Ecclesiastes 2:12-26
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Recap
Recap
Last time we were together Scott Wages taught the first 11 verses of Ecclesiastes 2.
Can anyone tell me what those 11 verses are teaching us?
Seeking pleasure or living a self indulgent life is like grabbing smoke. Its fake, a mirage.
What word has Ecclesiastes taught us that means vapor or smoke (fleeting, temporary)?
Vanity or Hevel
What is the point of it all? What is the point of my life?
Doctrinal Depth Tour
Doctrinal Depth Tour
What is the chief end of man?:
“To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” - Westminster Catechism
Who is the author?
Solomon (probably).
What do we know about Solomon?
God made him the wisest man to ever exist. God also gave him wealth and popularity and a long life.
He had riches galore.
He had all the toys he wanted.
He was honored/important/popular.
He had a long life.
He had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
Early in life Solomon walked in faith but Eventually Solomon strayed from God.
Solomon drifted from God and chased after everything his heart desired. He had anything and everything He wanted.
Solomon chased his dreams and reached them.
He married women who worshipped false Gods so he worshiped several false Gods.
He had all he could ask for so he loved the gifts and not the giver.
He was powerful so who needs God’s strength...
He was important, he was wise so he didn't seek God for wisdom.
Sure he walked away from God but he had everything!
He wrote this book near the end of his luxurious life...
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
Pray.
So Solomon totally changes gears here.
He chased pleasures, loose living, and extravagance and found it to be hevel.
So next he looks to find meaning in wise living and hard work.
“The Grind” if you will. He’s gonna be the best he can be. Work hard and be successful.
So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
12 - There is no meaning to be found in chasing after pleasure like a fool.
13 -Living wisely seems to bring fulfillment “I’ll try that.”
Not wisdom as in “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” but just general wisdom
Saving money is wiser than blowing your check on Friday
Hard work is better than laziness
Being kind to others generally means they’ll be kind to you
Be prepared
God has designed the universe to work in a certain way. When we operate in His general order things naturally work better.
This is what we call “common grace.”
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Good doesnt just bless believers He blesses all people in some ways.
Common grace is God being kind and gracious to the world. It's different than the grace that we recieve through saving faith In Jesus (Saving Grace).
So God’s common grace makes it so that if we generally do things the way He designed them to work we experience His blessing
Ex: Breathing air blesses me with oxygen, Breathing water not so much. People who eat healthy will generally live longer. Practice makes me better than being lazy.
14 - Solomon knows this and chases meaning in wise living.
What problem does he find with this approach to find meaning?
Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
Either foolish or wise we all just die in the end.
Death is the great equalizer.
Being a fool who lives the wild life.... Vanity!
Living wisely and working hard....Vanity!
(Apart from faith in Christ) Life in a fallen sinful world is pointless!
It’s a redundant meaning less cycle.
We are all dogs chasing our tails.
No lasting joy or fulfillment to be found...
Is it really though? Wouldn't it be awesome to work hard and be successful?
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
We work hard so we can rest and enjoy what we've earned but we never really rest.
We can't rest truly when our hearts and minds are chasing, dreaming, screaming after the next dead end we think will satisfy us.
We can’t rest because we worry. What if I dont ever get there? What if I lose it?
When we look for ultimate Joy in our performance/work, we’ll never be satisfied, only anxious, tired, and stressed.
Carson Beck worked real hard to hand off a bowl game to Gunner Stockton.
If being the Starting QB is where Beck finds purpose how fulfilled do you think he's felt the last few weeks?
That’s what Solomon is saying, he worked so hard and tried to lead the kingdom with wisdom, but end the end the kingdom split and was left to two unsuccessful kings.
We can’t find purpose in pleasures and we can't find meaning hard work and wisdom.
“What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” - Westminster Catecism
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
You want to waste your life?
Find something that you think will give your life worth and chase after it will all of your heart.
You want to find your purpose and live it out?
See the glory of God in sending Jesus (God the Son) to earn righteous you couldn't never work for and to pay the dept of your sin by suffering and dying in your place.
See that God in the Gospel, repent of your rebellion toward God and put your hope in Jesus His live given to you as a gift.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
It’s ok to enjoy God’s good gifts, they're supposed to show us His greatness.
But they were never and can never be the point, He is!
Pray
Small Groups