Does your search for meaning and purpose feel like a lost cause? That's because it is a lost cause without God in your life. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us that even Solomon, in all his wisdom, found only futility in life apart from God. To discover a life of real enjoyment and enlightenment, listen as David introduces the conclusion of his message, sorting out your life.
Well, the book of Ecclesiastes is a marvelous study, only if you understand it. It begins with a search about life Without God in the picture, it doesn't get resolved till clear at the end of the book.
So, if you read this without understanding that you have your brow furled because you can't figure out what's going on, Solomon is trying to sort life out as if God wasn't in the picture, and he keeps coming to the same conclusion: that life without God is vanity, nothing but vanity, meaninglessness, emptiness, without purpose. We've called this sorting out your life, and we're looking at what happens when we try to figure life out and we keep God on the sidelines. It's not a very pretty picture, but it's very instructive. And I hope you'll stay with us as we open the Bible in just a few moments to Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verses 12 and following. In the meantime, don't forget during this month, you can get a copy of the commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes.
It's a contemporary commentary, 31 Days to Happiness, it's called. Takes you all the way through the book in chapter sizes that you can bite off in a short period of time each day. Every day, there's something to help you with your life and with your relationship with God. Don't forget to get your copy of 31 Days to Happiness, only available from Turning Point, only available during the month of February.
So, thank you for your gift and please ask for this book when you send it this month.
Now, here's part two of sorting out your life. Ecclesiastes says that what seeking after ultimate meaning through pleasure is like. is Disappointment. Seeking meaning through work leaves us empty. Derek Kidner, one of the men who has written prolifically on the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, says that what spoils the pleasures of life for us.
Is our hunger to get out of them more than they can ever deliver? If you're looking at your work for pleasure, you will discover That's your work. will never ever bring that joy to your life.
Well, he searched for meaning and wisdom. He searched for meaning in wild living. He searched for meaning in work. Notice now verses 7 through 10, he searches for meaning in wealth. Reading from the Bible, it says, I acquired male and female servants and had servants born in my house.
Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments of all kinds.
So I became great and excelled more than all. Who were before me in Jerusalem. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. For my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my reward from all my labor.
Now, I wish there was some way, men and women, that I could express to you. how rich Solomon was. I do not know anybody to compare him to. And all I can do is give you a little bit of taste of what his life was like financially. In 1 Kings chapter 10 and verse 14, we read these words.
The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was 666 talents of gold. A gold scholar evaluates that gold's value at more than 25 million dollars. Which was an incredible sum in the days of Solomon, is not a paltry number in our day today. If you had visited Solomon's kingdom during the days of his glory, you would have seen gold everywhere. It's referred to as the Golden Age, partly for that reason.
Another passage in the book of Kings tells us that all King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were pure gold.
Now, watch this: not one was silver, for silver was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. I'm not going to have any of that crummy old silver around his palace, man. He was into gold. If you had walked into the palace of Solomon in his day of wealth, you would have seen precious stones and spices from Arabia, almond and sandalwood trees from India, ivory from India and Africa, cedarwood from Lebanon. The temple that he built would have taken away your breath.
It had gold everywhere, stairways beautifully ornamented. There was an endless array of servants in gorgeous clothes, in rich cuisine, and costly uniforms and expensive horses. It was a capital worthy of a king whose wisdom and splendor eclipsed all the rulers of the world. And in this passage, he says, He became great and excelled more than all who went before him in Jerusalem. And he continued to have his wisdom.
And then he filed this report. I had it all. And it wasn't enough. I had it all. and it didn't bring meaning and joy to my life.
A writer in the Wall Street Journal. Called money an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven. and a universal provider of everything except happiness. Johnny Carson once said: the only value of money is so you don't have to worry about being poor. I want to tell you about a guy named Cecil Rhodes, who went to South Africa when he was only 27, founded the prestigious De Beers Mining Company.
Within eight short years, he controlled the entire diamond mining industry of South Africa. At 36, Cecil Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. At his death, His legacy to the British Empire included northern and southern Rhodesia. a tract of territory equal to German, France, and Spain altogether. Probably the richest man in the world, Rhodes was also a personal friend of General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, and one of the poorest men in the world.
One day they were traveling together on a train. Booth leaned over to Rhodes and tapped him on the knee, and he said, Tell me, man, are you happy? And the magnet looked at the preacher. He said, happy? Me?
