Conclusion Of The Matter

Q: What does the Bible say about the vanity of life?

Ecclesiastes reveals that much of life is vanity, meaning it is ultimately empty, unprofitable, and transient. The book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, repeatedly emphasizes the theme of vanity throughout human endeavors. In Ecclesiastes 1:2, Solomon opens with 'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity,' indicating the fleeting nature and lack of lasting value in earthly pursuits. He explores various aspects of life—work, pleasure, wisdom, and wealth—ultimately concluding that they do not provide the satisfaction or fulfillment they promise. He asserts that despite all efforts, the cycle of life continues, from generation to generation, and all things eventually descend into forgetfulness (Ecclesiastes 1:4-11). Therefore, the vanity of life highlights our need for something greater than what the world can offer.

Q: How do we know that fearing God is the most important duty of man?

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 states that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments, as all actions will be judged by Him. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, the preacher concludes that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. This underscores the ultimate purpose of humanity in relation to God's authority and righteousness. The notion of fearing God points to a profound reverence and acknowledgment of His sovereignty, which leads to a life characterized by obedience. Furthermore, the assurance that God will bring every deed into judgment illustrates the seriousness of this duty, emphasizing that it encompasses both our earthly life and eternal accountability. This fear leads not into terror, but into a trusting relationship with God, steering us from folly towards His divine wisdom.

Q: Why is it essential for Christians to seek wisdom?

Seeking wisdom is crucial for Christians as it aligns with God's will and understanding, guiding them through life's complexities. The pursuit of wisdom is a central theme throughout the Scriptures, particularly in Ecclesiastes, where the preacher emphasizes that true wisdom comes from God. Solomon, in his quest for understanding, asserts that human wisdom often leads to vexation and sorrow (Ecclesiastes 1:18). However, godly wisdom, which includes knowledge and discernment, provides clarity and direction in the chaotic world around us. Proverbs reinforces this idea by stating that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). For Christians, engaging with God's Word and seeking His guidance ensures that their decisions are rooted in truth and leads them to live in a manner that pleases Him, ultimately pointing to the recognition of their reliance on Christ, who embodies true wisdom.

Q: What does Ecclesiastes teach about enjoying life's pleasures?

Ecclesiastes teaches that enjoying life's fleeting pleasures is a gift from God, but they should not be the focus of our lives. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon reflects on the nature of pleasure and enjoyment, concluding that they are gifts from God. He argues that there is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and find enjoyment in their work (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13). However, this enjoyment must be contextualized within the understanding that these pleasures are temporary and do not provide lasting satisfaction. Solomon reminds us of life's transience and urges us to appreciate these experiences while they last, always remembering that they come from God (Ecclesiastes 3:24). Christians are encouraged to enjoy the blessings of life with grateful hearts, recognizing their limitations while maintaining their hope in God's eternal promises.

