Proud to be TJ's man

Getting older is something that no one (except children) wants to do but everybody does. It is such a common feature of our humanity that the subject of age has generated more wisdom and humor than almost any other.

For example, Ogden Nash has said, “Middle age is when you have met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.”

Bill Cosby tells about going to the Mayo Clinic for a physical examination at the age of forty-nine. When he asked the doctor for his opinion of his physical condition, the medic replied, “Oh, everything is normal. If you died tomorrow, no one would be surprised.”

Regardless of how we approach old age— fighting it, joking about it, or trying not to think about it—it is inevitable.

We begin to age from the point of conception onward. Our physical development peaks in adolescence and reaches maturity at age twenty-five to thirty-five. These are the years when most athletes are at their peak. Shortly thereafter, we begin to decline.

If a normal life span is seventy years, then “middle age” is not fifty, as we frequently speak of it—it is thirty-five! The period of physical decline is frequently referred to as “senescence,” the downhill part of life, from the point of maximal functioning until death. As we get further along in the process of senescence, life usually becomes more difficult, and depending on our circum- stances, less enjoyable.

This decline in both physical and mental vigor is what our text is about. In 12:1 Solomon admonishes the young to remember God “be- fore the evil days come.” By “evil days” Solomon does not refer to moral evil; he means the difficult days, the “days of trouble” (NIV).

These are the years of old age, years in which many “find no pleasure.” If we do not respond to God before this period of our youth, Solomon warns, we may never do so. Therefore, he advises to remember God now.

Remember (12:1–8). How easy it is to neglect the Lord when you are caught up in the enjoyments and opportunities of youth. We know that dark days (11:8) and difficult [evil] days (12:1) are coming, so we had better lay a good spiritual foundation as early in life as possible. During our youthful years, the sky is bright (11:7); but the time will come when there will be darkness and one storm after another.

Verses 3–7 give us one of the most imaginative descriptions of old age and death found anywhere in literature. The meaning may be:

keepers of the house—Your arms and hands tremble.

strong men—Your legs, knees, and shoulders weaken and you walk bent over.

grinders—You start to lose your teeth.

windows—Your vision begins to deteriorate.

doors—Either your hearing starts to fail, or you close your mouth because you’ve lost your teeth.

grinding—You can’t chew your food, or your ears can’t pick up the sounds outdoors.

rise up—You wake up with the birds early each morning, and wish you could sleep longer.

music—Your voice starts to quaver and weaken.

afraid—You are terrified of heights and afraid of falling while you walk down the street.

almond tree—If you have any hair left, it turns white, like almond blossoms.

grasshopper—You just drag yourself along, like a grasshopper at the close of the summer season.

desire—You lose your appetite, or perhaps your sexual desire.

long home—You go to your eternal [long] home and people mourn your death.

Verse 6 describes a golden bowl—a lamp—hanging from the ceiling on a silver chain. The chain breaks and the bowl breaks. The fragile “cord of life” is snapped and the light of life goes out. Only wealthy people could have such costly lamps, so Solomon may be hinting that death is no respecter of persons.

All of this description amounts to a depressing one of the aging process and the sadness of death. But Solomon’s purpose is not to depress us but to rouse us to action. “Remembering” God does not mean simply to think about Him, but to allow the knowledge of Him to shape our lives— before old age sets in.

He compared his words to “goads” and “nails” (v. 11), both of which are necessary if people are to learn God’s truth. The “goads” prod the people to pay attention and to pursue truth, while the “nails” give them something on which to hang what they have learned.

YOU OWE HIM THE STRENGTH OF YOUR YOUTH

Our lives are God’s gift, and we are stewards of life just as we are stewards of money. If we fail to use our lives to serve God, we are stealing them from Him. As Israel gave God the “first fruits” of their produce and livestock, we are to give God the “first fruits” of life itself, not the “leftovers.” If you have been thinking that you will serve God “later,” realize that “later” is not what He demands. He wants you to serve Him now, with your total being.

IT WILL KEEP OLD AGE FROM BEING WORSE THAN IT HAS TO BE

Youth is a crucial period in determining the course of the rest of one’s life. Habits, both good and bad, are formed in youth. The early years contain numerous pitfalls, many of which can affect you for the rest of your life. Doing God’s will can save you from making these tragic mistakes.

Besides, most people who deliberately wait to remember God never remember God. If He is unimportant to you now, it is unlikely that He will be later. There are exceptions, but the general rule is that the longer you wait to obey God, the less likely it is that you will ever do so. Eventually, if you wait until the time of life described in 12:1-5, you may be mentally unable to change. Waiting is dangerous.