Good heavens, no. Rhodes and Solomon. Both learned that a life lived without reference to God, no matter how much money you have. is an empty life. That power, possessions, Position and prestige cannot make you happy.
So let's just pause for a moment, take a deep breath. The experiences of Solomon. Are as follows. He sought for meaning in wisdom, in wild living, in work, and in wealth. And he found that none of them brought happiness to his life.
Notice now, as we come to the 11th verse in the second chapter, the evaluation of life under the sun. And Solomon makes three evaluations of what he has discovered in his experiment. And this gets better as we go along, so just hang with me now so you can see this. First of all, in verses 11 and 12, Solomon files this report. He says, man's work does not satisfy him.
Notice what he says Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done, and on the labor in which I had toiled, and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind there was no profit under the sun. Then I turn myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly, for what can the man do who succeeds the king? He said, I just need you to know that what I've learned from all of these experiments is that they don't really fill the void in my life. They don't satisfy me. If you try to find satisfaction through your pleasures, through your work, through your wealth, through your wisdom, you will end up.
Empty. Because you were not created to find ultimate satisfaction through those avenues. You see, we're not just random creatures here sorting this all out. We're creatures of Almighty God who has put us together in such a way that there's only one avenue that will bring us true joy and fulfillment, and that avenue leads us to Almighty God. And Solomon says, Hear me now.
I've done all of these things, I've spared no expense, and I want to tell you that man's work does not satisfy him.
Now secondly, he makes an astounding statement. Remember, this is wisdom under the sun. He says, man's work does not separate him. Read with me verses 13 through 16 and see if you can pick up his argument. Then I saw wisdom excels folly.
All light excels darkness. We all agree with that. Wisdom's better than folly. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. We believe that.
I myself perceived, now watch this. that the same event happens to them all.
So I said in my heart, as it happens to the fool, it happens to me. And why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, this is also vanity. For there is no more remembrance of the wise man than of the fool. Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come, and how does a wise man die?
He dies just like a fool. If all you see about life is life under the sun, is Solomon not telling the truth? Do you know what? I've never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul it, have you? You can't take it with you, so when you come to the grave.
Everybody comes the same way. Naked we came into the world, and naked we go out of the world in terms of whatever we may have.
Solomon says, I watched, and I saw these people that were wise, and I saw all the people who were foolish. And you could see the difference, but when it comes to the end, You don't separate them out at all. If all there is is this life and then death, there's no difference between the wise and the foolish when the ultimate appointment comes. You see his argument? He's saying, I've watched this now, and I want to observe with you that if there isn't anything that which is under the sun, then the wise and the foolish are the same.
And it doesn't make any difference. Notice the third conclusion. Man's work does not satisfy him. Man's work does not separate him. And here's one that is really kind of Bittersweet if you happen to be over 50.
Man's work does not succeed him. Verses 18 through 23, now read what he says. Then I hated all my labor, in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether he'll be wise or a fool? But he's going to rule over all my labor, in which I told, in which I have shown myself wise under the sun.
This also is vanity. Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had told under the Son. For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all of his labor, for the striving is of heart with which he has toiled under the sun?
All his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome. Even in the night, his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. Man, I tell you what, living in this book, especially the first chapters, takes a man of great stature and strength and resolve because I have to get through all of this to get to the good news. And I know you're all sitting there thinking: could we take a break?
Could we go get a cup of coffee? Could we shut this thing down for a little bit until we can sort all this out? Just hang with me now.
Solomon is saying something that all of us have thought at one time or another, whether we like to admit it. Build what you want. Save what you might. Have it all in stocks and bonds. In the bank, in real estate, wherever you might put it, but one of these days you won't be able to manage it anymore, and you have no idea what the person who comes after you is going to do with it.
If you think Ultimate eternal meaning is in the accomplishments of life, just stop and think about it for a moment. Let me tell you something. If you want an experience for Ecclesiastes, go to your college. Homecoming anniversary. Going to a reunion and watching what happens to people over the years can be depressing.
Can I get a witness? And of course, we always look at them and we think we're not like that. They're probably looking at us saying the same thing. I used to know him when he was young or when he didn't have gray hair or whatever. The processing of life as we view it from our little venue.
