Pray

Read: Ecc 2:18-26.

Meditation

One very important question every Christian should ask is this: What are you supposed to do once you have become a Christian? What should or will change in our lives? Is it only our Sunday mornings that change, or does being a Christian shape our life during the week as well?

Some imagine that it means becoming hyper spiritual. Perhaps it involves becoming disconnected from the things of this world, going to Bible studies every day instead of working, using every possible spare moment to read the Bible with as much fasting as possible, or even withdrawing from everything and joining a monastery.

Others imagine that being a Christian simply means adding certain things to an otherwise ordinary life. We still do mostly the same things as before. We have families, we go to work, we buy a house, yet we also include a fair amount of Christian activity. We go to church, we join a Bible study, and we try to have a daily devotional time. Christianity becomes a kind of “segment” of our lives from this perspective.

But what does it actually mean in real, everyday life to become a Christian?

I want to make a little bit of sense of this question in this meditation, and here is where I want to start. I want to begin by asking you to consider what it is that actually changes when you become a Christian. I have one word for you. Listen carefully: everything. Absolutely everything about your life should change in some way. Let me explain what I mean by that.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come. When we come to Christ, repent of our sins, put our faith in him, when his blood covers us and God forgives us, and we submit our lives to him as Lord, what happens is that we are, as Jesus says in John 3, reborn. Something basic and fundamental in our very being changes, our very spirit receives life. This spiritual rebirth, which occurs when someone comes to Christ, can, should, and will change everything.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Becoming a new creation in Christ does not mean that we cease to be human. We still eat dinner, have a job, raise kids. In short, we still live in God’s world. But the way we view these things, the way we live in all these areas of life, undergoes a paradigm shift. You could say we gain a Christian worldview, we begin operating from new assumptions about life and the world. We view everything from the perspective of faith in Christ, and this change should flow out into everything we do. In Romans 12:2 the Bible calls this renewing your mind.

Raising children, for example, should look very different for Christians than it does for those who live without God. Living as a Christian single should look very different from living as a godless single. The books we read, the movies we watch or choose not to watch, will be informed, shaped, and defined by our faith in Christ. Everything we do will, in this sense, be different, changed, and redeemed.

We cannot address all of the connections to this issue in this meditation, we’ll follow up with a closer look in the next few. Overall, however, we see in this passage that there is one particular area of life that Solomon focuses on. It is a big area, one where we spend a huge portion of our time. It touches on a fundamental aspect of human identity. It goes back to one of the main things we were created to do in Genesis 1. In modern terms, we simply call it: “work.”

In some form or another, many of us go to work each day, or have spent or will spend most of our lives doing it. There are office workers, labourers, garbage collectors, missionaries, and home makers, which is a vocation too by the way.

So how should we as Christians think about and do our work? What does it mean to honour Christ our Saviour in the workplace, as we pursue a vocation? Have you given much thought to the relationship between your work and your faith? If not, well it is high time to start. Ecclesiastes, not to mention plenty of other passages in scripture, give plenty of attention to work. If you have thought about this before, then let’s open the scriptures, and the wise will become wiser still. We’re going to be giving this topic some prayerful consideration across the course of the next few meditations and see what wisdom Solomon will bring us. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Pray

Read: Ecc 2:14-18.

Meditation

We find a most peculiar encouragement in Ecclesiastes 2:17. Look again at the end of verse 17: all is vanity and a striving after the wind. All is a breath. All is fleeting. All is insubstantial. The blessing I am speaking about here is this: that life is short.

Now maybe that shocks you. Maybe you are thinking, short? I do not want life to end! I want to see my grandchildren. I want to enjoy the good things for as long as I can. And that is ok. It is ok to desire to see your grandchildren. In fact, let me assure you, one of the things Solomon will show us later in the book is how to enjoy life. He is not a killjoy, far from it.

But my point here is not to say that these things are not good. My point is to say that the affliction you are now suffering, the burdens you bear, they truly are momentary and light.

Ask anyone over fifty: Does life go quickly? You had better believe it. Life will fly by. And as you start looking back over the years, and you hear Solomon say life is but a breath, you realise, yes, it is so true.

Years go by. Decades. Life passes. Childhood. Teenage years. Your twenties, they will be over just like that. And in just a few more short decades you will be nearing the end.

We are tempted to fear this progression, to feel apprehensive about the shortness of our time. A much better approach is to see it as a blessed mercy. Absolutely, enjoy God and his gifts in this life. But see too that the shortness of life is a blessing.

