The Reformed Arsenal

The King Who Couldn’t Fix It (Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:26)

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In “The King Who Couldn’t Fix It,” Pastor Wes Hebert examines Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26, where King Solomon (or the idealized Preacher King) conducts a comprehensive experiment to find satisfaction in life. Despite having unlimited resources, wisdom, and power, the king discovers that nothing “under the sun” can truly satisfy the human heart. The sermon explores how the king systematically tests simple pleasures (wine and laughter), cultured pleasures (building gardens and paradise-like environments), and communal pleasures (accumulating wealth, servants, and entertainers), only to conclude that all is “vanity and striving after wind.”

The sermon reveals how Solomon’s attempts to build his own personal Eden—to recreate paradise through human effort—ultimately failed. Despite being the most powerful king in Israel’s history with unprecedented resources and wisdom, he still found that life remained frustratingly futile. This serves as a powerful reminder that if the greatest king couldn’t find satisfaction through his own efforts, neither can we. Pastor Hebert points out that we exhaust ourselves trying to turn everything into renovation projects—our marriages, children, careers, and even our vacations—placing burdens on these gifts that they were never meant to bear.

The turning point comes when the king finally looks upward rather than inward. He discovers that true enjoyment doesn’t come from using God’s gifts to please ourselves, but from receiving them gratefully as we seek to please God. When we stop trying to make wine, friends, work, and relationships fix our lives and instead see them as gifts to be enjoyed while we wait for the ultimate Eden that only Christ can establish, we find the rest our hearts crave. The sermon concludes by contrasting Solomon’s failed kingship with Christ’s faithful kingship—where Solomon accumulated everything for himself, Jesus emptied himself; where Solomon built gardens for his pleasure, Jesus sweat drops of blood in a garden for our salvation; where Solomon lived to please himself, Jesus lived to please the Father.

Key Points:
  1. The king conducted a systematic experiment to find satisfaction, trying simple pleasures (wine and laughter), cultured pleasures (building personal paradise), and communal pleasures (relationships and entertainment).
  2. Despite unlimited resources, wisdom, and power, the king concluded that all pursuits “under the sun” end in vanity—they cannot deliver lasting satisfaction or escape death’s equalizing force.
  3. Human attempts to build our own “Eden” will always fail, as we place impossible burdens on gifts (relationships, achievements, possessions) that were never meant to bear them.
  4. The turning point comes when we stop seeking to please ourselves and instead seek to please God, receiving His gifts gratefully while waiting for Christ to complete the ultimate Eden project.
  5. Jesus Christ, as our faithful preacher King, succeeds where Solomon failed—emptying Himself rather than accumulating, suffering in a garden rather than building one for His pleasure, and living to please the Father rather than Himself.
    6. Application
    1. Recognize when you’re treating relationships, achievements, or possessions as salvation projects rather than gifts to be enjoyed; this shift in perspective can reduce exhaustion and increase gratitude.
    2. Practice receiving daily blessings (food, drink, work, relationships) as gifts from God’s hand rather than tools to fix your life or build your own paradise.
    3. Redirect your longings for satisfaction toward Christ, who alone can fulfill the deep restlessness of the human heart and will one day complete the “Eden Project” through new creation.
    4. When tempted to think “if only I had this one thing, then I’d be happy,” remember that even a king with unlimited resources couldn’t satisfy himself through earthly pursuits.
      5. Questions for Reflection:
      1. In what areas of your life are you exhausting yourself by trying to build your own personal Eden? What relationships or pursuits are you burdening with expectations they weren’t designed to bear?
      2. How might your experience of work, relationships, and leisure change if you approached them primarily as gifts to enjoy rather than tools to fix your life?
      3. When you feel restless or dissatisfied, what typically happens when you pursue more pleasure, achievement, or possessions? How does this sermon challenge that approach?
      4. What would it look like for you to “please God” with the gifts He’s given you rather than using them to please yourself?
      5. How does the contrast between Solomon’s kingship and Christ’s kingship reshape your understanding of what makes for a truly satisfying life?
        6. Other Scriptures for study:
        1. Matthew 6:25-34 – Jesus teaches about seeking first God’s kingdom rather than anxiously pursuing earthly needs.
        2. Philippians 2:1-11 – Christ’s emptying himself in contrast to Solomon’s self-accumulation.
        3. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 – The relationship between godliness, contentment, and the love of money.
        4. James 4:13-17 – The vanity of making confident plans without acknowledging God’s sovereignty.
        5. Revelation 21:1-5 – The ultimate fulfillment of the “Eden Project” in the new heavens and new earth.
          6. Confessional Resources:
          1. Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1 – Addresses our only comfort in life and death belonging to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
          2. Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 1 – “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
          3. Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 141-142 – Duties required and sins forbidden in the Tenth Commandment, including contentment with our condition.
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