“Does God want us miserable?”
or “Is there a happily ever after without God?”
Ecc. Pt. 7
Opening Illustration: How valuable is our time” from Blue Fish TV
Hands on illustration - Do the timer – set it for 30 minutes!
Thesis: Does God make us miserable so that we cannot enjoy life’s pleasures. Solomon contemplates this question as he looks at his own life. The question could be phrased this way too, “Is there no such thing as happy ever after without God?” Many say that happily ever after is not a reality in today’s world! I look at our society today and I concur that there is no happily ever after without God in our lives. Because without God there is no ever after!
Scripture Text: Ecc. 6
1I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men: 2God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
3A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. 5Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—6even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
7 All man’s efforts are for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied.
8 What advantage has a wise man
over a fool?
What does a poor man gain
by knowing how to conduct himself before others?
9 Better what the eye sees
than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.
10 Whatever exists has already been named,
and what man is has been known;
no man can contend
with one who is stronger than he.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?
Introduction:
Solomon said in our chapter last week that to be able to enjoy life is a gift from God. Lets
listen to his words again from chapter 5:16-20:
As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? All his days
he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. Then I realized that it is good
and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the
sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives
any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy
in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps
him occupied with gladness of heart.
Illustration from this week’s Time Magazine Nov. 26, 2007 edition – The article on pages 58, 59. The article shows who are the happiest people, by job, and who are the least happy people, by job. They also have a statement which says, “On the job. Those few at the top can buy anything. Except, maybe, happiness.”
The happiest people in their jobs are clergy!
Reference to our text in chapter 6:
Solomon switches gears here and starts to paint a self portrait of his life, his struggles, his family and he is candid about having it all but being unable to enjoy any of it. He was concerned because he had a lot of kids but that did not bring happiness to his life. The truth is kids can make life miserable especially when they are not walking with the Lord. He even adds what good is it to live a life with no happiness and then to not even receive a decent burial because no one cares about you. Solomon shows that he had a fear of dying and not being buried like he should. This could say a lot about his home life?
We will learn a little more about his family in a moment but let’s back track here this morning and reflect on the last few verses of chapter 5.
T.S. – Solomon reminded us in chapter 5 that joy, living happily ever after is a gift from God! The truth is there is no happily ever after for anyone who decides to reject God and His ways in life. Because the gift of happily ever after comes from God and God alone!
I. The ability to enjoy life is a divine gift from God (5:16-20).
a. He is the source for joy in life – for gladness of heart!
i. Here is the reality check – you cannot give yourself joy it is a gift from God.
ii. Definition of Joy:
1. Joy (joi) n. 1.a. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness. b. The expression or manifestation of such feeling. 2. A source or an object of pleasure or satisfaction. --joy v. joyed, joy•ing, joys. --intr. 1. To take great pleasure; rejoice. --tr. Archaic. 1. To fill with ecstatic happiness, pleasure, or satisfaction. 2. To enjoy.
b. Solomon concluded in chapter 5 that the ability to enjoy the pleasures of life comes only as a gift from God.
i. God gives those who please Him gladness of Heart.
1. In other words life is not a miserable existence with God –it is a miserable existence without God.
2. God is the one who enables the righteous to enjoy his or her work.
3. God empowers that person to not worry about death because God has placed eternity within their heart and this enables them to enjoy their time on earth.
c. I read this text and thought – “I observe many in our society who are not enjoying their life and it’s because there is no relationship with God!”
i. They have turned to drugs to endure the pain of life.
1. To fill the void of God and dull the pain of sin.
ii. They have turned to drugs to endure the days of their lives because the days are endless and filled with the scars of sin.
iii. They are in a battle for meaning in life and they fail to see that the connection to meaning and gladness of heart is connected with God.
