Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

Elysiasis chapter 2. I want to read verses 12 to 16, and then we’ll read later verses 17 to 26. I want to look at this whole section of Scripture tonight. But to begin, let me just read verses 12 through 16. And I turned myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly. for what can the man do that cometh after the king, even that which hath been done already, even that which hath been already done? Then I saw that wisdom exceleth folly, as far as light, exceleth darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness, and I myself, perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I, in my heart, as it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me. And why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise, more than of the full, seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten and how dieeth the wise man as the full. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this evening. The pyramids of Egypt were one of the wonders of the ancient world. And here we are, you know, more than four. 45 centuries later, and we certainly gaze on it with amazement when we see the construction work that was done to put these huge pyramids in place. The pyramids of Egypt are a massive monument to ancient technology. The great pyramid of Pharaoh Koufu is staggering in size. 500 feet tall. It contains some 2.3 million blocks of stone, each of which weighs at least two tons. When Napoleon was in Egypt, he calculated the mass of stone in the three pyramids, and he said, if exported to France, they would build a wall 10 feet high, one foot thick, around the entire realm of France. Why these massive pyramids? What purpose did they serve for the pharaohs? Who used thousands of workmen, countless of hours to build these things, decades of time, the noble pharaohs of the old world, were desperate to deal with one thing, death. Their whole lifetime, it seemed like they were preparing for death come in the building of these pyramids. So it seems like there’s, someone spent their entire reign, you know, building pyramids for the time when they were going to die. The pharaohs of Egypt believed that they were incarnations of the sun god raw. And when they died, they wanted to prepare their, for their return back to heaven, the heavens. And so the chief purpose of the pyramids were to serve as a ladder, or perhaps even better, a staircase, to enable them, as the parted king now, to make the steep ascent to their heavenly home. So the chief purpose of the pyramid was to serve in this capacity. The great tombs of the pharaohs are symbols of the passing nature of the world. life no matter whatever you accomplish whatever your station in life the end is the same death comes to the commoner and the king alike Solomon understood the point of of focus of the pharaohs he too sees death in our text here is the inevitable end for every man one of the compelling evidence of Solomon’s argument about the futility of all things is this certainty of death. You may use all your wisdom and all your resources to build huge castles in this life, but death is going to carry you away all the same. And so we want to talk about staring death in the face. Now, whether you are wise or foolish, you’re going to die. Death makes the value of wisdom only relative. And he takes this up in verses 12 of 15. Solomon has tried wisdom and he’s tried falling, both separately and together as sources of happiness. His conclusion was, with such a vast array of knowledge and wisdom that he had, according to 12B here, His conclusion is that he was persuaded that he was in a unique position. Yet who would come after him? Who would come after him with such a vast array of knowledge and wisdom as he had? There was nobody who’s going to match what he had. And so he tells us here, and I turn myself to behold wisdom and madness and folly, for what can the man do that comeeth after the king? He’s the wisest man on the earth. His gift from God is being fully put to use in his experimentation in all these different areas. A successor who comes along can only duplicate what he’s already done, but never surpass it, which is what he says here in the last part of verse 12, even that which hath already done. Anybody who comes after me can only be. do what I’ve done. Human wisdom, though empty as a source of true satisfaction, is however he says, much better than folly. Verse 13, then I saw wisdom excel with folly as far as light, excel of darkness. He doesn’t underestimate the value of wisdom. He sees that the wise man has his eyes in his head. He can see ahead. whereas the foolish man is groping around in the dark. So the wise man is sort of like in the watchtower. He’s able to see ahead. He’s able to project into the future. It’s like having binoculars and you can see off in a distance. So he’s contemplating the future and he says, hey, we’re all going to die. The wise perceive that what may come to pass, but the foolish have taken are taken by surprise. They stumble around in the dark. They really don’t look ahead far enough to ponder these things seriously. They’re like sheep. Led to the slaughter. They have no clue until it’s too late. And God says, thou fool, this night. Thy soul shall be required of thee. Solomon realizes that that human wisdom is not the answer. Assessing wisdom