An old Japanese proverb reads; Getting money is like digging with a needle; Spending it like water soaking into sand.

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1 Introduction In this chapter the Preacher makes observations about human words (vv.1-7); human wickedness (vv.8-12) and human wretchedness (vv.13-17) and human wisdom (vv.18-20). We have followed the Preacher from the Temple to the Marketplace and now the Preacher is brought to the place where life begins and life ends. Warren Wiersbe ends this section of Scripture and writes: If we focus more on the gifts than on the Giver, we are guilty of idolatry. If we accept His gifts, but complain about them, we are guilty of ingratitude. If we hoard His gifts and will not share them with others, we are guilty of indulgence. But if we yield to His will and use what He gives us for His glory, then we can enjoy life and be satisfied. What a gem. An old Japanese proverb reads; Getting money is like digging with a needle; Spending it like water soaking into sand. Solomon turns his attention to two grievous evils; the sudden loss of wealth (vv.13-15); and the sudden loss of life (vv.16-17). The Preacher evaluates the reality that some people can accumulate wealth and suddenly lose everything and be left with nothing to support family. Fortunes can be gained but fortunes can also be lost. Then Solomon turns his attention to the moment we begin our journey and end our journey; we came into this world with nothing (in terms of material possessions) and we will leave this world the same way we left it. I heard the story of three men who died suddenly and unexpectedly. They found themselves in eternity s waiting room. A kind angel asked each man what kinds of things the men would like to hear at their funerals. The first man said, I hope they say he was a kind man, a good man, a healer who used his gifts as a physician to heal the sick. The second man said, I hope they say, he was a fair man and a just man, he was willing to use his gift to protect the innocent and defend the just. The third man said, Look he s moving. He s still alive. He s not really dead!. Remember the Preacher s theme; can we have a meaningful life apart from God? King Solomon explores the question whether money and the accumulation of wealth can provide the satisfying solution to man s pangs of meaning, purpose and security. The wealthiest man perhaps who ever lived determined the more we have, the more we want (v. 10). The more we have, the more we spend (v.11). The more we have the more we worry (v.12). Now The Preacher points out the more we have, the more we lose (vv.13-14); and the more we have, the more we leave behind (vv.14-17). The More We Have The More We Lose (vv.13-14) 1

2 Ecclesiastes 5:13 (NKJV) There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. The expression a severe evil is also translated a grievous evil. The riches kept are really hoarded. Hoarded to the owners detriment. The implication is that the accumulation of wealth in the end served no real good. Many years ago I read the story from an AP news outlook from Hutchinson Kansas; a ragged peddler told a friend he didn t have $5.00 to pay a debt; and was found dead the next morning in his apartment. In the filthy apartment they found $61,000 in bonds and currency. The man, Raymond Mishler, 48 died of malnutrition. Police and investigators confirmed that more money was found in an old store building that also belonged to Mr. Mishler. Detective Ed May who went to investigate when Mr. Mishler s body was discovered; noticed a piece of paper sticking in a door sill. It was a $1,000 Government Bond. They found more bonds and more currency in large bills; and thousands of dollars in postage stamps and then three additional passports from three banks with deposits that totaled close to $9000. The More We Have, The More We Leave Behind (vv.14-17) Ecclesiastes 5:14 (NKJV) But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. The word translated misfortune is very interesting. It is the same word that refers to work or labor or burden in other passages (1:13; 3:10; 8:16). The point of the passage seems to be that the financial reversal was so severe there was nothing left to leave his son. The riches are suddenly gone; whether in some physical or financial catastrophe. It might be gambling or some foolish or misguided venture. But those riches perish through misfortune; the person becomes what my Father would call flat broke. I suspect the person was twice miserable--miserable while he had the money; and miserable when he lost the money. Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NKJV) As he came from his mother s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. Read the verse carefully. The person takes nothing that can be carried in his hand. That is nothing tangible, material, physical. Clearly the person takes something with the person. The person s soul, the person s character, the person s conscience. We stop and we think; what am I doing? Does this really matter? How much labor, how much sweat equity has gone into the pile, the accumulation? 2

3 We never own anything permanently. We are at best custodians. We are at worst poor stewards. Possessions fall into two categories; consumable, temporal, and then there are those possessions that will outlast you. Everything that outlasts you will one day belong to someone else. Matthew 6:20-21 (NKJV) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Mark 8:36 (NKJV) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Ecclesiastes 5:16 (NKJV) And this also is a severe evil. Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? In the original language the word just is emphatic. It might be translated quite exactly as The capital contained in a new born hands is the capital retained in the dead man s hand. We take exactly what we came with. The accumulation becomes futile. In the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah spoke words of judgment against King Jehoiakim; the King of Judah; the greatest insult Jeremiah spoke concerned his burial; They will not mourn for him: Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister! They will not mourn for him: Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor! He will have the burial of a donkey---dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:18-19). Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NKJV) I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. People are willing to work for things that don t matter. Ecclesiastes 5:17 (NKJV) All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. What was this man able to purchase? Darkness (the absence of light the symbol of sorrow). Preoccupation with wealth generated sorrow and sickness--which speaks of a physical strain. Here the idea is that the cares and the frustrations were tearing him up on the inside. Anger or wrath speaks of the times the wealthy person was enraged over thwarted ambitions or plans. 3

