Money is Not the Answer… vs. 1

• Common Evil…
  • There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is common among men!
  • Solomon had SEEN [רָאָה] another EVIL [רַע] that was VERY [רַב] common to men [אָדָם]
  • Chapter SIX is somewhat unique in the book of Ecclesiastes…
  • As it is dedicated to a SINGLE evil that Solomon found in his search for PURPOSE…
  • It was the MOST common EVIL that he saw men chasing after – MONEY!
  • The subject of money is a divisive and often confusing issue…
  • The world is ALWAYS trying to tell us if only we had LOTS of money – we would be HAPPY…
  • Sadly this worldly view has even found its way into the church…
  • Rather than giving a Biblical perspective – many church teach a PROSPERITY gospel!
  • I Timothy 6:5 – “[These are] men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.”
  • The Gospel is NOT about getting rich – or having a better life now…
  • If we are looking for temporal rewards in return for our obedience to Christ…
  • We might very well be disappointed – God promises us tribulation – John 16:33
  • The rewards for serving Jesus are far greater – they are eternal – it is about heaven!
• 1^st – Short life… vs. 1
  • Lots of money…
    • A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor.
    • So that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires!
    • As Solomon investigated the EVIL that comes from the love of MONEY – I Timothy 6:10
    • He gave us FOUR scenarios to demonstrate why it is USELESS [vanity]
    • FIRST – Solomon tells us about a man who has ALL the money he would ever need…
    • This man had great RICHES [עֹשֶׁר] and POSSESSIONS [נֶכֶס] – and HONOR [כָּבוֹד]
    • NOT because he was SMARTER than others – God [אֱלֹהִים] had given [נָתַן] it to him…
    • So that there was NOTHING [אִין] his soul [נֶפֶשׁ] wanted – he had it ALL [כָּל]
    • It seems a fair assumption – that Solomon is talking about himself…
    • Because God GAVE [נָתַן] him great wealth – possessions – and honor!
    • I Kings 3:13 – “I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor.”
    • People who have money often assume they have EARNED their riches…
    • They boast how they went to college – got a good education…
    • Worked hard so they would be successful in their career…
    • And now as a result of all THEIR hard work – they have wealth to show for it!
    • There is nothing wrong with having a good work ethic – we should work hard…
    • But we do NOT get the credit for anything we accomplish in life…
    • Because everything we have – we received from God – so it is NOT ours to glory over…
    • Our intellect – our family – our genetics – were all given to us…
    • We have NOTHING – which we have NOT received – so ALL the credit goes to God!
    • I Corinthians 4:7 – “What do you have that God has not given you?”
  • Death…
    • Yet God does not give him power to eat of it – but a foreigner consumes it. 
    • This is vanity and it is an evil affliction!
    • Yet God [אֱלֹהִים] did NOT [לֹא] let him enjoy all that he had been GIVEN…
    • Because life is SHORT – then he would DIE – and a STRANGER [נָכְרִי] gets all the money…
    • Therefore even having ALL the WEALTH a person would ever want…
    • Is EMPTY [vanity] – and in the end EVIL – because people do NOT last!
    • We have all heard the saying that MONEY does NOT last…
    • Solomon had the opposite take on the argument – it is the PEOPLE who do NOT last…
    • Even if we are GIVEN incredible amounts of WEALTH so we could buy ANYTHING we want…
    • We do NOT have much TIME with which to spend it…
    • Then all our MONEY just gets passed onto someone else – VANITY!
    • James 4:14 – “What is your life? Its a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
• 2^nd – Long life… vs. 2-6
  • Lots of kids… vs. 2
    • If a man begets a hundred children – lives many years so that the days of his years are many.
    • SECOND – Solomon tells us about a man who was NOT satisfied…
    • IF [אִם] a man could have one HUNDRED children – and live for MANY [רַב] years!
    • Likely we are again talking about King Solomon…
    • Women can only have ONE child a year – and only for about TWENTY years…
    • Therefore – practically speaking it would take MANY wives to have a HUNDRED kids…
    • As Solomon had one THOUSAND wives – he likely had a LOT of children – I Kings 11:3
    • And the LORD gave him a MANY years to have all those kids – I Kings 3:14
  • Not Satisfied… vs. 2
    • But his soul is not satisfied with goodness – or indeed he has no burial!
    • Yet for ALL of his KIDS and his LONG years – he was NOT [לֹא] SATISFIED [שָׂבַע]
    • Because these things did NOT fill him with THE good [הַטּוֹבָה]
    • He was STILL looking for something more – up to the day he DIED…
    • One might assume – at least his HUNDRED kids would give him a good FUNERAL…
    • BUT [גַּם] – if he NEVER found the answer – what did it matter if he got buried or NOT!
