“Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”

On December 25th at around 7:30am children in Colorado will be opening presents that lie under the Christmas tree. So much joy and so much excitement over all that they have been losing sleep over. The toy that they have been waiting for. New video games. Clothes (for teenagers). There will be dancing around. There will be screaming and tears of joy for the wonderful bounty they are receiving. Then for many… the excitement will wear off within hours. Video games will be finished by the next day. The happiness was there today, but gone within hours or days. The games will sit on the shelf, the toys will end up in the toy box within months and in a black plastic bag to good will in a year. And we again wait for something else. It is here today and gone tomorrow. Our longings never go away for long; they always return.

It is no easy task to walk this earth and find peace. Inside of us, seemingly, something is just not right with things and we are forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching in our souls. We are so overwhelmed with desire that it is hard to come to simple rest. Ronald Rolheiser in his book The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality writes, “As we walk this restless earth, full of desire, we are never fully satisfied. Desire is always stronger than satisfaction.” Sound right? Of course it does and Solomon dealt with this tension years ago. Especially in chapter 6 of Ecclesiastes, said to be one of the darkest chapters in all scriptures.

Our longings never go away for long; they always return.

Preaching the Word: Ecclesiastes—Why Everything Matters Chapter 13: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Ecclesiastes 6:1–12)

It is no easy task to walk this earth and find peace. Inside of us, it would seem, something is at odds with the very rhythm of things and we are forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching. We are so overcharged with desire that it is hard to come to simple rest. Desire is always stronger than satisfaction.” Thus writes Ronald Rolheiser in his book The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality. As we walk this restless earth, full of desire, we are never fully satisfied.

It is no easy task to walk this earth and find peace. Inside of us, it would seem, something is at odds with the very rhythm of things and we are forever restless, dissatisfied, frustrated, and aching. We are so overcharged with desire that it is hard to come to simple rest. Desire is always stronger than satisfaction.” Thus writes Ronald Rolheiser in his book The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality. As we walk this restless earth, full of desire, we are never fully satisfied.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 139). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ecclesiastes 6:1–12 NLT

There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy. A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name, and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use? All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough. So are wise people really better off than fools? Do poor people gain anything by being wise and knowing how to act in front of others? Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. The more words you speak, the less they mean. So what good are they? In the few days of our meaningless lives, who knows how our days can best be spent? Our lives are like a shadow. Who can tell what will happen on this earth after we are gone?

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

Satisfaction Sold Separately

Better Off Dead

A Child is Born

The First thing we will look at today is how prosperity and the power to enjoy it do not come together. Satisfaction is sold separately. Second we will see a shocking comparison that will cause our author to conclude that we might be better off dead. Finally, we will see that life and life more abundant does come from life, but life from the Child born our Emmanuel.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause to look for satisfaction in things that cannot keep our insatiable desires at bay, it is the truth of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to long for the righteousness and satisfaction of the Lord for all eternity.

I. Satisfaction Sold Separately

- “A description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.” - Martin Luther

Preaching the Word: Ecclesiastes—Why Everything Matters Satisfaction Not Guaranteed

a description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.”

A. Quick summary so far. Unsatisfied desire is as old as Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth said, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money” (). After he looks at the vanity of prosperity, Solomon concluded that the only way to find any true satisfaction in life is to trust in the God of joy (see ). But he continues. Soon he was lamenting the many many problems he saw with the meaningless life under the sun.

a description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.”

B. Many people think about life the same way: a long list of disappointments has left them with serious questions about God. The Preacher’s first disappointment related to people’s possessions. Satisfaction, he saw, is not guaranteed.

Ecclesiastes 6:1–2 NLT

There is another serious tragedy I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on humanity. God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.

Many people think about life the same way: a long list of disappointments has left them with serious questions about God.

The Preacher’s first disappointment related to people’s possessions. Satisfaction, he saw, is not guaranteed:

Ecclesiastes 6:

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

C. The man in these verses really looks like he had it all. Not only was he worth a fortune, but he was also famous, which for some, value even more highly than money. Yet for some unspecified reason he was unable to enjoy what he had.

The man in these verses seemed to have it all. Not only was he worth a fortune, but he was also famous, which many people value even more highly than money. Yet for some unspecified reason he was unable to enjoy what he had. Martin Luther called these verses “a description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.”

- Martin Luther called these verses “a description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.”

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

D. Unlike the man described at the end of , the man in chapter 6 had the wealth without the satisfaction. Because satisfaction is not included. In the end he lost everything, and so now he never had the chance to enjoy what he worked a whole lifetime to gain.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Unsatisfied desire is as old as Ecclesiastes. Qoheleth said, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money” (). After he looks at the vanity of prosperity, Solomon concluded that the only way to find any true satisfaction in life is to trust in the God of joy (see ). But he continues. Soon he was lamenting more of the many problems he saw with life under the sun.

a description of a rich man who lacks nothing for a good and happy life and yet does not have one.”