is advantage, but death is universal. And he tells us here in verse 14, the last part, I myself perceived also, that one event happeneth to them all, whether you are wise or whether you are foolish. Wisdom doesn’t allow us to escape it. So man, with all his ingenuity, can’t keep himself from death. It says it happeneth. So it happeneth even to me. It happens if, even today we sort of use that kind of language. When we say, if anything should happen to me, I mean, if I should die, saying, well, we’re all going to die. The ultimate reality is that death dampens the enthusiasm of those who are wise. Because wisdom lacks permanent value because of death. you’re going to die and then what why spend all your time and effort garnering wisdom when death makes futile your whole life’s work? Sarah Winchester’s husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing the Winchester rifle which he had designed and it was such a good design that everybody wanted one. Well after he died of influenza in 1918. She moved to San Jose, California. She was overwhelmed with grief, and so she turned to spiritism. She sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. Well, the medium told her, as long as you keep building your house, you won’t die. So she believed her, and she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion as she started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. She just kept building onto this house. It cost $5 million at a time when workmen were making about 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. She left behind so much material they could continue building for 80 more years. on this house. It is now a tourist attraction. But guess what? She still dot. It can’t escape it. It’s going to come. So death makes the value of wisdom only relative. Death wipes out the memory of even the wise. Look at verse 16 with me. For there is no remembrance of the wise man more than of the full forever, seeing that which now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieeth the wise man? As the full. Death is the wall that the humanist can’t climb over, can’t get around it. Even the remembrance of those who have died perishes with the passing of time. Does anybody know why Route 8 is called William Flynn Highway? Who’s William Flynn? Does anybody know? Does anybody know? Does anybody know why? Route 19 is called Perry Highway. There were museums and roads and buildings that are named after people that you don’t know. Time has come along and erased their memory from us. He may read a book about Abraham Lincoln, but you don’t know Abraham Lincoln personally. The further in history you go, the more he fades to some capacity. Beethoven, we might say, what he lives on is music. Yes, you may know his music, but you don’t know Beethoven. The names and the acts of the famous, whether we talk about the Poion or the infamous, Al Capone, remain in the written records and the world traditions of a society for a period of time, but as time goes on, they become less and less significant. But outside of these selective and even arbitrary memorials, the good and the bad, the wise and the foolish, vanish in obscurity. Dust they are, the dust they return. What does it mean if death is all there is to look forward to in this life? Well, we talk about our new president, Joe Biden. What do we talk about Brittany Spears the singer or Nancy Pelosi or Sidney Crosby, the hockey player, or Dr. Fowche, guess what? They may be constantly in the headlines on the news front. 200 years from now, people will be basically ignorant for these people. Then why? So whether you’re wise or foolish, you’re going to die. Life is depressing when you know you’re going to die. Look at verses 17 to 23 with me now. is depressing when you know you’re going to die. Therefore, I hated life, because the work that is wrought onto the sun is grievous to me for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labor, which I had taken under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me, and who knoweth, whether he shall be a wise man or a fool. yet shall he have rule over all my labor wherein I have labored and wherein I have labored and wherein I have showed myself wise unto the sun this is also vanity. Therefore, I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun, for there is a man whose labor is in wisdom and in knowledge and inequity. Yet to a man that hath not labor, therein, shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and great evil. For what hath man of all his labor and all the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath labored under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief, yea, his heart takeeth no rest in the night. This is also vanity. I hated life. Boy, that’s a pretty frank and clear expression. If death is where it all ends, it seems to make the whole journey of life kind of nonsensical. Life is a little different. It seems like than walking the plank on a pirate ship. You know, you have that sword behind you, poking you, prodding you out there further and further on the plank. And what’s coming is, you’re not. you’re going to go off and into the water and your hands are tied, and you’re not going to be able to swim, and it’s at the end. And there’s nothing you do about it. Life is a little different than that. Death laughs at all the moments of our