Sorting Out Your Life (Pt. 1) | Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

[music] Welcome to the David Jeremiah podcast, delivering the unchanging word of God to your ever-changing world. Listen daily at David Jeremiah.org/podcast or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. On today's episode, Dr. Jeremiah brings a message from his series "Searching for Heaven." And now, here's David. [music] And thank you for joining us as we begin this new month together. We're studying the book of Ecclesiastes. I was listening to a talk show the other night when they asked questions of people and they get points for the right answers. And one of the questions was, "What book in the Bible means the preacher?" And nobody got it, but it's the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is the book of the preacher. And the preacher is going to tell us some things about life that we need to hear. In this particular passage of Scripture, we're going to sort out our life. You see, Solomon was studying life as if God was in the picture. No wonder he came up with the following conclusion to almost every chapter. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Solomon found out that life without God doesn't work very well. And even though we find some satisfaction under the sun, satisfaction is ultimately found in the sun, S-O-N. We'll talk about this today on Turning Point, but first let me tell you about our resource for the month. We have a wonderful paperback book which is a commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes. I'm sure you probably don't have one of those in your house because Ecclesiastes is often avoided in the teaching of the Scripture. One of the most practical and helpful books in the Bible. We have this all set up in a 31-day study. 31 days to happiness, searching for heaven on earth. It's 323 pages where you will learn to express your faith thoughtfully, gain wisdom to deal with providence and how to deal with prosperity and begin to understand how God meant you to live in the first place. It's yours for a gift of any size to Turning Point during the month of February. Ask for your copy of 31 days to happiness when you send your gift to Turning Point today. And now here is sorting out your life, part one. We are learning that the book of Ecclesiastes is one man's search for meaning in life. That it is Solomon, King of Israel, using all of his resources, all of his wealth, all of his wisdom to sort out what life is all about. This book was written in the closing years of Solomon's life as he looked back over his shoulder and evaluated the things that he tried to experience in order to find meaning in his life. It begins in the 12th verse of the first chapter. As this great man of wisdom is searching for the meaning of life in a number of areas. Remember now there are three key words in this book, first of all the word vanity, which occurs many times throughout the book, which means emptiness or without meaning. Secondly, under the sun, the phrase which means this is the context in which Solomon is doing his research. He's not researching life with God in the picture. He's looking at life as if God does not exist. And the third word is the word profit, which means what is left over. Solomon is going to research these various areas of life and find out what is left over. The experiences of life under the sun began in the first chapter and the 12th verse. As Solomon determines to search for meaning in wisdom, either preacher or Solomon was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun and indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight and what is lacking cannot be numbered. I communed with my heart saying, look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge and I set my heart to know wisdom and to know the madness and folly and I perceive that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Solomon begins by saying that he tried to find meaning in life through his wisdom and through his knowledge and through his great intellectual ability. His evaluation as he goes through this process is that education as we would call it is not the ultimate answer to meaning in life. The late philosopher and author Dr. Francis Schaefer said, the damnation of this generation is that it doesn't know that it has any meaning at all. T.S. Eliot encores from the rock said, all our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance. And an old proverb says, a wise man is never happy. Listen to Solomon's conclusion about his search for meaning in education, wisdom and knowledge. He says, I perceive that this also is grasping for the wind. All of us have met, perhaps even know, perhaps even are. People with a great deal of education. If education could bring meaning, the happiest people in the world would be PhDs. I know enough of them to tell you that ain't so. You cannot find meaning simply through education. And one of the things that happens in our secular culture is we believe that we can change the world through education. We just create smarter people who know how to do evil in a more sophisticated way. And we don't have meaning at all. Solomon sought for meaning in wisdom. And then as we begin the second chapter, he continued his search for meaning in wild living. This sounds like a report out of one of our contemporary newspapers. In verses one through three of chapter two, he files this