Ecclesiastes

Lesson 4 w/AnswersEcclesiastes 5:1-20

As we move to Chapter 5 in our study of Ecclesiastes, much of what we read reminds us of the world around us. You’ll notice that with only a small amount of observation that we can find real world examples of many of things that Solomon points out in this chapter about the world around us and its constant focus on money, wealth, and the accumulation of it. For example, in considering the annual reports by Fortune Magazine of the world’s wealthiest people, I found one thing very interesting: When they were asked who they would most like to have a conversation with if they could pick anyone, many of them chose themselves.

Bible

Chapter 5 is interesting in yet another way because Solomon also finds good things to say about prospering and enjoying what God gives us. We have as much to learn about being prosperous as we do about being a humble servant, and Solomon gives us a good shove in that direction as well. I think you will find this week’s lesson and discussion both interesting and enlightening.

Let’s read Chapter 5 this week and complete the following:

  1. Read the following New Testament verses and jot down what each of them teaches us about wealth:
    1. Matt 19:24
      1. ANSWER: It is very easy for wealth to replace God in our list of priorities. If we are not careful, we will put our trust in it instead of God. We will become like the Rich Young Ruler who could not, or would not, part with his wealth to follow Jesus.
    2. Matt 6:19-21
      1. ANSWER: Jesus teaches us that material wealth, i.e., earthly wealth, can be lost, or even stolen away. It is not permanent and cannot be trusted. Instead, we should lay up treasures in heaven, investing in the things of God and His kingdom which will result in eternal rewards and a "wealth" that you will never lose. He also taught that the eye is the light of the body—that is, what you behold as having value will affect your entire being. If you value earthly wealth above all else, rather than things of God, your life and your actions will reflect that—just as a life filled with pleasing God will affect your life in ways that will reflect and glorify Him. We are to be careful that material gains, wealth and riches don&rquo;t blind us to God’s true purpose for our lives.
    3. Luke 12:15-21
      1. ANSWER: Beware of coveting wealth. The world tells us that accumulating wealth is good, that laying up large sums and assets is a good thing, and that providing for ourselves shows independence, etc. Be warned, however, that God provides all that we need; we do not. When we begin to think like the rich man, we forget where everything we need comes from; and we begin to rely on our own strength, knowledge, and material efforts. Then God is no longer the center of our lives and the provider of our needs; we lose our "Kingdom focus" when we covet our own successes and material wealth.
  2. Based on the verses above it would appear that having wealth or gaining wealth is a bad thing that can keep us from entering heaven and having an eternal relationship with God. Is that what these verses teach, or is it something else?
    1. hearts. Having wealth can blind us to God and falsely make us believe we are self-sustaining. Jesus is not teaching that wealth in and of itself is bad. After all, many in the Bible had wealth—Abraham, Moses, David, and especially Solomon. The danger in having wealth is that the love of it—coveting it—will replace God in our lives. That is why it is so hard for a rich man to enter into heaven.
  3. Read the following verses and jot down what each of them teach us about wealth and talents:
    1. Proverbs 3:5-10
      1. ANSWER: God teaches us to trust completely in him and not in our wisdom. If we fear the Lord, depart from evil, and honor him with our possessions, He will make us prosperous. In fact, God says that He will fill our barns with plenty and our vats will overflow with new wine.
    2. Matt 25:14-30
      1. ANSWER: We see in this parable that the person who invested what he was provided and got a good return was praised, but the person who did nothing with what he was given is not praised, but condemned for being wicked and lazy. Clearly this parable is about a lot more than simply money and wealth, but it makes the point very clearly that what the Lord gives us to manage we are to manage for success—God wants us to be successful stewards, whether it is respect to our time, our talents, or our material possessions. We are expected to work diligently to increase the return on each.
  4. Based on these verses can we conclude that God wants us to prosper? What do these verses taken collectively tell us about what God expects of us while we are here on earth as it relates to how we are to live our lives?
    1. ANSWER: It is clear that all God has ever wanted for those who follow him is for them to prosper. Clearly also God is glorified through us when we are the good stewards that He expects us to be. It is also clear that living a life of poverty and struggle is not what God intends for us. Yes, sin is in the world, and because it is, life is not easy; and we are not promised a wealthy and carefree life—in fact, just the opposite if we choose to follow Christ. However, it is also clear that God will honor His promises if we honor Him, and with that comes the responsibility to be good stewards of whatever God entrusts us with. The caution is that we are to constantly keep our eyes on Christ and acknowledge God as our sole provider for all that we have—we are to be careful that our material possessions, and/or our drive to acquire these possessions—don’t push God out of our lives. These verses also teach us that we are to be actively seeking the best return for every opportunity, every investment, and every responsibility that God provides us.