Again, why do I say that? I say it because we can know with absolute certainty that these hateful things in life, sickness and suffering, death and disease, their power is limited, and it is waning. It is like winter in Narnia. This life is quickly passing, and we are small drops in a large bucket, but Jesus continues to move. The winter is thawing and the spring of a new creation is nearing; each day it is nearer.

And so when that day comes, when you close your eyes in this life for the last time, this is not a day of sorrow but a day of gladness, because to go and be with Christ is much better. And when you close your eyes on that day, you will open them again and you will behold unspeakable things, and all the shadows and darkness of this life will be gone. The sound of victory and joy and glory will greet you. The faces of long lost loved ones will be there, smiling. You finished the race. Your spouse, who you have not seen for thirty years, in Christ he will be there. The ache in your heart, the pains, the sense of loss at dear friends’ departure long ago, all these burdens will fall from your shoulders as you are reunited again.

But even this is not the best part. Because on that day you will see him, the One who died to save you, the One who rescued you from darkness. He will be there. You will see the wounds in his hands, his feet, his side. You will see the smiling face of the One who has loved you. And in Christ, if you have put your faith in him, you will be welcomed home.

And even this is not the end. At the last day, as the trumpet is sounded, our old bodies too will rise in resurrection, and a new heavens and a new earth will be there. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

A new world, Eden restored and enhanced. Blessing and light and life and wonder and hope and joy. All this is the heritage of those who are in Christ, who have put their faith in him, who have believed and followed.

This life is just a breath. It is a breath with numerous joys and blessings, and it is a breath with countless burdens and sufferings. There will be many dark days; we will suffer under the common curse. But either way, it is nonetheless still just a breath. And so these clouds that loom so dark above us now, these clouds that we so much dread, they will soon break, and the sun will shine, and we will know fully, as we know now a little by faith, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed.

Call me crazy, but the book of Ecclesiastes actually gets me excited, because it teaches me to enjoy life’s gifts without clutching at them, and it teaches me to look past today’s sorrows to a brighter future, and again and again it reminds me: not long. We are not long for this world, and we will soon see him who has loved us and saved us. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Pray

Read: Ecc 2:12-14.

Meditation

Solomon’s point in this passage is not so much to highlight the value of wisdom, which we considered in the previous meditation. He does far more of that in the Book of Proverbs. No, his purpose here is to point out a certain frustration in life that seems to be at work in spite of wisdom: the reality of the suffering of the wise.

You see, we may be living wisely, but as Solomon goes on to say in verse 14, “yet I perceived that the same event happens to all.” As he observes the world, takes it all in, and reflects on it, he notices something. He notices that whether a person is foolish or wise, he might just as easily be struck down by a common evil. This troubles Solomon deeply. And so he says in verse 15, “Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.”

If we are to make sense of this, we need to start by being honest. Solomon is right. Calamity may strike both wise and foolish people, the godly and the godless. We should not hide from that fact, nor put up a fake Christian veneer that pretends these difficult truths are not real (such as the prosperity gospel teaches). True Christianity is not about living an ignorant life in search of some false happiness. We are called to have a realistic view of things. And so let us be clear: this happens. One person might spend his life drinking, living immorally, being a godless person; another might live wisely, honouring God, obeying him, pursuing Christ. And both might be struck by cancer.

This is a great source of vexation to Solomon. Wisdom, so it seems, is not the answer, because it does not offer deliverance from these troubles. And so Solomon asks the question: Why live wisely if things might go wrong just as easily? What is to be gained from it? Ultimately, he says, the bottom line is that we all die anyway. Verse 16says: “the wise dies just like the fool.” And so he finishes with that most troubling comment: “and so I hated life.”

Before we explain this, let me say one thing: perhaps you can relate to Solomon here. Perhaps you sense this reality. Perhaps you have struggled with it. Things do not seem just. Why be a Christian if we are just as prone to troubles and difficulty? What is the point?

So how are we to understand this? How do we make sense of the fact that these things happen? And how do we make sense of Solomon’s reaction? Christians are not supposed to hate life, are they? Are we not supposed to meekly, calmly, and happily accept everything?

There are a couple of things that help us see what is going on here, and how we can learn to fear God through it.

The first thing, again, is to admit that Solomon is right. There is a common curse that afflicts the godly and the ungodly alike. We are all vulnerable to sickness and death.