Chuck Swindoll points out, “God has designed us to be empty without Him.” Old age can be a time of peaceful satisfaction or of deep regret.

TRUTH IS NOT ALWAYS PLEASANT TO HEAR, BUT IT IS NECESSARY

“In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people” (12:9). Solomon passed on what he  learned, especially in his writing of proverbs. In so doing, his commentator says he “sought to find delightful words,” but at the same time, he made sure that he wrote “words of truth.”

He had no desire to offend or upset those he taught, but he felt compelled to tell the truth, even if offense was the result. The NEB translates verse 10 this way: “He chose his words to give pleasure, but what he wrote was the honest truth.” (Emphasis mine.)

Life is a stewardship: fear God (Eccl. 12:13–14)

We don’t own our lives, because life is the gift of God (Acts 17:24–28). We are stewards of our lives, and one day we must give an account to God of what we have done with His gift. Some people are only spending their lives; others are wasting their lives; a few are investing their lives. Corrie ten Boom said, “The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation.” If our lives are to count, we must fulfill three obligations.

Fear God (v. 13). Ecclesiastes ends where the Book of Proverbs begins (Prov. 1:7), with an admonition for us to fear the Lord. (See 3:14; 5:7; 7:18; and 8:12–13.)

The “fear of the Lord” is that attitude of reverence and awe that His people show to Him because they love Him and respect His power and His greatness. The person who fears the Lord will pay attention to His Word and obey it. He or she will not tempt the Lord by deliberately disobeying or by “playing with sin.” An unholy fear makes people run away from God, but a holy fear brings them to their knees in loving submission to God.

“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” wrote Oswald Chambers, “is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

Keep His commandments (v. 13). God created life and He alone knows how it should be managed. He wrote the “manual of instructions” and wise is the person who reads and obeys. “When all else fails, read the instructions!”

The fear of the Lord must result in obedient living, otherwise that “fear” is only a sham. The dedicated believer will want to spend time daily in Scripture, getting to know the Father better and discovering His will. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7).

The last phrase in verse 13 can be translated “this is the end of man” (i.e., his purpose in life), or “this is for all men.” Campbell Morgan suggests “this is the whole of man.”

He writes in The Unfolding Message of the Bible, “Man, in his entirety, must begin with God; the whole of man, the fear of God” (p. 228).

Prepare for final judgment (v. 14). “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked” (3:17). “But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” (11:9, NKJV). Man may seem to get away with sin (8:11), but their sins will eventually be exposed and judged righteously. Those who have not trusted the Lord Jesus Christ will be doomed forever.

Is life worth living? Yes, if you are truly alive through faith in Jesus Christ. Then you can be satisfied, no matter what God may permit to come to your life.

You can receive life in Christ and—be satisfied!

Why should we remember God before old age comes? Why not worry about such matters later in life?

THE INEVITABLE CONCLUSION OF LIFE IS DEATH

In one sobering image of death (12:5), Solomon says that man “goes to his eternal home.” This “going” is e0xpressed by a Hebrew participle which opened. If you are ever going to “remember God in your youth,” that  means you must do it now. You will never be any younger, and the “evil days” of old age are coming. If you have been waiting to serve God, it is past time to start. Do not delay. Choose for yourself joy, both now and in eternity.

By the time we reach the latter half of Ecclesiastes 12, we have come a long way with Solomon. We have seen the results of his experiments with pleasure, wealth, human wisdom, folly, work, sex, alcohol, and everything else he could think of. He declares, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!”

Solomon has learned some important lessons in the process, especially that life “under the sun” offers nothing in and of itself. It has been a profound, sobering, and sometimes disturbing experience. But Solomon is much the wiser for it, and hopefully we are too.

By now we are familiar with Solomon’s recurring lament about life: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” Over and over he has reminded us that life is frequently disappointing, unfair, oppressive, tragic, and seemingly without point or meaning.

All of that could have a numbing effect on our outlook that could lead to a virtual paralysis about life. We might ask, “What’s the use? Isn’t it better to just withdraw from life as much as possible to avoid getting hurt?”

In spite of Solomon’s mournful refrain, with- drawing from life was certainly not his conclusion as to how to respond to its pain and unfairness. Instead, in spite of all the seeming vanity about life “under the sun,” he issues in chapters 11 and 12 a stirring call to action.

Chuck Swindoll paraphrases Solomon’s exhortation with the words “Go for it!” Be “bullish” about life! Since life is full of pitfalls, we will have to work at it to find any meaning and satisfaction. So we had better get on with the task.

