2 Chronicles 9 and Eccl 5
Advice From The World’s Richest Man
Without wanting to sound too carnal this evening…most of us can admit that we joined in the seasonal act of buying and giving gifts this season.
If you are like me and have a lot of children …or if you have a lot of grandchildren…My mom and dad have nine grandchildren…and they’re not getting anymore from me…..
But if you have a lot of children or grandchildren then you know this business of buying gifts can empty your bank account quickly.
So many of us find ourselves a little thicker around the waistline at Christmas but a lot thinner around the wallet and therefore we could use some advice perhaps from the world’s most richest man.
2 Chronicles 9
A visit from the Queen of Sheba to Solomon
The Queen of Sheba paid a visit to King Solomon.
She’d heard all about his lavish lifestyle…
She’d heard all about his GREAT WISDOM…
She had heard of all the marvelous things he had done and the construction projects he had completed….
And so she was exited about a trip from Ethiopia to Israel because she was going to meet the man…of the hour.
A man of prosperity
A man of power
A man of poetry
A of prestige
And certainly she would be exited about meeting the wisest man and the most wealthy man who had ever lived.
After she met with him,
After she had received the grand tour
After she had consulted with his advisors and his leadership this is what the Queen of Sheba had to say about our hero Solomon….
Here is the report
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.
6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.
7 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
Verse 9
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
Never had there been such an abundant material giving like this witnessed…. such as was given by the Queen of Sheba…
Do you know what this has been estimated in ….in today’s economics?
It is expressed as an equivalent in our day to be a gift of the value of about ….3.5 MILLION DOLLARS!
Just say Merry Christmas…WHAT A GIFT.
Ask the church ushers how they would like to see that sort of gift land in the church offering plate….
If they don’t get excited thinking about it … I am certain the pastor does….
3.5 MILLION DOLLLARS…
Just for a tour….Just for a few words of wisdom.
This is what the Queen of Sheba gave.
Solomon’s income from the biblical account would equal in our day over 20 million dollars A YEAR.
A YEAR…..Imagine that…
After the Queen of Sheba took the tour ..she saw the sights…the great architectural feats that Solomon had undertaken….
The Zoo’s that Solomon had filled with various animals from God’s creation.
When she saw his copper mining
When she saw his many and exotic horses from Egypt and Kue …and saw his chariots and when had seen the whole shootin match…here is her report she said in verse 6
“Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me;.
She said “Oh King Solomon when they told me about this greatness…I just couldn’t believe it but now that I have come…I have found that… I had not but received half of the story….
She was awed…But what is the OTHER HALF of the story….Solomon gives to us yet “Another half” of the story and we get it in Eccl 5.
He tells to us …..“a half “ that had not yet been told but needed to be told.
Solomon is not forced into doing so or even coerced into sharing the other half but it is of his own volition.
He tells us the half that had REALLY not been told…
The half that the Queen of Sheba never saw even though she had witnessed his power and prestige and wealth and his doings…
This is the other half of the Rich and famous.
And it’s Not Robin Leach who is sharing the story but it is God speaking through Solomon that gives to us the other half of the story of this rich and famous man named Solomon.
What would it be like to walk into the presence of… and then sit down and talk with… the most successful man who has ever lived?
Wouldn’t you like to say…
“Hey, Uh Could you give me a little counsel”
“Could you give me a few pointers.”
“Won’t you give me some advice”
This is what we get in Ecclesiastes advice from God through the most successful man that ever lived.
And Solomon speaks of things like wealth and poverty and things like power and money and treasure…and Solomon gives us insight and truth that is nearly irresistible.
Here is something I think about when I read verses 8 and 9 of this chapter….I think about that lesson they used to teach us in history class all those years ago.
They taught us that POWER …CORRPUTS…
And ABSOLUTE POWER …CORRUPRTS ABSOLUTLEY.
We see that to be true in the life of Solomon if we study his life very long at all…this is what we find.
Look at verse 8
8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
What is Solomon talking about in verse 9 when he says
“for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.?”
He is talking about the fact that all people live with some form of Bureaucracy.
And you say what does that have to do with me and to do with God?
Well it is almost the way that when something goes wrong…that no one wants to really be held accountable…no one wants to be held responsible…
How many times have we heard
“Well it’s the president’s fault”
Someone else says
“No it’s the house of representatives fault”
And another says
“It is the governor’s fault”
That circle of dog chasing tail is like circle after circle and layer after layer of Bureaucracy and the problem with that is that you can’t get any accountability.