    • The woman at the well in Samaria was looking for the ANSWER…
    • She had married and divorced FIVE men – and did NOT even bother to marry the SIXTH…
    • Yet for all those RELATIONSHIPS – she was still THIRSTY!
    • John 4:13 – “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.”
    • Children are a BLESSING from God – but they are NOT the answer…
    • THE good that we are looking for cannot be found in RELATIONSHIPS…
    • We can live a LONG life [100 years] – and have MANY relationships [100 kids]
    • But there is only one GOOD that will ever satisfy our THIRST!
    • Matthew 19:17 – “No one is good but One – that is God.”
  • Time is NOT the answer… vs. 2-5
    • I say that a stillborn child is better than he.
    • For it comes in vanity and departs in darkness and its name is covered with darkness.
    • Though it has not seen the sun or known anything – this has more rest than that man!
    • Solomon came to the conclusion – it would have been better to have been MISCARRIED [נֶפֶל]
    • [כִּי] BECAUSE – then his birth would have meant NOTHING [vanity]
    • He would have disappeared into the DARK [forgotten] – no one would know his NAME…
    • Even though [גַּם] he would NEVER have seen – or even KNOWN [יָדַע] about the SUN…
    • Since there are NO answers under the SUN – Ecclesiastes 1:14
    • He would have had MORE rest than a man who lived MANY years!
  • Two thousand years… vs. 6
    • Even if he lives a thousand years twice but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?
    • Even if a man could live for a THOUSAND years – not once but TWICE…
    • That still would NOT be enough time for him to SEE [רָאָה] what is GOOD [טֽוֹב]
    • And in the END – after all those years – EVERYONE [כָּל] still DIES!
    • There is a mathematical problem called the Hodge conjecture…
    • Anyone who is able to solve the problem will be given FIFTY million pesos…
    • The brightest minds in the world have tried – and FAILED…
    • It would NOT matter if we had a DAY – or a THOUSAND years – we still could NOT answer it!
    • It is the same with looking for MEANING in this life…
    • No matter how much TIME someone has – how many RELATIONSHIPS they try…
    • It is NEVER going to be able to SATISFY them – so stop TRYING…
    • Because there is no GOOD answer – UNDER the SUN!
• 3^rd – Always hungry… vs. 7-9
  • Never satisfied… vs. 7
    • All the labor of man is for his mouth and yet the soul is not satisfied!
    • THIRD – Solomon gives us the motivation for why men [אָדָם] WORK…
    • ALL [כָּל] that they do is to put FOOD in their mouth…
    • We all understand the NEED for FOOD – we have to eat EVERY day…
    • But [גַּם] not matter how much we EAT – our SPIRIT [נֶפֶשׁ] is NEVER full!
    • Have you ever been HUNGRY – and tried to drink water instead…
    • It will take away the HUNGER – but NOT for very long – the BODY needs CALORIES!
    • Yet people try and FILL the GOD shaped hole in their lives – with the things of this world…
    • How many times have we said – if I could only have THIS I would be happy…
    • And when we get what we WANTED – we are happy for a moment – then we want more…
    • It is because we were NOT created by God to be fulfilled by the things of this world…
    • We were created by God to KNOW Him – worship Him – John 17:3
    • And only when we use our life for the purpose God intended for it – are we SATISFIED!
  • Wrong kind of Food… vs. 8
    • For what more has the wise man than the fool?
    • What does the poor man have who knows how to walk before the living?
      
    • Since no matter how much we EAT – our SPIRIT [נֶפֶשׁ] will never be FULL…
    • WHAT [מָה] does it matter if the WISE [חָכָם] has more than the FOOL [כְּסִיל]
    • WHAT [מָה] does it matter if the POOR [עָנִי] knows [יָדַע] how to impress people…
    • In the END all they get is more FOOD – that CANNOT satisfy them!
    • After Jesus fed the FIVE thousand men [plus women and children]
    • The people came to Him and wanted to make him their KING…
    • They asked for Jesus to give them MANNA [what is it] like Moses did – John 6:31
    • John 6:41 – “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”
    • We do NOT need more FOOD – we need the RIGHT kind of FOOD [spiritual]
    • We NEED to spend time with Jesus in His WORD – feed our starving SPIRIT [נֶפֶשׁ]
    • If we ate dinner last night – that does that mean we are NOT hungry in the morning…
    • If we ate THREE meals yesterday – does that mean we do NOT need to eat today…
    • People think because they went to church – they got their FILL of Jesus for the week…
    • Or they do NOT need to read their Bible TODAY – because they read it YESTERDAY…
    • If we do NOT want to become spiritually WEAK – we need the Bread of Life EVERY day!
    • Psalm 1:2 – “His delight is in the [Word] …and in [it] he meditates day and night!”
