The Vanity of Wealth(Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Take your Bibles and open them to Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 Beginning in verse 8 And we're going

to take this through about chapter 6 verse 9

kind of a longer text today and Let me just by

way of introduction while you turn there just

Tell you something that you may know that at

times Ecclesiastes can be a challenging read

Especially as we get further into the book we

see times where it's difficult to discern What

is the section of scripture? How do things go

together? Ecclesiastes is going to start looking

a little bit like Proverbs and if you've ever

tried to discern the sections the pericopes of

Proverbs it can be a real challenge and the same

thing exists within Ecclesiastes But there's

also this that there are topics That Kohelet

which is the name for teacher or preacher we

believe to be Solomon there are things that he

addresses within this book that are challenging

for us to read and That's going to be true within

this text as well. But what is he doing? Solomon

is giving you his his honest Observations of

life under the Sun and he doesn't hold back right

And so when he addresses things that might make

us feel uncomfortable, know that these are the

things that he sees and they may be the things

that you see as well. And so we need God's wisdom

to help us understand these things. And so with

all of that out of the way now, let's go to the

text, Ecclesiastes chapter five, eight through

six, verse nine. If you see in a province the

oppression of the poor and the violation of justice

and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.

For the high official is watched by a higher,

and there are yet higher ones over them. But

this is gained for a land in every way. A king

committed to cultivated fields. He who loves

money will not be satisfied with money. Nor he

who loves wealth with his income. This also is

vanity When goods increase they increase to eat

them and what advantage has their owner but to

see them with his eyes 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 There is a grievous evil that I've seen

under the Sun riches were kept by their owner

to his hurt And those riches were lost in a bad

venture. And he is the father of a son, but is

nothing in his hand. And 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. 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? Moreover, All his days he eats in darkness,

in much vexation and sickness and anger. 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. 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, for he will not much

remember the days of his life, because God keeps

him occupied with joy in his heart. There is

an evil that I've seen under the sun, and it

lies heavy on mankind, a man to whom God gives

wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks

nothing of all that he desires, yet God does

not give him power to enjoy them. but a stranger

enjoys them. This is vanity. It is a grievous

evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and

lives many years, so that the days of his years

are many, but his soul is not satisfied with

life's good things, and he also has no burial,

I say that a stillborn child is better off than

he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness,

and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover,

It has not seen the sun or known anything, yet

it finds rest rather than he. Even though he

should live a thousand years twice over, yet

enjoy no good, do not all go to the one place?

All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his

appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage

has the wise man over the fool? And what does

the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself

before the living? Better is the sight of the

eyes than the wandering of the appetite This

also is vanity and a striving after wind He who

has ears let him hear and let us pray Blessed

Lord Who caused all of Holy Scripture to be written

for our learning grant that we may in such a

way learn and hear and mark and hide in our hearts

that we would inwardly digest your word. Father,

as we come upon this challenging text, Lord,

we ask that you would give us insight and encouragement

and point our way to the one who is making all

things new. We pray it in his name. Amen. Children.

Do any of you get up on Saturday mornings and

watch cartoons? I used to do that too. Saturday

mornings, parents are sleeping in a little bit.

Do you want to know the cartoon I used to watch

a lot as a kid? DuckTales. Do you remember DuckTales?

I'm not talking about the new one. I haven't

seen that. I can't endorse it. But the old DuckTales,

the one with Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey

Dewey and Louie. Do you remember what I'm talking

about? Yeah, it was a great cartoon. But you

know what I remember the most about the main

character Scrooge McDuck? He was really rich.

He had a lot of money. Matter of fact, the enduring

image that I have of Scrooge McDuck, and Scrooge

obviously comes from That old movie, that old

book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You

remember that one? Ebeneezer Scrooge. But Scrooge

in Duck Tales had so much money that he filled

up like a barn. He had like a silo filled with

gold coins. And you know what that character

used to love to do? He'd put on his bathing suit

and he would dive into the money and swim around.

