of this life, and the good spiritual things at that
we have God, we have the water of life that any who drinks of it may be filled and have life and lief abundantly
in the ideal state of mind we should be able to live in a box on the streets and be thankful because we have God
are you able to do that today?
think of Peter in prison, think of Paul in prison
they weren’t sitting there feeling sorry for themselves, they were doing the work of God and rejoicing while they were in prison
think about what prison is, you’re locked in a cage like some kind of rabid animal
yet they were able to rejoice in God, because their soul was filled with good
An untimely birth; which as it never enjoyed the comforts, so it never felt the calamities, of this life, which are far more considerable than its comforts, at least to a man that denied himself the comforts, and plunged himself into the toils and vexations, of this life.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
this seems to be talking about the stillborn, as we’ll see more of in the next verse
The birth of the stillborn was in vain—it did it no good to be born.
The name of the stillborn is forgotten.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
someone who is discontent with this life, even though he has it all, has more rest
we often focus on the anxieties of this life, but we can’t forget that we have God on our side, even though it’s easy to say and easy to forget
we have to live a lifestyle and have a mindset that is dependent on God - that’s what God wants from us
why was this man so miserable? - He was not focused on God, he was not focused upon heavenly things
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
It affirms the fact that both the miserly rich man who lives two thousand years, as well as the stillborn who never lived one day, both go to the same place—the grave. And if the miserly rich man never enjoyed the fruit of his labor during his life, his fate was no better than that of the stillborn who never had opportunity to enjoy any of the blessings of life. In a sense, it would have been better for the miserly rich man to have never lived than to have experienced the toil, anxiety, and misery of accumulating his wealth, but never enjoying any of the fruits of his labor.
look at the opportunity this guy had - he only had one life
our life is like a puff of smoke, and it goes by quickly, so what our we doing with our life?
are we being a good steward of our time?
are we living a miserable life? we don’t have to
it’s about a change of attitude
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
the words of Christ, our risen Savior who we will all meet one day in heaven
He clearly tells us here what to focus on - seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God
we have to have an attitude where God is first in our life
not only do we need that, He needs to be our friend, our rock, our fortress
think of Eden - God wanted an earthly family, God wanted to commune with us as people
He knows the hairs on each of our heads - He would not know this or even care about this if He didn’t care about us
God has given us all, each and every one of us, some kind of blessings in this life - what are we doing with them? how are we feeling about them?
when we sit down and eat a good meal, do we think about it as a blessing from God?
when we sit in the air conditioning, are we thinking about the fact that this is a blessing from God to enjoy?
when one looks outside, do we appreciate the incredible beauty and complexity and wonder of the nature and the world we live in?
ultimately, are we seeking the Kingdom FIRST - that’s what’s important from the mouth of Jesus Christ
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
you ever have a hobby or something you like, and you buy this and that and spend a bunch of money on it and you just keep buying and buying and buying?
we as humans always want something more when it comes to the physical
yet such is the vanity of this world, and the folly of mankind, that men are insatiable in their desires, and restless in their endeavours, after more and more, and never say they have enough.
we get used to things and we are never satisfied
however, we can be satisfied with the water of life that is free to all
this is where true satisfaction with this life
communion with God, seeking first the Kingdom, having God to be our friend
He can provide us with something that nothing else in this world can provide, He can fill us
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
Both are subject to the same toils in this life - anxiety, hard times, etc
additionally, they all end up in the same place -ashes to ashes dust to dust
so what makes the difference? enjoying the blessings of this life
how do we do this? seeking first the Kingdom, being close to God
Again, God gave us these blessings because He wants us to have them, and He wants us to use it for the good
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
better is just taking it all in - taking our blessings in and enjoying them
enjoying our food and drink, enjoying what God has blessed us with
instead of catering to our human nature, which is insatiable, which is prone to worrying, to being stuck on the things of this world
Christianity, belief in Christ and following Christ, is a SPIRITUAL life - if we are to call ourselves believers and followers in Christ, this is what we should be focused upon
remember that earlier Solomon called this an “evil”
where is our mindset? are we just a believer with Christ and Christianity tacked on?
we will all stand before Jesus one day, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord
will we be able to stand before Him and say, “With my life, I sought the Kingdom FIRST”?
we only have this one life, like a puff of smoke, here today gone tomorrow
we are nothing in the context of eternity, 80-90 years is nothing
and it is very shortsighted to waste our life worrying