Let me put it this way. You might be familiar with the idea of God’s common grace. He sends his rain on the just and the unjust alike (Mt 5:45). Many godless people enjoy countless blessings from God. They enjoy food, shelter, families, friendship, a beautiful world in which to live. Theologians call this the doctrine of common grace. God extends his common goodness to all people.

But something we do not often consider is the doctrine of the common curse, and this is what we see Solomon wrestling with here. When Adam fell and mankind was cursed, things like sickness and bodily death entered the world. In this present life, whether you are one of God’s people or not, we are all afflicted with the common curse of our race. In Psalm 90, Moses also wrestles with this reality. All people are subject to sickness and bodily death. That is the way it is in this present life.

The first step in dealing with this unpleasant and difficult reality is to admit that it is true. Humanity has invited the judgement of this curse upon ourselves by rejecting God. We deserve it. In fact, we deserve far worse. The corruption of our world, and all the suffering that follows, is our fault, not God’s.

The second thing to see is that, especially as Christians, it is actually acceptable to be grieved by this common curse. That is what we see Solomon doing here. In verse 17 he says that he hated life because what was done was grievous to him. And to an extent, he is right. The fall and all its effects are a hateful thing. We ought to despise sin and all its consequences. Solomon is not just a bitter old man who hates life. He is not a grumpy pessimist. He is a man who looks on the world through the eyes of wisdom and is deeply disturbed and burdened by the reality of death. He finds it grievous, he says in verse 17. He hates what has happened to this world.

As we walk with Solomon here, he shows us something profound. He shows us that it is acceptable and necessary to grieve over the devastating effects of sin. It is acceptable to weep over the grave of a loved one, because death is a horror. It is acceptable to be deeply disturbed by the common curse under which we all live. It is acceptable to feel a surge of hatred when you see a body struck down by sickness, hatred at the existence of sin in this world. Because this reflects the heart of God. God hates sin. He hates it so much that his plan through Christ is to eradicate it completely. He will not tolerate one iota of evil. His mission is to obliterate all sin, darkness, and moral pollution in his world. He hates it.

So it is acceptable to be disturbed by sin. In fact, when you gain wisdom, that should be a normal response. This is why Solomon says in 1:18 that in gaining wisdom you will also gain vexation and sorrow, because you will increasingly come to see the world as it truly is.

One thing to keep in mind here, however: we have an advantage over Solomon. As we grieve over sin and learn to hate it and all its consequences, we also learn to long for the world to come. Solomon did not have the benefit of God’s full revelation. Many things were not yet revealed. The afterlife, for instance, was far more mysterious to him than it is to us. So learn from Solomon. Learn to grieve and to hate death. But do not wallow in it, as Solomon is tempted to do here. Let your grief drive you to Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:19, the Apostle Paul says that if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Yet in spite of the grief of death, in spite of the frustration of the common curse, we know that we have our hope in a Saviour who has conquered death. The One who came to earth and healed, who made the blind see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear. The One who gave his life so that we, his people, might have life abundantly. We belong to a Redeemer who is reversing the curse.

And in this sense, the grief and trials of life are actually a mercy. They are friends in disguise, blessings thinly veiled as curses. That may sound strange, but suffering in this life is a blessing, because it teaches us to run to Christ. It weans us off lesser goods and forces us to look to the greatest good, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. Suffering teaches us to set our hope in Christ.

As you struggle, you may be tempted to bitterness. You may be tempted to foster hatred in your heart as you feel the burden of the common curse. In fact, arm your mind, because in this life you almost certainly will be tempted to hate life. Arm your mind with this knowledge: the path of suffering is the necessary path to glory and true fulfilment in Christ.

When our Saviour walked on this earth, he felt and lived with the weight of the common curse. This is why we sing that he was a man of sorrows. Isaiah says he was acquainted with grief. He knew what it was to live in a body that grew weary. He knew what it was to stand by the tomb of a loved one and weep. He experienced the longings and burdens of this life. He knew what it was to stare into a tomb and feel the coldness of death creeping towards him, more deeply than we ever could.

Yet in spite of this, in spite of the horror he faced, he walked the road to Calvary.

And my friends, no matter what sufferings you bear, no suffering can compare to his – which he endured for your sake. He endured mocking, rejection, shame, pain, bleeding, whipping. And above all this he endured the holy wrath of God against sin. He suffered the anguish of ten thousand infinite hells heaped upon his shoulders.