The text, 11:1-6, is about getting the most out of life. There are numerous applications of Solomon’s  words:  social,  economic,  spiritual, evangelistic, etc. As we look at these verses, make your own applications as they best apply to your own life.

Here are Solomon’s suggestions for getting the most out of life:

INVEST IN THE LIFE OF FAITH

Ecclesiastes 11:1 is often quoted but seldom understood as Solomon intended: Ecclesiastes 11:1 (ESV) Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

Solomon would have agreed with the modern proverb: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” If life is going to be full and meaningful, it has to be a life of faith.

“Casting your bread” refers to the willingness to risk yourself now in anticipation of the future.

The imagery is probably drawn from ancient maritime trading. Trading by sea was a long, expensive process. One had to be willing to risk a great deal and be patient in order to see any return. But to those who were willing to risk it, the rewards could be great.

Some live only for the here and now. They take no risks, leave nothing to chance, are willing to wait for nothing if there is the slightest possibility that it might not come through. For such people, life can become incredibly dull! But the life of faith trusts that what we do by faith now has sure returns. After all, that is what our hope of heaven is all about. Such confidence leads us to be “risk-takers for the Lord.” This boldness about life and willingness to take risks causes people to leave behind the comforts and security of home to take the message of Jesus to other lands.

This boldness motivates parents and Bible class teachers to invest hours, days, and years of their lives to the training of sometimes wiggly, inattentive children in the ways of the Lord. All diligent servants of Christ are convinced that all “bread” cast in Jesus’ name eventually comes back!

BE GENEROUS

Generosity is a better guarantee of the future than stinginess. Solomon admonishes us to give freely to others in anticipation of some day being in need ourselves: Ecclesiastes 11:2 (ESV) Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

The idea is not to give in anticipation of a reward, for that would not be true generosity. The generous ones find that in their time of need, they have many friends. On the other hand, those who live their lives in a self-protective mode, looking out for no one but themselves, find that in their time of  need,  self  is  all  they  have!  We  cheat  only ourselves by being stingy.

ACT IN FAITH DESPITE THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE

Ecclesiastes 11:3 (ESV) If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

Problems of life will come, and there is nothing that we can do to stop them. Clouds produce rain, trees fall, and accidents happen.

Some of these inevitable things will be bad things. As the next verse says, some will allow those inevitable  bad  things  to  keep  them  from  the business of life: Ecclesiastes 11:4 (ESV) He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

We cannot allow our focus to be on the negatives of life. We must carry on with life’s plans, expecting setbacks, but believing that our effort will be rewarded. A particular manifestation of “looking at the clouds” occurs when some people take every setback in life as some sort of “sign” from God. If some plan falls through or becomes more difficult than anticipated, they conclude that God is “telling them something” and immediately seek a change of course. Followed to the extreme, this tendency would cause some people to be afraid to do anything!

To see the fallacy of such an idea, think of Paul. What if he had taken each obstacle thrown in his way as a sign that he was not doing God’s will? Would much of the Gentile world have been evangelized? He faced dangers at every turn, yet he was confident that he was doing what God wanted. Why? Because, as he himself put it, he “walked by faith and not by sight.”

Many churches need to learn this lesson. Just because a work for the Lord is difficult, expensive, or risky does not mean that it should not be done! Church leaders sometimes retreat from opportunities to go forward in the cause of Christ, pointing out, “We must be realistic!”

But we must also be sure that we get on with the business at hand—taking the gospel to the world— and not allow “being realistic” to become an excuse for avoiding the difficult or the expensive. Perhaps much of our “realism” is actually “observing the wind” and failing to sow.

ENJOY THE ELEMENT OF MYSTERY IN LIFE

As 11:5 so eloquently puts it, there are some wonderful things about life that man is powerless to bring about or even to explain: Ecclesiastes 11:5 (ESV) As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

God causes them to happen, and we stand in awe. When dealing with God, there will always be that element of mystery and wonder and the unexpected because God is all-powerful and can do things that we cannot imagine!

Paul marveled at this mysterious quality of God in Romans 11:33: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

And then there is the wonderful doxology in Ephesians 3:20, 21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

We should never allow ourselves to think that we have God all figured out, that we know exactly what He will and will not do. As God, He remains free to act as He wills, and we are in awe at His power and wisdom, both of which far surpass our own.

But that is precisely what makes the life of faith an adventure! Living by faith in the God of the Bible is unquestionably the most exciting way to live. Think of Abraham.