lives. The French skeptic Voltaire wrote to his friend, he said, I hate life, yet I’m afraid to die. This exposes the secular mind to us. Death makes life a curse because it’s cat. this long shadow over all the works of your hands, he says, in verse 17. You toil away in order to sustain a life, which eventually becomes extinct. Where’s the sense in that? And where is there any comfort when you die if the fruit of all your labors are going to fall to somebody else? That’s what he says here at verse 18. I don’t know if this guy’s wise or foolish. What if this person is a complete fool? What if he frets? away in a few years, what took you a lifetime to accumulate? Remember the prodigal son? He got half his father’s goods. He goes out and fritters it away in a number of years, a few years with wine, women, and song. And guess what? He has nothing. Half his father’s wealth is gone. You know, here you are. Maybe you’ve accumulated stocks and bonds and gold and silver coins. and jewels and you got cash that’s piled up and you’ve taken the pains and you worked hard and you leave that for your son or daughter and guess what? they decide they’re going to go to Vegas. Oh, you know, they’re going to gamble and lose it all. Or they go into some perhaps get rich quick scheme and lose it. Or they enter in some kind of foolish business venture and they lose it all. All that work you went through, all the, time and effort you put into accumulating this vast sum of money and wealth and goods and it’s all gone now that’s depressing solomon says now remember solomon here is a man that has great wealth and he’s thinking what if i you know what kind of son am i going to have we would know his son wasn’t very wise ray aboam when he took over we know he took over we know he he blew it, so to speak, lost ten of the tribes and so forth. The future inheritors of the fruit of your work now become a source of frustration. Yea, I hated, verse 18, all my labor which I had taken under the sun because I should leave it under the man that shall be after me and who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool. Yet shall he have rule over all my labor where I where and I have labored and where and I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. But there is a man whose labor is in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity and yet to a man that have not labored therein, shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity. In other words, He says, what am I doing? I hate even what I’m accomplishing by my labor because I know when I die, maybe somebody foolish will get it. And all this effort’s going to be wasted. Everything then becomes meaningless. This is what the humanist has to accept. The very experience of toil blight your days and your nights. Verse 23, for all his days are sorrows. and his travail grief, yea his heart, takeeth not rest in the night. This is also vanity. Is life just a dead end? Are all these experiences along the way no more than a polishing of brass on a sinking ship? To make it look better? All your wise labors are wasted because of the fool who follows you. This is madness, he says. Life is depressing when you know. we’re going to die. Now he ends this chapter with a good note. In verses 24 to 26, and that is this. Your only hope and view of death is to enjoy what God has granted. And here’s what he says in verse 24. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This all so I saw that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat and who else can hasten thereunto more than I? For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom and knowledge and joy. But to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may, that he may give us to him. that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit. Solomon says here in you might as well enjoy life. On the surface, this may seem to be embracing the theme of let’s eat and drink for tomorrow. We die, but I don’t think that’s what he has in mind. I think is there anything better than this for his immortal soul? Well, yes, there is. is there something better than in just indulging in life simple pleasures? Yes, there is. But remember Solomon here is not talking about the supreme good here, but what is best for man, knowing that he’s going to die when he’s gained these earthly things. He’s saying, what has become a burden ought to be a source of joy to you. Aside from bad digestion and maybe bad cooking, when you sit down to eat a meal, it ought to be enjoyable. You ought to enjoy it. You’re going to take pleasure in it. A good hearty meal makes you feel good. A cold drink makes you feel refreshed. And there’s nothing, he says, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying that. It seems that God would have us enjoy these things. Why take a prejudice view of these things? Why not receive them for what they are? They’re good. gifts from God, give him thanks, and enjoy them. I think that’s what he’s saying here. We ought to be thankful for life. Life is a marvelous thing. Eating and drinking, provide joy. I remember one time when I was working as a partsman that I got laid off, and it was a real blow. You know, I have here I have a family, I have a house payment, I had kids to take care of, and I come home, I said, well, you know, things are slow, they laid me off. And my wife says, okay, she went out