Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 - Delight that Disarms Darkness

Introduction & Review

Vanity, Under the Sun

Under the Sun - Solomon looks with wisdom - seeks to see God’s world as God sees it. Then he turns to us and says, “This is what God’s world is really like if you don’t have God.”

Vanity - A breath, a mist, a vapor. Hevel. Can’t grasp, can’t hold, can’t keep. Ephemeral, Elusive, Enigmatic

Problem of wealth & death

A word on structure

A - vv8-12 goes w/ 6:7-9

B - vv13-17 goes w/ 6:1-6

vv18-20 form the center of the text, and 6:10-12 summarize and push the argument forward

<<READ vv18-20>>

The climax of chapters 5:8-6:12

Think of it like a mountain. Solomon is our guide, helping us navigate past the ravine of greed in verses 8-12 and safely across the poisonous stream of bitterness in verses 13-17, and we summit here, in verses 18-20, and he says, “Behold.” And he gives us a gorgeous vista, a picture of what life could be, if instead of toiling under the sun in love with money, we rejoiced under God, celebrating His gifts, whether few or many. And then, he takes us back down the mountain, past the bitter stream of wealth without God in 6:1-6, and the bottomless maw of covetous idolatry in 6:7-9, and then our mountain guide Solomon debriefs us at the end of chapter 6.

This sort of “mountain” style is really common in Scripture, and it helps us see where the emphasis of the passage is, in this case, verses 18-20. We’ll look at the parallel passages together as we seek to answer the question,

Q. How does God call us to enjoy His good gifts?

Org. Sentence: 3 points

I. Avoid the bottomless pit of greed (5:8-12, 6:7-9)

<<READ vv8-12>>

EXPLAIN:

This is the section I called "the ravine of greed.” <<Sarlacc pit>>

The just king knows that justice produces prosperity - a king for a cultivated field - he knows his wealth, honor, and power are meant to serve the whole land - and that kind of king won’t stand for corruption. Solomon says, “Don’t be surprised when you see corruption, though - the corrupt look out for one another.” But why? What’s their motivation?

Verse 10 tells us, and it’s the empty promise of greed.

Loving money is like falling in love with a mirage. It’s like falling in love with Siri, or Alexa on your phone.

It’s worse - it’s like drinking seawater - every glass makes you thirstier. It cannot satisfy. It cannot slake the thirst. It’s vanity, an empty promise

He gives us this illustration in v11 - if you love money, and you make money, sooner or later you’ll start to notice an inverse relationship taking shape.

Solomon told us about this in chapter 2 - the more he built his kingdom, the more people he needed to manage it.

For every steak he ate, he was watching more and more cattle go elsewhere. If you love wealth, eventually you figure out that you’re actually consuming or using a smaller and smaller chunk of your own pie.

In his day, that might mean looking out at fields ripe for harvest, and knowing that looking is all you’re going to get. There’s no way to eat it all.

A king committed to cultivated fields would rejoice, because justice promotes prosperity for everyone, but for the one who loves money and wealth will look out and be filled with emptiness.

ILLUST: Business owner looking @ his growing business & growing overhead, and starts thinking, even if it hurts others, how he can increase his margin. Cut benefits, cut wages. Because a lover of money is in love with an abuser.

Maybe the proverb in verse 12 reminds you of what we saw in

Ecclesiastes 4:5–8 ESV

5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. 6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. 7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

So while his own laborers might sleep sweetly, under the sun, without God, this rich man in love with money tosses and turns because his full stomach is full of food but it wants more, more, more.

It’s a case of Restless Gut Syndrome.

The love of money is always unrequited, and it cannot satisfy. Here’s the other end of the trip back down the mountain, past the ravine of greed, in chapter 6:7-9 <<READ 7-9>>

Here’s another comparison like we saw with the injustice in a province versus a king committed to cultivated fields. To see with the eyes without the wandering of the appetite - that’s only possible if you’ve recognized that greed is a terrible lover, a faithless and abusive lover.

The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh - starving himself in laziness. But the lover of money starves his soul. Solomon knows, because he’s been there - achieved every monetary and wealth goal he could possibly have wanted, and at the end he looked and realized that it was vanity, a striving after wind.