When he was far past the normal point in life for being able to father a child, God said to him, “You will have a son.” How could it be so? The answer is simply, God!

Do not hold back! Live the life of faith, and see what God will do in your life.

INVEST WIDELY IN LIFE

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (ESV) In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

A wise farmer will always sow more seed than he thinks he needs. It is a basic principle of agriculture. One cannot be stingy with the seed and reap a vast harvest. There could be many applications of this principle. Invest yourself in many aspects of life. Then, in spite of disappointment in some areas, there will still be something rewarding about life.

Another would be the suggestion to enjoy as many activities as possible, in order to avoid becoming too narrowly focused.

One obvious application for Christians involves evangelism. Jesus told us that the “seed” in His parable of the sower is the Word of God. And the more of that seed we sow, the more we will reap. Is your congregation not having enough conversions? Sow more seed! Teach everyone you can.

Solomon knew that life gives a poor return for a poor investment; therefore, he challenges us to invest ourselves fully. Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:24, 25; emphasis mine).

Live the life of faith. Do not be thrown off track by the obstacles. Do not be frightened by the risks. “In due season we shall reap!”

Solomon now gives additional suggestions for getting the most out of life.

LIFE IS TO BE ENJOYED, NOT ENDURED

Verse 7 says, “Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. This may seem like a meaningless proverb until we observe the usual meaning of the Old Testament symbolism of “light.”

This word frequently stands for the goodness and joy of life. Job 18:5, 6 says, “Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out, and the flame of his fire gives no light. The light in his tent is darkened, and his lamp goes out above him.”

Psalms 97:11 says, “Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.”

Solomon also proclaims that in spite of its “vanity,” life has its good aspects, and it is good to enjoy them.

Life is beautiful and worthy of being cared for . . . and enjoyed. . . . It is in the spirit of the whole book that, along with the call to earnest activity, there should be the call to the pleasant enjoyment of life: he who faithfully labors has a right to enjoy his life.

But someone might wonder, “Why do we need to be told that?” The answer is that some of life’s “vanities” often cause us to think that we are not supposed to enjoy life. Maybe you grew up around unhappy, negative-thinking people who gave you the impression that life is not supposed to be enjoyed.

An enormous load of guilt feelings is passed from their parents, teachers, and others of importance to them that causes them to feel they are unworthy of a happy life.

They may think that something is wrong if they are not sad or struggling with a deep problem. Solomon—and God—says, “Wrong!” Christians are not to spend their lives with a dismal outlook. God wants His people to be joyful and appreciative of His blessings. If anyone is to look for the bright side in this world, it must be the people of God, those who can look beyond circumstances and see life’s real meaning and true beauty which is found in a knowledge of its Creator.

According to the opening chapters of Genesis, Satan, not God, injected the element of vanity into life “under the sun.” Satan wants to eradicate God’s joy from our lives, but God wants to eradicate the vanity and fill us with joy.

In spite of the inevitable “vanity,” much is good about life, and it is all right to enjoy it!

EVERY PHASE OF LIFE IS TO BE ENJOYED

There is (or can be) something good about life at every stage. “Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all” (11:8a).

We may at times have to look for the good, but it is there for the finding. Obviously, it is easier to find the good at some times in life than at others. Youth is generally a time of optimism and strength.

But changes come, and that in itself can be depressing (see 12:1-8). It is not enjoyable to see your skin sag, your eyes grow dim, your strength diminish, or your hair staring back at you from the bathroom sink! But Solomon advises us not to spend our lives bemoaning the changes. Rather, we should look for the unique joys that come with each phase of life.

Solomon gives an interesting and sobering reason for what he says about enjoying all of life’s phases: “Let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many” (11:8b). This is merely a poetic way of saying, “You had better enjoy life now; you will be dead for a very long time!”

The certainty of death makes it imperative to enjoy life while we can. Many people “die” years before their time by refusing to look for the good in life and by making themselves miserable.

Of course, we know something about death that Solomon did not know: that it can be even better than earthly life because of Christ.

Even for Christians, our time in this life is limited, and we should use it to the fullest. The psalmist said, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom” (Psalms 90:12).

And Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work” (John 9:4).

YOUTH IS NOT TO BE WASTED

“Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood” (11:9a).

Solomon seems to advise against the tendency to feel sorry for ourselves and create our own brand of misery. Youth is the time to learn that life is, to a great extent, what you choose to make it. So much of the way our lives turn out depends on our outlook.

A popular saying is, “Have a good day.” It is a pleasant sentiment, but it does not mean much. A better exhortation would be “Make it a good day!”