Brothers and sisters, we do not have a Saviour unfamiliar with suffering. We have a Saviour who has suffered more deeply than any of us ever will. He walked that path.

So remember this in a dark world, when you are tempted to hate life. Think often on it. Look to Christ upon the cross. Though the world sees him hanging there and thinks he is a fool, remember: the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.

We may suffer sickness; Solomon is right. We may lose loved ones to death, and it will hurt. It will tempt you to bitterness. It will tempt you to hate life. But in all this we can be sure: Christ has conquered. He did die on a Friday. But he rose on a Sunday. And in his resurrection is our hope.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are most to be pitied. But we do not have hope only in this life. Christ is risen. He is coming again. You will see Him soon. The sun will rise, and darkness will be no more. SDG.

The Goodness of Wisdom (Ecc 2:12-14).

Pray

Read: Ecc 2:12-14.

Meditation

If nothing under the sun can give us lasting joy, where do you go from there? It can feel as if there is nowhere else to go. So do you give up? Do you despair? In this passage Solomon tries something else. He asks the question: If “stuff” is not the answer, what about wisdom itself? Can you find peace and meaning in this life in the pursuit and possession of wisdom? After all, if the answer is not in possessions, perhaps it is in wisdom.

This is where he begins in verse 12: “So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly.” What he is saying here is that he wants to consider the value of wisdom in comparison to wickedness. When he says madness and folly, that is a shorthand reference to moral evil, and we see that clearly as the passage continues.

I turned to consider wisdom. And so the question sits before us as well. Perhaps you feel jaded about life. Perhaps you are struggling to find meaning. Perhaps you have realised that life’s pleasures do not provide ultimate and lasting satisfaction. Solomon’s question then becomes relevant to you. What value is there in wisdom? Can wisdom itself help us make sense of life? Is it worth pursuing? Can it bring any lasting goodness for us?

The first thing Solomon shows us about wisdom is that we must see the goodness of wisdom. As Solomon considered the world around him the answer was quite obvious, in verse 13: “Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.”

Solomon goes on in the first part of verse 14 to paint a colourful picture of how this works in daily life: “The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.”

When we walk in accordance with God’s wisdom, when we walk in righteousness according to the law of God, we are doing what we were designed to do. When you do what is right, things simply work. Wisdom allows you to see the way life is supposed to go. Or, in Solomon’s language, it is as if you have your eyes in your head. The foolish person, on the other hand, is like someone wandering around in the dark. They run into things, they injure themselves, and they lead others astray as well.

Let me give you a few examples of what this looks like in everyday life.

When a man cheats on his wife, he loses everything. His reputation, friendships, perhaps his relationship with his children, and most likely his marriage. It is hugely damaging. Children’s lives are harmed. The spouse is deeply wounded. And so is the man who did it, for he has done immense damage to himself as well. He does not have his eyes in his head. He is a fool who chases after what is evil.

Another example. When a man lives a life of violence, he will likely be injured or even killed by someone else who is violent. People in drug gangs are always placing themselves in dangerous circumstances.

Another example. When a man lives as a thief, there is a good chance he will be caught. He will have a criminal record, perhaps do jail time, and he may find it hard to get work later on.

Even something as simple as forgiveness makes the point. Christ calls us to forgive each other. Holding grudges leads to bitterness, hatred and conflict. Forgiving one another leads to healing, love and restoration. Wisdom sees this, and folly ignores it. The fool says in his heart that there is no God, and he spends his life wandering in the dark.

So Solomon says, there is no question. If you walk in the ways of wisdom you will find that things in life simply work, because God’s moral laws are woven into the fabric of the universe.

There is definitely more gain in wisdom than in folly, Solomon says. In Proverbs we are often exhorted to pursue wisdom, and as a side note, we should. We should seek to know, to understand, and to obtain God’s wisdom. We should be constantly reading his sord so that we may grow in wisdom.

This wisdom ultimately comes through Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says that Christ is the wisdom of God. As we turn to God by faith in Christ, repenting of our sins and believing in him, we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to receive the wisdom of his word as we ought to. As we follow Christ, as we look to him, we should grow in wisdom. If you have not read the Book of Proverbs in a while, it might be a good time to start.

And so, at the end of all, Solomon looks back and realises that there is no hope for lasting happiness under the sun. Where does this leave us? Are we destined for disappointment? Is despair our only option? Is our desire and search for contentment a form of madness?

