6. Finding Fulfilment in Life (4)

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Hymns: 371 Sweet Hour of Prayer, 372 More Holiness Give Me, 375 Speak, Lord, in the Stillness

Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes

(Remember Now Thy Creator)

– Finding Fulfilment in Life (4)

Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. 20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

 

OUTLINE

  • Acccumulating (v18-21a)
  • Leaving It Behind (v21b-23)

 

INTRODUCTION

Solomon continues to challenge us to consider and weigh and see in perspective the value system wherein we are building our lives. If God is not there in your building plan, it will be a sore disappointment for you at the end of your life. He is challenging us to take a time out to review what is a truly fulfilling life.

He continues with the theme of examining the futility of indulging ourselves in acquiring this world’s wealth and indulging in this world’s pleasure as he did in verses 1-11. But instead of showing us the impossibility of finding satisfaction in this world’s wealth and riches, he focuses on the futility and senselessness of acquiring wealth and leaving it all behind to someone else.[1]

The person receiving have not lifted a finger to earn it nor deserve any of his bequeathed inheritance and so leaving it behind and knowing that it will be squandered and wasted away makes Solomon take stock of the futility of accumulating this world’s wealth. It brings but a temporal satisfaction and later became “an object of disgust.”[2] What’s the point for him to painstakingly build to an uncertain outcome! He is questioning the wisdom of making that labour, is it worth it?

Two thoughts: (1) Acquiring (v18-21a) (2) Leaving It Behind (v21b-23)

 

(1) Accumulating (v18-21a)

18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. 20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity;…

The psalmist says it well, Psalm 49:10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

What is the reason for Solomon’s lament? Why is it a cause for regret and lamentation to leave what he has accumlated for his posterity? We want us to see that Solomon in his lifetime regarded with great affection the wealth and material things of this world. It became a snare to him at the end of his life.

Contrast Solomon’s regret with the jubilation of his father David at the end of the latter’s life. David’s life was lived for the honour and glory of God. All that he sought to accumulate in his lifetime, he did so in obedience to God for the building of the Temple for a dwelling place for God. David’s labour was for the purpose of fulfilling God’s pleasure. He was truly satisified with all that he accumulated.

1 Chronicles 29:10 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. 14 But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. 15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. 16 O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. 17 I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. 18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: 19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision. 20 And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.

The purpose of David accumulating wealth and riches was to enable the house of God to be built. It was a thoroughly satisfactory endeavour although he was not allowed to build the House of God himself. He did what he could to honour God. David’s wise words to Solomon is found in Psalm 127:1-2.

Psalm 127:1-2 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

1 Furthermore David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. 2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. 3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, 4 Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal: 5 The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD? 6 Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly, 7 And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.

 1 Chronicles 28:11-21 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12 And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 13 Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD. 14 He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: 15 Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: 17 Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: 18 And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. 20 And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21 And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment.

Through Moses, God had given warning and instruction to Israel’s future king not to set their hearts on the things of this world. It will draw their heart away from serving their God. Serving God and doing His will is the greatest satisfaction in life.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;…16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Solomon learns this sober lesson at the close of his life when he concluded in this book Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

What is truly valuable is a life devoted to the worship and honour and glory of God. David did not regret leaving behind the mass of accumulated wealth because he knows it is in the will of God to do so.

That is the reason for David’s song of praise and worship. He lived with a pure heart to seek God. Truly, he was called a man after God’s own heart. He sought to understand the mind of God for his life and when he found it in God’s Word, he did not depart from it. The kingdom that God build on his behalf shows forth the honour and glory of God.

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Romans 5:5). God gives us the ability to love others by the empowering of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer. It is a true test of conversion.

Slide1

The believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit that enables to love:

(1) The being of God (2) The worship of God (3) the name of God (4) the day of God (5) the representative of God (6) the body of man (7) the morality of man (8) the property of man (9) the personality of man (10) the property of man.

 

(2) Leaving It Behind (v21b-23)

…yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.

 

God told Solomon that his kingdom will be rend into two after his death for all his departure from doing the will of God.

 

As if he had said, “I have laboured to cultivate my mind in wisdom and in science, in knowledge of men and things, and have endeavored to establish equity and dispense justice. And now I find I shall leave all the fruits of my labour to a man that hath not laboured therein, and consequently cannot prize what I have wrought.” Does he not refer to his son Rehoboam? (Clark)

 

2 Chronicles 12:1-10 And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. 2 And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, 3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. 4 And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. 7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. 9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 10 Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king’s house.

 

Solomon was so indulgent in accumulating wealth and finding this world’s pleasure for himself that I believe, he failed to teach his son the laws of God.

 

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

 

We are all spreading around us an influence, whether for good or for evil. Here lies in our families the responsibility of Christian consistency…A well trained child gladly looks to his parents’ godliness as his model picture, someone to copy after…Education is utterly a means of grace when conducted in the spirit, and on the principles of the Word of God, it is a means of imparting it. The use of the rod in child training is also clearly taught.”2

 

The concept of constantly imparting Christian values to our children is taught in Deuteronomy 6:5-7, “5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

 

In Isaiah 28:9-10, “9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk… 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” This can be practised when the family spends time together, prays together, and has regular family devotion where parents teach their children the Word of God.

 

In summary, parents are to teach their children the Holy Scripture, to keep and do His commandments, trusting in the promises of God.

 

Proverbs 22:6 gives us the Lord’s commandment for the parent to train up a child in the way he should go and the Lord’s promise is that when he is old, he will not depart from the godly way. This proverb is as an encouragement for the parents and would-be parents to the sacred task and reward of child training.

 

This sacred task of grooming the next generation is decidedly important and urgent yet we realize also it is most neglected. It is my prayer that this sermon would encourage you to press on with the good work that the Lord has entrusted to you. This mandate applies to you too though you may not be a parent but are involved and in contact with any young lives whom the Lord has entrusted to your care. Let us see what Scripture says concerning how we should bring up a child.

 

Treasuring and giving priority of time and resources to these early years of the child’s life in inculcating godliness in the child is the emphasis of this mandate.

 

The working mother phenomenon is all too common today where both husbands and wives work and children are left in the care of child-care centres and maids and grandparents. Even more sad in today’s business world is that work often means going for business trips days on end. The priority for the family is living better, dressing better, driving better, eating better so for the young family, they would have commitment of loans for housing, for cars, for renovation that it requires both husband and wife to work to ensure that the family do not default on their loans.

 

Where do they find time in caring for the soul of their children when parents themselves are lost making a place for themselves in this world?

 

The mandate for child training is a wake up call for parents to take this matter of child training seriously, time is running out. It is going to be too late.

 

Solomon’s regret was well registered in his lamentation. He was building and enjoying without God in the equation. It proved futile.

 

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

 

CONCLUSION

There is a godly way to build that we will not regret. May we learn well from Solomon’s experience! Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Holman Study Bible, Holman Bible Publishers, 2012, 1096.

[2] Charles Bridges, Ecclesiastes, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1992, 42.