We must take the initiative in molding and using our circumstances—good and bad— to the fullest. Solomon advises the young man to “remove vexation from your heart and put away pain from your body” (11:10).

No one can remove all of the pain and frustration from life, but we should remove all we can and not make ourselves miserable! “. . . because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.”

Neither youth nor the prime of life are permanent, and neither holds the ultimate answer to life’s meaning. En- joy your youth, Solomon says, and do not waste it, but realize that there is more to life than its first twenty or thirty years.

WE ARE MORALLY AND SPIRITUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WAY WE LIVE

The first part of verse 9 could be misunderstood as teaching that we should each do as we please: Ecclesiastes 11:9 (ESV) 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.

But the last statement provides a necessary corrective to that idea: Ecclesiastes 11:9 (ESV)  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.

These words are intended to provide a balanced view of life. Life is to be enjoyed, but limits are to be observed. God will call us to account for all we do.

This balanced understanding will save us from misusing our lives. Many of the problems plaguing today’s youth are tragic, for they are unnecessary and avoidable. Alcohol and drug abuse, teen pregnancy, the danger of AIDS—all complicate life needlessly. Life has enough “vanity” without making it worse!

Solomon is not just talking about the “natural consequences” of sin. We must face God in judgment and answer for the lives we have lived.

Solomon has no clear conception of what this judgment will be like, but his faith in a moral God makes it a certainty. All that we do—whether in youth or old age—is done in God’s sight, and we must answer for it.

CONCLUSION

What does Solomon recommend about getting the most out of life? Enjoy it to the fullest. Do not be detoured by the obstacles or waste any part of it. Above all, be conscious of your responsibility to God for the way you live.

In this way you can have the “abundant life” that Jesus talked about.

The Moneylender and His Wife—a famous painting by the Renaissance artist Quentin Massys—confronts us with the choice that everyone must make between God and money. The moneylender is sitting at home, with a measuring scale and a pile of money in front of him on the table, carefully assessing the value of a single coin.

Yet our eye is also drawn to the woman sitting next to him, the moneylender’s wife. She is leafing through a Bible or a book of spiritual exercises, which presumably was bought by her wealthy husband.

She is having her devotions, except she is distracted by all the money being counted. As she turns the page, her gaze is captivated by the coin in her husband’s hand.

Massys painted this image to make a serious point. His adopted city of Antwerp had become a world center for business and trade. But Massys saw how easily money can pull our souls away from the worship of God.

All of us feel this tension. We know that God demands our highest allegiance. We believe that nothing is more precious than the message of his gospel—the forgiveness of our sins and the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Yet we are easily distracted. Sometimes we would rather thumb through a mail-order catalog than listen to what God has said in his Word.

To this point the Preacher has been talking about wealth and poverty on the national scale, but beginning in verse 10 he brings things down to the personal level.

Public officials are not the only people who want to get more money; this is a temptation for all of us. So the Preacher warns us about the vanity of prosperity: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Here we have a well-known truth, stated as a proverb, to which the Preacher adds his typical editorial comment about vanity.

No matter how much money they have, people who live for money are never satisfied. They always want more.

John D. Rockefeller was one of the richest men in the world, but when someone asked him how much money was enough, he famously said, “Just a little bit more.”

Most Americans have at least a mild case of this deadly disease. Even if we are thankful for what we have, we often think about the things that we do not have and how to get them.

This explains the sudden pang of discontent we feel when we realize that we cannot afford something we want to buy or the   guilt we feel because we bought it anyway, and now we are in debt as a result.

The appetite for what money can buy is never satisfied. The only way to curb it is to be content with what God provides.

What he did in this section was demolish several of the myths that people hold about wealth. Because they hold to these illusions, they rob themselves of the blessings God has for them.

Myth #1: Wealth Brings Satisfaction (vs. 10)

¹⁰ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Some people treat money as though it were a god. They love it, make sacrifices for it, and think that it can do anything. Their minds are filled with thoughts about it; their lives are controlled by getting it and guarding it; and when they have it, they experience a great sense of security.

What faith in the Lord does for the Christian, money does for many unbelievers. How often we hear people say, “Well, money may not be the number one thing in life, but it’s way ahead of whatever is number two!”

The person who loves money cannot be satisfied no matter how much is in the bank account—because the human heart was made to be satisfied only by God (3:11).

“Take heed and beware of covetousness,” warned Jesus, “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15, NKJV).

First the person loves money, and then he loves more money, and the disappointing pursuit has begun that can lead to all sorts of problems. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10, NKJV).