We have seen the dead ends, have we not? Money, alcohol, music and the arts, industry, technology and grand projects, and sexual love. And yet, as Solomon has shown us these dead ends tonight, we have nevertheless progressed in our journey. As we walk the paths of the labyrinth, we are getting closer to the destination, step by step.

On the question of happiness and lasting satisfaction, the answer is clear. If the only place you look is under the sun, then you will not find it. There is nothing in all the world that can meet our deepest desires. You could gain everything, as Solomon did, and you will still gain nothing in the end. If we chase these things, we will find ourselves, as the prodigal son did, wasting away in a muddy pen full of dirty pigs. As the Lord Jesus said, what does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?

Solomon does not want to drive us to despair, but he does want to lift our eyes away from trying to find satisfaction in the things of this world. Stop looking for joy in things under the sun, he says. Where, then, should we look? The end of the matter is this; all has been heard. Fear god. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

Do you know god actually wants you to be happy? Do you know that, for all who are in Christ, followers of Jesus, god works all the things in our lives together for our good? Do you know that in Christ it is his purpose to banish every evil and painful thing from your life? Do you know that in Christ it is his plan to ravish your soul with unending, increasing, unspeakable pleasure and joy for all eternity? Each day your joy will increase. Each day you will marvel with fresh delight as you see more and more of god’s infinite beauty. Each day he will show you something that will make your eyes grow wide in wonder and make your heart sing loud in worship.

Listen to these words of Jesus in John 15:11: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Did you see what happened there? Jesus actually wants our joy to be full. He wants us to abound in joy. He wants us to rejoice in the Lord always, and again he says rejoice (Philippians 4:4). “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.” (Psalm 97:12)

But the key here, as Solomon so clearly shows us, is not to set our joy on the things of this life. They cannot satisfy. The key is to learn to find our joy in god. “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” (Psalm 105:3) “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:10)

The answer to finding true happiness is this. Seek it in god and you will find it.

The world is full of people on a me-centred search for satisfaction. Yet there is nothing that can meet our infinite appetite for eternal joy. That is why there is so much misery, because we live in a world full of people looking for something where it cannot be found.

God designed us for joy, but it is a joy that may only be found in him. As we find our joy in him, we will be properly fitted to enjoy his gifts in this life as well, and we will be fitted for the infinite and sublime delight that awaits us in the world to come.

So, in closing, let me ask you, where have you been searching for joy? Have you been looking in wine bottles and fine dining? Have you been looking in your workplace? Have you been looking for it in your spouse, or in a spouse? Perhaps money and possessions are where your heart lies.

As Christians we are vulnerable to search in these places, and yet our treasure is in Christ, our redeemer and our saviour, the one who gave himself for us, who has loved us and restored us, the one who forgives and has forgiven us. The kingdom of god is like a pearl discovered in a field, and the one who finds it sells all that he has to purchase that field.

The love of god provides a joy that no earthly treasure can afford, a satisfaction that transcends circumstances and flows as a fountain unto life eternal.

There is only one place where we will be satisfied, in Christ himself. Christ, the full revelation of god in all his beauty and glory and majesty. You remember the words of Jim Elliot: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” If you have Christ, then you have infinitely more than Australia’s top ten rich list. Have you ever thought about that? If you have Christ, then you have more than all the celebrities, sports stars, millionaires and world rulers combined. If every rich, influential, beautiful and important person in the world could somehow pool all their resources and give them to you in exchange for Christ, then you would have gained nothing and lost everything. If you have Christ, then you have food that this world knows not of.

And yet, in spite of this, our appetites for him are so poor, are they not? We live as though heaven and hell were not realities. We live as though the gifts of this life were more precious than the giver. When a bride comes to marry, she does not rejoice most of all in an expensive wedding, or a feast, or a beautiful wedding gown, or even in her friends and family. She rejoices in her husband.

Do you rejoice in Christ? Does your heart yearn and bleed for his return? Take Solomon’s words to heart. Come now, test your heart with pleasure. Come and see the riches and wonder and beauty that are ours in Christ.

There is an invitation before you this week, an invitation to look past the temporary pleasures of this life and to delight in Christ.

This invitation cannot be accepted by accident. If you walk carelessly into this week, your sinful desires will strive to take your heart.

Set your heart to seek the Lord. Delight yourself in god alone, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Confess your weakness. Confess the smallness of your desires for him. Ask him daily to strengthen and enable you to seek him. Then pursue him violently, desperately. Run to him as a lover runs to her husband returning from war.