report. "I said in my heart, come now, I will test you with mirth. Therefore enjoy pleasure, but surely this also was vanity. I said of laughter, madness, and of mirth, what does it accomplish? I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, how to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their life." Now notice, he's searching for meaning first of all in wisdom and he says it's like grasping the wind. Then he decides to try to find out whether he can find meaning through wild living. One writer has said that there was no time in Israel's history which was richer in possibilities for various pleasures, and no person in a better position to make the most of them than was Solomon. He tried everything. His search took him first of all to amusement. The scripture says that he tried mirth and he tried pleasure and he tried laughter and he tried madness. And he found out that it didn't bring him happiness. Laughter only breaks the monotony of crying and pleasure is only an intermission to pain. Solomon was trying to be happy and he was not. In fact in one of the 3,000 proverbs that he wrote that's recorded for us in the book of Proverbs, he said it this way, Proverbs 14, 13, "Even in laughter the heart may sorrow and the end of mirth may be grief." He tried amusement. You can almost visualize the palace during the time Solomon was gone through this experiment. It was like one of the casinos in Las Vegas filled with lights and all kinds of excitement and wine and women everywhere. He tried his best to amuse himself in demeaning and he found out that it didn't work. How many have we known like that in our culture? And perhaps you've been down that road and could testify today. I did it all. I experienced everything and it left me with an emptiness in my heart. He not only tried amusement but he tried alcohol. Notice in verse 3, "I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine while guiding my heart with wisdom." Now please understand Solomon did not become an alcoholic. He wasn't even drunk apparently. He says he was able to keep his heart with wisdom. He kept his senses about him so that he could record his observation on the effect of wine taking him toward meaning in life. Wine became a socially acceptable way to loosen up and enjoy people in his conversation. But wine did not bring any sense of profit into Solomon's life and it left him empty. It's interesting how many people try to find through substance abuse some meaning in life. Solomon was one man who had all of the resources and all of the opportunity and all of the power to experience every possible answer to life. And not ever say if I had only had a little bit more I could have tried that. He tried it all. And he discovered in his attempt to find meaning in wild living that this too was vanity and this too was the chasing of the wind. Wisdom did it do it while living didn't do it so he tried work. He became convinced that perhaps through his accomplishments through his projects he might find some meaning in life. Many of us perhaps have struggled with this particular avenue of meaning in life. Listen to what Solomon says in verses 4 through 6 of the second chapter. "I made my works great. I built myself houses and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. If you go through that text you will find that he says, "My or myself some six times." Solomon says, "I went out and did this stuff for me. I built all of these things. I engaged in all of these architectural projects. I had pools, ponds and parks and they didn't really do anything for me." I had the opportunity to participate in the inauguration of the new president of Cedarville College. And some of you know that college is the place where my father invested 50 years of his life both as the president and as the chancellor. When I was 12 years old we moved to Cedarville, Ohio and I became a resident of that little village. One of the men on the staff came to me and he said to you know that when Dr. Dixon was the president of this university he built a hundred million dollars worth of buildings on this campus. And I was kind of shocked but I remember then looking around and realizing that was the truth. He was a great leader and a great builder. Were those projects meaningful? Those buildings? Oh absolutely. Will they serve young people and educate them without question. But neither the students nor the faculty nor the trustees nor the president can derive from those buildings any lasting meaning. Most of the students will only spend four years there or at least that's the way it's supposed to work. Some of them might have an extra year or two of enjoyment of the buildings but that's not how it's planned. The faculty will not enjoy those facilities for more than one career which usually is 20 to 25 years. There is no permanent meaning in the accomplishment unless the accomplishment is linked to the eternal God. We built this building. It was a great project. But you know what? When we're not here this building has no meaning at all. It's just a place. We built this children's building. What a great thrill it was for that project and we all invested in it and are excited about it. But when the children aren't there it's just an empty place. And the children will grow and we'll grow and one day these buildings won't be like they are at all. You see there is no real lasting meaning in projects. Ecclesiastes says that