Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Who wants to be a millionaire? Week commencing 28 th February Introduction How interesting that when we turn to the second half chapter 5 in Ecclesiastes we move from observations about worship (which we looked at in the last small group study) to observations about how much we value money and wealth. Have we moved from the priority we should have to the priority which Qohelet observes in so many people s lives? Specifically, this passage has some warnings about money, including: You can t take it with you and in fact sometimes it is taken from you earlier than death. Beware of the craving it creates. Money is addictive yet it doesn t deliver on its promises. Money attracts hangers-on. Money and wealth fail to deliver peace and contentment. The warnings in this section are for everyone, not just the super rich. Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 1 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
Derek Kidner offers a helpful summary of its teaching, which is conveyed here: The unappeased craving (money) creates is very obvious in the gambler, the tycoon and the well-paid materialist who never has enough for the love of money grows by what it feeds on. But it may show itself more subtly in a general discontent: a longing not necessarily for money but for inward fulfilment. If anything is worse than the addiction money brings, it is the emptiness it leaves. Man, with eternity in his heart, needs better nourishment than this. Getting going Read Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Ken said in a sermon about daring to be different with regard to money last year: I am rich I am wealthy, globally speaking. I have a roof over my head, which is warm and dry, a car, a computer, several changes of clothes, books, access to music and media. I have never seriously and involuntarily been hungry not knowing where my next meal was coming from. In world terms, in this present world, I am rich. Do we approach teaching about money and wealth believing we are rich? Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 2 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
Study Question 1 Our passage today begins with a tangent. Read again verses 8 and 9. Qohelet seems to be saying that when you have any system which has officials and people with power, don t be surprised if you then get injustice and don t be surprised if that injustice goes right to the top. Would Qohelet see the same sort of injustice if he were writing today? Question 2 When Tony Campolo addressed the general assembly of the Baptist Union of Scotland he told this story which relates to the can t take it with you theme: In my church back home it s a black church - we have a student recognition day once a year, and all the kids come in who are going to the university. They re black, and they re bright and they re beautiful. And the old folks in my church love to hear them as they say, I m studying Literature at Yale. I m studying Science at Harvard. And they love to hear these kids. At my church they re very responsive. They say, Mama, thank you Jesus. Mmmm-mmmm. Beautiful, thank you Lord. It's a really nice feeling. And when they were all finished and sitting down, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, my pastor got up and he said, CHILDREN! CHILDREN! he said, YOU RE GONNA DIE! YOU RE GONNA DIE! He said, You don t think you re going to die, Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 3 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
But you re going to die. They re going to drop you in a hole. They re going to throw dirt in your face and they re going to go back to the church and eat potato salad! When you were born, you were the only one that was crying - everybody else was happy. More important is this. When you die, will YOU be the only one that s happy? And everybody else will cry. It depends, he said, It depends on what you live for. Do you live for titles or testimonies?. Titles or testimonies? Then Tony Campolo s pastor swept through the entire Old Testament in just five minutes. He said, There was Mo-o-ses, and there was Pharaoh. Pharaoh had the title. Ruler of Egypt. That s a good title. Good title - Ruler of Egypt. Moses, on the other hand, was the low life, who had no power, but when it was over Pharaoh may have had the title, he had the title, but Mo-o-ses ha-ad - TESTIMONIES!! He said, There was Daniel and there was Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was King of Babylon. Good title - King. King Nebuchadnezzar. But when it was over, that s all he had. He had the title, he had the title, but Daniel had the... testimonies. He said, There was Jezebel, the queen. Good title - Queen. Every woman would love to be Queen Jezebel. And there was Elisha. Elisha the prophet of God. She was going to kill him, but when it was over, that s all Jezebel had, was a title. SHE HAD THE TITLE, BUT ELISHA HAD THE. TESTIMONIES... Campolo ended, People of God, I tell you the truth, one of these days you are going to die, and they re going to drop you in a hole, and they re going to throw dirt in your face, and they re going to go back to the church and eat potato salad. But the only question is, What do you leave behind? Are you going to leave behind a title - President of Rotary, Vice-president of this? Are Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 4 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
you going to have an obituary with a list of titles? Or are there going to be people standing around your grave giving testimonies - testimonies - testimonies. In the light of today s passage, we could add a third option: not just Titles or Testimonies but Titles or Trophies (meaning accumulated possessions and wealth) or testimonies. Do we tell people and young people especially they are going to die enough? Should we get Mark or Victoria to do it as a children s/young people s talk?! Question 3 There are many similarities with this passage and some of Jesus and the wider New Testament s teaching on money and wealth. Read 1 Tim 6:6-10. How does money contribute to people walking away from faith and being pierced with many griefs? Notes Love of money is a key distinction but even that phrase might need some discussion and defining. Question 4 If one theme of this passage is that being rich doesn t help you spiritually and can even hinder what about being poor? Is being poor being promoted here? And does being poor help a person spiritually at all? Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 5 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
Notes Being poor isn t particularly being promoted here and we should always be careful making reverse arguments from the Bible. But equally God can and has helped people to grow closer to him and more trusting in times of need and poverty. This is, of course, quite different to saying God creates or prefers poverty. Question 5 One of the characteristics of Ecclesiastes is that in the midst of pessimism and gloom the writer brings us the occasional ray of light. In today s section, 5:18-20 is one of those glimmer of light passages. Surprisingly, in the middle of this passage these verses seem to say that enjoyment of wealth and possessions and work is possible. What lessons can we learn from 5:18-20? Notes These verses remind us that having money is not wrong. Key elements in these positive verses are finding satisfaction in what we have and the acknowledging that everything good that we have is God-given. Question 6 Is it wrong to have money as a basis of security? (5:14 or 6:2) Notes Some monetary security makes sense when it is possible but it is wrong to is wrong to have money as the basis of security. Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 6 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
Question 7 Suppose we already know from this teaching here, and from our wider teaching about money, that accumulating money and possessions does not deliver happiness. There are still many complicated earning and saving and spending questions we face each day. For example when is it appropriate to spend more on something rather than less? To buy a newer car a better make? To buy better coffee etc? Notes These are complicated issues. Somewhere in the mix the way everyone is treated from producing to selling and getting that right might make it well worth it to spend more. Reliability and false economy (spending less but paying for it in the long run) are also relevant to this discussion. The pleasure and joy to be had in quality is not a sin but can be part of God s beautiful world. The whole subject area of overseeing the way we earn and spend and save is handled really well in the CAP money course. Do pray for these courses, which we run regularly in the church, and outside the church for other groups. Perhaps consider coming along to the next one. Final thoughts If you lost all your material possessions tomorrow, what would you miss most and in what ways would you be rich? Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 7 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin
Hopefully your answers can help form some prayer to close this study. Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12 Page 8 of 8 Author: Ken Benjamin