Jesus has saved you. His heart yearns for you. He longs to wean you from the lesser desires of your heart, and he longs to fill you with infinite and eternal delight. As we go into this week, may the Lord so change and challenge our hearts.

Pray

Read

Ecc 2:1-11.

Meditation

What about love? The pleasures and delights of sexual relationships? As Solomon looked around, he saw that this was an obvious candidate for satisfaction and joy. In verse 8 he says, “I got many concubines, the delight of the sons of men.” And there’s no doubt about it: sex can be a true delight. It is a gift of God, as we see in Proverbs 5:18 where Solomon says, “rejoice in the wife of your youth.” And so Solomon looked here for lasting joy too. In 1 Kings 11 we read that he loved many foreign women. It says he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. In Jewish culture, a concubine was basically a wife of inferior social status, which is why 1 Kings 11 notes particularly that Solomon’s 700 wives were princesses. So what it is saying is that he had 1000 wives—700 of whom were princesses, and 300 of whom were normal women.

The point is that when it came to the area of sex, if anyone could ever find satisfaction and joy there, it was Solomon. He had his pick of every beautiful woman that he laid eyes on. He experienced love.

And so we ask: Is there satisfaction to be found in sex? This is a particularly relevant question for us today. We live in a time when sexual fulfillment is basically seen as sacred. The highest crime a person can commit is to dare suggest that someone should not pursue their sexual desires. Every person, apparently, is entitled to pursue whatever manner of sexual fulfillment takes their fancy. And we see every perversity under the sun—marriage partners leaving their spouses to pursue someone more desirable, university students sleeping with someone new every weekend, sad lonely people staring at naked bodies on computer screens, people pushing the boundaries: men with men, women with women, men trying to live as women, and women as men, people with animals, even trees. I read an article about a woman who married a bridge. If you can imagine it, it’s out there. And if it is still taboo generally, there is a group somewhere fighting to normalise it. Sexual fulfillment is a modern-day religion with many followers.

But if you are looking here for ultimate fulfillment and happiness, Solomon says, think again. Even if you could have 1000 wives as Solomon did, it would all leave you empty. All is passing. Beauty fades. Our bodies age. And sexual fulfillment is not the answer.

And if you are looking in this area, fantasising, do not be fooled. No man or woman can give you lasting fulfillment. Marriage was not designed to do that. It was designed to image and glorify Christ (Eph 5), and to sanctify us. In fact, the apostle Paul warns us that those who marry in this life will have trouble (1 Cor 7:28). When two people come together, it is a union of two sinners. Perfect sexual harmony will not be possible. In fact, sex is not so much a means for personal satisfaction as a means for learning how to serve another above yourself. If anything, it will probably show us up for how selfish we are. The answer to fulfillment in life is not a good sex life, and Solomon provides an epic example of this. In fact, all he gained from 1000 beautiful women was apostasy. His wives led him astray, and he worshipped false gods.

Again, marriage is a good gift, and in a sense it points to the best of gifts in the love of christ. But marriage itself will not satisfy. If we choose to marry, our highest goal cannot and must not be our own satisfaction—for we will be disappointed. Our goal must be to serve and glorify the living God. There is joy in marriage, but it is a temporary institution here on this earth. In the new heavens and the new earth, Jesus said, we will neither marry nor be given in marriage. SDG.

Pray

Read

Ecc 2:1-11.

Meditation

Do you listen to much music? I feel like I have a soundtrack for every season of my life, and the right music at the right time can touch the soul in profound ways. Some people live for music. Some devote the lives entirely to it. In verse 8 of our passage, Solomon calls us forward, because there are more dead ends he wants us to see in this labyrinth. There was no answer in alcohol. Industry and achievements did not work. All our money will be blown away in the wind. What else is there? What else can we try?

How about arts and culture? Again, we can hear the critics saying that Solomon is still thinking too small, he needs to sample the finer things of life. The real answer to lasting happiness is in pursuing and appreciating the higher pleasures of the arts and music! And so, in verse 8 he tests this pleasure as well. He says he got singers, choirs, professionals, the finest musicians money could buy.

Music can be a kind of drug to many people. Next time you are on a train, take notice of how many people have headphones on. And there is no doubt about it, music is a wonderful gift and something to be enjoyed. But of itself it, can it fill the longing of the human heart.