I have been standing behind a pulpit for years telling people that if America as a nation and churches under their denominations keep sanctioning homosexuality and winking at the problem of abortion instead of taking a stand against it….we will reap the judgment of God.
You say well what does that have to do with anything…
Bureaucracy …The churches want to blame the government …the government wants to blame the people…and we can’t get to any real accountability and responsibility on the issue.
Let’s bring this in a little closer to home…
as a denomination….Our numbers are down.
We’re not seeing people saved.
We’re not seeing people baptized….not like we should be.
And what happens …The convention blames the state level…the state level blames the associations…the association blames the churches and church blames who….THE LOCAL PASTOR.
Where is the accountability….?
Where is the responsibility….?
I thought I could just blame it all on somebody else…
But with God and you personally and individually there is no Bureaucracy….
You and I…and We are accountable to HIM.
Solomon came around…
He gained an understanding that when things didn’t go successfully….Solomon was accountable to God.
What’s the other half of the story…?
Solomon reveals it to us…Look at these next 3 verses.
V10
10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Solomon is saying that if you are the sort that has a love affair with money…you will never be rich.
You may have a lot of money…
You may make a lot of money…
And you may be the sort of person that can make John Smith the town banker smile just to see you…
But you will NEVER BE RICH IN REAL RICHES that matter if you have a love affair with money.
Money isn’t what really matters Solomon said it is meaningless.
LOOK AT VERSE 11 Now
11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
I like what Dr. Ed Young said about this verse he said…When you have a lot of money it becomes harder to distinguish between a parasite and a friend…
Now I have never had to worry about that…
Probably never will…
But think about it…
When you have a lot of money…sometimes you are left wondering if someone really likes you for you or if they just like you for what you HAVE and what you can DO FOR THEM?
Hmmmm? There is some truth to that I’m afraid…
And in verse 11 Solomon the richest man who ever lived is just telling it like it is…
No holes barred…noting held back…straight raw right out of the chute 100% truth.
I am told of Joe Louis the great heavy weight champion of the world who was surrounded by a great entourage BUT when he lost his title and he lost his health and he lost his fame and his fortune and I am told that when he was later poor and lonely that Joe Louis asked someone ….
Where…Are…All….My friends?
Solomon is absolutely right when you have riches it is hard to tell the friend from the parasite…
For many are there just to feast upon it …to consume it.
Look at verse 12 it is a message about hard work.
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.
Growing up I watched my Dad work and work and work and he taught me a lot about hard work.
He worked lonnnnng days…hard days…
He would come home from his job and he would work in the yard or work in the garden or in the garage.
He always had something to work on…our old house..an appliance or one of his children’s toys.
We could never call a repairman…Dad could and would always fix everything….eventually….
But all my youth I watched my father work and work hard. When Caterpillar went on strike Dad went out and got temporary work…He kept on working.
And if Dad sat down or laid down for very long Zap he was out…he was asleep and that’s the way the hard working man lives and works and sleeps.
Now let’s think about that rich man who has everything brought to him by servants…and knows nothing much of work..
He is not working in the garden…
He has servants to work in the garden.
He is not out earning a wage in a business…He owns the business.
He is not taking on a second job…
He is just looking for that additional strategic business expansion.
You may not work with your hands like a carpenter or Plumber.
You may not work a regular factory job.
But something all of us should discover is that there is something satisfying about a good work ethic and doing some wholesome hard work.
I’m still trying to convince my kids of this and I’m yet to make believers of them on that matter.
You may work with your hands
You may work with your mind
You may work with people
But work is good….and there is something about a healthy helping of work that let’s an honest man or an honest woman sleep well at night.
Now let me say in addition to all of that this an important true….working for money can kill you!
You say “what do you mean…I thought we all worked for money…are you working for doughnuts or peanuts or…what are you working for?
What do I mean when I say WORKING FOR MONEY CAN KILL YOU!
When you work to provide for yourself and for your family… that life is pleasurable and good…that is satisfying….
but the man who begins to work and work and work and then work more because he has a love affair with money and can never get enough ..that is slow but certain suicide and it kills your life and ultimately it can kill you.
James Berry
Gave to us a story…a play where a man was offered all the land that he could walk on in one day.
He went out and started running around on that land that he would own and he ran around on it most of the day and he got tired and exhausted …
but he said
“I’ve got to keep going and I can have more and more I can have all the land I can walk on..I just gotta have more I gotta keep going…. and he ran around some more exhausted but running on every piece of land he could ….
and at the end of the day he finished a large course and had encompassed a large piece of land…and He said
“Now I own it….I own it all…and he shouted “mine mine mine” and with that he fell face down and died on the spot.