and she bought all these groceries and brought them back to the house. I’m thinking, what, you know, what’s she doing here? She said, at least we’re going to have something to eat. No matter what, you know, we’re going to have something to eat. So enjoy what you’ve got, and don’t worry about it. Well, the Lord did take care of us in it all. Doesn’t it appear to you that life is designed to be something good? Isn’t life designed to be something to enjoy? Solomon doesn’t mention it, but it seems like there may be some kind of an illusion when we look on this carefully at the creation, go all the way back to the creation. When God created everything and everything was good, he made the food for the different animals and for man and so forth, he says, this is good. Has not God spoke? of his provision of material comfort and food and drink and prosperity, of a sign of his good gifts? 1 Timothy 617, the living God, giveeth us richly all things to enjoy. That’s written to the Christian, isn’t it? The Christian can’t enjoy these things because they are good gifts from God. He thanks God and enjoys them. 1 Timothy 4.4, for every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it would be receive with thanksgiving. Eat the benefits that God has given. And eat all the food that God has provided. Thank him for it. Psalm 104, 14 and 15. God causes to grow the herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth and wine that makeeth glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart. Hasn’t God provided all these things for you to enjoy? See, enjoy them then. Well, much is lost because the fall that we’ve had in Adam. It’s brought sin into life and made many things miserable. Life ultimately, when we think about what God had created life to be, it should be enjoyable. It should be pleasurable to us. Work was given to Adam even before the fall, so it’s not like work was, something that is evil and has resolved the fall, to be creative, to design things and so forth, ought to be something that gives us pleasure, that we accomplish something in this life. Satisfaction is accomplishing something good. Just like God, after his creation, he looked around and all he created it, and he said, everything’s good. He was happy with it, but he had not. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what has been provided, but for the secular man, what else can you do? This is all we got. For you and I, we have something way beyond this life, but for just living in this life, enjoy what God has given you. Then thank him for it. Enjoy life, then. Realize life is a gift from God. He says this in the latter part of verse 24. This I saw that it was from the hand. of God for who can eat or who else can hasten thereunto more than I. From experience here, Solomon begins to turn to faith. And the ultimate reality is what enables you to interpret life correctly is God. When you have God in your life. Without God, who can find true enjoyment? Recognition that God, God’s hand has provided you with all you have is a true condition of enjoying it. You don’t even have to have that much. You can be very thankful for what you do have. It reminds me one time Spurgeon went somewhere he preached and he passed his hat. Ronald would take up a collection. And when he got it back, he looked down into it. There was nothing there. And everybody was looking at him like, what are you going to say when you black? this and he said I thank you Lord that at least these skin flints have given me back my hat you know there’s always something to be thankful for if there is no God there’s no meaning if there is a God then these are his good gifts to us be thankful we enjoy them you know the the natural man thinks he’d like to think at least that there is some type of purpose and direction to life that man through evolution is going on this upward spiral somewhere. But the truth of the matter is when you study evolution, he’s just a process of random events. Why, he’s a result of some type of freak mutation that’s taking place. What does he have to, you know, what does he have to look forward to? Nothing. But the Bible decrees that life is a gift. God has given. you life and all things for you to enjoy the food, the drink, the ability to work, to create, design, marriage, wealth, whatever he gives you, you can enjoy those things. Be thankful and enjoy them. Is what Solomon is saying. If we deny this, then of course we’re basically admitting what life’s meaning on us. What purpose is there? But if I look at it as a, say, my good creator has provided these things for me. and I will be thankful. Realize life is God’s gift. And then thirdly, tonight, under this last verse 26, realize God does all for the benefit of his people. For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy. But the sinner, he giveth travail, to gather, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of the spirit. Now, when he talks about man being good in his sight, this is the righteous. It’s contrasted with the sinner. It does not know the Lord God. If there is a crepe whose hand has bestowed all the things that make a person joyful, then man is not, a free spirit to live as he pleases. He is a creature responsible to his creator. There must be right and wrong. There must be good and evil. And God must give wisdom and knowledge and joy to those who please