Myth #2: Wealth Solves Every Problem (vs. 11)

When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

There is no escaping the fact that we need a certain amount of money in order to live in this world, but money of itself is not the magic “cure-all” for every problem. In fact, an increase in wealth usually creates new problems that we never even knew existed before.

Solomon mentioned one: relatives and friends start showing up and enjoying our hospitality. All we can do is watch them eat up our wealth.

Or perhaps it is the tax agent who visits us and decides that we owe the government more money.

John Wesley said: “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Wesley himself could have been a very wealthy man, but he chose to live simply and give generously.

Myth #3: Wealth Brings Peace of Mind (vs. 12)

Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

The late Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion, used to say, “I don’t like money actually, but it quiets my nerves.” But Solomon said that possessing wealth is no guarantee that your nerves will be calm and your sleep sound.

According to him, the common laborer sleeps better than the rich man. The suggestion seems to be that the rich man ate too much and was kept awake all night by an upset stomach. But surely Solomon had something greater in mind than that.

The Living Bible expresses verse 12 perfectly: “The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.”

More than one preacher has mentioned John D. Rockefeller in his sermons as an example of a man whose life was almost ruined by wealth. At the age of 53, Rockefeller was the world’s only billionaire, earning about a million dollars a week.

But he was a sick man who lived on crackers and milk and could not sleep because of worry. When he started giving his money away, his health changed radically and he lived to celebrate his 98th birthday!

Yes, it’s good to have the things that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things that money can’t buy.

Myth # 4: Wealth Provides Security (vs. 13-17)

 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, ¹⁴ and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. ¹⁵ As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁶ This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? ¹⁷ Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

Poor old Solomon. Here he is grieving his heart out that he can’t take any of it with him! The sad fact of there never having been any kind of a U-Haul attachment for funeral coaches was viewed by the great wise man as “a grievous evil.”

The apostle Paul may have remembered this passage when he wrote, “We brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out; but having food and covering we shall be therewith content. But they that are minded to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Tim. 6:7–9).

Several of the great tragedies connected with wealth are mentioned here. (1) “They perish by evil adventure” (Eccl. 5:14). This might occur in a hundred different ways, a false partner, an unwise investment, a natural calamity of some kind, a revolution, a bankruptcy, or something else

(2) “If he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand” (Eccl. 5:14). The inability of the sons of rich men to carry on the successes of their fathers is effectively demonstrated continually in the daily newspapers. I was made aware of a poem that had this line: “All you can hold in your cold dead hand is what you have given away.”

“Nothing … which he may carry away in his hand” (Eccl. 5:15). Oh yes we take something with us when we die; but it is invisible, ‘nothing in our cold dead hand.’

“We take with us our character and our conscience.” We take with us those treasures which we have laid up “in heaven” (Matt. 6:20–21).

We shall also take with us (in the sense that we shall not lose them) those “friends” whom we have made by the proper use of our wealth, wicked as it is, and who, according to our Lord’s promise, “Shall receive us into the eternal habitations.” (Luke 16:9, Revised Standard Version).

The wisest man who ever lived did not know this; and it emphasizes the truth that Christians are exceedingly privileged and blessed. Wiser that Solomon?

Today people lose their money in places like the stock market. In those days their ships foundered at sea or their camel trains were attacked in the wilderness. But whatever the reason, this man took a gamble and ended up destitute as a result.

Keep in mind that Solomon was advocating neither poverty nor riches, because both have their problems (Prov. 30:7–9). The Preacher was warning his listeners against the love of money and the delusions that wealth can bring.

“What profit hath he that laboreth for the wind” (Eccl. 5:16)? See comment on Eccl. 5:15, above, which tells how the rich man indeed may profit magnificently, if he will do it Jesus’ way.

The language of these verses is familiar to anyone who knows the story of Job. When that poor man lost everything that he had, he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

The Apostle Paul took the same truth and applied it to all of us: “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:7).

Everything that Solomon says about money is beautifully paraphrased by Randy Alcorn in his book The Treasure Principle, under the heading “Chasing the Wind.” Alcorn quotes each of Solomon’s insights in Ecclesiastes 5:10–15, and then adds his own paraphrase:

• “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want.
• “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied.
• “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it.
• “And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good.
• “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about.
• “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.
• “Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v. 14). The more you have, the more you have to lose.