But Solomon guides us up the slope, where we next must steer clear of the poisonous stream of bitterness.

x-refs:

[8-9] Ecc 3:16, 4:1; Prov 12:5, 14:31; 1 Pet 4:12, Ps 58:11, 82:1, Luke 16:22

[10-12] Ecc 1:8, 2:11, 4:8, Prov 1:19, Matt 6:19-24, Luke 12:15, Prov 23:4-5, Prov 3:24, Col 3:5

[6:7-9] Prov 16:26,

II. Steer clear of the poisonous stream of bitterness (5:13-17, 6:1-6)

<<READ 13-17>>

EXPLAIN:

This is a bleak scene, “riches were kept by their owner to his hurt” - in other words, here’s a lover of money.

He was starving his soul for the sake of wealth, and then he loses it all. His ship sank, or that corrupt high official decides to take a bribe and violate justice, but whatever happened, he used to have two hands full of toil and a striving after wind, but now he’s got nothing in his hand.

Proverbs 13:22 ESV

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

And our man’s son is left with nothing, and our man is left with nothing, and verse 17 details his bitterness. <<READ 17>>

And still he spends his days serving that idol, for all the good it did him. He couldn’t sleep when he was rich, and he can’t quiet his heart when he’s destitute, in the darkness.

It’s a grievous evil, he says in verses 13 and 16.

Again, Solomon takes us past the stream of bitterness on our way down 6:1-6 <<READ 1-6>>

And this is the ultimate indictment of the love of money. It’s not just a terrible lover, it’s a terrible god. Faithless and powerless to save.

Under the sun, if you lacked nothing else in all the world, without God, it’s better to be stillborn.

The picture here is of ultimate worldly success - wealth, possessions, honor, a hundred children, a lifespan beyond the wildest dreams of modern medicine

Look carefully at verse 2 - everything he wants but without the power to enjoy it.

In Solomon’s day, the wealthy planned their burials long in advance, fancy tombs cut into the rock, or caves in beautiful places. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel’s kings. In the New Testament, we see that the rich man Joseph of Arimathea had done the same thing. But here is a man who had everything he could want; his lack of a burial is the eulogy of a life lived without any thought for eternity.

His soul wasn’t satisfied with good things in this life, and unlike a stillborn child, who rests with God in death, this man who loved money will go to the same place - to the grave - and even there he will find no rest.

THE ONE PLACE

Scripture tells us that

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Whether we die in infancy or at the end of two thousand years, every one of us faces mortality. And every one of us will stand before God for judgment.

Later in the book, Solomon will tell us:

Ecclesiastes 11:9 ESV

9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

And just a few verses later,

Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV

7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

And Scripture tells us that the stillborn child rests in death, not just here, but in Job 3, he says that the child who dies finds rest; at the death of David’s son, in 2 Samuel 12, David is confident that he would go to his son upon his death. <<ASIDE - salvation of infants - “Safe in the Arms of God”>>

The spirit returns to God, the body returns to dust upon death, until the day when Christ returns and all are raised in the Resurrection.

But this man will find no rest even in death.

What made this man so far gone? He kept riches to his own hurt, and unlike the man we saw drinking from the stream of bitterness on the way up the mountain, this man didn’t lose all his wealth.

He could not enjoy what he had - not with true enjoyment - because love of money and wealth never satisfies.

Colossians 3:5 tells us that covetousness is idolatry. It’s the worship of a false god. Elsewhere, in Romans 1, Paul says that

Romans 1:18 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

And he says that God has made Himself known to all of us through what He has made, so all are without excuse. But rather than honoring and giving thanks to God, those who suppress the truth by unrighteousness

rom 1.25 “25 exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

Wealth is such a terrible god that even if you get pleasure out of it, without God, you can never be satisfied by it. And God passes judgment against those who worship created things like wealth instead of the Creator.

We’ve seen a few times that Solomon uses the word טוב frequently - טוב is the Hebrew word for good. The word used throughout Genesis 1 when it says that “God saw that it was good.” And

Genesis 1:31 ESV

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

In verse 3 and verse 6, we see very clearly that this man can’t see good. Verse 6 says it explicitly - if you’re looking at the ESV, you’ll see there’s a textual note where it says “Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good” - literally, “Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet see no good”

He can’t enjoy any of it, because he doesn’t see what it really is. He doesn’t see that it came from God. And without gratitude - without honoring the Giver, God judges him by ensuring that whatever pleasure he does have, it will never be the true soul satisfaction we were created for.

