All right, in Ecclesiastes 2,
begin in verse 18. Yea, I hated all my labor, which
I had taken under the sun, because I should leave it unto the man
that shall be after me. Pay close attention. I hated
all my labor, which I have exerted, because I should leave it unto
the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall
be a wise or a fool? Yet shall he have rule over all
my labor wherein I have labored, wherein I have showed myself
wise under the sun? This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause
my heart to despair of all the labor which I had taken under
the sun. For there is a man whose labor
is in wisdom and in knowledge and in equity, yet to a man that
hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion.
This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man of all
of his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath
labored under the sun? For all of his days are sorrows,
and his travail grief, yea, His heart taketh not rest in the
night, this is vanity. Now the book of Ecclesiastes
may come across as kind of strange, unusual, and unique. In that, it deals with subjects
that are commonly not dealt with so much other places. But if we are to reap the profit
from the study of the book, it's necessary that we first fix our
mind upon the subject that is predominant in the book that
he writes about. Who can deny that the general
design of Solomon is to prove by example, and in his case by
personal experience, the vanity of all things in and of himself
to give one a happy satisfaction and a lasting joy in the world. Someone has counted, and some
20 times Solomon declares or writes in this book, all is vanity. And then he names such things
which he either saw or which he tried or which he knew from
personal experience, such as labor, chapter one and verse
three. And you know, some work all they
can and try to get together all that they can. 113, wisdom, that
he might search out all things. And look today how education
is revered in our society, almost made a deity. Myrrh, laughter,
frivolity in chapter 2, verse 1 and 2. Our generation is a
laughing generation. Sometime I think they're laughing
theirself down into hell. Again in chapter 2, 4 through
11, he built great works. He reared up houses. He planted
vineyards. He established orchards there
around about the house. He got others to serve his every
bidding. and do everything that his heart
desired of them. And then he got cattle, and silver,
and gold, until down there in verse 9, he saw he was greater
and wiser than others. He got all that his eyes desired,
whatever he saw, and he wanted it, he got it, and denied himself
nothing, and indulged his heart with every joy And behold, verse
11, chapter 2, he had to write above that, vanity of vanity,
all is vanity. Not only that, he noticed by
observation that many things happen to the fool and to the
wise man alike. chapter 2 and verse 15, and that
in time the wise man is as forgotten as is the man that was a fool,
2 and 16. What's more, the man has no advantage,
he concluded, over the beast in this respect, that death comes
to both of them, chapter 3, 19 through 21. He beheld the oppression that
are committed by the powerful against the weak, chapter 4,
1 through 3. The misery it brought, that there
was no comforter for those that were wronged, had been done injustice,
and were oppressed. And it caused him to praise or
to congratulate the dead who by death have escaped from the
oppression in the second verse. And he says in this respect that
he praised those that are already dead more than the living, which
were yet alive and thus subject to a life of misery and oppression
in the world. He says in chapter four and verse
three, better than both the dead and the living is the one not
yet brought into being who has not yet been born to experience
and to see the evil work that is done under the sun. No, Job,
in the midst of his great misery, shared to a large degree the
feeling of Solomon, cursing the very day that he was born and
wishing that he had never been conceived, been born, or had
lived. You find that in Job chapter
3. And also asking to be hidden
in the grave until God's wrath had passed over Job 14, And verse
13, settling in now. at our main text here in chapter
two, verse 18 and following, where he says, I hated all my
labor which I had taken under the sun, that is, on the earth,
in the world, during his earthly life. He so frequently in the
book speaks of his labor, as well as the labor of others,
as in chapter one and verse three. What profit hath a man of all
of the labor which he has taken under the sun? Chapter 1, verse
8, all things are full of labor. Chapter 2 in verse 10, his heart
rejoiced in all of his labor, that is, all the things that
he had gained by his labor. Chapter 2, verse 11, the labor
that I had labored to do. Chapter 2, verse 4, I made me
great work. So great works and labor had
been exerted. And he sought to enjoy and to
take satisfaction from all of the labor that he had done. And
indeed, he derived a measure of temporary satisfaction from
it. He got a kind of gratification
when he looked out upon the things which had resulted from the fruit
of his labor. Remember, if you will, the parable
of the rich farmer in the New Testament spoken by the Lord.