Turn with me to the book of Ecclesiastes,
Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Ecclesiastes, right after Proverbs,
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. The book of Ecclesiastes is a summary of everything on this earth, a summary of everything
in this life on earth. The Lord had Solomon, son of
David, experience everything that could be experienced on
earth and then write about it. And in the end, he gives a conclusion
of what life is all about. So this is something we all can
use. The word Ecclesiastes, if you'll
notice the title, Ecclesiastes for the Preacher. That's what
the word means. Preacher. It begins in verse
1, the words of the Preacher. Capital P. Notice that. Capital P. Preacher. Son of David. King. Small K. In Jerusalem. So he is telling
us, God is telling us that the words of the preacher, the word
of God, that is, are greater and more important than the words
of the king. The state of our heart as revealed
by God's word through a preacher is more important than the State
of the Union address by the President of the United States. The very
first words that he begins with are these. Verse 2. Vanity of
vanities. Sayeth the preacher. Vanity of
vanities. All is vanity. And then the very last words
in chapter 12. Verse 8. He begins to end this
book with the same words. Vanity of vanities. Everything
is vanity. All is vanity. This book was
written to teach us the vanity of all things. Vanity means empty,
useless, worthless, no lasting value at all, unprofitable. He says vanity of vanities. Name something, anything. He said it's all worthless, of
no value, No real, lasting profit and empty. It cannot fill you
with what it promises. Vanity of vanity. Everything.
So verse 3, he says, What profit hath a man of all his labor which
he taketh under the sun? Whatever we work for, whatever
we strive for, it's a futile endeavor. It's futile. And it's
an endless cycle, he says in verse 4, one generation passeth
away, another generation cometh. It's just an endless cycle from
generation to generation. But the earth just keeps on going. Verse 5, the sun also arises
and the sun goes down. Sun comes up, sun goes down. Sun comes up, sun goes down. Endless cycle. Sun goes up, sun
goes down. The wind, he says in verse 6,
goeth toward the south, turneth about unto the north. The wind
blows in your face one minute, and it's tough. The wind blows
at your back the next. In your face, at your back. In
your face, at your back. The wind. All the rivers, he
said, talking about everything It's empty or vanity. All the
rivers run into the sea, but the sea is not full. The place
from which the rivers come, it goes back again. All things,
verse 8, are full of labor, laboring, striving for some sort of fulfillment,
and you can't utter it. The futility, the vanity of all
things, too much vanity. The eye, verse 8, is not satisfied
with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. Nothing satisfies
the eyes, nothing satisfies the ears. Over in chapter 6, he says,
all the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is
not filled. It's just not satisfied. Nothing. Nothing satisfied. Vanities of
vanity. And then in verse 9, he says,
the thing that hath been. He's going to say how everything
continues as it has. Nothing new. And he says, everything
that hath been is that which shall be. That which is done
is that which shall be done. There's no new thing under the
sun. Is there anything whereof it
may be said, here's something new? See, this is new. No, it's
been already of old time before us. Nothing new. It all just
comes and goes, comes and goes, comes and goes. In verse 11,
there's no remembrance of former things. You won't remember a
thing. Neither shall there be any remembrance
of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
There's no remembrance. You're not going to remember
We have a hard time remembering some of the most well-known people
and things and dates and memories which seem to be so important
in our lives. And we have a hard time remembering
any of it. And soon it will all be forgotten. And so will things that are to
come, that soon come to pass. No remembering. Verse 12, I,
the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart
to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are
done under heaven. And this is the sore travail
God hath given the sons of men, of man, to be exercised with."
The preacher. God had Solomon. the preacher
experienced all of these things, to try them, put them to the
test himself for us. He said, this is what every human
being goes through to some degree. We say, well, I gave myself to
everything that you can give yourself to, to try to find out
the purpose of it, if there's any fulfillment in it. He said,
I gave my heart. to seek by wisdom and search
out concerning everything. Because this is what man is striving
for. He's striving for some kind of
happiness or contentment or fulfillment. So he said, I gave my heart to
this. I put all my heart into it. And
wisdom. And he says, I've seen all the
works that are done under the sun. I've seen it all. A man's talking to us who's seen
it all. It's a man we can listen to.
A man that God raised up to tell us about it. What do you see