what's seeking after ultimate meaning is like is to look at these projects as if they are the end all in life. There's nothing wrong with them. They have a wonderful purpose as long as we don't make them the ultimate goal in our life. If we do that we will be disappointed. You can never build enough buildings. You cannot build them big enough or more beautiful enough to fulfill the longing of your soul because you are created in such a way that that longing can only be filled through God Himself. You see the problem with trying to find life through accomplishment is we can look at history and find people who have accomplished far more than we could ever attempt. And they have given testimony that it leaves them with an ache in their heart. Ecclesiastes says that what's seeking after ultimate meaning through pleasure is like is disappointment. Seeking meaning through work leaves us empty. Derek Kiddner, one of the men who has written prolifically on the wisdom literature of the Old Testament says that what spoils the pleasures of life for us is our hunger to get out of them more than they can ever deliver. If you're looking at your work for pleasure you will discover that your work will never ever bring that joy to your life. Well he searched for meaning in wisdom. He searched for meaning in wild living. He searched for meaning in work. Notice now verses 7 through 10 he searches for meaning in wealth. Reading from the Bible it says, "I acquired male and female servants and had servants born in my house. Yes I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments of all kinds. So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them for my heart rejoiced in all my labor and this was my reward from all my labor. Now I wish there was some way men and women that I could express to you how rich Solomon was. I do not know anybody to compare him to and all I can do is give you a little bit of taste of what his life was like financially. In 1 Kings 10 verse 14 we read these words, "The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was 666 talents of gold. A gold scholar evaluates that gold's value at more than $25 million which was an incredible sum in the days of Solomon is not a poultry number in our day today. If you had visited Solomon's kingdom during the days of his glory you would have seen gold everywhere. It's referred to as the gold in age partly for that reason. Another passage in the book of kings tells us that all King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Now watch this. Not one was silver for silver was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. I'm going to have any of that crummy old silver around his palace man. He was in the gold. If you had walked into the palace of Solomon in his date of wealth you would have seen precious stones and spices from Arabia, almond and sandalwood trees from India, ivory from India and Africa, cedar wood from Lebanon. The temple that he built would have taken away your breath. It had gold everywhere. Stairways beautifully ornamented. There was an endless array of servants and gargous clothes and rich cuisine and costly uniforms and expensive horses. It was a capital worthy of a king whose wisdom and splendor eclipsed all the rulers of the world. Then in this passage he says he became great and excelled more than all who went before him in Jerusalem. And he continued to have his wisdom and then he filed this report. I had it all and it wasn't enough. I had it all and it didn't bring meaning and joy to my life. A writer in the Wall Street Journal called money an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven and a universal provider of everything except happiness. Johnny Carson once said the only value of money is so you don't have to worry about being poor. I want to tell you about a guy named Cecil Rhodes who went to South Africa when he was only 27 founded the prestigious Debeer's mining company. Within eight short years he controlled the entire diamond mining industry of South Africa. At 36 Cecil Rhodes became prime minister of the Cape Colony. At his death his legacy to the British Empire included Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Attractive territory equal to German, France and Spain altogether. Probably the richest man in the world Rhodes was also a personal friend of General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army and one of the poorest men in the world. One day they were traveling together on a train. Booth leaned over to Rhodes and tapped him on the knee and he said, "Tell me man, are you happy?" And the magnet looked at the preacher he said, "Happy? Me? Good heavens no." Rhodes and Solomon both learned that a life lived without reference to God no matter how much money you have is an empty life. That power possessions, position and prestige cannot make you happy. So let's just pause for a moment to take a deep breath. The experiences of Solomon are as follows. He sought for meaning in wisdom, in wild living, in work and in wealth and he found that none of them brought happiness to his life. Notice now as we come to the eleventh verse in the second chapter the evaluation of life under the sun. And Solomon makes three evaluations of what he has discovered in his experiment. And this gets better as we go along so just hang with me now so you can see this. First of all in verses 11 and 12 Solomon files this report. He says, "Man's work does