in the book of Luke chapter 12, verse 16 through 20, whose fields
produced a very bountiful harvest, so much so that, in fact, he
needed to go and build bigger barns that they might accommodate
all of his bumper crop. New barns are a repository to
hold his goods that he might keep them. And his thought is
not, his thought is not, I will honor the Lord with the fruits
of my field. Nor does he think to himself
out loud, I can now help the others, the poor and the disadvantaged. Instead, the man holds a soliloquy
with his very own soul. He will supply himself. He will
speak comfortably unto his soul. We have ample goods laid up for
many years to come. Take thine ease, and eat, drink,
and be merry. And Luke chapter 12 verse 15
tells us of the intent that was put forth by this parable unto
the hearers, or guard against covetousness, and to put them
on notice of this fact. A man's life does not consist
in the abundance of things that he possesses. In the text, however,
back in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 and verse 18, Solomon had come
to view the fruits of his labor with disgust. Yea, I hated all
the labor done under the sun." And though he gives a particular
reason for the text, there are other things to be considered
in this matter, such as they bring no true and lasting peace
under the soul, nor do they give satisfaction that is real, full,
and lasting. And because one's time on earth
is short and it is filled with trouble. And I realize that the
scripture teaches that we are to work, we are to labor, not
to be lazy, we are to be diligent with the work of our hand. But
Solomon came to realize that very vividly that the fruit of
his labor, the great house which he had built, the vineyards that
grew, the garden, the orchard, the swimming pool, the wealth,
and all of his riches must sooner or later be parted with. They
must be left behind. They must pass and become the
possession another so two things were true number one he should
have them but for a short time they were not endure for he would
not endure forever but for a short time and the second thing is
that all he had gathered together that it would then become the
possession notice of that man that shall come after me in verse
18 He must leave them all behind. All his gain by his much labor
will someday be left behind and pass into the hand of another. And with this, the scripture
agrees, Job 121. Naked came I out of my mother's
womb, and naked shall I return thither. Paul says in 1 Timothy
6 and verse 7, we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
that we can carry nothing out. Now the Jews greatly spoiled
the goods of the Egyptian when they left out of the nation.
But when one leaves their natural life, all their treasure, all
their wealth, their bonds, their stocks, their saving, their land
will be left. All jewelry, all diamonds, all
Rolex watches, whatever we might prize will be left behind. It is quite humbling to us, is
it not, to realize that all that we have, all that we have scrimped
for, all that we have worked to get, will someday pass into
the hand and under the control of another. You remember the
parable of the rich farmer, what God said unto him in Luke 12
and verse 20? Thou fool, this night shall thou
soul be required of thee, and then who shall those things be
which thou hast provided? Someday another will live in
the house that we worked or that we built or that we paid for.
Another will inherit what we might have saved or might be
able to have left in the world. Another will own the land that
we have bought, paid for, labored upon. Others will reap the fruit
of our labor when we are no more. And even if one have no heir,
none to leave it to, still the fruit of their labor will reside
with strangers in this world. Some think that the immediate
heir of Solomon was his son Rehoboam whom he refers to here and his
conduct justified the concerns of Solomon for Rehoboam was not
a stable or a godly man. For his concern has a second
aspect if we look then at verse 19 of Ecclesiastes chapter 2. That is, would the man that came
after him, to whom he must bequeath his labor and his goods, would
that man be a good steward of that which he had left unto him? Will he be a wise man or a fool? Who can tell? Indeed, Who can
tell? There were two questions that
the wise man contemplated here. We look at them. Number one,
who will reap the fruit of his labor? All that he has had when
he leaves it. Number two, will that person
or persons be wise or will they be foolish? Will they invest
wisely or will they be like the prodigal, a spinthrift, wasting
in riotous living? Or will they be a good steward?