in it all? He says, vanity. I've seen it all. There's nothing
I haven't seen. Nothing I haven't experienced,
he said. And it's all vanity. It's all unprofitable. There's
no lasting value whatsoever. It's empty. Doesn't fill you
up, doesn't satisfy, doesn't give you any happiness, any contentment,
any, what, very brief, but it doesn't last. It's vanity. And
vexation. Vexation. It vexes you. Troubles you. That's what vexation
is. Troubling. It's very troubling. Because
you spend your whole life doing these things, and what do you
end up with? Trouble. Look at verse 15. He says, that
which is crooked cannot be made straight. You cannot straighten
out anybody or anything. You can't do it. It won't be
done. Try as you might. The Lord didn't come here to
straighten out this world. Scripture says it can't be. It
can't be. He came to give life to his people. That which is wanting, or the
word means is lacking or defective, it's more than can be numbered.
It's too much wrong with everything to list it, to number it up in
order. Too much wrong. He said, I communed
with my own heart. I said, I've come to great estate.
I've gotten more wisdom in all that has been before me. Yea,
my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. I gave
my heart to know wisdom, to know madness and folly. That is the
difference. I perceive that this is also
a vexation of spirit, In wisdom is grief. He that increases knowledge
increases sorrow. In other words, the more you
know, the more grief it gives you. It would be better to be
like a little child and not know anything than the things you
come to know. Our children, you know, we dread
seeing them grow up and having to go out in this world and experience
the wickedness of it. and have to go through all the
vanity of it and experience all of the travail and the sorrows
of it. You'd better be like a little
child. Because the more you know, the more sorrow you have. It makes you sad. He said in
chapter 2, I'll give my heart, I said in my heart, go to now.
Go now. I'll prove thee with mirth. Therefore,
enjoy pleasure. Mirth. Pleasure. Laughter. Mirth. You know, there's some
people who are never serious. I know you've run into some people
who are just foolish all the time. Just jokesters. Just, you
know, trying to make light of everything. Happy-go-lucky, we
would call these fellows, these people. Make a joke out of everything
to try to avoid anything unpleasant, right? Well, he says, that's
crazy. That's mad. You can't avoid trouble. You can't act like everything
is happy. It's not a joke. It's too serious. He said, I tried that. I tried
that. It's mad. It doesn't do anything
good for you. Verse 3, I sought in mine heart
to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom. He's not talking about drunkenness,
which is a sin, but he is saying that He gave himself to feasting. Scripture says that a feast is
made for laughter and wine maketh merry. What he did was he tried
the best of everything. that could, the appetite could
have, the best food, the best drink, the best, I bet he had
the best chefs that money could buy. That's relevant. He said,
I've tried it all. I've tried the best of the best. Wine, food, entertainment. And he said, what's the conclusion?
That's vanity too. The best food ends up what? Goes out in the draft. The best
wine, the best that this world has to offer, all of these things,
ends up so much waste. That's what it does. Goes out
in the draft. Doesn't do you any good and doesn't
do you any harm. Our Lord said that. Nothing goes
into the mouth that fouls you. But, he said, I tried it all.
I tried it all. Look at verses 4. I made me great
works. He worked hard. Built me houses. Planted me vineyards. Made gardens
and orchards. Planted trees. All kinds of fruit. Too many to name, I'm sure. Pools
of water. swimming pool, wood, lakes and ponds that bring
forth trees. I got me servants and maidservants. And servants born in my house
had great possession of great and small cattle. In all of Jerusalem, I had the
biggest spread, the biggest farm of any man in all of Israel. Picture this spread. Picture
that. Cattle on a thousand gill was
here. The best of the best. He said, I gathered gold and
silver, verse 8. This is something people live
for, silver and gold. I gathered it up. I had a fabulously
wealthy Peculiar treasure of kings and provinces. They brought
me the finest of the finest of the world. You name something,
Solomon said, I had it. The best of the best of the best. He said, I got me singers. I
had my own private orchestra or band or whatever. Men singers. Women singers. Choirs. Delights
of the sons of men. What people love. Music. Try
music. All sorts. I was great, he said,
and I increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem.
Also, my wisdom remained with me. I had all of this, and I
took a good look at it all. I observed it all. I still had
my wisdom. Whatever my eyes desired, I kept
not from them. I withheld not my heart from
any joy. My heart rejoiced in all my labor.
This was my portion of all my labor. And I looked at the works
of my hands. The labor I had labor to do.
Behold, it's all vanity. The devastation of the Spirit. He's going to tell us why. No