Distorts life until we step back and get a perspective. And that's what the book of Ecclesiastes does: it gives us a perspective to see that if all we are pinning our hopes on is what we can touch and feel and see and hear, we will ultimately feel a sense of despair along the way. And even as believers, who know better. If we are not careful, we allow ourselves to slip back into that way of evaluating life, and we find ourselves discouraged and disappointed. And then we wonder what it's all about.
Well, you know, even though you know the God who is over the sun, if you are not careful, you can live life under the sun. You know that? That's why Paul tells us in Colossians: set your affection on things that are above, not on things that are below. We have to learn how to put life together, not with God in a separate room, but with God right in the center of all that we do. And that is Solomon's conclusion as we come to the end of this chapter.
We've looked at The evaluation of life under the sun, and I want you to see with me now the enjoyment of life under the sun, verses 24 to 26. When Solomon gets to the end of this little summary report. He pauses for a moment and he asks And make some important observations. And here, listen to me carefully because this brings it all together. First Perspective is that true enjoyment is a gift from God.
Read with me verses 24 and 25. Nothing is better for a man. Than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw was from the hand of God. For who can eat or who can have enjoyment more than I?
Verse 25. really should be translated for who can eat or who can have enjoyment without God. That's the way the text really reads.
Now what is he saying? Eight times in the book of Ecclesiastes, you're going to see this as we go through the book, over and over again. You're going to see this little phrase that we just read: Nothing is better for a man than he should eat and drink and that his soul should enjoy his labor. Listen to me, class. If we have such a morbid view of life under the sun, why don't we all just check out?
You know, that's not the message of Ecclesiastes. The message of Ecclesiastes is: all of the life that we live is lived under the sun until we go to heaven. Isn't that true?
So understand what life is all about. Get your head straight, get your perspective right, and realize that everything we have, God has given to us, and enjoy what God has given to you in this life with all of your heart. That's what Solomon is saying. He's not saying be morbid, don't be sitting around thinking about dying and all that. That's not what this book is about.
This book is about learning to know joy, but it is a reminder to us that if you want the real thing, true joy, you will never have it unless you understand that it's a gift from God and you put God in the picture, and then everything else starts to make sense. You can enjoy the things that God has given you, you can enjoy your good house, you can enjoy the wonderful things that God has provided for you because you know they're not the ultimate, they're just a little down payment on the ultimate joy. That God Has prepared for all of us when we spend eternity with Him, and true joy comes into our hearts. When we realize That it is a gift from God. And God Is involved.
Solomon once and for all destroys the idea that God in heaven is some sort of cosmic killjoy. Who deprives us creatures of enjoying life? God put us on this earth. To enjoy. Amen?
Yeah. Verses all through this chapter are a setting for you to understand. Don't seek it over there, or you'll miss it. But seek it from God, and you get God and everything else that goes with it. Do you see what I'm saying?
That's the answer. God gives joy to those who follow Him, to those who center their lives upon Him. He brings a personal, intimate joy that supersedes anything you'll ever find in the world. And watch this: when we have the joy that God brings, we learn how to enjoy the other things that life has to offer.
Some of you people are rich.
Some of you people have a lot of money, have a lot of things. I rejoice with you in all that God has given you, and I only caution you in this respect: make sure you never take God out of your portfolio. Put him in the middle. Make sure he's there. And you know what?
I've taught people over the years as a pastor, and I've learned this in my own life: hold everything that you have with an open hand. Because when you do that, let me tell you two good things. Number one, if you hold it with an open hand, God can take out of your hand anything that He wants. Amen? But he can also put in your hand anything he wants.
If you close your hand on what you've got, nobody else might get it, but you shut God off from giving you anything else.
Now, does that a motivation or what? Keep your hand open. Toward God. Listen to what. Paul said to Timothy, listen to this.
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty or to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God.
Now, watch this. who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Please hear me. Ecclesiastes is not a morbid book. Ecclesiastes is an exciting book.
Ecclesiastes gives us permission to enjoy the life that God has created for us as long as we see God as the giver. And he's in the center of life. And then The translation of verse 25 is, for who can eat? And who can have enjoyment without him? Without God, you'll not ever experience everything.
You see, here's the problem with pleasure. You know what the problem with finding pleasure as the goal of life is? If you're going to find meaning in pleasure in life, You have to increase the intensity of the activity to produce the same effect. For instance, if you find pleasure in drinking, you have to continue to increase the amount of alcohol you consume to get the same buzz. If you're on drugs, you have to go to the next level.
