the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Solomon, the preacher. This is the fourth study. We know from Ecclesiastes 12-11 that this book is a collection of nails and nails, a collection of problems and solutions. Nails are inseparable problems of life in this world. Y los clavos son las respuestas que nos da Salomón bajo inspiración divina. Ese es el formato del libro y es el formato que estamos tratando de seguir nosotros. Hasta ahora hemos visto el primero de los aguijones, el problema del trabajo. el hecho de que el hombre natural sin Dios no tiene provecho de todo su duro trabajo con que se afana debajo del sol. Después de eso, nos adelantamos un poco porque era fin de año y por lo que tenemos la oportunidad de hacer en Zambalo, Y nos adelantamos para ver uno de los clavos, una de las soluciones en el capítulo 11. Vimos que hemos de echar nuestro pan, nuestros recursos, sean los que sean, tiempo, dinero, vida, esfuerzo, sobre las aguas, porque después de muchos días los volveremos a encontrar. Today we are going to go back to chapter 1 to resume the sequence from verse 12 of chapter 1. And we are going to try to cover what is left of chapter 1 and the whole of chapter 2. So, we have a lot to cover. We are going to try to cover two nicks and the nail. the first nail in the book that solves all the problems up to this point. I think this is the most useful way to see it. There are many who guess this, what we are going to do today, they guess it in three or four sermons, but I didn't want to be so long because if we do that, we're going to take 30 sermons to go through Ecclesiastes, right? So before we start, let's go to Ecclesiastes. 1, we are going to read the two problems that we have to consider today, and then we are going to pray to ask God's help. Ecclesiastes 1, verse 17, please. It says, Solomon, I dedicated my heart to know the wisdom y el conocimiento, la locura y la necedad. Pero he entendido que aún esto es aflicción de espíritu, porque en la mucha sabiduría hay mucha frustración, y quien añade conocimiento añade dolor. Y si siguen el capítulo dos, versículo uno, entonces yo dije en mi corazón, ven pues, I will try you with pleasure and you will see the good. But I see here that this too was vanity. Let's pray and let's ask for God's help. Lord, we come to you today humbly asking for your help, asking that you open your word to us. May you still hold the physical voice of the one who is going to speak. May you give us minds, ears, hearts, attentive. And may you visit us in a special way with your Holy Spirit today. Lords, only with your help can we understand what we are going to consider today. Only you can apply this to our lives with power and can transform us. We pray to you, Lord, that you transform us, that you fulfill your purposes in us, that you help us to see life every day with the correct perspective that you show us here through your preacher, Solomon. Te damos gracias por este privilegio. Nos ponemos en tus manos en el nombre de Cristo Jesús. Amén. Bueno, vamos de nuevo al capítulo 1. Vamos a leer aquí la primera sección que vamos a considerar a partir del versículo 12. Dice, yo, el predicador, fui rey en Jerusalén. King of Israel in Jerusalem. And I dedicated my heart to investigate and explore with wisdom everything that is done under the sky. It is a painful task that God has given to the children of man, so that they may occupy it. I have observed all the works that are done under the sun, and it is here that all this is vanity and affliction of spirit. The crooked cannot be deserved. Y lo incompleto no se puede completar. Otras versiones dicen, no puede contarse. Yo hablé con mi corazón diciendo, he aquí que yo me he engrandecido y he aumentado mi sabiduría más que todos los que fueron antes de mí en Jerusalén. Y mi corazón ha percibido mucha sabiduría y conocimiento. Dediqué mi corazón. a conocer la sabiduría y el conocimiento, la locura y la necedad, pero he entendido que aún esto es aflicción de espíritu, porque en la mucha sabiduría hay mucha frustración, y quien añade conocimiento añade dolor. Eclesiastes es un libro para personas pensantes. Un libro para quienes analizan, quienes están dispuestos a pensar profunda y detenidamente acerca de la vida. Es para quienes buscan el porqué de la vida, el porqué de los problemas de la vida, y el significado de la vida. Salomón, quien fue, según la Biblia, el hombre más sabio sobre la faz de la tierra, hizo A great investigation, a great inquiry into everything that this life and this world offers. The result? Deep disappointment, deep discouragement with what he found. The initial result was pure frustration, until Salomon began to look for his solution and his answer. en Dios. Hasta que empezó a pensar