profit under the sun. He said, I turned myself and
beheld wisdom and madness and folly. Who can do more than a
king? I had it all, he said. I saw
this, verse 13, "...wisdom excelleth folly more than light does darkness."
Better to be wise than a fool. That's for sure. I had a kind
of a wild man say one time to me, laughing, he said, if you're
going to be stupid, you better be tough. Well, it may sound
funny, but toughness only lasts so long as your youth does. Then
you get old and then you're just stupid. and not even tough anymore. It's all folly. You better be
wise than a fool. A wise man's eyes are in his
head. In other words, he can look around
and see the fool walketh in darkness. And he said, I perceive that
one event happens to everybody. Something coming to everybody. This is what I conclude. One event happens to everybody.
I said in my heart, verse 15, as it happens to the fool, it's
happening to me. Solomon was in his 60s, we believe
at this time. He only lived up into his 70s. He said, it's happening to me.
Am I more wise? Have I learned anything? I said
in my heart, this is vanity. There's no remembrance of the
wise more than the fool. People in this world don't even
think about Solomon. They don't even read his Proverbs.
Why is this man who ever lived, Solomon, wrote more than 3,000
Proverbs? Do people read Solomon? They
don't care. I couldn't tell you one thing
Solomon said. Solomon said, this is vanity.
How doth the wise man, verse 16, at the end of that, it all
will be forgotten. How doth the wise man? As the
fool, so he says, I hated life. Because the work wrought under
the sun, grievous under its vanity and vexation, he said, I hate
life. I hated all my labor I'd taken
of the Son. I'm going to leave it. I might
leave it to a fool. All the work I've done, I've
worked so hard all my life, and I'm going to leave it to a son
or a daughter or somebody, and they're going to blow it all.
I'm going to work all my life, hard as I can, to accumulate
everything I've accumulated and give it to a fool. And he's going
to blow it all. It's like it never existed. He
said, I hate life. But now, hold on. Because there's
a whole lot more written in this book. Solomon is talking like
a naturally wise man talks. This is the conclusion that everyone
should come to, just naturally, looking around. If you take a
good look around at all things, this is the conclusion. If you
have any wisdom whatsoever, you would see it's all vanity. Alright? He's talking like a
naturally wise man. And now he's going to start talking
in a different vein. He's going to start talking like
a spiritually wise man. True wisdom comes from above.
There's some wisdom that God gives to men, naturally speaking,
which some men and women do have to make them do the right thing,
right? But there's a wisdom that comes
from above. And what does the Scripture say is the beginning
of that wisdom? That's right. He's going to talk a great deal
about that. But he started, he said, I hate life. That's not
the way to talk about it. That's not the way a believer
talks. Job started talking like that. And God reprimanded him. What do you mean you hate life?
What do you mean you wish you'd never been born, Job? Are you
questioning my will? Are you questioning my purpose? Solomon? No, he's going to go
on and tell us what true wisdom is, what we should think about
this life, the way we should look at this life. Don't hate
it. Be thankful for it. But keep it in perspective. Keep
it in perspective. We're going to see what wisdom
from above teaches us and makes us say in the end. And in verse
20, he says, So I went about to cause my heart to despair.
In other words, he began to pity himself. Oh, woe is me. Then I'll just give myself over
to mourning, and woe is me. Doleful thoughts and nothing
but a bleak outlook. Is that the way a believer ought
to act? Woe is me, self-pity, all that
don't. He said, verse 23, all man's
days are sorrows, his travail grief, yea, his heart taketh
not rest in the night. It's all vanity. Oh, woe is me. Vanity, vanity. That's true.
It is true. But hold on now. Now his attitude
changes. Right here. Right here. Look
at it. And he says this several times
throughout the rest of the book. And this is for our learning,
this is for our comfort, and also our admonition these days. He says in verse 24, he says,
there is nothing better for a man, for a woman, than that he should
eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his
labor. This also I saw, it was from
the hand of God. Before he was saying, what I
saw was, it's all vanity. This I saw, it was vexation and
greed. Now he says, this I saw, all
of this now, it's from God. From the hand of God. God gave
it to him. God gave it to him. And he says,
and no one can eat, verse 25, or eat more than I. No one has. God giveth, verse 26, to a man
that is good in his sight. He's talking about his people
who are holy, unblameable, unapprovable in his sight, considered in Christ,
accepted in the beloved, good in his sight. None good. No natural man is good, but God
puts a new creature, makes a new creature, And they are good in
His sight, and He gives us this knowledge and joy. And the Scripture