The Right Attitude Toward Health and Wealth – Solomon added another important thought: the ability to enjoy life’s blessings is also a gift from God.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (ESV) 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. ¹⁹  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. ²⁰  For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

The short film James 3 portrays a family of four getting ready for church on a Sunday morning. Even though the viewer cannot hear what the family members are saying, it is not hard to read their lips, or at least their attitudes.

   They wake up sleepy and grumpy. The dad stumbles over the laundry and kicks it out of the way. The older daughter argues with her mother about what she will (or will not) wear to church.

   The younger daughter spills her milk and cereal. Angry words are exchanged, especially when the dad slams on the brakes while the mom is trying to put on lipstick in the car.

   As they get ready for church, no one in the family smiles or exchanges even one friendly word … until they walk into church and it is time to put on a happy face.

   The mom and the dad smile at the first people they meet. Joyfully they take their places in the auditorium. When they stand to sing, their eyes are closed in reverent adoration. As the film ends, the sound begins, and we can hear what they are singing: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

   Which is reality? Which is fantasy? And which is the real you? Is it the person who treats people badly at home or the person who acts nice to people in the house of God? When you go to worship, is it really worship, or are you just pretending?

In this climactic passage, the Preacher takes his listener by the arm, turns him toward the heavens, and says: “Stand in awe of God. Come to him. Never try to use him. He is in heaven and you are on earth.”

You would probably be reluctant to purchase an unfamiliar product if the label said, “Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed.” An ungodly way of life offers no guarantee of satisfaction, yet many people seem to want it.

Chapter 4: to the courtroom, the market place, the idle man, the independent man, on the highway, in the palace…in Ecclesiastes 5, Solomon continued to stress the futility of living one’s life without God. The natural man, without God, is baffled by everything. Nothing on the earth seems to have any meaning when considered to its end.

This fact places great importance upon our relationship with God. God’s will is not to be tampered with. A religion that is anything short of total commitment to God only adds to the emptiness of life.

No wonder so many “religious” people are dissatisfied. They have just enough religion to make them uncomfortable —to know that they are not really pleasing God—yet not enough to give them the security that comes through total commitment.

The Preacher is speaking to just about everyone who ever goes to church. His words are not for people who never go to church at all.

His exhortations are for people who do go to church but sometimes find it hard to pay attention, whose thoughts wander when they pray, and who are full of good intentions about serving God but have trouble following through.

They are for people who know they need to get involved in outreach but usually come up with some excuse for not joining a ministry right now. They have started a serious program for personal Bible study several dozen times but have never finished. They try to pay attention in church but usually spend half their time thinking about the upcoming week.

What was their sin? They were robbing God of the reverence and honor that He deserved. Their acts of worship were perfunctory, insincere, and hypocritical.

These verses describe the proper attitude individuals must have as they enter the temple to worship in the presence of God. Worshipers exercise restraint as they offer sacrifices (v. 1), extend prayers (vv. 2–3), and make vows (vv. 4–6) to God.

Can I be honest? I wish there were some way to announce over a loudspeaker system outside every church, “The worship zone is for learning, listening, and changing only. Be alert! Listen carefully. Truth will be deposited in your head that is designed to change your life.”

Solomon pens some convicting words.  He is going to sober us up. He may even make us feel badly. Now, I hope that you don’t come to church to be made to feel happy (wealth and health). The Bible isn’t a book about happiness; it is a book about holiness.

This means sometimes the Bible will say things that you and I don’t like. Yet, if our goal is to become progressively holy, we will welcome the hard words of Scripture. For hard words make soft people and soft words make hard people.

In these nine verses, Solomon shares two prohibitions that will enable us to exercise holiness and worship the right God in the right way. He wants us to see that God seeks an open heart and a closed mouth.

The worship of God is the highest ministry of the church and must come from devoted hearts and yielded wills. Solomon touched on several aspects of worship, the first of which was the offering of sacrifices (v. 1).

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

We must watch our steps when we approach God in worship (5:1–3). We should approach Him to listen more than to speak. Most people do not realize the wrong in an empty sacrifice.

“The sacrifice of fools” in verse 1 probably has reference to a sacrifice offered by a man so foolish as to think that the outward act of sacrificing is all that is needed.

It is not the sacrifice itself that God wants; it is obedience. God desires a humble and contrite spirit. The foolish man approaches God with his sacrifice, expecting God to take note of it and listen to his halfhearted request for pardon; yet he goes on his way unwilling to listen to God.

Those who play at religion in such a manner are often more frustrated and confused in times of trouble than those who have no religion at all. Those who have no belief in God expect nothing from God and blame God for nothing.  