of that which falls into their hand. Psalm 39, verse 6. He heaps up riches and knows
not who shall gather them. Psalm 49, verse 10. Both wise
men and fools perish and leave their wealth unto others. Wrote
Spurgeon on Psalm 39 and verse 6, and he's always worthy and
to the point and pithy. Psalm 39, 6, Spurgeon, quote,
Men labor to build a house, then a stranger tramps along its passages,
laughs in its chamber, and forgets who built it and calls it his
own." That what one heaps up will in time become the possession
of another. We're happy that can be with
our children who are our heir. But sometimes the state in our
day ends up with a property. Many a person has labored to
gather together some of this world's good, been frugal and
has saved and spent wisely, left his possession unto his heir,
who then scatter it upon the wind, sell the house, and splurge
upon the high-powered sports car, or something of that nature. This may concern the Christian
heart. When those things that God has
blessed us with pass out of our hand, will it be into the hands
of a wise man or a fool? Will they fall in the worthy
or unworthy hand? Will they be devoted to the work
of the kingdom of God or squandered in the world? Look at the last
type again of verse 19. There is no question. to be raised
concerning the spiritual condition of Solomon as he wrote all of
these things. What sort of spiritual attitude
was Solomon in at the time? Some commentators or of the opinion
that Solomon wrote these things when he was an older man, when
he is able to tell of all of his experiences in life, the
trials of many things that he mentions here in this unusual
book, having seen the many things that were done under the sun.
And he himself had dabbled in pleasure, indulged in wantonness,
and other things. In short, there was a time in
Solomon's life when he sinned and shamed himself with the things
that he did. He that had begun so well as
we read in I believe it's in 1st Kings chapter 8 God appeared
to him in Gibeon in a vision saying in 1st Kings 3 and verse
5 ask what I shall give you and in humility 1st Kings 3 verse
7 and verse 8 he asked particularly in verse 9 for an understanding
heart that he might discern between good and evil. What a spectacle it therefore
must have been when Solomon dedicated that great temple that he had
built. gathering from all over the world
imported materials to make a house unto God. And what a great prayer
Solomon prayed in 1 Kings chapter 8 at the dedication of the temple. Reading a man called, named James
M. Macdonald describes the scene
when the temple had been readied for its service and worship. Quote, the ark had been deposited
in the designated place and the priest withdrawn from the apartment,
unquote. Or the east of the altar, the
vast choir of Israel had taken its place dressed in white linen. 120 priests stood with silver
trumpets, and they sounded out a multitude of voices, were lifted
up in praise unto God, to the accompaniment of harps and of
cymbals, as they praised God upon that occasion. And in his
reign, Solomon became an exceedingly wealthy man. He lived in palatial
splendor in the palace and extended his kingdom while over it. But as was the case with David
his father, there came sin in the life of Solomon, perhaps
fed by, or in some part or measure, by the luxury and the splendor
of his lifestyle. And I take it another proof of
the inspiration of scripture, that they give us an honest,
accurate report of the characters of the scripture, not glossing
over their sin, but setting them forth in the inspired word. that
a time in his life solemnly became a man of, shall we say, questionable
conduct. He went from excess to excess
in his life, from one pleasure to another, from one luxury unto
another. And as MacDonald put it, quote,
he wearied of one pleasure after another, unquote. Without a doubt,
the darkest blot upon Solomon was in his domestic and religious
life. Or as one writer put it, he filled
a harem after the manor of the other licentious monarchs of
the East. The sad details of his sordid
personal life are given 1st Kings chapter 11 verse 1 we read King
Solomon loved many strange women Besides the daughters of Pharaoh
he loved women of the Moabites the Ammonite the Edomites the
Zidonians and the Hittites and perhaps other and in verse 2
these were such as God had forbidden them to take to become their
wives because of the danger. Alas, in verse 2, they will turn
away your heart after other gods. Nevertheless, Solomon claimed
cleaved unto thee in love, the scripture said. His harem he
reckoned up, in verse 3, 700 wives and princes, three concubines,
and sure enough, his wife turned away his heart from God. Repeated in verse 4 of that chapter,
it came to pass When Solomon was old, his wives turned away
his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect in
the sight of the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his
father. Now here's a point that we might
ponder. Solomon is famous for his wisdom,
which is commended by the Lord himself. recognized, but as Joseph
Hall wrote in that large volume called simply Contemplation,
quote, if knowledge and wisdom could give immunity from sin,
both Adam and Solomon had stood fast, unquote. But alas, neither
his power as a king, nor his wisdom saved him from the snare