says in the New Testament, He giveth us all things richly to
enjoy. Enjoy. God giveth us richly all things
to enjoy. Now, He's not saying like modern
religion, God wants you to be healthy and wealthy. He's not
saying that at all. And we're going to see that in
a minute. But in everything, as Paul said, give thanks. Give thanks. This is the will
of God. This is from the hand of God.
Everything good and bad. We'll see. Paul said this. He
said, I know how to abound. I know how to have it all, he
said. And not yet have me. There's the key. I know how to
abound and How to be amazed. I know how to have it all. And
enjoy it for what it is. And have nothing. And still rejoice. Now there's a wise man. It's
all from the hand of God. It's all from the hand of God.
Somewhere between this legalistic spirit of strict spirit that
there's sin and pleasure. Somewhere between that and this
modern notion that religion has that God wants you just to have
it all, be healthy and wealthy and so forth. Somewhere between
that's the truth. And there's wisdom. Enjoy. He said, God giveth us all things
richly to enjoy as from His hand, remembering who gave them to
us. And enjoying these things for
what they are. Remembering what they are. Vanity. Vanity. Remember, God gave them. But it won't last long. While
you have it, enjoy it. But don't hold on to it. Because
it won't last long. That's what he said. If we could
live in this world without this world in us, If we could live
in this world and even enjoy this world without loving it. Love not the world, he said.
Or the things in the world. If we can be in this world and
the world not in our hearts. If we can have the things of
this world and the things of this world not have us and overcome
us. And the only way, the only way
that will be is right here. what we're doing right here.
We're looking at what the Lord says, how the Lord reveals these
things to us. The world doesn't think things
are vanity, but we know they are, don't we? Not only from
experience, but from His Word. Chapter 3. We're not going to
look at the whole book, but we're just running through these things. I heard my pastor preach from
this recently. Greatly blessed may all of these
things that I'm saying, I'm just repeating. Chapter 3 is, you
know these verses very well, it says everything, there's a
season, there's a time to every purpose under heaven. There's
a time. There's a time, there's a purpose, there's a season.
There's a time to weep, time to laugh, time to get, time to
lose it. Time to live, there's a time
to die. Remember that. Turn over to chapter
7. This is a great verse here. We need to keep this in mind. Verse 14. Chapter 7, verse 14. And the day, you have it. In
the day of prosperity, be joyful. Enjoy it. But in the day of adversity,
consider. That is, if things are good,
enjoy them. Times are bad or meek, consider
this. God set the one. over against
the other to the end that you're not going to keep anything. You'll
find nothing after you. He even says in this book that
we came into this world naked and we're going to return naked.
Just like we're going to leave this world just like we came
into it. Where did he get that? Well, Job said that. Well, God
told Job. And Solomon learned it. And he's
telling us. So on the day of prosperity,
enjoy it. But remember, there's going to
be a day of adversity. Go back to chapter 3 now. He says in verses 10 and 11,
he says, so there's a purpose, there's a time for everything.
Time to get, time to lose. Time to live, time to die. He
says in verse 10, I've seen the travail. which God hath given
to the sons of men to be exercised in it." This is travail. This
is vexation. It's trying. People are just troubled by everything. Verse 11, he said he made everything
beautiful in his time, and he set the world in their heart.
That is, the sons of men. He puts the world in their heart.
God puts the world in the heart of the people of this world for
the sake of God's people. They give themselves and they
live for these things so that we enjoy some of them and benefit
from some of the things that they come up with. But that's
not what we're to be given. Whether we have them or have
them not. If we have them, use them. Not abuse them, but be
thankful for them. If you don't have them, you don't
need them. But the Lord put the world in the world's heart and
they're given to it and they come up with all these things.
And you notice he said he made everything beautiful in his time.
There's nothing wrong with God's world. Nothing wrong with this
earth. Man's problem. Man's problem. I've even said before, I've said
this, that the world, look around, it seems to have lost its luster.
Well, hopefully, the things of this world have lost their appeal
for me. And you, hopefully, the world
and the things in it will lose their appeal. That is all that
glitters doesn't attract you. It's not gold. That's for sure. But you know the attitude of
the believer ought to be this? We wake up in the morning and
we consider the Lord's tender mercies to us. We consider the
Lord's compassions that are new every morning to us. They fail
not. That sun ought to shine brighter
than it did the day before. I've often thought that the Lord