4 When a person loses everything they don t necessarily abandon the belief that true contentment lies in the accumulation of possession or wealth. The Preacher describes someone who is still empty; driven to frustration; alone in the darkness; separated from God. The Preacher describes the miser. In Graham North Carolina the Justice of the Peace Charles W. Jones performed a wedding ceremony. When the ceremony was over the bridegroom asked the judge what the fee was; Oh said the Judge Whatever you think its worth. The bridegroom dug into his pocket and pulled out a quarter and handed it to the judge. His Honor looked at the quarter; blinked a couple of times and then reached into his pocket and gave the groom 15 cents in change. The expression; all his days he also eats in darkness may be a metaphor; a figure of speech; a life lived in the darkness of riches only. Does it make sense to live a life of sorrow and sickness and anger? I read the story of the first modern billionaire. John D. Rockefeller at the height of his earnings generated a million dollars a week. But at age 53 he was able to only live on milk and crackers; because he was in a constant state of turmoil over his wealth. Then he began to give the money away. His health radically improved. He lived to celebrate his 98th birthday. Aesop was a slave who was famous for telling stories. He tells the story of a miser. To make sure that his property would always remain safe and protected, a miser sold all that he had and converted it into one great lump of gold, which he hid in a hole in the ground. Since he went there continually to visit and inspect it, one of his workers became curious and suspected that his master had hidden a treasure. When the miser's back was turned, the worker went to the spot and stole the gold. Soon thereafter the miser returned, and when he found the hole empty, he wept and tore his hair. But a neighbour, who witnessed his grief, told him, "Don't fret any longer. Just take a stone and put it in the same place. Then imagine that it's your lump of gold. Since you never meant to use it, the stone will be just as good as the gold." What Do You Know About God? (vv.18-20) Ecclesiastes 5:18 (NKJV) Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. The Preacher presents a fresh perspective behold or here is what I have seen; there is another way of looking at this; (no mention of God in verses 13-17). Let s bring the Lord into our perspective; let s take a look through the lens of God s eternal perspective. Labor is not bad in and of itself. Work is a God given provision for a brief life. Eating and drinking isn t always a selfish indulgent thing. Sometimes eating and drinking have way more to do with 4

5 companionship, fellowship, joy and satisfaction. Eating and drinking depending on context can mean a happy and fulfilled life. Do you think its better to eat alone or with someone? The miser says, It all depends on who is paying the bill! The man who loves his family and friends happily pays the bill! The ability to earn money or generate wealth is a gift from God. It is not wrong--but good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor! What a great Scripture to share at Thanksgiving. Pay close attention to word enjoy! We are to enjoy our lives! We are to enjoy the special gifts and privileges God has given to us! Not at the neglect of others. Clearly Solomon is not advocating a vow of poverty or special value in the simple life! Although poverty and simplicity have value. Clearly God is the source of the gift; and God gives us the power to enjoy. Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NKJV) As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor s this is the gift of God. I suspect riches and wealth here mean tangible, physical, secular wealth. Clearly wealth can lead to misery; but wealth can accomplish great things for God and God s kingdom. The Preacher holds out the possibility of God given wealth and the God given ability to enjoy that wealth. There is a sense of comfort in knowing the ability to generate wealth and enjoy life is not something wicked or evil. In chapter 2:26 The Preacher wrote; To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness (2:26). Happiness is at least in one sense a gift from God like any other gift. The gift and the power to generate riches and wealth is given to some and apparently withheld from others. Ecclesiastes 5:20 (NKJV) For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. The ability to enjoy the things that money can buy or the privileges that wealth generates is also a gift from God. The Christian life, the God-centered and Christ centered life--need not be a life of drudgery but a life of adventure. GOD keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. 5

6 What is the joy of your heart? There is a business that vexes and frustrates; and there is a business that brings joy. We are given a life of faith and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has the ability to help human beings occupy and keep busy with the joy of his heart. When the Lord empowers us or gifts us; we are given the ability to enjoy that gift. We are given appetites that can be satisfied in a God-given fashion. We are given minds to appreciate beauty and God s majesty. We are not able to truly enjoy anything without reference to the Lord. No wonder Paul wrote; Whatever you do, whatever you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God. Conclusion We are to possess our possessions; and not allow our possessions to possess us. Clearly John D. Rockefeller woke up one fine morning and decided that money wasn t evil, it is a root of every kind of evil--for money was never meant to give us a false sense of independence from God. Every good and perfect gift comes from God; and every good and perfect gift has a good and perfect use. Can we find heaven on earth? It depends on how you picture heaven! The person who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is not discouraged in discovering that wealth is not the ultimate source of happiness. That person has already found a deep source of satisfaction and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ. What have we learned from the Preacher? The more we gain the more we want (v.10). The more we have the more we spend (v.11). Additional wealth brings additional worry (v.12). Wealth can both appear and disappear or vanish into thin air (vv.13-14). Do I dare state the obvious? Doesn t it make more sense to trust the Lord and refuse to trust in riches. Doesn t it make sense that satisfaction comes from having a right relationship to God in Christ? Riches can be enjoyed but it is possible that some riches will never be enjoyed. 6