That's how much he loved money. that he loved

to swim in it. Now the other thing that I remember

about that character is that he was rarely happy,

right? That unless Scrooge was playing in his

money or being handed a bag of gold, he always

looked miserable. And so children, here's what

I want you to hear today. Having a lot of money,

Having a new bicycle, having the newest electronic

device, maybe one day having this car that you've

always dreamed of, maybe one day the house or

the boat or whatever it is. These can be good

things, but they will not ultimately make you

satisfied. They will not ultimately make you

happy. We need more than these things. And so

the lesson is this. that are you finding satisfaction,

happiness, blessedness in Christ? It's in Christ

alone that you can truly be satisfied, right?

And so there's a few different ways that Solomon

shows this to us in this text here. Four ways

to be specific. One, the love of money is a bad

investment. Number two, the love of money is

a foolish investment. Three, the love of money

is a joyless investment. And four, the love of

money is a fleeting investment. And so that's

what we're looking at today. And ultimately we

must learn that in order to be satisfied, we

must know God through Christ. and then and only

then we'll be able to enjoy what he gives to

us. And so let's look at this first point. The

love of money is a bad investment, particularly

in verses eight through 11 there of chapter five.

He says in effect, don't be surprised, don't

be amazed at the oppression of the poor. And

don't be amazed that there is injustice in this

world. Don't be surprised that there's unrighteousness

in this world. And then as he proceeds in verse

10, don't be surprised that these things have

to do with money. Don't be surprised when you

see corruption or oppression and that it has

to do with money. Because what does it say? He

who loves money will not be satisfied with money.

Nor he who loves wealth with his income. This

also is vanity Right and so kind of what the

problem is here is misplaced trust What are you

trusting in? Are you trusting in your bank account?

Are you are you trusting in your 401k? Are you

trusting in your wealth? And as I say this is

kind of misplaced trust We should also acknowledge

here that what he's really getting at is the

love of money, right? The love of money is the

problem and you see this really really well Kind

of the go -to text for this is first Timothy

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 And I'll just read three verses of

this first Timothy 6 verses 7 through 10 And

1 Timothy 6:7–10

this is one of the places that it would be good

to just have a marker in your Bible as you think

about wealth. It says, for we brought nothing

into the world and we cannot take anything out

of the world. But if we have food and clothing

with these, we will be content. But those who

desire to be rich fall into temptation, into

a snare. into many senseless and harmful desires

that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds

of evil. It is through this craving that some

have wandered away from the faith and pierced

themselves with many pangs. Friends, the problem

is the love of money. You remember that Jesus

and Matthew 22 sums up the law and what does

he say to love there? he says to love God with

everything you've got and Then he says you are

to love your neighbor as yourself And so if you're

loving God with everything you've got and if

you are loving your neighbor You cannot possibly

be giving all of your devoted love to money and

so don't do it for you remember what Jesus says

In Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, you cannot

serve two masters, can you? Friends, if money

is your God, then God is not. If money is your

God, then God is not. And it's at this point

that there's usually some objections that are

made. That those with money will say, Hey, it's

not wrong to have money. It's okay, matter of

fact. And that is true. But the other objection

might come from those who are doing without,

and they might say, you don't know what it's

like to do without. And both of those things

may be true, but if we're jumping to the... to

the objections too quickly. If we are seeking

to defend our wealth or to defend our poverty,

we are missing the point of this passage. We

are missing the point of this passage. I want

you to really take this in here. And the way

in which I want you to take it in is our second

point to see that the love of money is a foolish

investment. Look at verse I think it's about

verse 13 and 14. There's a grievous evil that

I've seen under the sun. Riches were kept by

their owner to his hurt, and those riches were

lost in a bad venture. This is talking then about

the mismanagement of money, about corruption,

about bad leaders, bad investors, skyrocketing

prices, all the things that we see that can happen

with money. I wonder if you remember this particularly

bad deal or maybe we should say lack of a deal.

Since I've already referenced my childhood and

watching cartoons, anybody remember going to

Blockbuster Video in the 90s and early 2000s?

Remember that? That's just what you did on Friday

nights as a young man, kid even. You look forward

to perusing the aisles. Finding a VHS tape that

you could take home and you could watch and just

there's so much nostalgia there Well, I wonder

if you remember this that in the early 2000s

I forget the year there was a small startup company

It was kind of small that approached blockbuster

video and said hey Would you buy our company

from us for the sum of 50 million dollars? Anybody

remember? what the company was that asked Blockbuster

to buy them? It was Netflix, right? In the heyday

of Blockbuster, there were 9 ,000 stores. Do

you know how many there are today? There's just

one. And it's more of a tourist attraction in

Oregon than a place that actually rents videos.