gives beautiful days just for His people to enjoy. The world
doesn't give Him a thought. The world doesn't thank Him one
time for one beautiful day. But we should. That sun, we wake
up every morning, the sun is coming up right through our window
there. Sometimes it's just as red as it can be. And it's beautiful. It ought to be more beautiful
than the day before. Why? In light of His mercy. In light
of His grace. In light of His goodness today.
Another day the Lord has given me. Another day of mercy. Another
day of grace. Another day of hope for whoever
is without it. That's the way it is. The trees,
we ought to hear. If we stop, look and listen,
we might hear the trees clapping their hands. The wind whispering
his praises. We sing the song. When through
the forest glades I wander, I hear the birds sing sweetly in the
trees. I say, oh my God, how great Thou
art. And His greatest greatness is
His goodness. He said, I'll make all my goodness
pass. I'll be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I will.
And I will be merciful and gracious. But the Lord is good. The Lord
is good. People say life is good. And
there's a slogan. I remind you of that slogan,
life is good. God is good. That's what we ought
to say. God is good. And he's given us a good thing
to enjoy. But no lasting good in this life. Vanity. Enjoy it for what it
is. Enjoy it while it lasts. It's going to take a while. Doesn't
matter what it is. Doesn't matter what it is. And
so he says in verse 12, I know there's no good in this thing,
no lasting good, but for a man to rejoice and do good in his
life, also every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good
of his labor. It's the gift of God. The gift of God. God did this. And it continues. It continues. Generation after generation. Young people. There's nothing wrong with wanting
There's nothing evil in that. When the Lord talked about eating
and drinking and marrying and giving and marrying and buying
and selling and building and planting and so forth, there's
nothing evil in those things. The Lord ordained these things. The Lord gave us these things.
When He put Adam and Eve, He said, multiply, subdue the earth. Subdue it. The Lord came down
to see what they were building at Babel. There's nothing wrong. So, you know, a young person
goes to school and studies this and that and the other, and maybe
goes on to further that education and is looking for a job, a good
job, earn good money. Well, you know, I guess that's
better than, you know, scrimping and scraping all your life. Yeah,
it is with everybody. You know, that's trouble and
vexation too, isn't it? But you try to have a good job
and you want to buy a home. Is there anything wrong with
that? No. You want to get married. Is there anything wrong with
that? No. Solomon tried that a lot, didn't he? Married. And he said, that's vanity too. That won't last. Marriage is
good. Two is better than one, he said.
Two is better than one. It's not good for a man to be
alone. The Lord didn't ordain it, he said, but you're going
to have trouble. If you get married, you're going
to have trouble. But there's nothing wrong with it. It's a
good thing. It's from the Lord. Get married and won't have children.
Wonderful. One of the greatest joys that
this life has to offer. And they break your heart. And
they break your heart more than your heart's ever been broken.
Right? Vanity. Vanity. Just name something.
Vanity. But it's good. It's alright to
enjoy. But not be overcome by it. Not live for these things. Not love them. Any man love anything, anyone
more than me, Christ said, is not worthy of man. Let's go on here. Here's the conclusion of the
matter. Go over to the last chapter. Let's wind this up. This is what we're getting to,
the conclusion of the matter. Because he went through a great
deal of wisdom showing us the vanity of all things, and yet
not evil. They're not evil. It's not evil
to enjoy these things, because God gave them. And we should
enjoy them as long as we remember what they are, how they're fleeting
and have their vanity, and who gave them to us, and give Him
the thanks for it. In chapter 12, what a wonderful
chapter this is. He says, remember your Creator
in the days of your youth. It's good that a young person
would bear the yoke in the youth. The discipleship. Oh my, if a
person, and this is why the Proverbs, the Proverbs, the Lord had him
write the Proverbs, it said, Seek wisdom more than gold and
more than rubies. Seek with all thy getting. Get
wisdom. If you get wisdom and judgment
and discernment, which is Christ, you come to know God, come to
know Christ. You seek Him with all your heart.
Give all your heart to Him. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness. All these things are going to
be added to you. But what's going to happen is you're going to
see these things as they are. Your heart's not going to be
set on. And you're not going to die with them. When you lose
these things, your life's not over, because those are not your
life. To live is Christ's call, to die is gain. You come to that
conclusion. Learn that early, and you don't
have to go through a whole life of nothing but vain. Oh, may the Lord put that yoke