You might start on marijuana, then you go to heroin, then you go to crack cocaine or whatever it is. There's a hierarchy in pleasure. You see what I'm saying? And the more you seek pleasure, the more you have to ask from pleasure. And the beauty of God is that's no problem with God because the more you know Him, the better He is.
Amen. The more intimately you get involved with Him, the more He satisfies. You can never, ever worry about the intensity of your pleasure from Almighty God waning because the longer you know Him, the sweeter He grows. And so, when you find pleasure in God, you're never off. Here wondering what to do next.
You are involved with the ultimate. Finally, Solomon says, True enlightenment is a gift from God. Let me cover this quickly. He says in verse 26, For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight. But to the sinner, He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that He may give to Him who is good before God.
This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Did you know what? God not only gives us good things to enjoy, He gives us the enlightenment to know how to enjoy them. Isn't that true?
He gives us the things that we enjoy. I know some people that have a beautiful house. And because God's not in their perspective, they hoard that house. They never use it, they just hoard it. I know some other people that have a beautiful house, and all they do is sit around thinking about how they can use this house for the glory of God.
having people in and using it to help missionaries, whatever they do. You see what I'm talking about? When God's in the picture, He gives you the enlightenment to know, and they find real joy in the things that God allows. An interesting part of this last verse, he says, God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight. And he says, But to the sinner, he gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he can give it to the man who is good before God.
Now, you can either be the recipient or you can be the guy out there working and gathering. I don't know that this is always true, as my observation, but it is true a lot of times. You know that, don't you? People out there in the world are working like crazy and they're getting all this stuff, and all of a sudden, you look over, and it's on this side of the ledger.
Somebody asked me one time, Pastor Jeremiah. If I won the lottery. Should I give it to God?
Now that's a good question, isn't it? If I won the lottery, should I give some of it to God?
Well, first of all, you shouldn't be playing the lottery, so let me just solve that.
Some of you probably got some tickets in your pocket right now, and there's burning a hole right in your pocket.
Well, let me answer the question: by all means, if you win the lottery, give all of it to God if you can. The devil's had it long enough. We might as well give it back to God. Amen? And that would be a perfect illustration of how people who do not.
Follow God's principles, get stuff that ends up in God's pocket. There's a way that you can have joy and fulfillment in your life. I want you to join with me in reading a verse of scripture, just a little passage from the book of Isaiah. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat.
Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to me, hear, and your soul shall live. and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
That's a great invitation, isn't it? Amen. If you want to know meaning in life, there it is. You come to God. You put God in the center of your life.
You accept what He has done for you through His Son, Jesus Christ. You become a Christian, and all this stuff that you've been wrestling with all of your life will start to come together. and it'll get focused in a way that you never believed possible. Amen. You know, sometimes that's what people tell me after they become a Christian.
It's like all the things they were doing, none of them were bad.
Some of them are very good, but when they put the filter of it being for God over the top of it, everything changed and took on incredibly important meaning. If you try to live your life without God, you're going to be disappointed. And that's what Ecclesiastes is explaining to us in vivid terms. Life without God is vanity. It's emptiness, it's meaningless.
You come to the end and you say, Is that all there is? Ecclesiastes is pointing us to a better direction. We'll get there eventually, but right now we have to examine Solomon's search, and that's what we're doing as we're sorting out life. Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Tomorrow, one of the great passages in all of the Bible, The message tomorrow is called Beautiful in His Time.
Don't forget to be with us and don't forget to order your copy of 31 Days to Happiness, our resource for the month of February. When you send your gift of any size, simply say, Please send me the book 31 Days to Happiness. Thanks for listening. I'm David Jeremiah. See you next time.
The message you just heard originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and senior pastor Dr. David Jeremiah. Your notes of encouragement mean so much. We invite you to write to us at Turning Point, PO Box 3838, San Diego, California, 92163. Visit our website at davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call 800-947-1993.
Ask for your copy of David's book, 31 Days to Happiness. It's filled with Solomon's wisdom and it's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also download the free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or tablet, or search in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access our content. Visit davidjeremiah.org slash radio for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us tomorrow as we continue searching for heaven on earth on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