1. God gives the gift of joy in life – joy – lasting joy will not come from any other source in the universe.
a. Testimonies to the joy of the Lord:
i. Guy Doud wrote the book “Joy in the Journey”
1. Read the back cover of the book to the church.
2. Then read the Forward.
ii. Listen to these verses from God’s Word:
1. Psalm 16:8-11: I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
2. Ps. 118:15: Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’S right hand has done mighty things!
3. Ps 126:2-5: Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them. The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.
4. Proverbs 10:28: The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
5. Acts 2:28: You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.
6. Acts 16:34: The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
7. 1 Peter 1:3-9: 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
d. Jesus said the following: “Remain in my love. . .I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:10-11).
i. Jesus said that joy in life comes from remaining in His love!
T.S. – Happily ever after in life is only attained when God gives it to us as a gift. Solomon looks at his life without God in it and he makes some somber observations.
II. Solomon reflects on his own life here and says, “God gives the blessings of life but you may not be able to enjoy them” (6:1-9).
a. Solomon is getting personal again and he makes an observation about his life he has all the stuff but he is unable to enjoy the stuff.
i. See 1 Kings 11 – for why the Lord tore the kingdom away from Solomon’s son Rehoboam read this chapter.
1. For Rehoboam’s over through by Jeroboam see 1 Kings 12, 13 and also see what happens when Jeroboam does evil in the sight of God.
2. The Kingdom divided along tribal lines 10 tribes went with Jeroboam to form Israel which is also known as the Northern Kingdom and Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal to Rehoboam and held Jerusalem and this was also called the Southern Kingdom called Judah.
a. Review the story to the congregation of what caused the division.
i. Solomon’s sin of allowing his wives to worship other god’s and the building of other temples and shrines to other god’s caused this division.
ii. I Kings 11:3-13: 3He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done. 7On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.9The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’S command. 11So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”
1. Molech Worship – From International Encyclopedia: In the Levitical ordinances delivered to the Israelites by Moses there are stern prohibitions of Molech-worship (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5). Parallel to these prohibitions, although the name of the god is not mentioned, are those of the Deuteronomic Code where the abominations of the Canaanites are forbidden, and the burning of their sons and daughters in the fire (to Molech) is condemned as the climax of their wickedness (Dt 12:31; 18:10-13).
2. As the female counterpart of Baal, Astarte/Ashtoreth seems to have been worshiped through sacred prostitution designed to promote fertility.
3. Solomon testifies that he had not received this gift of joy – Why? - because of his sins! Therefore God would not allow him to enjoy the blessings He had given him prior to his falling away. Remember he was led astray by his many wives and their idol worship.
4. His pursuit of sexual pleasure led him away from God and away from eternal meaning for his life/
a. It is highly probable that he did have 100’s of children and he is lamenting the turmoil of his family life without God. I read that his family unit was a mess and this robbed him of joy in life.
b. Swindoll challenges us with this thought: “Our friend Solomon, with a limitless supply of money and without any sense of accountability to others, took that trail as far as one could take it. And when it was all said and done, he said, ‘What an empty, futile trip!’ will every young person hearing these words please listen to Solomon rather than the hype from our times? Will the novice, the inexperienced, the virgin, the person who has not yet been scarred by that journey…will you hear, ahead of time, the truth rather than a lie? Equally important, will you be mature enough to heed it? Solomon, who trafficked in it and lived to tell us about it, is going to save us months, even years of heartache if we will only heed what he says. Not some present-day, wild-eyes, prophet of doom, but the wisest and richest man who ever lived is telling us the truth about illicit sex, about alcohol, about drugs, about the occult, and all the things that appeal to our erotic desires. Common sense says we’d be wise to listen” (Page 43).
ii. He is saying in the beginning of our chapter that the independent man whose appetite is never satisfied cannot ever experience joy or gladness of heart because it is a gift from God reserved only for the righteous.
