Amen. Well, life is always full of many ironies. One of the great ironies of our present day is an irony concerning death. 21st century America, we are simultaneously probably more aware of the reality of death than ever. But at the same time, we are less aware of the reality of our own deaths, maybe more than ever. Consider the news. What is the news if not, in large part, a chronicling of death and the fear of death? This many died this past week from coronavirus, we hear. Or this person or this woman was shot and killed. Or these two nations are about to go to war and we face the prospect of mass death. Somehow, though, even though we keep hearing about death, this ticker tape of death doesn't make us more aware of our mortality, but somehow less. We become numb to the idea of death. Death is dulled to us. Death seems somewhere out there, far away, something that happens to other people, the very old, the careless. We feel like, still, that we will live forever. especially if we're young. And we therefore turn from the grim news reports to various work and leisure pursuits. Oh, time to mow the lawn. Or, yep, gotta start my new job and hopefully I can get that bigger house. Or did you see this hilarious new video on TikTok? But as we turn to the word of God this morning, God's spirit Speaking to us through King Solomon in our scriptures, God's Spirit wants us to face the reality of our impending deaths. My friends, you must grapple with the frustration that is death. You are going to die, and it's going to happen sooner than you think. But this truth is not really meant to depress you. or to siphon the joy out of your life. Rather, we'll see from our text today, we'll see from the Lord's Word that it is facing the frustration of death that actually allows you to enjoy life. And really, it gives you the only proper way to face life. Take your Bibles, if you haven't yet, and open to Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Ecclesiastes chapter 2, we'll be starting in verse 12. The title of today's message is Solomon's Epic Fail, Part Three. King Solomon, who is the gathering one, the assembling one, the preacher in this book, which is where the title of Ecclesiastes comes from, he opened this message in Ecclesiastes 1-2 by arguing that everything in life is vapor. That is, hevel in Hebrew, translated vanity. Life is innately frustrating because everything in it is ultimately ungraspable, like smoke or breath. He presents this thesis, and then in Ecclesiastes 1, verses 3 to 11, he directs us to just look around at the world and mankind to see how life is indeed vaporous. In the earth, And in mankind, nothing fundamentally changes or advances, even though there's a lot of activity, there's a lot of recycling of people over and over on the Earth. No matter how much activity there is, though, there is no real gain or profit or satisfaction in the end. Then starting in Ecclesiastes 1.12, Solomon begins to tell us about his own grand experiments, his own testing of this as the great king in the Middle East at that time, if he could find lasting gain for himself, some profit in this fallen world. Solomon began an epic quest for wisdom and knowledge in Ecclesiastes 1.12-18, but he did not find any liberating secrets there. He just found a lot of frustration and pain. And then Solomon conducted an epic quest for joy in Ecclesiastes 2, verses 1 to 11. And that's what we looked at together last time we were in Ecclesiastes. He went after life's pleasures and pursuits, but this experiment also ended in failure. Because Solomon only found emptiness in merrymaking, and he found no lasting profit in even the grandest royal accomplishments. And for these experiments, Solomon was, as I've sought to emphasize to you, the consummate wisdom seeker and joy seeker, par excellence, the greatest. So whatever he discovered for himself in these experiments, it applies to the rest of us. None of us can surpass Solomon in these experiments. We're not going to find anything different than he did. Now our text this morning is Ecclesiastes 12-26. It represents Solomon's final reflections on his grand experiments. And though Solomon did not find any fundamental or life-transforming gain in wisdom or in joy, he wants to circle back to see if there's still something he could recommend to mankind based on his experience. Solomon also now wants to finally explain what it is that ruins any attempt to find gain in this world. And that's what we'll see. Let's read our text, Ecclesiastes 2, 12 to 26. So I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head. But the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. And I said to myself, as is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise? So I said to myself, this too is vanity. For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool. And as much as in the coming days, all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die. So I hated life. For the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me, because everything is futility and striving after wind. Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, Then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This, too, is vanity and a great evil. For what does man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous. Even at night his mind does not rest. This, too, is vanity. better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him? For to a person who is good in his sight, he has given wisdom and knowledge and joy. While to the sinner, he is given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight. This, too, is vanity and a striving after win. According to Solomon, what is that great ruiner of gain, the fly in the ointment, the buzzkill of life? It's death. It's your coming death. Death frustrates every effort to find lasting profit in this world. But still, though Solomon clarifies that death is truly a terrible reality, there is a way of approaching life in light of death that is both wise and joy-filled. Indeed, it is the only way. Solomon's main message in this passage, and this is the main message of God to you and to me today, it is that you must face the frustration of your coming death so that you will stop living for vapor and instead enjoy God's good during your brief sojourn. This teaching from Solomon unfolds in our passage in three main sections of reflection. And that's going to form our outline today. Three truths that you must embrace about your coming death so that you stop living for vapor and instead enjoy God's good. Here are the points. Number one, death will frustrate wisdom's gain. Number two, death will frustrate work's gain. And number three, death directs you to God instead. Start with the first truth, the first reflection from Solomon in verses 12 to 17. Number one, death will frustrate wisdom's gain. Look at verse 12. So I turn to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?" In verse 11, Solomon just finished telling us about his experiments with wisdom and joy and how they definitely yielded no lasting profit. But now Solomon wants to consider what choice will be left to those who come after Solomon, not only his own son as the royal successor, but the next generation. Solomon knows that nobody's going to be able to do anything differently, really, than what Solomon has already done, and which proved to be a failure. And that's why Solomon asks the rhetorical question here that he does. So the issue he wants to consider is, which path will be better for mankind going forward? Wisdom or insane folly? Notice Solomon's answer in verses 13 and the beginning of verse 14. He says, and I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. Wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. To Solomon, there's no contest between the paths of wisdom and folly. Wisdom is clearly better. Solomon says the difference is like light and darkness. And he explains what he means in verse 14. walking in the path of true knowledge about the world and about God. It's like walking around in the light. You can see where you're going. You can avoid the pitfalls and the stumbling blocks of life. You can understand to some extent what is happening to you and why. But walking in folly, walking in ignorance, walking in what only feels good or what is even evil, that's like walking in darkness. You cannot see where you're going. You're constantly surprised by the consequences of your actions and the pitfalls of life, and you do not understand what is going on or why you're suffering. Clearly, the way of wisdom is better. And thus the Bible, especially Proverbs, it keeps commending us to seek wisdom. Now, intriguingly, The Hebrew of this verse here, in Ecclesiastes verse 13, it reads literally thus, Why is that significant? Because that's the word Solomon has been thinking about this entire time. What profit is there for man as he lives and works under the sun? And up to this point, what has Solomon's answer been? None! And now he says, there is profit in wisdom, way more than in folly. Wait a second, Solomon, are you contradicting yourself? Well, now let's read the end of verse 14. Solomon adds, and yet I know that one fate befalls them both. Yes, friends, wisdom, even God's wisdom, can help you a lot in life. But there's one thing that no amount of knowledge or wisdom can do for you, and that is to prevent you from suffering the common fate of mankind, death. No matter how wise you become, you, like the most wretched fool, cannot escape death. And notice how this realization so deeply disturbs Solomon in verse 15. He says, or it reads, then I said to myself, as is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been so extremely wise? So I said to myself, this too is vanity. Solomon, the great king, full of astounding wisdom, abundant in majesty, he knows that he still will suffer the same fate as the most ignorant and lazy bum. Solomon and the fool, they will die, they'll have their bodies placed into the ground, and they'll be eaten by worms. Really, every category of person is on an equal road to death. Even us here. Christian and non-Christian, righteous and wicked, rich and poor, man and woman, black and white, liberal, conservative, educated and ignorant, strong and weak, all encounter the same fate, sooner or later. Why? Why should death equalize all this way, the good and the bad, the wise and the foolish? Yet it does. And we hear Solomon's frustrated cry, why then have I been extremely, or we could translate, excessively wise? What was the point of wisely avoiding all the pitfalls of life if I just die in the end like any fool? So Solomon concludes bitterly to himself, this too is vanity, or this too is vapor. Here's another frustrating aspect of life that you just cannot grasp. Wisdom's gain is only temporary, and it can't stop death. But someone might say, yes, Solomon, it's true, you will die. But your great wisdom will cause your name to live on. Others will learn from you. By wisdom, you gain an immortal legacy. Such platitudes are no comfort to Solomon, as we see him continue in verse 16. For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, as