  5. Read Chapter 5, verses 1 and 2 and compare them to James 1:19-20, what truth to they teach us that will help us to live and grow as better followers of Christ?
    1. ANSWER: Solomon and James are showing us that we are to listen for God and to God. Rather than boasting or speaking as fools, we should be listening and searching for God. We are to be careful that we do not let ourselves get caught up in the haughty wisdom of man, but instead realize that the true source of wisdom is God.
  6. Compare chapter 5 verses 3 through 5 with Matthew 5:36-37. What is God teaching us with these verses?
    1. ANSWER: That our word should be our word. One thing common today, particularly among those who seek wealth at all costs, is the ability to say or promise anything just to gain wealth; then, once it is gained, they renege on their promise. Even with the courts today, there is much attention paid to what someone meant when they said this or that. Obfuscation appears to be the rule of the day, but not so in God’s kingdom. God’s word is sure, and He expects ours to be as well. As followers of Christ, we should be known by how we keep our word and our promises. Let our nays be nays and our yeas be yeas— no hidden agendas, no verbal tricks, just solid honest communications.
  7. Read verse 10. Can you think of an example of seeing this verse played out in your life, or in the life of someone you know? Why is this verse so?
    1. ANSWER: I certainly can name several examples of people that I have personally known for which this applies. People who are never happy with what they have; there is no wealth large enough. It does seem incredible that for some people they can never have enough, no matter how much they already have. They are simply never satisfied. Why is this so? Because they seek to fulfill inner desires that cannot be satisfied with material wealth. Solomon is an excellent example. Known as the wealthiest man in the world at that time, he had wives, concubines, horses, stables, and palaces. He built many buildings, gained wealth in everything he did, was seen as the wisest person in the world, and was sought out by kings and queens from all over the world. Yet at the end of his life, he was miserable, still searching for meaning in his life. It is only through a personal relationship with God that we can find the peace that passes all understanding, and the real meaning for our lives—not through the accumulation of wealth, no matter how much of it we accumulate.
  8. Read verse 12, what is this referring to? What does Solomon mean the full stomach of a rich man does not allow him to sleep?
    1. ANSWER: When we work for an honest day’s wage, when we are busy involved in doing whatever task the Lord has set for us to do, we sleep in peace knowing that we are in God’s will. A wealthy man whose wealth comes of his own doing is constantly involved in gaining more, as well as making sure that he keeps what he has. My mother once worked for a self-made millionaire—back when being a millionaire was a rare thing. She often told me that he would say to her that he didn’t sleep much; that he had worked half his life to make his millions, and now he was working the other half of his life just to keep them.
  9. In verses 13 through 17 Solomon writes of the life of a wealthy man. What Solomon describes is something we see very commonly today, can you think of at least one example?
    1. ANSWER: Clearly we are surrounded by examples of this. Whether it is the movie star who finds, at the end of their career, that their wealth was all embezzled by their financial manager; or whether it is the wealthy person whose wealth is lost through dishonest business dealings.
  10. In the closing verses of Chapter 5 Solomon actually finds good in enjoying the material possessions God has given us. He writes that it is fitting to eat and drink, and specially to enjoy what? (Verse 18)
    1. ANSWER: Solomon writes that it is fitting for man to enjoy the good of all his labor which God gives him. If we live the life God intends for us, then it is right to enjoy what God provides for us. It becomes wrong when we see the results of our labor as something that WE created. God desires that we enjoy what He provides us. Living as good stewards, working in God’s kingdom, and following God in all that we do will result in good—and it is okay for us to enjoy that good.
  11. In verse 19 the wealthy and the rich Solomon writes he should enjoy his labor. Why is the wealthy or rich person in this verse to enjoy what he has, but elsewhere Solomon has written that there is no joy or rest for the wealthy?
    1. ANSWER: The key to this verse is that God has given the wealth. Solomon sees that all that comes from God is a gift from God; and therefore, when God gives us a gift we should enjoy it. Otherwise God would not have given it to us in the first place. Other verses in Solomon’s writings are about the self-made person whose goal is the accumulation of wealth; these will never enjoy their wealth, and they fool themselves with their prideful thinking. They will not enter God’s kingdom.
  12. In verse 20 we also see something the rich and wealthy do not have, the person in verse 20 never looks back or regrets what has passed. Why is that?
    1. ANSWER: Because if we commit each day to following Christ and to working in the Kingdom, that day will occupy all of our thoughts, and there will be no time for looking back; we will constantly look forward to what Christ will do each day.