y a ver la vida centrada en Dios. Centrado en las realidades eternas. Solo cuando hizo eso, pudo encontrar paz, gozo, contentamiento, satisfacción, significado y propósito para su vida. Lo mismo pasa con nosotros. Sin Dios, Vanity and affliction of spirit is the only thing we will find here in this world. With God, fullness, meaning, peace, eternal transcendence. This portion that we just read, The second half of chapter one shows us the search for knowledge and wisdom that Solomon carried out. And it is described even more in chapter two, in subsequent passages. In fact, something that is worth mentioning here, that I want you to notice, and I hope it helps you, if you are studying Ecclesiastes, if you have been reading it, sometimes we get confused When we are studying Ecclesiastes, because, and if you have read the book a little, you have already realized, Solomon deals with a subject, deals with a subject, and then, verses later, chapters later, he brings it out again. You are reading and you say, no, but let's see, we had already seen this in chapter 1, right? Or in chapter 2. So it's like it jumps a little. It's as if suddenly it remembered one of the problems that it already tried, or already mentioned, and re-expresses it, and re-emphasizes it. That sometimes makes it difficult for us to understand the book. But that is why we are studying it, to understand it better, to apply it correctly to our lives. So, Salomón presents to us here the search, the investigation, the inquiry that he did. We saw from the introductory study that Salomón was equipped and provided in a special way to carry out this investigation. I'm not going to dedicate a lot of time to review because we have a lot to cover, but Solomon was qualified, provided with everything he would need for this investigation, more than any other. He was a great king, more than all those who preceded him in Jerusalem. God gave him wisdom and understanding to the degree that he was famous all over the earth. And if we go to 1 Kings 4, please join me, because I believe that the description that 1 Kings 4 gives us is enough to dimension the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that God gave to Solomon. It says in verse 29, God gave Solomon wisdom, great understanding, and a heart's breadth. This is a reference to his ability to absorb and dominate everything. He was a genius with a variety of abilities. Dice como la arena que está a la orilla del mar. La sabiduría de Salomón sobrepasaba la de todos los orientales y toda la sabiduría de los egipcios. Él fue el más sabio de todos los hombres. Más que Eitan y el Esrajita y que Eman, Calcol y Darda, hijos de Majol. Ahora esta lista. No nos suena para nada a nosotros, pero en sus días eran los grandes intelectuales, los grandes sabios de su tiempo. Dice, su nombre llegó a ser conocido en todas las naciones de alrededor. Salomón compuso tres mil proverbios y mil cinco poemas. O sea, Salomón era inteligente, estudiado, writer, composer, researcher. And look, he also wrote about plants. From the cedar of Lebanon, which is a gigantic tree, to the isopo, which grows on the wall, which is practically like a root, a very small plant. Likewise, he wrote about quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fish. From all the peoples came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. From all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. And we read later in 10.23, right there, 1 Kings 10.23. The king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth, and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought to be in the presence of Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. God equipped Solomon like no other to perform this task, this investigation. And Solomon knew it, he was aware of this. He says, In Ecclesiastes 1, I spoke with my heart saying, I have here, that I have grown and increased my wisdom, more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. And my heart has perceived a lot of wisdom and knowledge. And I dedicated my heart to investigate. and to explore with wisdom everything that is done under the sky. So look, Solomon did not start from zero. All the contrary. If you or I did this, it would be as if we started from scratch. We are so ignorant, so unwise. To start an investigation like this would be to start from scratch, comparatively speaking. It would be impossible for us. But Salomon says, with wisdom. Es decir, ya siendo sabio, dediqué mi corazón a investigar y a explorar todo lo que se hace debajo del cielo. Dios ya le había dado sabiduría extraordinaria. Y Salomón dice, usé la sabiduría que Dios me dio y la apliqué a esta vida. Exploró todo. Todo lo que se hace debajo del sol. Su búsqueda fue amplia e intensa. Buscó