1. He refers to himself when he says what profit is it even for the wise man to pursue his pleasures and still live a life that is void of meaning and he hints at the idea that he may never even get a proper burial.
a. Why because God gave him a word that said the Kingdom would be ripped from his son. His sin cost and his family would reap the whirlwind of sin!
b. Solomon in his misery makes an observation and says what good is it to have the riches and the places of honor yet not be able to enjoy them.
i. Why can he not enjoy his stuff? Because you cannot enjoy the pleasures of life without a relationship with God. When sin is rooted in your life you cannot enjoy life!
c. Solomon observes what good is it to have 100’s of kids who give you no respect and who will not even give you a proper burial.
i. Why is he making this observation because he sees that he has no respect from his own kids. They do not honor him because they do not honor God!
1. This sounds like to me that Solomon had a lot of family troubles.
a. Kids who did not respect their father and mothers who did not follow after God -- created kids who focused only on themselves.
i. They made wrong choices, they followed their mother’s lead in idol worship, and they did not have a relationship with Jehovah!
b. I have a feeling that Solomon failed as a Father even though he succeeded as a King for a while.
i. He failed Israel when he allowed idol worship into her boundaries and it cost them all!
ii. So he really says what good is it to succeed as a king and have millions of dollars, have fame, and have power but yet not have a godly family.
iii. Remember last week he says this creates a lonely person!
1. Could it be his last chapter even reflected on his own life?
2. I believe it does and after reading 1 Kings 11, 12 and 13 you can see why he is miserable.
a. Sin caused his misery!
T.S. – Solomon takes a step back and observes his own life, his family, his stuff and he says, “I cannot enjoy any of it because of my separation from God.” He then takes a look at God’s knowledge, power and position and compares it with his own. He starts to conclude that he needs God in his life if he ever hopes to experience any joy in life.
III. Solomon then makes an observation about God’s power and abilities (6:10-12).
a. God knows all things man does not!
i. God has already named what will happen in our life-time.
1. He has set everything in motion in this world.
2. This is why we need to know God and tap into God’s power and into His blessings.
b. Man cannot contend with God’s omnipotent knowledge and power
i. He is very limited in this life but God is not.
ii. This is why you need God.
c. Man can try to argue with God but it has no eternal meaning and besides God knows what to do in all things.
i. Man’s words are meaningless when they are not in relationship with God and His ways.
1. He can go on and on and on but this to meaningless without Gods involvement.
ii. For who knows what is good for a man in life outside of God?
d. Here is the message Solomon is seeking to communicate to us today:
i. Ecc. 6:10-12
1. God knows everything we do not!
2. God has already named all the events in our life and it’s up to us to invite God into our life-time.
3. It is useless to try to argue with God He is always right.
4. It is useless to try to over-power God because you will never win.
5. We are limited in life God is not.
6. He has all the power and all the knowledge so we need to tap into His power and forget ours.
Conclusion:
Proverbs 10:28: “The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.”
Closing Illustration: Blue Fish TV – “What kind of life are you living?”
God -centered – self-centered – evil-centered – money-centered – stuff-centered – idol -centered?
Solomon tells us that without God – life is pointless, family is meaningless, and life is a vicious cycle of chasing the wind.
You will never be able to grab a hold of joy in life and meaning in life without God.
Your family will not give you internal joy without God and if you try to raise a family without God your family will not respect you, honor you or even give you a proper burial.
Your stuff even if accumulated will not bring joy into your life because your separation from God will block you from enjoying it.
His wise observations are as follows:
“Life is senseless, purposeless without God’s involvement!”
“Life has no eternal meaning without God in it.”
“Life has no joy – no gladness of heart because this is a gift from God!”
We need to surrender to God to find joy, purpose and eternal peace.
We need to understand that God is in control and has set everything in motion in life so I need to align myself with Him and His ways.
We need to understand that it is useless to argue with God.
We need understand that God knows all things and I do not.
We need to understand God has the power of life and death and I do not.
So it makes sense to incorporate God into my life by surrendering my life to God.