with the fool. And as much as in the coming days, all will be forgotten. A wise man cannot take comfort in a potential legacy, because Solomon's already pointed out for us, in Ecclesiastes 1.11, people generally do not remember the past or those who came before. And even what they do remember doesn't affect them in any truly helpful way. Wise people are eventually forgotten, just like fools are forgotten. It's not enough that both the foolish and the wise die, but they are equally forgotten. How's that fair? Especially when one works so hard to learn and pass on wisdom. Think about this for yourselves. Friends, no matter how much wisdom you've acquired in your life or you seek to acquire, even godly wisdom, you will generally be forgotten. Your legacy will eventually fade just like the fool's. Your friends and your children might briefly remember you for a little while after you're gone. But within a few generations, probably no one will remember your name or my name. Much less the professional skills you amassed, the know-how you gained for living life, even your knowledge about God. No one will know about it. No one will remember you. you'll be just as forgotten as the young profligate who dies from a drug overdose. Does your heart cry out that there's something not right about this? It should. This is futility. This is a terribly frustrating element to life. That's why Solomon exclaims in verse 16, and how the wise man and the fool alike die. That's not a question, that's a cry of exasperation. Why should both the wise man and the fool equally die and equally be forgotten? We can understand why Solomon's heart goes where it does at the end of his first reflection in verse 17, where he says, So I hated life. The work which has been done under the sun was grievous to me, because everything is futility and striving after wind. The word translated grievous here can be translated more basically, bad, wrong, even evil. Life ought not to be this way. This is not right. This is wrong. How is it fair that those who strove to learn and act with wisdom so much would have so little to show for it in the end? Solomon says that he hated life. He could not stand the vapor-like nature of existence in the face of death. Death, Solomon says, makes wisdom, work, everything, futility, striving after wind. We won't investigate those phrases again. We've seen these bleak descriptions of vain effort before in Ecclesiastes. He says that's what it is. That's what life is. When it comes to wisdom, think of all the wisdom that you're working to amass or that you have amassed in your life. You know it's going to happen to it. It's gonna disappear like smoke. Poof. But that doesn't just frustrate our anticipated gain by wisdom. Look now at a second important truth, second reflection from Solomon in verses 18 to 23. Number two, death will frustrate work's gain as well. Start with verse 18. Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. For I must leave it to the man who will come after me." Solomon here is still thinking about death and about legacies. Now he's switching from wisdom to thinking about work. And Solomon declares that he found himself hating even all his work because of death. And notice the phrase he uses, the fruit of my labor. Literally in Hebrew, it's my toil. And this is a word we've encountered already in Ecclesiastes. Toil is a word for work that includes the notions of pain and trouble. We've all experienced toil. It's part of life. But as the word is used here, and as the New American Standard translators are bringing out for us, toil doesn't just refer to the process of work, the labor itself, but also the results and the fruit of that labor. Sometimes the process of toil can be completely unpleasant. Actually, I'd say probably all the time. But the fruits of it can be kind of nice. Oh, you know, this was grueling work, but I'm glad it's over because look what I get as a result. The fruits of toil can be refreshing. But what does Solomon say here? He says that he hated both. I hated the process and I hated the results. I hated the parks, the palaces, the parties, the slaves, the musicians, the harem, the kingdom, everything. Wait, why Solomon? Why do you hate it all? Because I know I can't keep any of it. I'm going to have to give it all away. Friends, do you realize the same is true for you? Think of all that your hard work has acquired for you thus far in your life. Maybe various treasures, your job, your money, your cars, your house or your houses, your clothes, your jewelry, your collections of whatever you fancy. You may have worked painful days and nights to obtain these treasures, but when you die, you have to give them all up. They can't protect you from death. And you can't take them with you. So why did you strive so hard for them? Why were you so devoted to them? Why were you and are you so anxious about them? Now, for Solomon, it's not simply the fact that he has to give up his treasures that bothers him. It's that he must give them to another person. even a family member. And that might confuse us. We might say, but Solomon, aren't you glad that you can pass on these hard-earned treasures to your family, you know, your son, successor? But such a prospect brings its own agony to Solomon. And he tells us about it in verse 19. Look there. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool. Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This, too, is vanity. What bothers Solomon about passing on his work is his anxiety over whether the next person is going to ruin it. Have you ever had someone misuse something of yours that was valuable and hard-earned? Maybe it was your phone. or your laptop. You let somebody borrow it, give it back to you damaged. Maybe it's something much more important. Maybe it was money for college that you gave to your son or your daughter that was totally wasted. They just lived a party lifestyle and they flunked out. Or maybe it's your child that you entrusted to a particular relative and that relative instead abused your child or taught them in wickedness. Your heart suffers so much in seeing something so precious handled foolishly and sinfully. And consider how this might happen with the results of all the toil of your life. When you die, it may be that everything you've worked so hard to obtain and pass on is totally squandered. Now, you might protest, but, no, no, I know where it's going. I know who's going to get it. I know I can trust that person to handle the things I'm passing on and do a good job with it. Do you really? Even the wisest people can make terrible mistakes. And people who we thought were wise turn out to be wicked fools. or consider this, maybe the one you hoped to be your successor, to handle your legacy, turns out not to be. Turns out to be someone else. I mean, this happens so many times historically when it comes to kingdoms and empires. There'll be a particular person groomed to be the heir, and that heir suddenly dies before obtaining the kingdom, or dies suddenly after obtaining the kingdom. And what do you know? The kingdom goes to somebody else. What happened to all those plans? The point, friends, is that you and I ultimately have no control over the legacy that we pass on. There's the possibility that all our painful work will be foolishly wasted. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try to pass on a godly legacy. No, we have a stewardship entrusted to us from God. But you can never be certain how it's going to turn out. And you can never make sure enough that it will turn out well. Thus death, again, frustrates the gain that we might otherwise have hoped for in our work. And is that not indeed grievous, as Solomon says? All that hard work wasted I don't know. I have to keep thinking about it. What's he going to do with it? I don't know. We can echo Solomon in saying this whole legacy mess, it too is frustrating vapor. You just can't get a hold of it. But there's a further aggravation that Solomon brings up about passing on the legacy. We see it in verses 20 to 21. Look there. Therefore, I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil." Notice here that Solomon is starting to despair, to lose any sense of confidence or hope regarding passing on his hard-earned toil. And the reason is because a further thought has occurred to him. Someone might end up with all my hard-earned goods who totally doesn't deserve it. In verse 21, Solomon broadens this consideration beyond himself. He's thinking almost proverbially about situations in life in general. He's referring to a situation where a successful man might give his legacy to one who has not earned or been successful. And the Hebrew term behind this translated term, one, is adam, literally a man, just any old man. This is not the term we would expect from a chosen dynastic successor. And this probably points to a situation that sounds like the worst possible outcome Solomon can think of. And that is, not only is it an undeserving son who's going to get all my goods, but it's actually a stranger. It could be a stranger. It could be somebody outside the family who doesn't deserve it. Actually, isn't this what people complain about all the time when it comes to government, taxes or socialism? Why should I work and my money and my goods go to somebody who hasn't earned it, someone I don't even know. People get upset about this. This doesn't just happen with taxes. According to Solomon, because of debt, it happens to entire legacies. Maybe you intend for a certain hard-working son to take control of the family assets, but after the legal tussle, when you pass, it ends up being a different relative. who has control, someone you never wanted it to be. Or even worse, maybe it's an enemy, maybe it's a con man, maybe it's some unscrupulous government official, and he manages or she manages to steal or swindle your inheritance away from the one that you had intended. You wanted your money and your goods to support your grandchildren's education or gospel ministry and missionary work, but it may be I'm sorry to say, it may be that your hard-earned goods go to fund sinful living, criminal activity, and religious and political causes that you hate. Who knows? Who really knows what will end up, or who will end up with the fruit of your hard-earned toil? It may be someone who totally doesn't deserve it, because you have no ultimate control. Death takes that away from you. Can we say with Solomon, or can we not say with Solomon, that all this is frustrating vapor and a great evil? Interesting that the New American Standard translates the term evil here rather than grievous as above. It's the same Hebrew term. But certainly this situation, this situation he's just described, is extremely aggravating. It doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel fair at all. Life ought not to be this way. But the terrible reality of death has brought it about. But as if all this weren't enough, Solomon mentions one other frustrating aspect of death, or work in light of death. Look at verses 22 to 23. For what does