E. Perhaps he lost it all in wartime or through robbery or just threw it away in some risky investment or gambling. Maybe he was too sick to make good use of his wealth or maybe he died before he reached retirement, as many people do even today. Satisfaction is sold separately. It is not included.

Unlike the man described at the end of , the man in chapter 6 had the acquisition without the satisfaction. In the end he lost everything, and thus he never had the chance to enjoy what he worked a lifetime to gain. Perhaps he lost his property in wartime or through theft or threw it away in some risky investment (see ). Maybe he was too sick to make good use of his money or died before he reached retirement (see ), as many people do. But for some providential reason, someone who seemed to have everything that he could want never had the chance to enjoy it. It was here today but gone tomorrow, and when it left, it went to someone else entirely—somebody the man didn’t even know.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

F. Solomon tells us... for some reason, someone who seemed to have everything that he could want never had the chance to enjoy it. It was here today but gone tomorrow, and when it left, it went to someone else entirely—somebody the man didn’t even know. Someone he did not know. It still happens this way does it not?

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

G. The Preacher called this “a grievous evil.” Somthing that makes him sick. He describes it as something that “lies heavy on mankind” (). While this statement may refer to the intensity of the situation, more likely it refers to its frequency. It happens all the time: one person loses everything he has worked so hard to gain, and then someone else comes along to enjoy it. David wrote in one of his psalms...

Psalm 39:6 NLT

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.

Psalm 39:6

The Preacher called this “a grievous evil.” He also described it as something that “lies heavy on mankind” (). While this expression may refer to the severity of the situation, more likely it refers to its frequency. It happens all the time: one person loses everything he has worked so hard to gain, and then someone else comes along to enjoy it. As David wrote in one of his psalms, “man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!” ().

H. So you see once again satisfaction is not included. If anything good can come from this unfortunate situation, it is the recognition that our possessions can never bring us lasting joy. The gifts that God gives us and the power to enjoy those gifts come separately.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (pp. 140–141). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

I. When did we see this simply illustrated? Christmas day. When you saw the dreaded batteries sold separately.

If anything good can come from this unfortunate situation, it is the recognition that our possessions can never bring us lasting joy. The gifts that God gives us and the power to enjoy those gifts come separately. This is why having more money can never guarantee that we will find any enjoyment. Without God, we will still be discontent. It is only when we keep him at the center of our existence that we experience real joy in the gifts that God may give. The fear of the Lord is not just the beginning of knowledge; it is also the source of satisfaction.

J. This is why having more money can never guarantee that we will find any enjoyment. Satisfaction is sold separately. Satisfaction is not included.

- Without God, we will still be discontent. We will always be discontent. We will be painfully discontent.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 141). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

- It is only when we keep the Lord at the center of our existence that we experience real joy in the gifts that God may give.

- The fear of the Lord is not just the beginning of knowledge; it is also the source of satisfaction.

II. Better Off Dead

- If satisfaction is not guaranteed, then maybe we would be better off dead.

If satisfaction is not guaranteed, then maybe we would be better off dead.

A. According to the Word of God. Yes.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 141). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ecclesiastes 6:3–6 NLT

A man might have a hundred children and live to be very old. But if he finds no satisfaction in life and doesn’t even get a decent burial, it would have been better for him to be born dead. His birth would have been meaningless, and he would have ended in darkness. He wouldn’t even have had a name, and he would never have seen the sun or known of its existence. Yet he would have had more peace than in growing up to be an unhappy man. He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment. And since he must die like everyone else—well, what’s the use?

B. This is another one of the Preacher’s juxtaposition statements. He compares one thing to another. He actually compares a man whose life is full of blessing to a child who never sees the light of day. His conclusion is surprising maybe. Given the meaninglessness of life in this fallen world, Qoheleth bitterly concludes that the stillborn child gets the better end of the deal.

This is another one of the Preacher’s “better than” statements, in which he compares one thing to another. In this case, he compares a man whose life is full of blessing to a child who never sees the light of day. Given the vanity of life in this fallen world, Qoheleth bitterly concludes that the stillborn child gets the better end of the bargain.

C. So what do we got here? The man described in these verses had the best life that anyone in Old Testament times could imagine. Ecclesiastes does not tell us how wealthy he was, but in a culture that rightly considered children to be a blessing from the Lord, he had fathered a hundred sons and daughters. He also lived for many years—two thousand, to be exact, which made him more than twice as old as Methuselah.

D. Yet the man still wasn’t satisfied, presumably because he did not have God in his life. Notice that it was his soul, specifically, that was dissatisfied. Something was missing in his life spiritually. There was a hole in his heart.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 141). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

E. Sadly, when the man died, he did not even receive the honor of a decent burial. The Bible does not tell us why his body was left unburied. Maybe he died in battle, or perhaps he was despised by his family. But whatever the reason, the fact that he went unburied would have led many people to conclude that he was under the curse of God.

F. It all goes to show that a person can “have the things men dream of—which in Old Testament terms meant lots and lots of children, and years of life by the thousand—and still depart unnoticed, unlamented and unfulfilled.” Are you kidding me?