I think if you were to ask most Christians, they would tell you how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. We are raised with that one teaching by Christ hammered into us, and I have to admit that as a child I could never imagine a camel going through the eye of a needle Further, since we are also taught that money is the root of all evil, I quickly concluded as a child that money, wealth, and being "rich" were all "bad"; so if I ever got any money, I would spend it right away since I had decided that there was just no way to be successful, prosperous, or have any significant wealth—if you wanted to go to heaven, that is. Sound familiar?

I then wondered how Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon (just to name a few) would ever make it to heaven if that really was the criteria. You see, what had happened to me (and it happens to many people) is we take scripture out of context, mix in our own preconceived notions of what being "humble" means, add our predisposition to defining Christianity as a faith of poverty and struggle, and we naturally conclude that being successful and having a good job and a nice home is all somehow wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting for a moment that these are the things that our lives are to be focused on, nor am I suggesting that only "good Christians" are "blessed" with wealth and success—and furthermore, that those who have little must have sinned somehow. This is the way that the Pharisees thought about the Jews. In fact, if we examine everything that we are taught regarding our finances, possessions, jobs and so on, we will readily see a different picture.

Consider, for example, what Christ taught us about the man with ten talents, the man with five talents, and the man with one talent. He taught us that they were to be diligent with as much or as little as they had been given; and he rewarded the two men who doubled the amount they were given, but not the man who basically put his talent in the bank to protect it. He also taught us that "to whom much is given, much is expected". In several examples, Christ uses the parable of the land owner who trusts his estate to his servants while he travels away on business; even there, we are taught to be good stewards and to always be striving to do the best and get the best for the master.

God wants us to prosper. If we had the time, we could do a word search on prosper and find many examples of God’s desire for us to prosper. So what is it that Solomon warns us about riches, and that Christ also taught about? Answer: It is our motivation and attitude that is fundamental to the issue. Do you assume that all that you have truly comes from God, or do you assume that it comes from all your hard work? Do you work to accumulate wealth, or is your first priority God’s kingdom? Yes, as working class people, we have secular jobs and employers to answer to; but even for those cases, we can and should be working and investing in the kingdom.

If your driving force is simply getting ahead, showing the boss why you should be the next to be promoted, or trying to get one-up on a competitor, you probably are not seeking God’s kingdom first. Again, don’t misunderstand: we are to do our best for our children, our neighbors, our employers. Working so that you succeed in what ever you do is good, as long as our motivation is to please God. This is what lies at the foundation of Solomon’s thoughts. That wealth, success, job security (if such a thing exists), a nice home, and all that these things entail, is meaningless—or vanity—without God at the center.

There are times, however, when we do succeed because God gives us that success. Sometimes our success is almost overwhelming along the lines of what Christ taught, i.e., that He would give us blessings that are pressed down and overflowing from God to the point that it is almost unbelievable. But then, what do we do with the success and the riches? Can we actually enjoy them, or is this evil and vanity also? What is our responsibility when God richly blesses us with material and career success? Is it simply a reward that God gives us, or is there perhaps a deeper purpose behind it? Our look this week at Chapter 5 teaches us that God does provide good things to His people, and it is okay to enjoy our labor and the fruits of that work.

But we always need to be mindful that all we have comes from God and comes with a purpose. If we are not careful, our focus will shift from advancing God’s kingdom to protecting our wealth, or wanting to accumulate more. We can easily fall into the trap of the rich man that Solomon describes. God will provide us wisdom and discernment concerning wealth, success and prosperity.

Are we working to rightly invest the talents God has given us, and the time, opportunities, resources, gifts and material blessings that He provides? Will Christ return and see that we have doubled the investment Christ has made in us? Is our focus and our "investment horizon" on the right things? These are all questions that we need to stay focused on, so that as we live our lives in this material world, we do not become ensnared by the lies and snares associated with having or wanting to accumulate wealth.

Let’s rejoice in what God has provided us, and seek out new opportunities to work and invest in His kingdom. When success comes, let’s praise God for it, and then seek to understand why He provided it to us. What better thing can we invest our lives and our possessions in then those eternal treasures, and in advancing the Kingdom of God?

Let’s conclude our study this week by reading and meditating on 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

In Christ,

Wes

[2017]