man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? Because all his days his task is painful and grievous. Even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity." What's the last frustration Solomon points out? That to secure this future, to secure the fruits of toil that are meant to benefit oneself, and benefit one's descendants, which actually turns out to be entirely uncertain, a person ends up enduring a miserable existence. For something that's not even certain, that won't even bring gain, he endures a miserable life. Notice in verse 22, this is a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer. What does man ultimately get for his toil and his striving? Nothing. Nothing. Meanwhile, day and night are filled with endless pain and anxiety. Even when he tries to sleep, his mind literally cannot lie down. Brothers and sisters, can't we too become caught up in striving to provide for the future? We forget what Solomon's pointing out to us here, that all our toilsome efforts and their results, they are uncertain. They cannot stop the leveler of death. They cannot guarantee a good legacy to those who would like to pass it on to, and they only cause us unhappiness all our lives. Solomon justly says, this too is vanity. And all this we are just grasping again at vapor, and it's just slipping right out. Is not death a terribly frustrating reality in our world? It takes away the gain we might have otherwise hoped for in wisdom. It takes away the gain we might have otherwise hoped for in our work. Leaves us with nothing. So how should we then live? Should we just curse God and die as Job's wife once counseled? No, not at all. Rather, discovering the futility of life in the face of death is a necessary part of preparing you to take a better way. Brothers and sisters, none of us can change the vaporous nature of life. None of us can escape death. But we can change our perspective, and we can change what we're looking for and living for, and thereby discover the simple wisdom and the happiness that comes from God. But this is what God meant for us to discover all along. Yes, even by facing death. And this is what Solomon discovered and wants us to see too. Let's consider Solomon's final reflection in verses 24 to 26. Number three, death directs you to God instead. Look at verse 24. There's nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God." The declaration of verse 24 probably catches us off guard at first, because up to this point in Ecclesiastes, Solomon has been describing his griefs and making depressing observations about life. But now Solomon switches, and he's giving advice in how to live in light of death. Now, what's the advice? Enjoy life. Enjoy life as you experience the good of God. Yes, Solomon says, frustrations of life are still there, and they will irk you. But there's no better way to approach life than to accept the situation that is, and to just enjoy the simple joys that God gives you. Notice what these joys are, or at least the ones that Solomon highlights. First, in verse 25, eating and drinking. He says, you should enjoy it. Friends, you're going to have to eat and drink, Solomon is telling us. You're going to have to eat and drink as you go through life, this difficult life in an uncertain world. Why not make sure you enjoy it? Why be like the miser who says, no, I'm only going to eat this crusty bread and drink this water because I've got all this work to do and I'm piling it up for my successor. Solomon says, What are you doing that for? Yes, be a good steward, but enjoy your food and your drink. God gave you these as gifts, so partake. Solomon also brings up labor. Our translation says, a person should tell himself that his labor is good. The literal, a more literal rendering of the Hebrew is A person should cause one's soul to see good in all his toil. What does that mean? I think the ESV captures it best. A person should find enjoyment. Find enjoyment in his toil. In both the process and the results. Again, Psalm is telling us, yes, work can't do everything you want it to do. But God has given you your work. to enjoy. Yes, you exercising that skill, you tackling those problems, you even enduring some of the pain of it, he says there's joy in that, and there's joy in the outcome. Yes, the outcome is fleeting, but you can enjoy that too. You can enjoy the results of your toil. Don't wait. Don't wait to some future that never arrives, or don't wait just so that uncertain successors will enjoy it. Now, don't miss. Don't miss this opportunity that God has given you. Enjoy your toil. Even enjoy the fruit of your toil. Now, yes, be a good steward. We're going to hear more about that as we go through Ecclesiastes. But make sure you don't miss out on enjoying this gift from God. This actually was something that Solomon noted in his own experience. Remember back in Ecclesiastes 2.10, I pointed out to you briefly that Solomon's recounting all his labors and his joy-seeking, and he says, I found pleasure, or I found joy in my toil, and it was my reward. He's really come back to that idea now. Now, he did say in the end, I hated it all because it didn't do what I wanted, but in the middle of it, I enjoyed it. He says, you know what? You should learn from that. You should do the same thing. That's actually what God intends for you to do. And notice the way that Solomon actually mentions how God is involved. Very surprising at the end of verse 24. He says, this also. And up to this point in Ecclesiastes, every time we've seen this also or this also is has been followed