  • Be content… vs. 9
    • Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire.
    • This also is vanity and grasping for the wind!
    • Therefore it is GOOD [טֽוֹב] to be CONTENT with what we can SEE [already have]
    • Because if we allow our SOUL [נֶפֶשׁ] to WANDER…
    • Thinking there is something else out there that will SATISFY us…
    • We will be EMPTY [vanity] – because we are CHASING the WIND!
    • There is a BIG difference between NEED and WANT…
    • We all have a LOT of WANTS in life – but the question is do we NEED it…
    • Since God PROMISES to provide us with all of our NEEDS – Matthew 6:33
    • If we do NOT see it – we must NOT need it…
    • Therefore we should be CONTENT with what God has provided!
    • Hebrews 13:5 – “Be content with such things as you have.”
    • The problem comes when we are NOT content – when we let our SPIRIT wander…
    • Because if we THINK something other than Jesus can SATISFY us – chasing the WIND…
    • It is NOT about chasing something that is HARD to catch – NOTHING is there to catch…
    • There is NOTHING wrong with having MONEY – the problem is when MONEY has us…
    • The RICHEST man is NOT the one with the most MONEY – it is the one who is CONTENT…
    • The POOREST man is NOT the one with the least MONEY – it is the one who wants MORE!
  • How to be content…
    • II Corinthians 9:8 – “God is able to make all GRACE abound toward you – that you always having all [contentment] in all things may have an abundance for every good work!”
    • It is by the GRACE of God that we can LEARN to be CONTENT with what God gives us…
    • Then we will no longer OBSESSED with MONEY – we are free to SERVE Him…
    • And we find we have and ABUNDANCE of joy – as we ABOUND with good works!
• 4^th – No tomorrow… vs. 10-12
  • Predetermined… vs. 10
    • Whatever one is he has been named already.
    • For it is known that he is man – and he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he!
    • We do NOT know WHAT [מָה] will the FUTURE hold for us…
    • We come at LIFE full of questions – will we be RICH – be SATISFIED….
    • But who we are – our NAME [שֵׁם] – is already [niphal] KNOWN [יָדַע] by God…
    • AND [וְ] we CANNOT [לֹא] win [יָכֹל] – He is greater than we are – His TRUTH is what will stand!
    • This is NOT to say we do not have a CHOICE in life…
    • The whole point is that we DO have a CHOICE – Joshua 24:15
    • Do we insist on looking for answers UNDER the sun – put our trust in MONEY…
    • People have been trying this for THOUSANDS of years – and it has NEVER worked…
    • And it still does NOT work – if we are looking UNDER the sun – we will NOT be SATISFIED…
    • Because we are NOT going to change what God has said – the TRUTH stands!
    • Romans 3:4 – “Let God be true but every man a liar.”
  • Empty words… vs. 11
    • Since there are many things that increase vanity how is man the better?
    • BECAUSE [כִּי] – the more [רָבָה] we SPEAK [דָּבָר] – the more [רָבָה] EMPTY we become…
    • WHAT [מָה] good does that do for MAN [אָדָם]!
    • People talk a LOT about what we NEED to make us HAPPY…
    • Over P42 TRILLION was spent on ADVERTISING in 2023…
    • That breaks down to almost P5000 for every person on EARTH!
    • Get a new cell phone – or a new car – or a new house…
    • And when the world has talked us into being MILLIONS in debt – we are still NOT happy…
    • The MORE they say – the MORE we see it is all EMPTY…
    • Because there are NO answers UNDER the SUN – it is chasing the WIND!
  • Unknown future… vs. 12
    • Who knows what is good for man all the days of his vain life which passes like a shadow? 
    • Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
    • Solomon finishes up by asking TWO questions:
    • WHO [מִי] can SEE [יָדַע] what GOOD [טֽוֹב] will happen to a MAN [אָדָם]
    • Whose life is EMPTY [vain] – and SHORT – it passes like a SHADOW…
    • WHO [מִי] – can tell a MAN [אָדָם] what will happen AFTER he is gone [under the sun]!
    • If I wanted to know how to build a new computer…
    • And I went to a gardener to ask for advice – it would NOT end well…
    • I am asking the WRONG person – for counsel on a subject they are NOT an expert at!
    • Why is it that when we want to know how to have a GOOD life – we go to MEN…
    • They have SHORT lives – that pass like a SHADOW [here for a moment then gone]
    • And their WISDOM is EMPTY [vain] – because they do NOT see the FUTURE…
    • It is no wonder that what they tell us is WRONG…
    • How much better to go to the EXPERT – go to the one who see EVERYTHING – Isaiah 46:10
    • Because the ANSWER to life are NOT found under the SUN…
    • It is found in the SON of God – who came to give us the TRUTH – John 17:17