If you fall in love with MONEY…..or power …or prestige and if your life is determined by what you have and what you hold rather than on your relationship to God through Jesus Christ …then you are just Killing your life.
It’s not what you have.
It’s not who you are in the world…
It’s what you have found in Christ Jesus
And who you are in Him.
Solomon tells it exactly like it is and he is exactly right…
MONEY WILL NEVER MAKE YOU RICH…in real riches.
And then Solomon sort of rounds this chapter out by telling us that if someone close to us has a love affair with money….that is going to break our heart.
You just thought if you have a love affair with money it was going to hurt you…Oh no…I wish that were true…If you have a love affair with money it is going to hurt you and those around you.
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
Have you ever seen that person that said…if I only had XXX number of zeros well that would do it…
And then they have xxx zeros and what do they say….
Well if I only had xxxx zeros and before long its xxxxx zeros and when will the madness end what will take to satisfy…..do you know what it always takes to satisfy….I’ll tell you what it takes to satisfy that sort of individual….JUST….A…Little….More….
And that is deadly It is harmful.
People will neglect their spouse when they fall in love with money….
Did you hear about the husband who lost his wife to his other love….His love for money…
It seems he was working …working all the time and had no time for her.
Did you hear about the Dad who missed seeing his children grow up. They are grown now and he has no memories of ball games or graduations or family picnics or fun….because he was busy with what he really loved….MONEY.
Verse 13
13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.
Verse 14 speaks of wealth that is lost through some misfortune…and therefore there was nothing to give substance to that son.
People make investments… but are they making the right investment?
Let’s take a lesson from history for just a moment.
Eight of the most wealthiest people in all the entire world met in the Edge Water hotel in Chicago in 1923.….THE EIGHT MOST WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD…
What happened to them…within 25 years?
The president of the largest independent steel company Charles Swab died bankrupt and lived on borrowed money for five years just before his death.
The president of the largest utility company Samuel Ensil died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign country.
The president of the largest gas company Howard Hobsin went insane
The president of the New York stock exchange Richard Whittney spent much time in sing sing prison before his release.
The member of the presidents cabinet Albert Fall was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
The greatest bear on Wall Street Jessie Livermore died of suicide
The head of the greatest monopoly Ivan Kruger died of suicide
The president of the bank of international settlements Leon Fraizer died of suicide.
When money… is who you are….When you’ve lost it….
Then …You’ve… Lost it…
But when you are filled with Jesus…When He is who you are….then that…. you are never going to loose.
Solomon helps us see this…. in these next few verses.
Verse 15
15 Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man comes, so he departs,
and what does he gain,
since he toils for the wind?
Someone has said when you die you can’t take anything with you when you go….
I disagree with that…
I think you can take a lot with you…but the Bible says NOT IN YOUR HAND….Nothing that you can carry in your hand can you take…
So what can you take?
You take your character with you.
You take you reputation with you
Your witness with you.
What you really were inside…if that is something that cant be held in your hand.
If that is something you cant fold and put into your wallet ..then you can take it with you.
I’ll tell you what you take with you….
Who you REALLY ARE in Christ …that is what you are going to take with you…
Not what others think you are….But what you ….really… truly….are in Christ that goes with you.
If you come into this world you come in naked.
I have never heard of any babies that were born wearing clothes.
V 15 says 15 Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs.
If you come into this world naked and you make a million dollars….what are you going to leave this world with….? Your not going to take that million with you are you?
So what is your life about?
What are you living for….
Or better yet who are you living for?
Everything we have considered tonight comes with a disclaimer.
It is not that being wealthy is wrong.
Its not that having power is wrong.
But it is SO …important that we remember where that wealth and that power comes from and that we use it to bless Him a to bless others.
Money is and of itself …..not evil
If it were I wouldn’t allow us to collect it in worship.
Power in and of itself is not evil because we know that God is filled with power.
But what is really going to matter most for you and me?…It is our Christian Character.
Our Christian Character is going to determine how we use that money…..
Our Christian Character is going to determine how we use the power that has been entrusted to us.
And when we leave this earth we will take with us….NOT our money…
Not our Power….
But we will take our Character of who we are in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What are you living for?
Who are you living for?
If it is anything less than Jesus…
Solomon says…
God Says…..
It’s meaningless…..
Parts of this sermon were adapted from a similar sermon preached by Ed Young at Second Baptist Huston Texas