by a certain phrase. This also is vanity. It's vapor. Chapter 2, verse 1, verse 15, verse 19, verse 21, verse 23, five times he's used that phrase. This also is vanity. But what does he say here? This also, I have seen that it is from the hand of God. It's different. Yes, as a result of sin and God's necessary judgment for sin, which began with Adam, the curse on the world, God subjected the world to death and futility. That came from God. And, as has even been mentioned in Ecclesiastes, God has given man certain tasks to be afflicted with. Ecclesiastes 1.13, studying about the world. Ecclesiastes 3.10, all the work that man does. God has given these tasks that afflict mankind. But God has also given something else. That's what Solomon is drawing our attention to. In grace, God has given man enjoyment. He's given man enjoyment so that a person may bear the burden of living in an uncertain and frustrating world. Food and drink and work, they're just representative of the good that God intends for man to enjoy. Any good that you experience from God is to be accepted gratefully. as a gift. And it comes from his kind hand. You know, it's interesting this phrase, from the hand of God. Usually that appears in the Old Testament as in association with God's kindness. Before it said God gave man a task to be afflicted, but here it says this comes from the hand of God. This is God's kind, compassionate hand being extended to each one of you. Yes, there is a curse here in this world, but here is a gift for you. Now note, in Solomon's advice here, he is not, get this clear, he is not advocating hedonism. He is not advising us to just live for pleasure or to just find our joy in material pursuits. Because he already tried that, remember? He's already exposed that way in Ecclesiastes 2, 1 to 11. And as long as we have that perspective that Solomon did, we're going to be so frustrated, if as long as we think, oh, there's some more, there's some gain out there that I have to claw for, grasp for, strive after, I have to keep seeking it, keep seeking it, I have to serve it as an idol. You know what the outcome of that is, because Solomon has already tested it. There is no profit. It's striving after wind. You won't find what you're looking for. But if you stop grasping, stop seeking so desperately for the more, and you content yourself with the lot that God has given you, something surprising happens. You know what happens? God gives you joy. God gives you even the satisfaction that you were looking for all along. really in another kind of irony in life. Those who fear God and who refuse to live for the vaporous things of the world, they are the ones most able to enjoy life and its simple gifts, even though those gifts are vaporous, because they see it comes from the hand of God. And Solomon goes on to explain further in verses 25 to 26. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him? That is God. For to a person who is good in his sight he is given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner he is given the task of gathering and collecting, so that he, the sinner, may give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is vanity and striving after the wind." Now it's true that even unbelieving and foolish persons are at some level able to experience the good of God and enjoy parts of life. Nevertheless, it is also true that joy is a gift that God has specifically portioned to those who are good in His sight. What does that mean? These are people who follow after God. These are people who love God, who have faith in God, who are seeking to follow and serve God. or what the Bible calls the righteous, saints, holy ones. To such a one, Solomon says in verse 26, God grants wisdom, God grants knowledge, God grants joy. For the righteous follower of God, the God-fearer, he's able to walk wisely in life without expecting too much out of life itself. by the sufficient wisdom God has given him, by God's Word. He's able to successfully navigate the different issues of life. And this righteous one is also able to find joy and true contentment in God. And that's the key. It's not the things of the world, it's ultimately in God. And that is why I have been appealing to you. And that's why I again appeal to you. on behalf of Solomon, on behalf of God, that you stop living for the vaporous things of the world and instead find your gain in God. This is a matter of repentance, changing your mind, leading to a change of action. There is still going to be a judgment. Solomon hasn't mentioned it yet, but it is coming. Judgment is coming, and also Solomon's mention of it is coming. In Ecclesiastes 3.17, Solomon says, hey, there's a lot of things I don't understand about life, but one thing I do know, it will go well for the righteous in the end when God judges. And your choice of what you're going to pursue in life is going to come under God's judgment. He is greatly angry about you living for vapor. Because you're supposed to live for Him. He's your creator. He's the good God. He's the one who's providing you with all these gifts. You're supposed to be serving Him, not these things. And the fact that you love and worship these things more than Him, it's blaspheming God. Consider the way Jeremiah speaks about it in Jeremiah chapter 2, speaking of Israel. Jeremiah says, or rather God through Jeremiah, These people, my people, have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, for broken cisterns that can hold no water." They say, I think this is good, that is not so good. Don't you see how offensive