We always need more, don’t we? A new song might get stuck in our heads for a few days, but then it wears off. It doesn’t have the same effect any more. Yesterday’s favourite eventually becomes tiring to hear. We need new songs and new artists. You could pour a lifetime into music, both doing it and appreciating it. And then at last, as arthritis takes our fingers and our ears grow dull, the music would cease. No answers there.

Music is a carrier for a higher glory. A heavenly glory. We must tune our hearts to the delights found in God alone. Perhaps the psalms will help us, they are heavenly songs after all! We ought to pay attention when the Lord gives us a book of songs in his Word! Which other songs can boast divine inspiration? Here, then, is an application for us: start looking for ways to bring the psalms into your life. SDG.

Money, money, money! (Ecc 2:7).

Pray

Read

Ecc 2:1-11.

Meditation

Solomon has found that both alcohol and work are dead ends in the search for satisfaction. What else can we try? As he looks around, he notices that people seem to like money and possessions. They chase after it. They hoard it. That is still true today. There is a constant chase for a higher pay grade. People buy lottery tickets in the hope of a dream. The pursuit of wealth has always loomed large under the sun. So Solomon sees all this and says, alright, let us see if wealth and possessions can do the trick.

Verse 7 reads, “I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces.”

In 2 Chronicles 9 we learn that Solomon had so much gold that he ate with golden cutlery. He drank from gold cups. His interior decorators specialized in gold. In the reign of Solomon, scripture says, silver was considered worthless. That is how much money he was racking in. He made Bill Gates look like a pauper. And yet, as he gains mountains of treasure, what does he find? Is it satisfaction? Lasting contentment? True happiness?

It is vanity, says the preacher. All of it is passing away. You cannot take it with you. There is no real gain to be found in money. I heard a good joke from another preacher, and I am going to steal it and use it here because it illustrates a good point. There was a rich old man, and as he approached his death he made his wife promise to bury his money with him. She agreed to do that. After a time the man died. As they lowered his body into the grave, a friend noticed the wife dropping a piece of paper in with the coffin. The friend came and said, did you bury him with his money as he requested? And she said, yes I did. I put all the money into my account and wrote him a cheque, and he can collect it all just as soon as he cashes that cheque. What good can money do us? What lasting satisfaction is there to be found in it? To chase after money and heap it up truly is as foolish as trying to take hold of the wind. It is to seek after something that you cannot hold.

And this is so challenging to us, is it not? Because it forces us to ask, what place does money hold in our hearts? How precious are our possessions to us?

I know of an older couple through a pastor friend of mine. This couple were Christians, faithful, church-going folk. This is a true story. They were good at saving their money and using it sparingly, if that is a good thing. As they approached old age, they had to sell their farming property. They had bought it decades before, and for a number of reasons it had increased in value significantly. They had a lot of money, and their property was worth a lot of money. Yet as they went through the selling process, at one point it looked as though they might lose a significant portion of the equity in their property. They were full of anxiety and concern. The thought of losing that equity filled many of their waking hours and often occupied their minds with worry. My pastor friend said to me that these people had more money than most could ever dream of possessing, and given their thrifty lifestyle, it seemed highly unlikely that they would be using it all before they died.

There is nothing wrong with leaving a good inheritance behind. In fact, that is a godly thing to do. Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” But as our hearts are occupied with money and possessions, as we strive for more of it, as we clutch what we have of it, we need to remember that it is temporary. Wealth is not to be gained for the purpose of satisfaction. It is to be gained so that Christ may be honoured.

Here is a counter-cultural thought for us to consider as we think about our possessions, our money, our homes, the equity of our belongings. The question to ask is not, how can I preserve and add to what I have? The question is: How can I use what I have to bring honour to Christ? How can I use my savings to honour Christ? How can I use my home to honour Christ?

The great cricketer C. T. Studd said, “Only one life, twill soon be past. Only what is done for Christ will last.” Money is not there to make life easier, more fulfilled, or better. Money is there to further Christ’s cause in the world. SDG.

Pray

Read

Ecc 2:1-11.

Meditation

So there was no answer in drink.

But surely, Solomon, his critics say, you just need to do something more meaningful. Drinking is such a base desire. You just need to look for pleasure in something more meaningful.

“Alright,” says Solomon, “try me. Let’s go with projects and industry, with development and achievement. Let’s pursue something more noble. I will build great houses, plant spectacular gardens with fruit trees, and design an irrigation system that the world has never seen. Our technology will take leaps and bounds.”