The grievous evil is his own obstinate refusal to do the one thing that would change everything.

And that’s where we come to the mountain top:

x-refs:

[13-17] Zeph 1:18, Luke 16:19, Luke 18:22, James 5:1, John 6:27, Ps 49:17

[6:1-6] Luke 12:20, Prov 11:4, Job 3:16, Ecc 4:3-6, Heb 9:27, Prov 13:22, Prov 18:11

III. See all things in light of God’s goodness (5:18-20, 6:10-12)

<<READ 18-20>>

EXPLAIN:

The problem wasn’t money or the lack thereof. The problem was love.

Love for money is a bottomless pit, a poison stream. Vanity. You can’t trust it, it doesn’t love you, you don’t know that it will stick around, and that’s the way God made it. And you can try to dispute with me about it, but you can’t win the debate against God. That’s why Solomon finishes the way he does in

Ecclesiastes 6:10–12 ESV

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. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 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? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

In other words, stop fighting God, stop trying to prove Him wrong and trying to find satisfaction without Him in the things He’s made. God is the “one stronger than he,” the only one who knows what is good for man, the only one who can tell you what will be after you. And He has given you toil and food and drink, and any wealth you have, for one reason: To enjoy them as gifts.

What is the purpose of work, and wealth? Worship.

Last week, I said that worship is “the act of deliberately glorifying God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Here, on top of the mountain, Solomon says that the thing that separates the bitter man, eating in darkness and doomed to find no satisfaction, sleep, or rest even in death, and the person who will, is whether or not they see wealth and work the way God does.

Delight in Him as you enjoy His gifts - w/o Him, your wealth or desire for it is leading you up the mountain in the dark.

Deuteronomy 8:17–18 ESV

17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

As Paul says

1 Timothy 4:4–5 ESV

4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

When we sit down to eat together, we pray a thanksgiving, recognizing that we see this good thing as a gift of God. Whether we can afford a steak or a hot dog, it’s a gift. And this makes it worship to eat with thanksgiving.

Real joy, real satisfaction, real rest come from seeing the good that God has given, and recognizing it as a gift.

James 1:17 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

So how can we turn our backs on the love of money and see the satisfaction in God that we were created for?

CONCLUSION

Phil 3 and 4 - contentment from seeing the worth of Christ

Philippians 3:7–11 ESV

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Joyful heart - resting in contentment - consider His gifts

Philippians 4:8–9 ESV

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

And Christ says:

Matthew 6:19–24 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

If you have very little:

v20 - JOY = when God’s blessing overwhelms something else (here all the stuff keeping you awake) - if you lose all, but have God, you’re still rich.

For those to whom God gives wealth

1 Timothy 6:17 ESV

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

v9 - a king committed to cultivated fields - God hasn’t given you wealth to hoard, but to enjoy with thanksgiving and to bless others.

And your king, Jesus, is more “committed to cultivated fields” than any other king or ruler or leader or business owner in history. He is the one who set the seasons, designed the very idea of harvest, and He is the one who designed the world such that Biblical justice - righteousness and a Godly community - will often tend toward prosperity. That prosperity is frustrated by sin, but even now, He is preparing for an even greater harvest at the end of the age, when He gathers all His Elect from every nation.

And in the here-and-now, He has given us a mission to be committed to the cultivated fields of the Gospel, knowing that He is the One who grants the growth.

NOTE DARKNESS, RESTLESSNESS

x-refs:

[18-20] - 1 Tim 6:17, Dt 8:18, Ps 37:34, Hos 2:8, 1 Tim 4:4-5, Ex 23:25, Prov 30:8-9, Heb 13:5,

[6:10-12] - Isa 45:9-13, 21-25; Job 9:32, 40:2, Ps 82:7, Prov 21:30, 1 Cor 10:22, James 4:14, Rom 9:20

Gospel-centered x-refs:

Lk 12:13-21, Matt 13:22, Mark 10:25-27, Mark 8:34-38, Matt 6:19-24, 32-33; Phil 4:4,

x-refs: Heb 3:7-4:13, esp Heb 3:19, 1 Tim 6:5-17, James 5:1-6

Re: tombs - Gen 23:3-9, Isa 22:16

Re: rest from work - Gen 5:28-29