that is to God? That's what we do when we live for vapor, when we live for the things of the world. That says, you must repent of that or I'm going to judge you. It's not only that. And Solomon hasn't even brought up the judgment of God yet here because the emphasis he wants to take is it's about joy. Do you want to be joyful in this life? Do you want to walk truly, wisely, and happily? Then stop living for vapor. Live for God, and then you can enjoy all the gifts of God in this life in their proper way. And not only that, but another reason to make this change in your mind It's because of what's coming. Notice at the end of verse 26 the very interesting phrasing that Solomon uses describing the sinner. To the righteous one God has given wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But God gives something to the sinner too. And you know what that is? Solomon tells us. The task of gathering and collecting so that he, the sinner, may give to one who's good in God's sight. What Solomon is revealing here is that eventually All that gathering and collecting, which, due to the Havel nature of life, ends up in uncertain hands. Well, one day it's going to be very certain whose hands it's going to end up in. It's going to end up in those who are good in God's sight. Those who are the true lovers of God. They are actually going to, bringing in other scriptures, inherit the world. Because you have God, be clarifying from the New Testament, because you have God's Son, Jesus Christ, as your perfect substitute, as your Lord, as your Savior, then you get what God has. And what does God have? Everything. Jesus says this explicitly, I'm coming, I'm bringing a kingdom, and you know what? My followers, my disciples, my slaves, you will rule and reign with me. Which is why Paul is able to say, in the book of Corinthians, All things belong to you. Hey Corinthians, why are you fighting? Why are you being so divided? Don't you know that all things belong to you? They are yours in Christ. And consider the contrast. You can live for vapor in this world, gather and collect, and really miss out on the joy of life. You're like what Solomon described earlier, the person who's just afflicting himself day and night, never able to really enjoy it. You can do that and then lose it all in the end. You're just gathering enough so that God can give it to the ones He wants to give it to. Do you want that? Or do you want basically the whole world, the Kingdom of God that is coming? You can have that, God says. You'll stop living for the vapors of the world and instead live for Him. Isn't it a no-brainer? Isn't this such good counsel from God? He's speaking to you. He's speaking to each one of you, whether you're in Christ or not. I know that even as believers, we can start living for the vapors of the world. We can start becoming devoted and anxious about those things. We forget what Psalm is telling us here, what God is telling us here. So God counsels you. It's time to lay that down. It's time to stop living for vapor. and turn to me. Then you can enjoy life. Then you can avoid the judgment. And then you can have life in the world to come. Even abundant life. If you know Christ, repent and do that. If you don't know Christ, repent and do that. Don't suffer the judgment. Don't miss out on the joy that could be yours, even now. And don't miss out on the life to come. It's sobering what Solomon says to conclude verse 26. He says, this too is vanity and striving after wind. I believe what Solomon's referring to there is the life of the one who stubbornly refuses to go God's way. They experience in full the futility of life. Striving, chasing after wind which you never catch and even if you could, you'd have nothing. Is that what you want for yourself? Who would want that for anybody? Therefore, listen to the good counsel of the Lord. He really is showing us the wise and happy way. Face the frustration of your coming death so that you will stop living for vapor and instead experience God's good, both now and in the world to come. Now, this concludes the foundational section of Solomon's teaching in Ecclesiastes, but he has much more to tell us. This is a good starting point, but he wants to come back and specifically talk to us about topics such as work, and companionship, and getting old, and wealth, and other things. So I look forward to going over those with you. But let's not miss the message of God today. Let's listen to his good counsel. Let's believe it and put it into practice. Pray. Oh God, I thank you for this wise word. It's maybe not what we expected, not even what we wanted to hear. Oh God, it's so easy to start thinking that we will live forever and all our pursuits will bring us the gain that we're hoping for, expecting, but Solomon pulls back the veil that has been placed over our eyes and he says, see, see your own death. Lord, we're grieved that the world is this way. But we're glad that it won't always be this way. You are bringing in a kingdom. You will create a new heavens and a new earth where there isn't futility, there isn't pain, there isn't death. But that's for your righteous ones. That's for those who embrace your wisdom, which Solomon only painfully found in the end. Lord, I pray that we would not take so long to find it and to embrace it. Lord, by your spirit, please work in the hearts of those who have heard your word today to indeed, just as I said, Hear it, believe it, and put it into practice. We know we'll get the joy of it in the end, and life. So please do this, in Jesus' name, amen.