Sadly, when the man died, he did not even receive the honor of a decent burial. The Bible does not tell us why his body was left unburied. Maybe he died in battle, or perhaps he was despised by his family. But whatever the reason, the fact that he went unburied would have led many people to conclude that he was under the curse of God. It all goes to show that a person can “have the things men dream of—which in Old Testament terms meant children by the score, and years of life by the thousand—and still depart unnoticed, unlamented and unfulfilled.”

G. As he thinks about this hypothetical situation, the Preacher entertains the thought of non-existence. A person can have everything that life has to offer and still be miserable. But if we are so unhappy with life, then maybe we would be better off never having lived at all.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (pp. 141–142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

H. So the Preacher considers the strange blessedness of a stillborn child. The child “comes in vanity” because its delivery is fruitless (). It “goes in darkness” because it dies before ever seeing the light of day (cf. ). Even its name is covered in darkness—not because the child is never named by his or her parents, but because death shrouds his or her identity and personality. No one ever gets to know the child’s character or abilities. Nor does the child ever get to know this world: “it has not seen the sun or known anything” ().

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

I. Conclusion?

So the Preacher considers the strange blessedness of a stillborn child. The child “comes in vanity” because its delivery is fruitless (). It “goes in darkness” because it dies before ever seeing the light of day (cf. ). Even its name is covered in darkness—not because the child is never named by his or her parents, but because death shrouds his or her identity and personality. No one ever gets to know the child’s character or abilities. Nor does the child ever get to know this world: “it has not seen the sun or known anything” ().

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Maybe it is better that way. “Better to miscarry at birth,” says one commentator, “than to miscarry throughout life.” The stillborn child never has to endure pain, or see suffering, or struggle with the guilt of conscious sin. Best of all, the child is the first to die and therefore the first to find its eternal rest.

- Michael Eaton- “Better to miscarry at birth,” says one commentator, “than to miscarry throughout life.”

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

J. The stillborn child never has to endure pain, or see suffering, or struggle with the guilt of conscious sin. Best of all, the child is the first to die and therefore the first to find its eternal rest.

K. Even someone who lived for two millennia would come to exactly the same end as a stillborn child. Death is the great leveler. No matter how long we live, we all die eventually. But if in the end we all die anyway, then what is the advantage in going on living, especially when life does not happen to be especially enjoyable?

Even someone who lived for two millennia would come to exactly the same end as a stillborn child. Death is the great leveler. No matter how long we live, we all die eventually. The famous neoorthodox theologian Karl Barth took that stark reality very personally. He said, “Some day a company of men will process out to a churchyard and lower a coffin and everyone will go home; but one will not come back, and that will be me.” But if in the end we all die anyway, then what is the advantage in going on living, especially when life does not happen to be especially enjoyable?

L. Remember that when the Preacher says all of this, he is leaving God out of it for the moment. He is thinking mainly in terms of life under the sun, but not in terms of life after death and all the promises God has made about the coming of his kingdom. This life is not all there is. Jesus proved that when he died and rose again, bringing the light of the resurrection out of the darkness of the grave. When believers are buried—and when they bury their little children—it is always in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (pp. 142–143). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 142). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

M. But the Preacher-King is not yet ready to give us that gospel. Instead he is writing to show us our need for God. He does this by telling us that no matter how long we live or how much money we have, it is all meaningless unless we can enjoy it, which we will never be able to do without the power of God. But today I will give the gospel to you.

Ryken, P. G. (2010). Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p. 143). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

III. A Child is Born

- The darkness of the death of a still born and the light of the new born.

A. This is real. No way to sugar coat this section of scripture. He is showing us very very vividly that life without Jesus is not worth living. A life without Jesus is a life better off not lived.

- A Life without the Lord is not worth living.

- A Life without the Lord is not better than not being born.

B. We all know this deep down inside. We do not find satisfaction in the things of the world. We know that we were not made to life life apart from God. We were not made to live this way. We were made to be united with the Lord in all things.

C. Oh but that things called rebellion. We just continue to yearn for independence from God. This is the beginning. This was what happened in the garden of eden. This is that thing that so easily besets us. Sin.

D. Unfortunately we are all infected with it. All have sinned and fallen short. The price to pay is death and facing the wrath of God.

E. But the beautiful thing is that the Lord did not give up on us. We should be eternally grateful for the coming of the Son. The coming of salvation. The reason for the season. This is the truth of the Gospel.

F. Yes we were lost. We were face to face with a life of emptiness. We were all gonna face the wrath of God. But Jesus came into this world. He died for our sins according to the scriptures… He came to seek and to save that which was lost.

G. This means that through Christ we are reconciled to the Living God. We can now have life and life more abundant. We have more than the empty life under the sun, but now we can have everything satisfying under the son.

H. There is hope for us. If you confess...

I. With Christ satisfaction is not sold separately. Because Christ is our satisfaction. The present under the tree will not satisfy. The present that was nailed to the tree is the one that will last forever. In Christ we are not better off dead, we are better off living. In Christ it is not better to be still born, because we are born again…new creations in Christ. Satisfaction guaranteed. Here today