him. Those who are his people who enjoy fellowship with him. It must be understood that Solomon realizes that riches don’t equal joy and satisfaction. without favor from God, there is no joy and satisfaction. After all, there is discontented despair among the rich as well as among the poor. Not all believers are granted material riches. The righteous are often poor of this earth, but they are rich in faith, as James tells us. God’s gifts, which Solomon notes here, as wisdom, knowledge and joy. Now these things, I think we should look as spiritual in this case. Is he saying that he’s the one that gives us true wisdom, true knowledge, and real joy in this life? It’s the fruit of the spirit working in us. And these things, gladden the heart of those who do what is good in his sight. So we can be satisfied in this life because all the good gifts that God gives us both physical and spiritual. You know, the Bible says, godliness with contentment is a great gain. To have godliness is the most important thing. And then to be content with, maybe we don’t have everything that other people have, but you have something, be content with those things that God’s given you. Enjoy those things. No such blessing rest with the sinner. The person outside of relationship. with God. The sinner may gather and he may heap up material riches. Cannot really enjoy them as you ought. And as well, Solomon ends here. For him, this is vanity and vexation of spirit. Now the privilege here, of the privileges of the sin, the thing that he gains in this life, we’re told here, are actually transferred to the people of God. And so there’s a sense in which God ultimately says, hey, you may gather all these things, but I’m going to give them to my people. That’s what’s going to happen. This is one of the ends of God’s predestination and overruling providence in this life. All things which happen to the wicked in the end redound of the glory of God’s mercy toward his elect people. Ultimately, all the fruits then of the sinner’s labor onto the sun end up, benefiting God’s people. I want you to look with me at the book of Esther, chapter 8, verses 1 and 2 real quick here. I’m going to look at a couple of verses of scripture because I think this is an interesting concept to ponder carefully. The book of Esther, chapter 8, verses 1 and 2. On that day did King Ahazueris give the house of Haman the Jews enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai, and Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Here’s the enemy. of the people of God. Here’s the one that was wealthy. Here was the one that had the king’s favor. And guess what? It all gets given to the people of God, taken from one and given to the other. Look with me at Proverbs 13, 22. Proverbs 13, in verse 22, A good man leaveeth an inheritance to his children’s children. And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. And then one more. Look at 288 in Proverbs. 28. Chapter 28, verse 8. He that by usury and unjust gain in crethus his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. He’ll be given it to somebody else and he’ll show mercy to the poor and give it to him. Now we could go on and on, but there are some interesting examples in scripture. Remember Laban and his wealth? who ended up with it? Jacob, the man he changed the wages of 10 times and tried to cheat it out of him. Remember when Jacob snuck off, he layman went after him, finally catches up with him. He says, These, these wives you have are my daughters. These children are my children. These flocks and herds are my flocks and herds. Yes. But God took them. from him and gave him to Jacob. You tried to cheat Jacob, and God ended up taking it from you and giving it to him. Look at the spoils of Egypt. When Israel came out of the land of Egypt. All the wealth they had, the Bible says that the Israelites spoiled. They took all their wealth. Their jewelry and all this, they took all this stuff and when they left. When Israelites went into the land of Canaan, the vineyards, the orchards, the cultivated lands, the cities, the wealth, the goods, were all for the people God. They didn’t build those things, and yet God gave it to them. This isn’t always perceptible in our lifetime. We don’t always see this so directly. But God works generations in advance to accomplish his purpose. And so we should see that this is what is going to happen. The pyramids of Egypt demonstrate the favorite. were desperate to deal with death. Death is inevitable. Death makes life depressing force. Only by viewing life as God’s gift and having a friendship with the Lord, if you would. A relationship with the Lord, God. Can you find the wisdom and knowledge and joy that’s granted by the Lord, by His Spirit, to you? And this is the secret to facing death. Know the Lord. If you don’t know the Lord, you’re the one that’s going to be the loser. You’re the one that’s going to lose out on all these things. The Lord always provides for his people. And let us rejoice that. In the good spiritual gifts that God gives us and all the material things that we have for all of us. And when I think about us, as poor as sometimes we may be, we have more abundance than a lot of people have. When we think about other people in the world and what God is purported, provided us. Let us be thankful for that and rejoice in that. Let’s close with a word of prayer