No Satisfaction-6 1-12.docx
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
God has given Solomon riches, wealth, honor, and influence along with anything else his soul desires
Yet, in spite of these enviable delights the man is blocked from enjoying the benefits
There is an obvious contrast between the wording of 5:19 and 6:2
The former speaks of enjoyment of what God has given and the latter of the breakdown of this enjoyment
2 Chronicles 1:7-12—”In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon said to God, “You have dealt with my father David with great lovingkindness, and have made me king in his place. “Now, O LORD God, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” God said to Solomon, “Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you.”
As we look at these verses concerns itself with important areas: family, work and future
Read Verses so that We can Know Him and Make Him Known
1) Wealth Without Enjoyment-vs. 1-6
a) Compare 6:1 to 5:13
i) Riches kept for the owners to their hurt
b) Vs. 1-2
c) He lacks nothing for himself, “but God has not empowered him to eat from them”
d) He has everything but the ability to enjoy it all
e) Prosperity without the divine gift enjoyment is nothing
f) How fortunate a person would be to lack nothing, but how miserable if he or she could not enjoy the blessings of life
g) ILL—Jesus taught that we were blessed if we shared with those that could not return the favor
h) Lk. 14:12-14—”And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. “But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
i) There is enjoyment in sharing with those who do not have as much
j) Vs. 3
k) Many children and long life were looked upon by the Hebrews as a mark of God’s blessing, but neither guarantees a satisfying life
l) A man may possess wealth, honor, children, long life and virtually every outward good that anyone could possibly imagine; yet he can still be a very broken, dissatisfied and unhappy person
m) Vs. 3b
n) The picture is that his family does not love him, for when he died, he was not lamented
o) Vs. 4-5
p) They explain vs. 3
q) Vs. 6
r) Let me ask you a question: Why did God permit this man to have wealth and a big family if the man couldn’t enjoy it?
s) Answer: The ability to enjoy life comes from within
t) Phil. 4:11—”Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
u) “content” carries the idea of self-contained, adequate, needing nothing from the outside
v) Paul carried within all the resources needed for racing through life courageously and triumphing over difficulties
w) Vs. 4-6
x) Remind us that the 2,000 year-old man and the stillborn baby both ended up in the same place
y) Solomon once again confronted the listeners with the certainty of death and the futility of life without God
2) Work With Enthusiasm—vs. 7-9
a) Vs. 7
b) Speaks of self-centeredness
c) Everything for himself
d) “all man’s efforts are for his mouth”
e) Vs. 8
f) If all you do is live to satisfy your appetite, then the wise man has not advantage over the fool, nor does the poor man have any advantage trying to better his situation
g) No man, wise or poor, can satisfy his desires on his own
h) Vs. 9
i) Making do with what we possess is better than striving for what we do not have
j) “Better is what the eyes see than what the soul goes after”
k) “a hot dog in the belly is better than a steak in your mind”
l) “it’s better to have a little and enjoy it than to dream about much and never attain it”
m) “don’t hitch your wagon to the stars of your imagination”
n) “dreams don’t fill empty stomachs or lives”
3) Weariness Without Relief—vs. 10-12
a) Vs. 10-11
b) Man, as the creation of God, cannot set aside or overcome that divinely established connection between earthly things and the satisfaction with those things apart from knowing God
c) Try as man will to wrestle and contend with God’s decision to link these things, the more he talks, the more empty and unsatisfactory the situation becomes
d) “The more the words, the less the meaning. Reasoning only leads to more frustration”
e) Vs. 12 is actually a foreshadow of what James will write about in James 4:14
f) Jam. 4:14—”Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
g)
Listen prosperity may not always be what it seems.
ILL—Prosperity Gospel
Therefore, let us seek to know God to be content with such as He gives us, and to receive the accompanying gifts of enjoyment from His hands