And indeed, we see here that Solomon was a man of industry. You can read more about it in the book of Kings. He assembled a workforce of eighty thousand stonecutters and seventy thousand labourers. He spent thirteen years building a palace for himself. He built other palaces, administrative buildings, and courts. He built the temple of God itself, a magnificent construction. This wasn’t just a house project—Solomon made monuments and buildings that would be the envy and wonder of the world.

And there’s no doubt about it: there is a certain satisfaction to be found in projects like these, in advancing technology, and in achievements at work. Even a humble, well-kept garden can bring immense satisfaction—a model ship completed, the interior of a house freshly painted. And as technology advances, our new phones continue to amaze us, opening up opportunities that people could not even have imagined four decades ago.

Well, Solomon tried it all. He planned, he built, he labored. He achieved astounding things and amazed the world. And when he had finished it all—when his heart surveyed his achievements—he came to the end and realized: it is all vanity.

Probably our children’s children will be doing things with their equivalent of a smartphone, things we cannot even imagine right now. They will be amazed to live in the early twenty-second century. But we won’t be there. We won’t benefit from it. Even the things we do now—our jobs, our projects, the advancements of technology that we enjoy—when we are dying in just a few short years, these things will not bring lasting contentment. We will not be able to take them with us. We will hold our phones in our hands and say: it is vanity. It is all a breath.

“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it,” Solomon writes, “and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

You can build the grandest of designs, you can achieve great things, but there is no lasting satisfaction to be found there. We cannot take these things to the grave with us.

And in a culture of busyness, where being a workaholic is an easy temptation, we should take note of this. Our jobs will be satisfying to an extent; we can achieve and complete projects; but the working lifestyle can easily draw us in. The working world will take everything it can from you. I watched it happen in Canberra. Work will take as much as it can—if you give a little, it will ask for more, and then more. And soon you see executives with broken marriages, working long hours. And for what?

Don’t follow the path of obsession with labour, Solomon says. There is no lasting happiness there. You won’t find what you’re looking for.

We need a building project that’s larger than we are. Larger than anything this world has to offer. That project exists, it’s called “The Kingdom of God.” As we come to Christ for cleansing from our sins, he calls us into his agenda for history: the establishment of the Kingdom of God. As we labour in service to our Saviour, we find that our work is not in vain. Let go of the idols of workaholics, embrace the full satisfaction that is found in Christ alone. SDG.

Pray

Read

Ecc 2:1-11.

Meditation

In verse 3 Solomon begins with wine. People everywhere enjoy wine and alcohol, don’t they? That was true in Solomon’s day, and it’s still true now. I remember in high school, at university, and in the workplace, people looked forward to drinking on the weekend. For some of them, it was the highlight of their lives. You probably look forward to a good drink yourself from time to time, in moderation of course.

So Solomon says to himself, everyone enjoys a good drink, let’s see if there’s an answer there. I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, my heart still guiding me with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. Notice that he still used his wisdom. Solomon didn’t become a drunkard, but you can be sure he was having a good time.

And what was his conclusion? Vanity. You enjoy a good night out, you wake up the next morning and it’s over. You do it again, and it’s over just as quickly. Then you grow older, and you lose your appetite for it. There’s no real satisfaction in drink.

I met an alcoholic on the street once. It was a Sunday, and as we strolled through the park, we came across him and started talking. He didn’t look healthy. He told me he’d struggled with addiction for many years and had just been told by his doctor that his lifestyle was killing him. As I looked into his grey eyes, I didn’t see a man who had found satisfaction. I saw a man who was haunted. He was looking for a church, looking desperately for salvation. We invited him to come. We weren’t in our own area, but we knew of a faithful church nearby, and apparently he went along to the evening service there. I don’t know what happened after that.

But I can tell you this: Alcohol promises much. Good times, enjoyment, pleasure. And to an extent, it gives you that. But it doesn’t last. And if you make drink your god, it will haunt you all the way to your grave. Only Christ can satisfy. SDG.

Prayer of Confession & Consecration

Lord, I confess that I have often sought comfort and joy in the fleeting pleasures of this world rather than in you. I have looked for satisfaction in what cannot last and have forgotten that only your presence gives true delight. Cleanse my heart from false idols and quiet the thirst that leads me away from your living water. Teach me to drink deeply of your grace, to find strength and gladness in your will alone. I consecrate myself to you anew, that my life may be filled with your Spirit and my joy rooted only in your eternal goodness.