upon our youth, our young people now, because He goes on to say,
when old age comes, it's too late. You can't enjoy anything as you
really ought to. It's over. It's over. There's nothing wrong, as we
said, with enjoying this thing, but oh my, man was created to
enjoy God. Adam was created to fellowship
with God, to walk with God. He didn't have any of these things
that we think we have to have today. All of the things that
modern man has that he thinks makes him happy. Gold, silver,
money, houses, lands, cars, clothing. Adam didn't have any of those. None of them. What did he have? Food? No raiment, didn't need
it, didn't even have sin. God. Christ. If there had been something
that we fancy, something wonderful come in front of Him, gold, say
gold or silver. What's that? That's pretty. What's
it for? What's that for? To buy a thing. What thing? You look at, in glory, we're
going to walk on streets of gold. Not so we'd admire them, necessarily. So that we'll show our utter
disdain for gold. We're going to walk on it. Do
you look at the streets? Do you look at the sidewalks
when you walk? Do you look down and say, what a beautiful sidewalk?
No. It's just the path to walk on.
Gold. Pearly gates. We're not going
to stop at the gates and admire the gates. We're looking for
the pearl of great pride. Be admonished, he said. Now,
verse 8, vanity of vanity. See, he's ending this up. Vanity
of vanity. Say it to the preacher. If a
preacher's worth his salt, he'll keep saying that. Vanity of vanity.
All is vanity. The preacher was wise. He taught
the people knowledge. He said, yea, he gave good heed
and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought
to find out acceptable words. The God, that is. And that which
was written was upright. Words of truth. Read on. Truth. That's what we need. The words
of the wise are as goads and nails. We need both. We need
goads. Goad like a cattle prod. Come
on now. Goad like waking a sleeper, a
lazy slugger. Go to sleep. Wake up. And then
we need nails once we get going. We need something to nail us
down. Stop us. He said, these things,
these words of the wise, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is wisdom, are like goads and nails. We need both. Fastened
by the masters of assembly, men, prophets, masters, teachers of
assemblies, the people of God, prophets, apostles. And they're
all given from one shepherd. Here's where we got all this
wisdom. Here's where Solomon got this wisdom, from one shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ. And by
these, he said, my son, be admonished. We need to be admonished. When
he told young Timothy, he said, all Scripture is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof. We need reproofing. No matter
how old we get, no matter how long we live, we still act like
fools. We still go after vanity, don't
we? All of us. Solomon played the fool. The wisest man. Why did the Lord
allow Solomon to play a fool who says his wives took his hearts
away? Didn't he learn anything? Why
did the Lord show us that? Several reasons. To show us man
at his best state is what? A sinner. Never be anything but
a sinner. And to show us the Lord's great
mercy. To the chief of sinners, you
know, you sin against knowledge, you sin against wisdom, you sin
against light, you sin against what you know to be right. He
that knoweth to do good and doeth it not. And that sin, God holds
a person more accountable for sinning against knowledge and
wisdom and understanding. For doing what they know is wrong
and doing it anyway, like Solomon. So this reveals to us God's great
mercy. Solomon was the greatest sinner
ever. What he did, he went after idolatry. But God's covenant. John, he
said, My covenant I will not. The sure mercies of David. What
did I promise David? About his son, I will not rescind
that. No matter what he does. Boy,
now that's good news. No matter what. No matter how
big a fool we play. God says, I won't rescind my
covenant. I'll remember it for them. Mercy. He says, be admonished. Admonition means to be awakened
with warnings. Awaken with warnings. Making
of many books has no end. Oh my! This is one preacher I
think that there shouldn't be another book written on any other
subject ever anymore. I'm going to get some flack over
that if it goes over. I don't care. Solomon said it
first. There's no end to the books.
If only this world would just, we could throw every book away.
Yes, we could throw every book away but this one. If all the
world would just start reading this book. As we said, they don't
even look at Proverbs. Don't even look at Ecclesiastes.
This is a book of life. Want to know the meaning of life?
We just went through it. And we're going to get to the
conclusion. Let's hear it, they said. The conclusion of the whole
matter, verse 13. What is it? Fear God. Fear God. It's the beginning
of wisdom. And it's the maturity of wisdom. It's the growing wisdom. Fear
God. Fear the Lord. Fear the Lord, men depart from
evil. Fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear the Lord. Fear
God. David looked around at all things. He was an older man. He said,
the transgression of the wicked. Everything I see and hear all