Solomon warned about approaching God flippantly or insincerely (5:2). In effect, he said, “Be careful what you say to God. Remember, He is the God of heaven, and you are only an earth creature.”

The important thing is that the worshiper “be more ready to hear,” that is, to obey the Word of God.

Then Solomon issued a warning about careless praying (vv. 2–3)  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. ³ For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

 The right way to approach God in worship is to come with our ears wide-open. The Preacher assumes that when people go to the house of God, there will be “something” for them to hear.

 hat “something” is the Word of the living God. The house of God is a place for the reading and the preaching of the Word of God.

So the first questions we need to ask ourselves as we prepare for worship are: Am I ready to listen to the voice of God? Is my heart open to spiritual instruction? Are my ears attentive to the message I will hear from the Bible?

 Understand that whenever we go to worship, we enter the presence of a holy God who has gathered his holy people to hear his holy Word.

 When we consider the holiness of God and compare it with our own unholy worship, it is a wonder that any of us is still alive. Thank God for Jesus! It is not only his sufferings that save us but also his obedience, including the perfect worship he offered to his Father.

Jesus died for all our sins, including all the sins we have committed in the very act of worshiping God. But Jesus also did something more.

 We come to worship the way that the Solomon of Ecclesiastes tells us to come—paying attention to God, watching our step when we enter his sanctuary, and listening to the truth of his Word.

 The Creator/creature distinction has practical implications for what we say when we worship. We need to know our place, remembering both who God is and who we are.

 Isaiah said in one of his famous prophecies, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

 Solomon’s third admonition had to do with making vows to the Lord (vv. 4–7). When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. ⁵ It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. ⁶ Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

 When we make promises to God, we must keep them (5:4–7). It is better not to make a promise to God than to make one and fail to keep it. We must not promise what we cannot do or do not intend to do. It will not do any good to excuse ourselves by saying such things as “I made a mistake.” Solomon was saying that we must speak carefully and honestly before God and before His messengers. God did not require His people to make vows in order to be accepted by Him, but the opportunity was there for them to express their devotion if they felt led to do so (see Num. 30; Deut. 23:21–23; Acts 18:18).

Another way to say this? Don’t play games with God! If you promise him something, be a man or a woman of your word. In some cases, this means that it would be better for us not to promise God anything at all.

But the Bible assumes that there are times when it is appropriate for us to take spiritual vows, like the vows of covenant matrimony, for example, or the promises people make when they become members of a church.

The Preacher warned about two sins. The first was that of making the vow with no intention of keeping it, in other words, lying to God.

The second sin was making the vow but delaying to keep it, hoping you could get out of it. When the priest [“angel” = messenger] came to collect the promised sacrifice or gift, the person would say, “Please forget about my vow! It was a mistake!”

God hears what we say and holds us to our promises, unless they were so foolish that He could only dismiss them. If providence prevents us from fulfilling what we promised, God understands and will release us.

 If we made our vows only to impress others, or perhaps to “bribe” the Lord (“If God answers my prayer, I will give $500 to missions!”), then we will pay for our careless words.

Many times in my hospital ministry I have heard sick people make promises to God as they asked for healing, only to see those promises forgotten when they recovered.

“If God helps me leave this hospital room, I’ll read the Bible more…I’ll go back to worship…”People make empty vows because they live in a religious “dream world”; they think that words are the same as deeds (v. 7). Their worship is not serious, so their words are not dependable.

They enjoy the “good feelings” that come when they make their promises to God, but they do themselves more harm than good. They like to “dream” about fulfilling their vows, but they never get around to doing it. They practice a make-believe religion that neither glorifies God nor builds Christian character.

Compare the warning of Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 with these words of Jesus: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’ ” (Matthew 15:7–9, NIV).

T. M. Moore has written a loose poetic paraphrase of these verses that can help us remember its spiritual lessons.

“How brazen and dishonest people are with their religion. They will go as far with it as suits their needs; so they attend the services and sing the hymns, and when they have to, give a little money to the Lord. But do they live as one should do who’s made a vow to God? Don’t kid yourself. Among their friends their faith is on the shelf.…Remember, God knows everything.

“He knows our hearts when we before him bring our worship, and you can’t fool him. So take a good look at yourself before you make your next appearance before the Lord. And go to listen, not to speak, for he will know just what you need.

“Why, any fool can spout a lovely prayer or sing a hymn about his faith. His words are mindless, like a dream, although to people looking on they seem impressive. Not to God.…For words are cheap, just like the dreams you have while you’re asleep. God wants your heart, my son, not just a show. Get right with him before you to him go.”