But just think about that. Netflix approached

them asking for $50 million. Blockbuster reportedly

laughed them out of the room. Today, Netflix

is worth about $360 billion, what might have

been for Blockbuster. And so all of this is showing

us here that yes, bad financial decisions can

lead to significant problems and ruin, right?

There's also this danger that the more that you

have the more you have to lose. And verse 12

kind of paints this picture of the more that

you have, the more that you might be constantly

worrying about it. The more that it might keep

you up at night worrying what's going to happen

with all of your wealth, bad business deals,

a stock market crash, corruption. Your wealth

can be gone as quickly as it came. And so what's

the answer then? Is it to cling tighter to our

wealth? Is it to have better financial advisors?

Is it to invest in AI? I'd love to know what

Solomon would think about artificial intelligence.

Knowledge begins with the fear of the Lord. But

is the answer to cling tighter to our wealth?

You know the answer to this. It's not to cling

tighter to our wealth. No. You remember what

Jesus said in Mark 8, what does it profit a man

to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

We are to cling tighter to the one who humbled

himself becoming obedient even to the point of

death on a cross. This should show us that we

need to cling to Christ for what Christ offers

to us will not go away. What Christ offers to

us is eternal. And so friends, don't put all

of your stock in stocks. Put it in the Lord Jesus

Christ. Why? Because of point three. Wealth does

not produce enjoyment. God does. To put all of

our effort and all of ourselves into money is

a joyless investment. And so look at verse 18.

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. We are to find enjoyment

in God and in what he gives us. God gives us

the wealth. God gives us the possessions. And

according to verse 19, he gives us the ability

to enjoy those things. But friends, the sad observation

from Solomon is here that there are people who

have everything and yet enjoy nothing. And just

in case you're wondering, can I trust Solomon

on this? Remember how wealthy Solomon was. For

those who are in the fellowship Sunday school

class, you'll know that. We just covered it.

Solomon was, during his time, perhaps the richest

man on the face of the earth, right? And so he's

saying, listen, I've been there. I've done that.

I've tried that. Wealth does not ultimately satisfy.

Whatever it is. Maybe it's the bursting bank

account. Maybe it's the house or houses. Maybe

it's the cars. You name it. But without the ability

to enjoy it, friends, what is the point? It's

like, imagine having the most savory meal laid

out before you, just your favorite food, but

not having the taste buds to taste it. Imagine

having the fastest car on the planet and not

having the open road. If you can't enjoy what

God gives, friends, what is the point? God gives

his children good gifts to enjoy the fruit of

their labor, but some are given wealth without

the ability to enjoy it, and the text says that

a stranger will enjoy it instead. And then he

gives us some illustrations. Look in verses three

through six of chapter six. Illustrations. He

talks about this man. who lives for a very long

time and has a hundred children, but yet he can't

enjoy it. His soul is not satisfied. And from

an ancient perspective, to have a quiver full

of children would be seen as incredible blessing,

right? But those 100 blessings for this man,

for this illustration, those blessings are not

enough for him because he lacks one more blessing,

the ability to enjoy it all. And so a life without

joy is under the sun compared in kind of a difficult

way compared to a stillborn child. Why would

why would Solomon speak in this way? Because

he's saying to us that a child who does not live.

A child who is elect, a child of believers perhaps,

this child has something that the rich man does

not have. Child has rest. Hear this from Zach

S. Wine who says, for all of his wealth, he possesses

no contentment. Restless and unfamiliar with

true joy, the wealthy neighbor is impoverished.

The stillborn child possesses the riches of rest

and provision with God that the wealthy neighbor

knows nothing of. And then the second illustration

is here, if a man lives a thousand years twice

and does not enjoy, what good were all of those

years? This is all getting to discontentment.

And friends, we only have so long to learn contentment.