around me tells me there's no fear of God before their eyes.
Paul was about 70 years old when he wrote Romans. He said, there's
no fear of God before their eyes. There's no fear. Don't you see
that, don't you? Fear God. Young people, fear
God. Who is God? Who is God? What God are we talking about?
Jesus Christ. He's God. But preachers, false
preachers have made Him such a ridiculous, foolish, mockery,
poor Jesus. Jesus this and Jesus that. Jesus
Christ is God. That stupid, ridiculous tent
out on 220? You know what they've got on
their sign right now? On their neon sign right beside the place
that advertises milkshakes for $2 for $5 or whatever. Can't hardly tell the difference.
But they've got on their sign right now. Read it. It says,
God hath given all authority to us. Unbelievable, isn't it? Jesus Christ said, all authority
is given unto me in heaven and earth. He said, I have the keys
of hell and death at my side. Fear Jesus Christ. Kiss the Son
lest He be angry. Scripture says in Psalm 2, He
says, you rulers of the earth, Fear the King. Fear the Lord. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
and you perish when His wrath is kindled just a little bit.
Fear God. Because you know what will happen
for those who fear God? All who fear the Lord, truly
fear the Lord, they will hear Him say through the Gospel, fear
not. You have nothing to fear. Those who fear the Lord. To fear
the Lord, the next thing he says, keep his commandment. Keep his
commandment. Now, the commandments of the
Lord are more than ten. It's more than ten. He speaks about the commandments
of the Lord are many. The words of the Lord. The precepts
of the Lord. The mandates of the Lord. The
Word of the Lord is what he's speaking of. Lay hold of. Listen
to. Heed what God says. Fear God. and fear not doing
what he says. Now, what does God chiefly say
to man to do? Out of the deeds of the law,
we're not going to be justified. He warns us about that. He admonishes
us about that. Don't try to keep the law to
please me. God says it won't. You won't please me. The unrighteous
know not one. God spoke out loud twice. Out
loud twice. Both times his son was on this
earth. Alright? The eyes of the Lord behold,
his eye lids try all the sons of men. Alright? His son came
down to this earth. And God out loud says, this is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. God never said that
about one son of Adam. I'm well pleased with this man.
But he did say it about the God-man. The Son of Man. The Lord Jesus
Christ said it out loud for all the earth to say, here O heavens,
hear this. Here's a man approved of God.
And God says, hear Him. Or I won't hear you. Hear Him. Believe Him. Bow to Him. Love Him. Honor Him. Worship
Him. Come to Him. No, you can't come
to Me. That's the whole commandment.
That's the sum of it all. Fear the Lord. Fear the Lord. Repentance toward God. Paul said
he preached two things. Repentance toward God. And faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the whole sum. You know
what this life is all about? Learning to fear God. And learning
to trust Jesus Christ. Learning to fear God. If you
fear God, you don't have to fear for your family. You don't have
to fear for yourself. You don't have to fear anything
or anyone if you fear God. If you trust Christ, you don't
have to fear for your soul. You have hope in His mercy and
His grace. This is the whole duty of man.
God's going to bring every work into judgment, He said. Every
secret thing. Good? to stand before the judgment. Everybody thinks that, don't
you? Well, that's what he said. The last thing, everybody is
going to stand before God in the judgment. Well, who's going
to go into heaven? Who's going to go into heaven?
You ask a thousand people, you get 999 people who say good people
are going to heaven. People who have done good are going to heaven.
That's what they're going to say, aren't they? But you're going to get one.
Surely shall one say, in Isaiah 45, surely shall one say, Isaiah
53, surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness
and strength. And that one person, God reveals
that to him. He's going to say, come, you're
blessed as a father. Come, ye sinner, poor and needy. That's the conclusion of the
matter. It's all vanity. Nothing lasts. Enjoy it while
you have it. Don't set your heart upon it.
Riches increase. Set not your heart upon it. Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God, His righteousness, who He is,
Jesus Christ. And everything will be given
to you. Okay, stand with me.

Conclusion Of The Matter

What does the Bible say about the vanity of life?

How do we know that fearing God is the most important duty of man?

Why is it essential for Christians to seek wisdom?

What does Ecclesiastes teach about enjoying life's pleasures?

Sermon Transcript

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Conclusion Of The Matter

What does the Bible say about the vanity of life?

How do we know that fearing God is the most important duty of man?

Why is it essential for Christians to seek wisdom?

What does Ecclesiastes teach about enjoying life's pleasures?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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