of some lusts. For if lusts be not held under
as slaves, they will become tyrants, as one wrote. By the way, there's
an interesting passage in Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 26. where
Nehemiah uses the case and the example of Solomon as a point
of proof as Nehemiah led the rebuilding and the restoration
of the temple, the city of Jerusalem, reformed the errors of some of
those that had gone before him. In Nehemiah chapter 13, 23 through
27, he seeks to reform the practice of marriage and verbally chastises
them for marrying heathen wives, which mixed marriages produced
children which were divided between the two religions of the mother
and the father. And anyway, in Nehemiah, chapter
13 and verse 26. We read how Nehemiah held up
the defection of Solomon as a warning and as an example against what
they had made a very common practice in the nation of Israel. Hear
that verse. Did not Solomon, king of Israel,
sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there
no king like him who was beloved of his God, and God made him
king over all Israel. Nevertheless, even him did outlandish
women cause to sin." I remember having a conversation with a
Lutheran pastor. I'd gone to Shreveport, Louisiana
for a funeral in which he contended that Solomon died in his sin
unrepentant and uncovered, unrecovered. And in 1 Kings there is no mention
of repentance and yet the Lord in the New Testament speaks kindly
of Solomon and of his wisdom and of his knowledge of the things
of God. This is where the book of Ecclesiastes
comes into play. One expositor called it a monument
of his repentance, unquote. Take that passage in Ecclesiastes
7, 25 through 29, where he understands the power of depravity. Who, like his fathers before
him, experienced the power of indwelling sin. Take David's
confession in Psalm chapter 51, After God's chastisement had
come into his life, heart and conscience lacked a burning brand. And to Solomon, God threatens
to rend his kingdom, that for his life it would be so. Not
only that, but the Lord stirred up adversaries against him then,
against him in his position. As some commentators have noted,
the book of Ecclesiastes is just the sort that Solomon would write. Solomon is the perfect man to
write the things that we have read from, the state of mind
of a man in that particular situation that he had been through, a man
in sin, a man under the threats of God, the impending or threatened
loss of his kingdom. It is amazing how God in his
wonderful providence makes sin sometime to be a cure for sin. Only a wise God is able to do
that. Now, let us hear the end of the
whole matter. After all of his searching, after
all of his faults, as Thomas Goodwin wrote, that even in the
time of Solomon's declension, he became not apostate nor cast
off at all forever. And he comes in chapter 12 of
Ecclesiastes to draw a proper conclusion to the matter. Verse
1, remember thy creator in the days of thy youth. Let not the
young man think that religion is to be put off or reserved
for the old and the infirm only. He is our creator. He's given
us life. Ought he not be remembered and
served and honored? There's an old saying or an adage
that goes something like this. Youth for pleasure, age for business,
old age for religion," unquote. That's how a lot of people approach
it. Youth for pleasure, take our
pleasure, age for business, old age then, we can consider religion. Solomon cautions in chapter 12,
Evil days will come, the years will draw on, when you will say,
I have no pleasure in them. And in Ecclesiastes 12, 2 through
7, sometime back I preached on this, he uses a picturesque metaphor
here that he might portray the creeping ravages of old age. And finally, comes death. The
limbs shall grow weak and feeble, the eyes grow dim, The silver
cord will be loose, the cistern will fall into disrepair, the
pulley and the wheel will be rusted and broken. What a picture
if you've ever seen an old country well drawing up water. In verse
7, the dust shall return unto the dust, the spirit unto God
that gave it. Here says Solomon is the conclusion
of the whole matter. Here's the summation of it all. Fear God, reverence Him, walk
in His way and His law. For this is the whole duty of
man, the whole of man. Avoid the company of such as
have not the fear of God before their eyes. Or be careful in
the company of such as have not the fear of God before their
eyes. Pleasure, wine, mirth, riches,
they will not of themselves assure lasting happiness. Remember,
verse 13. God will bring every work into
judgment. Every work and every secret thing
all must pass before the bar of God. And by this, Solomon
acknowledges the existence of a future life, a life beyond
this life that all must give an account before the righteous
judge of all of the earth. And in light of these things,
It is Solomon declaring, all things are vanity. Hear the end. Fear God, serve
him, love him, for this is the whole duty of man. So we see,
but still we're drawn to it. The vanity of some things of
the earth. Not that we're not to. work, have a reward, be blessed
of God, sure. But then to remember that it
is God, as Abraham said, that gives thee the power to get well. It is God that builds us up. May we thank him and remember
him for that.