Because just like point number two shows us that

wealth can go away, point number four shows us

that we go away, right? That to put all of our

stock in wealth is unwise because there will

be a day that we will not have it, not because

it goes away, but because we do. Wealth can be

a fleeting investment. Look at verse 15 of chapter

five, and I read that part again. 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. It's been

said by nearly everybody, right? You can't take

it with you. It's been said there are no pockets

in a shroud, right? He's showing us here that

we will all die. And so to put all of our investing

into money and not the Lord is unwise because

you can't take it with you. And as you get to

chapter six, verse six, maybe you see something

that might trip us up a little bit. It says at

the end of that verse, do not all go to the one

place. This is the point where I might say is

Solomon confused or is Solomon not understanding

heaven and hell friends? He's not talking about

heaven and hell here. He hasn't got there yet

He's making observations under the Sun and his

observation is this that yes, we will all die.

We will all perish He's pondering life under

the Sun and saying those who die alone unsatisfied

lacking joy. There is no advantage to that To

live in complete misery is the way of the fool.

God has given us this life in order to enjoy

his good gifts. And so are you enjoying what

God has given to you? Are you thankful for what

God has given to you? I would love to see some

heads nodding here, right? But also understand

this, Solomon's not talking about living your

best life. Sometimes we think that he is. Years

ago, I heard maybe the worst sermon that I have

ever heard. I heard a preacher at one time title

his sermon YOLO. Do you know what that means?

You only live once. He titled the sermon YOLO.

He'd read from the scriptures, closed the Bible,

and never proceeded to talk about Jesus whatsoever,

and just talked about living your best life.

Friends, that's not what Solomon is getting at

here. He is not urging you to live your best

life. He is urging you to see where true joy

is found. And friends, it's not found in your

wealth. It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And as you are in Christ, and I pray that all

of us are, we then recognize there are good things

we need to be doing with our wealth. We need

to be tithing to the church. We need to be supporting

mercy ministries. We need to be sending out missionaries

to go all over the world to send out the gospel.

Right. These are good ways to use our money,

helping the needy. Right. And using wealth for

a godly means means loosening our grip on wealth

because we realize and I hope that you do that

it was never yours in the first place. It was

never yours in the first place. And so, yes,

we should recognize from where it comes. We should

also use wisdom and knowing how to give. But

God has not given you wealth to hoard it. God

has not given you wealth to keep it all to yourself.

He's given it to you to take care of your family.

He's given it to you to bless others, to bless

Him. And He's given you wealth in order that

you would learn to trust Him. And so what are

you striving for? For whom are you striving?

Are you striving simply for yourself? Or are

you striving for God and his kingdom? As I begin

to conclude, I want to remind you of a story

from Scripture. You remember, I'm sure, because

we covered it recently, the story of Jesus feeding

the 5 ,000. And remember, feeding the 5 ,000

men, there were also women and children there,

so a whole host of people. Jesus feeds well the

next day after he does that the crowd that he

is fed made up of believers and unbelievers follow

Jesus and Jesus says to them truly truly I say

to you you are seeking me Not because you saw

signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves

Do not work for the food that perishes but for

the food that endures to eternal life. Friends,

money, stuff, the next great meal, these are

good things, but it all will pass. And so if

you are chasing after wealth and wealth alone,

you are chasing after the wind. To bow to wealth

is to worship that which cannot save you. cannot

provide eternity for you and may run dry before

you die. And so Jesus promises a better way to

bow not to money but to God. In Christ is where

true satisfaction is. Money like that good meal

might be good for a time, but without God you

will not have the ability to enjoy it and you

will be impoverished in the end. Instead, look

to the one who sought you out. Look to the one

who, speaking of joy, according to Hebrews 12,

he is the author and the perfecter of your faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

despising the shame, and is seated at the right

hand of God. Look to the one, speaking of satisfaction,

whose life and death satisfied divine justice.

Look to the one who atoned for your sins perfectly.

And knowing what Jesus has done for us, should

we not then pursue him with everything we've

got? Of course we should. And doesn't Jesus promise

us much better things than we could ever attain

in this fallen world? And so friends, remember

the introit from today's worship service. Seek

first his kingdom and his righteousness, and

all of these things will be added unto you. Let

us pray.