Eccl 6_7-12
The other week I took my car in for some work. The man was very nice and after making some observations he came back with a long list of repairs that were needed.
As he talked me through the list he pointed out what the problems were and how much the solutions would cost. He also warned me I could be endangering those in the car if I ignored some of the problems.
This morning we will be looking at Ecclesiastes 6:7-12 where Solomon will be doing something similar to my mechanic. (READ)
These verses close the first section of this book. Solomon has been making observations about life around him and now he summarises what he has seen.
Like my mechanic Solomon points out the major problem that he has seen with life under the sun. He then presents the solution and finally he warms us of the dangers of ignoring that solution.
I. In verses 7-8 we see the Problem
A. 7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. According to Solomon the problem is that people are caught up in this endless cycle of striving for satisfaction but never achieving it.
Solomon uses our constant need for food as a picture of a greater hunger in our soul. Solomon literally says yet his soul is not satisfied.
Q: Are you ever tempted to believe that if you could only get that one thing then you would be satisfied?
In chapters 1-6 Solomon has given us a whole list of things that people, including himself, pursued in order to gain ultimate satisfaction.
· Some hoped that the next new thing would satisfy. 1:9; That next thing could be anything from a new car to a new spouse.
· Solomon tried higher education hoping if would fulfil him. 1:16;
· Then he built grand estates with gardens and servants 2:4-5;
· He looked to riches, sexuality and the arts for meaning. 2:8;
· In 2:9 Solomon said he looked for satisfaction in achievement and recognition.
· He pursued hard work in 2:11;
· He was optimistic that worldly wisdom would fill the void. 2:12;
· And last week he added a large family 6:3; and a long life 6:6 to that list.
Q: Did any of these things deliver ultimate joy and satisfaction? Not according to Solomon. He declares it vanity to think otherwise. They only offer fleeting satisfaction. They cannot provide what man desperately longs for.
Andii Bowsher When we try to deal with our spiritual hunger in these ways it’s a bit like starving people trying to satisfy their hunger by eating grass. It does indeed fill their stomach and may take away some of the hunger pains but malnourishment is still an issue and death draws closer.
B. Solomon discovered that this is a universal problem for mankind. v. 8 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?
The wise and the foolish both fall this trap of seeking satisfaction in the wrong things. Worldly wisdom may help someone get more stuff but even a mountain of stuff cannot satisfy the soul.
Taking a vow of poverty does not take away the problem either. Just read Martin Luther’s struggles before he put his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
C. What are we to do? We have this deep longing in our souls for ultimate satisfaction but we look around us and nothing in this world can satisfy.
II. In verse 9 Solomon begins to look at the Solution
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite:
A. We have a similar saying today: A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Better to be content with what is before your eyes than constantly hungering for that which does not satisfy.
B. This is only a brief summary of what Solomon has already said a few different ways in Ecclesiastes.
2:24 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,
3:12-13 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
5:18-19 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.
You will notice that in all three of those passages the ability to enjoy work and possessions and even food comes as a gift from God. Satisfaction cannot be found outside of Him.
C. The dissatisfaction we feel in life ought to drive us to the only one who can satisfy us.
(ILL) In 397AD Augustine wrote these words “O God you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you”
· This rest is what Jesus was inviting us to experience when He said come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28)
· The woman at the well went from one man to the next trying to find satisfaction but Jesus showed her a better way. He said: Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14)
· He told the crowd who was looking for bread to satisfy them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ( John 6:35)
If you try to satisfy yourself with anything else you will never find rest. Jeremiah’s words that I quoted last week have been coming to my mind regularly; The LORD is my portion, says my soul, (Lamentations 3:24)
David said it like this in Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
Q: Can you say the Lord is all you need? Q: Have you set the Lord always before you? Putting the Lord first in your life is the only solution to the problem of dissatisfaction that people experience.
Yet the truth is, many don’t believe this. People do feel dissatisfied but because of sin they also feel they can fix it themselves. So they try yoga, psychology, crystals, alcohol or countless other methods to try mask their emptiness. None of them work.
III. So in verses 9b-12 Solomon warns people of the Danger of ignoring God’s solution.
Q: What happens if you recognise the problem but reject the solution given here?
A. You will continue to experience vanity. v. 9b this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Solomon is saying this about those who follow the wandering of their appetite instead of finding their satisfaction in the Lord.