not satisfy him." Notice what he says. "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly for what can the man do who succeeds the king." He said, "I just need you to know that what I've learned from all of these experiments is that they don't really fill the void in my life. They don't satisfy me. If you try to find satisfaction through your pleasures, through your work, through your wealth, through your wisdom, you will end up empty because you were not created to find ultimate satisfaction through those avenues. You see we're not just random creatures here sorting this all out. We're creatures of Almighty God who has put us together in such a way that there's only one avenue that will bring us true joy and fulfillment. And that avenue leads us to Almighty God." And Solomon says, "Hear me now. I've done all of these things. I've spared no expense. And I want to tell you that man's work does not satisfy him." Now secondly, he makes an astounding statement. Remember this is wisdom under the sun. He says, "Man's work does not separate him. Read with me verses 13 through 16 and see if you can pick up his argument. Then I saw wisdom excels folly. All light excels darkness. We all agree with that. Wisdom is better than folly. The wise man's eyes are in his head but the fool walks in darkness. We believe that. I myself perceived, now watch this, that the same event happens to them all. So I said in my heart, is it happens to the fool? It happens to me. And why was I then more wise than I said in my heart? This is also vanity. For there is no more remembrance of the wise man than of the fool. Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come and how does a wise man die? He dies just like the fool. If all you see about life is life under the sun, is Solomon not telling the truth? Do you know what? I've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Hallet. Have you? You can't take it with you. So when you come to the grave, everybody comes the same way. Naked, we came into the world and naked, we go out of the world in terms of whatever we may have. Solomon says, "I watched and I saw these people that were wise and I saw the people who were foolish and you could see the difference but when it comes to the end, you don't separate them out at all. If all there is is this life and then death, there's no difference between the wise and the foolish when the ultimate appointment comes." You see his argument? He's saying, "I've watched this now and I want to observe with you that if there isn't anything that that which is under the sun, then the wise and the foolish are the same and it doesn't make any difference." Notice the third conclusion. Man's work does not satisfy him. Man's work does not separate him and here's one that is really kind of bittersweet if you happen to be over 50. Man's work does not succeed him versus 18 through 23. Now read what he says. "Then I hated all my labor and which I had told under the sun because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether he'll be wise or a fool. But he's going to rule over all my labor and which I told and which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. Therefore I turn my heart and despair of all the labor and which I had told under the sun. For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge and skill. Yeah, he must leave his heritage to a man who is not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all of his labor for the striving is of heart with which he is toiled under the sun. All his days are sorrowful and his work burdensome even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity." Man, I'll tell you what. Living in this book, especially the first chapters, takes a man of great stature and strength and resolve because I have to get through all of this to get to the good news. And I know you're all sitting there thinking, "Could we take a break? Could we go get a cup of coffee? Could we shut this thing down for a little bit until we can sort all this out? Just hang with me now. Solomon is saying something that all of us have thought at one time or another whether we like to admit it. Build what you want, save what you might. Have it all in stocks and bonds in the bank, in real estate, wherever you might put it. But one of these days you won't be able to manage it anymore and you have no idea what the person who comes after you is going to do with it. Isn't that the truth? We think that we've got this all figured out and how many times have you seen that story? I have seen it many times, even with people who I know and are close to me. They live their life to the fullest and when they die, everything they live for is blown away. Like the book of Haggier, I talk about it. Like there's a hole in the bag or the wind comes and blows it away. The Bible tells us there's a way to live that doesn't happen that way. It depends upon where you make your investments. We're in the middle of discussing that right now. We'll have some more of it tomorrow. I hope you will join us then. Thank you for listening. Please join us next time for another message from Dr. Jeremiah. Do you have questions about the Bible, theology or Christian living? Smart search by Turning Point Ministries allows you to ask your question anytime, anywhere, and immediately access Dr. Jeremiah's biblical answer in his own voice and words. Check it out for yourself at DavidGermaya.org/SmartSearch