The Costly Pursuit of Wealth

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place? All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 5:8‭-6:9 ESV

Rev. Dwight Too

The love of money and the pursuit of wealth

We live in a culture that is steeped in accumulating wealth and the love of money as residents of the United States. Much like fish that may not even realize that we are in water, we are swimming in a culture filled with the love of money.

The craving for money

He who loves money will not be happy with wealth. If gathering wealth is your focus, no amount is enough. This is the nature of craving wealth. There is never enough. A craving for money just keeps growing. 

The consequences of the love for money

When we take something and use it for another purpose or will have consequences. If we take money and make it ultimate, it will hurt us. A laborer can sleep, even with little food. But rich people suffer insomnia from their wealth. The more stuff you have, the more you have to clean, organize, and protect it. 

A life spent in pursuit in money & wealth is a wasted life

The passage speaks of a man gained riches through working hard, but loses it all in a bad venture and had nothing to leave his son. But more than that, we cannot hold onto riches forever, we will die and leave it behind. We cannot take it with us when we die. But wait someone might say, isn't it better to have more rather than less? Better to have more than not enough? There is a rich man portrayed as having everything that could make for a happy life, but cannot enjoy any of it. The rich man is discontent and cannot enjoy these good things. Satisfaction is not guaranteed just by having more. Your can have it all and still not have contentment.

Intrinsic things can bring joy

God can bring joy through his blessings. A man can be content with what God has given so much so that his days for by. There's another man who found genuine joy & contentment regardless of circumstances. The apostle Paul speaks of contentment in all circumstances. Contentment comes from God, but how? It is learned. When we feel discontentment rising in our hearts, we need to turn to God. How? We place God and Jesus upon the throne of our lives. If we look for joy in buying things, we should turn and consider the gift of life & love in Jesus. If we look for security in money, then we should see our place secured in heaven through the work of Christ. If we look for status through material things, then we should see our great inheritance and royal adoption into the family of God. 

This will make us generous givers. It will make us hold wealth loosely. We will see hurting and poor people and will share what we have. A thief who has been grabbed by the gospel will not just make them stop stealing... It will make them work so they can share, not just live a comfortable life, but to share! Our money is God's investment in our lives so that the church can as a whole further the kingdom of God. If Christians in the United States tithed, simply tithed, we could fund all the missionaries, all the works that God desired. So please steward the blessings of God well. Keep Jesus as the ultimate treasure in your lives.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1629956058/

Let your words be few

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. - Ecclesiastes 5:1‭-‬7 ESV 

Rev. Dan Whang

Meaning for life under the sun is found when we relate to our Creator in worship

Come to listen

We may have come to God today bringing the sacrifice of fools. What is the sacrifice of fools? It is coming with our own wisdom and self focused. Coming to worship with our hearts far from God. 

God is in heaven, He is so high above us. We should come to Him respectfully, waiting to hear from Him. 

Keep your vows

We are to live lives of integrity. We are to do as we say. In old testament days, it was customary for worshippers to vow to bring sacrifices or give gifts to God. It was a way to curry favor with God. But for us, it is a question of how we handle our commitments. Do we fulfill our promises even when they are costly and uncomfortable? Do we let our words lead us into sin? When we speak we are reflecting the image of God. He spoke the world into being. So we need to use our words to build up, encourage, and love one another

Fear the Lord

Live in a reverential affection & respect for God, both in the house of worship and in our daily lives. We need to acknowledge his ability to smite us as well as his unending grace and mercy day by day. A fool who utters too many words thinks too much of himself and too little of God. A fool's life is filled with many dreams and busyness. But a life lived before God is one lived in awe & affection for God, He is our ultimate value and He fills our lives with meaning and propose. We love in expectation that one day He will take us home.

Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh. Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is vanity and an unhappy business. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king's place. There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 3:16‭-‬4:16 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Injustice

Where one looked for justice, one would find systemic injustice. Even in the nation of Israel with the law of God being the law of the land, there was injustice. Individual sins, corporate sins, and sins of a nation. So when we consider our own nation, when slavery no longer exists, is it hard to imagine that our own nation still has systemic injustice? 