I often hear this advice given to young people: Follow your heart. That sounds a lot like following the wandering of the appetite. It’s telling them to do what seems best to them.
But this is bad advice even for a Christian who has been given a new heart by the Lord. It’s bad counsel because there’s still a remnant of sin in your life that might steer your heart in the wrong direction.
The Lord says trust in Me but your heart may tell you to trust in wealth or something else contrary to God’s Word.
To avoid wasting your life striving after wind you need to follow the Lord’s directions.
B. If you reject God’s solution you will also end up striving against God’s sovereignty.
10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.
We think we will be satisfied if we could just arrange the circumstances of our life as we see fit. But verse 10 reminds that it is not in our power to do that.
When Solomon says Whatever has come to be has already been named. It draws our attention to the one who did the naming.
It was the Lord who called the sky, sky and the sea, sea. In the Bible the one doing the naming has the right and ability to rule over what is named. God has the right and ability to rule over everything that He has created.
Solomon is also reminding us that God has established His will and it is not for us to question it. Instead we ought to accept and rejoice in it because it is good and perfect.
There is another not so subtle reminder of who is in charge. He says and it is known what man is. What is man? Basically dust fashioned by the sovereign hand of God and brought to life by the breath of God.
We are not physically or morally able to raise a dispute with the sovereign Lord.
Isaiah 45:9 says: “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?
If the Lord invited us to come to Him for meaning and purpose and happiness and satisfaction then we do well to obey.
To look elsewhere for satisfaction is to disregard and disobey the Sovereign Lord of the universe. God is the potter. We are the clay. There will be no joy if we contend with Him.
C. Another danger is seen in verse 11. If you reject God’s solution you end up speaking empty words.
11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?
We know we can’t physically fight against God but sometimes we use our words to attack his sovereignty. Why is this happening to me? Why is life is so unfair! What did I do to deserve this?
These questions are vain and Solomon says that they are of no advantage. (ILL) I pity those who go to a counsellor only to be told to get angry at God if they feel like it.
It would be of greater worth to be told to trust God and remain silent. Job learned this by the end of his trials.
For awhile he really questioned God. Finally the Lord questioned him and at the end of that questioning Job said I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. "You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42
(ILL) I pray you will learn from Job and not let vain words towards the Lord come from your mouth.
D. If you try to gain satisfaction apart from the Lord you end up turning away from the only one who really knows what is good for you. v. 12a
12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow?
The Psalmists rejoiced that the Lord knew what was good for them.
Psalm 107:9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.
Psalm 119:68 You are good and do good;
Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
(ILL) As parents we might have to discipline our children or give them a fowl smelling medicine for their good. By and large our children trust that we are doing what is best for them.
Can you trust the Lord like that? The path He lays out for you will not always be easy but it will always be for your good. One day in the not too distant future you will look back and marvel at God’s goodness. Until you get the big picture trust Him.
E. Finally, if you try to gain satisfaction apart from the Lord you end up turning away from the only one who knows the future.
v.12b For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
What will the weather be like on September 24th? I assume it will be raining but I don’t know. What will I be doing on September 24th? Lord willing, I’ll be in Switzerland but I really don’t know.
Contrast my uncertainty about the future with Isaiah 46:8-10 “Remember this and stand firm, … I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purposes
God sees the whole span of your life. He ordained the day of your birth and He knows when He will call you to stand before Him.
He also knows what to send in your life today to increase your joy and satisfaction tomorrow.
Conclusion
Instead of looking to the things of the world for meaning and purpose cling to Christ. Look to Him for satisfaction. Entrust your future into His hands, determine not to allow anything to take His rightful place as head of your life.
Looking to the Lord like this is not a once off event. Each time the world or your heart says Here is something that will really satisfy you! You have an opportunity to reaffirm your satisfaction in Jesus Christ.
There is a huge difference between enjoying something as a gift from the Lord and looking to that thing as a source of satisfaction.
(ILL) I can enjoy money as a gift from the Lord but the moment I start:
· hoarding it,
· or moaning when I don’t have enough of it,
· or I do something illegal to get more of it
Then I have crossed the line. At that point money I’m seeking to find my satisfaction in money and not the Lord. This can only end in vanity.
The same thing could be said about anything in this world that tempts us away from finding our satisfaction in the Lord.
The Lord has been using this book to challenge my own heart. I pray that He will loosen your grip on the things of this world as well so that you can truly be satisfied in the Lord.
Let’s pray!