We act like animals in how we treat one another. We will die and will return to the dust. If it does not benefit us, we ignore how others are treated. We dehumanize those we disagree with. Those who are oppressed often rise up and themselves become oppressors. 

Competitiveness

Often people try to bury themselves in their work. This isn't satisfactory. Work becomes a competition and envying others. Achievement comes only from beating out others. We live lifestyles of cutthroat, winner takes all. 

Isolation

Overwork and isolation comes together. Overwork often causes isolation. We miss family engagements. And when we try to make friendships we cannot get close. We see others as competitors rather than people to love and be loved.

As Christians, we know Jesus. He died an unjust death so that we could have eternal life & redemption. He was separated from God the Father so that we could join the family of God. Jesus is the answer to all these problems and the world needs Him more than ever.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. - Ecclesiastes 3:1‭-‬15 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Recognize

We need to see that there are appropriate times for certain things. Then the author uses an literary device to illustrate them. There are certain seasons to life. Sweet times and bitter tough times. But there is a subtext to this, there is a certain frustration underlying these different times of our lives. The preacher wants to emphasize that we do not have control over these seasons and these times. We may make 10 or 20 year plans, but this is an illusion. We don't get to control the rhythm of life. There are 14 positives and 14 negatives in life, it feels like a net zero. You win some and lose some. Even now, during this time of covid, this plays out. People were thinking of starting businesses only to be shutdown. High school and college freshmen looking forward to a new circumstance only to find themselves stuck at home starting at a screen. As individuals, we can't make covid go away or make this pandemic pass.

But there is someone in control. God is orchestrating everything. He is wise and has good purposes in mind. But even if we accept these overarching truths, we still struggle. We can't see the big picture. What sets us apart from the animal world is the desire for meaning & purpose. Why? Because we were made for a purpose by God. We can't see how our little lives for into the big picture. We can't see the beauty and redemption. It's like a Seurat painting viewed from up close. All we can see are little dots, but not the whole painting.

Respond

God sees violence, war, and pain. And God sent Jesus. To be born into the world. So that we could have hope. For Jesus to die, so that the church could be redeemed. A time for Jesus to be rejected and God the father to refrain from embracing him. Even if we cannot see the purpose or meaning of our life's circumstances, the cross tells us that we can trust God. In what looks like the senseless violence of the cross, God was working out good things.

Slavery to meaning

So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 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. For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. - Ecclesiastes 2:12‭-‬26 ESV

Rev. Travis Drake

Exhausting search

Is there a point to being wise rather than being foolish? The preacher says yes, there is more goodness in wisdom. But death throws a wrench in the works, no matter whether you are wise or foolish, death comes for them both. Not only that, their legacies will be forgotten. Even more than that, immediately after you die, the one who comes after you could completely undo everything. This brings him to a dark place, even hating life. He sees the desire for the things of God, but without the power of God. He desires flourishing, but can't make it happen by his own power.

The confusing rebuttal

God comes into the passage. He gives enjoyment to those who love him. God has not been mentioned or heard from in this book. Suddenly, we hear about how work is not considered all vanity... Because God comes into the picture. We are to work, eat, and drink because God enables us. The powerlessness of us as sinners is contrasted against the great power of God at work in us. We are to hold both these as true. 

Finding resolution

There's a natural tension between these two ideas. An image of powerlessness of human beings & the image of the power of God bringing pleasure and enjoyment and justice. They're both held as true. So there's a challenge, there is still meaning in life, even though we find joy in work, work in itself does not bring meaning. Meaning comes from God and works that last. Trying to find ultimate meaning in what we do isn't being our own master, but rather to choose a master other than God. We will then derive our identity from what we do. So what then? The hand of God changes things from vanity to meaningful. How does this work? The hand of God is what saved Israel from Egypt. The hand of God brought his people out from slavery. But not just physical slavery. But also the slavery of identity. The need to be the best worker, smartest student, best looking, etc. True wisdom is first acknowledging that we need someone to save ourselves. According to the gospel, slaves makes more slaves, but God makes sons and daughters.

Application

Search: The text does not tell us to stop searching for meaning. But take your frustrations to God. Put on a biblical lens and examine your life for where we seek acknowledgment in what we do.

Practice: When we find things that we are worshipping rather than God, repent and turn to God. Leave your identity to God. Take Sabbath seriously. Take a break from trying to justify yourself.

Ecclesiastes: Exploring Pleasure

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. - Ecclesiastes 1:1‭-‬11 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The Pursuit

Purple often learn things by accident. The preacher in this passage was trying things intentionally. It's one thing for someone who makes minimum wage to say money doesn't make you happy. It is another thing for Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men, to say the same thing. King Solomon had the money and resources to pursue whatever he wanted to.

The Roads Taken

Laughter is good, but even after that you still need to face the harsh realities of life. It is often a coping mechanism to deal with the absurdity of life. But we are laughing through tears. Last year, there was a documentary called "Laughing Matters" which explored the link between comedians and depression. There is this idea of the sad clown. Comedians use laughter to cope with abuse, difficult & painful situations. But ultimately, it isn't enough. After the laughter ends, it is still dark. 

The preacher tried alcohol, both fine wine and drunkenness. He tried building all sorts of houses, gardens, etc. There are parallels in this passage with the garden of Eden. There is no paradise we can create in this life. He accumulated great wealth, servants, and slaves. But all this proved meaningless. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. The delight of man still left him empty. He was widely known and powerful beyond anyone in his day. He made pleasure his target and in that he found some measure of pleasure. But at the end of it all, it was all without meaning and pointless. 

The conclusion

So then what? The preacher had gone through all those things to see like an experiment whether there is meaning to be found in these things. There is no lasting satisfaction. True joy and lasting pleasure is to be found with God. Alcohol, houses, sex, all these things are good things given by God. But when we make them too important, they will spoil and they will spoil us. So we should find God in the word. It will not come immediately but rather slowly. But it is a slow meal, joy will come as we abide in God.

Life is meaningless but for God & redemption

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted. I said in my heart, "I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. - Ecclesiastes 1:1‭-‬18 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Thesis

The title of this book means assembly. The author of this book calls himself the preacher. Many scholars believe the author was Solomon, but that is contested. The author never identifies themselves. It is written in Solomon's style, but it could have been another person writing from Solomon's perspective. This was not an offense, but rather a regular way of writing. The main point of this book is that life is a mist. Human existence is fleeting, meaningless, and pointless.

What does man gain from all the tool and struggle? This isn't gain in the sense of economic goods, but rather what's the meaning of it all. For the next 12 chapters, the author will support his main point.

Proof

Three main ideas are presented: life is fleeting, life is reparative, & we are limited.

For the vast majority of us, our best and worst days will be forgotten. September 11, 2001, when two places flew into the twin towers, are but a footnote in a junior highschooler's history class. Our children may know of major milestones in our lives. But grandchildren? Or great grandchildren? Our lives will likely be forgotten. We will have no legacy to speak of.

The sun and moon rise and fall. The clothes get washed, get dirty, and the piles of laundry reappear. Nature is awesome to see, but after awhile, we see nothing but repetition. The house has something in need of repair or maintenance, it is fixed, and something else is in need of fixing or maintenance.

There are twisted things that can't be straightened. There are so many things that he cannot fix. Life has so many things that don't add up. We don't accomplish all that we wanted. People get depressed and for some, they have a midlife crisis. 

Perspective

Many secular, atheist thinkers state that life is without purpose. Dawkins and Russell both admit that life does not have a purpose without a God. 

The Christian perspective is not all roses either. We should expect suffering and futility in life. The brokenness in life is because of our rejection of God. But the good news for the Christian is that the way the world is now, will not always be. Jesus came and died to set us free from the futility of life. His death kicked off the redemption of this world into a new heavens and a new earth. Even though we will experience the futility of brokenness of this life, even as we try to fix things, we know that God is working out a final and total restoration.