hasta debajo de las piedras, por así decirlo. Por todos lados, en cada avenida de conocimiento y ocupación. Con cuidado, con sabiduría, examinó y probó de todo. Buscó en la ciencia. In philosophy, literature, history, arts, even in the false religions of the world. That's why he could say everything that is done under heaven. In addition, he put all his effort and dedication. It says in verse 13, I dedicated my heart The version 60 says, I gave my heart. I mean, I didn't do it half-heartedly. It wasn't an experiment, let's see, let's try. No. It wasn't just any effort. He did it with his heart. He wanted to do the investigation to end all the investigations on this subject. Once and for all. Now, this investigation that Salomón carried out, has relevance, without a doubt, in each age and each generation, but especially in ours. We live in the age of information, the so-called age of information. Information about anything is at the tip in your pocket, with your cell phone. Our generation serves and adores the idol of education and knowledge. They continuously affirm that education is the solution to everything. The path to society and the perfect citizen is education. Knowledge. The solution to poverty. The solution to corruption. The solution to sickness and supposedly eternal life. The path to happiness and satisfaction. In a few words, they tell us that education is the solution to sin. That's what they want to tell us. But, look. ¿Cuál fue el primer pecado de la historia humana? El primero. Tomar del árbol del conocimiento del bien y el mal. Un Génesis 3. Y eso trajo una catástrofe. ¿Qué dijo Satanás? Necesitas saber más. Necesitas saber más. Y entonces serán como dioses. Con minúscula. catastrophe. So no, education, knowledge is not the solution to everything, much less to sin. We continue to believe the same lie that Adam and Eve were sold. Knowledge is the ultimate good. Knowledge will make you gods. They tell us, If we educated more and better, we would have less robberies, less thefts, less corruption, less rapes, less murders. We would solve the problem of sin. Now, is that true? Is that true? No. Many times, the most educated The most prepared commit the worst sins. We have seen it right now, specifically, we are seeing it with the daily scandal that exists in the high spheres of the United States, where everywhere they are accusing of harassment and sexual assault to highly educated people, Very successful people, with a lot of renown, very prepared. Education and knowledge do not stop sin. The most they can do is disguise it. Well, we spend huge amounts in education. The school system is one of the largest employers in almost any country. The amount of jobs that the education system generates is enormous. That is why they are always fighting politically over this issue. We know. We study. We learn. But are we better people as a result? No. En el mejor de los casos, la educación nos convierte en pecadores educados. Hacedores de maldad, pero educados, con mucha preparación. Y por lo tanto, necios. A los ojos de Dios, necios. El pecador educado, a los ojos de Dios, no es más que un necio. Así que Salomón dedicó su corazón a conocer la sabiduría y el conocimiento, pero ahí no encontró lo que buscaba. Por lo tanto, también dedicó su corazón a conocer la locura y la necedad. Este hombre sabio He dedicated himself to knowing the opposite side, the other side of the scale, madness and need, to see if there he found what he was looking for, to see if there he found profit and the reason for life. He said, if wisdom and knowledge are not the solution, perhaps the opposite is the solution, madness and need. This madness and necessity refers to those who discard knowledge, education and wisdom. They decide to live without these things, to dedicate themselves only to the pleasure and enjoyment of this world, to satisfy their earthly appetites. They discard knowledge, education and live for the party. para pasarla bien. Esos son los que dicen, comamos y bebamos, que mañana moriremos. ¿Qué caso tiene estudiar? ¿Qué caso tiene prepararse? Lo único que vale la pena es el placer. Vamos a ver más sobre eso en el capítulo dos. Entonces, ¿qué encontró Salomón? ¿Un hombre único? A genius, wiser than any other, who made the greatest effort in this investigation. What did he find? Let's see. In the second half of verse 3, we find his first conclusion. That is, before advancing, before explaining, before elaborating more, he tells us, look, I'll tell you this from the beginning. This is the first result. I found this. It is a painful task that God has given to the children of man, so that they may be occupied in it. This task that I undertook, this task that God has given to men, is painful. In fact, a more literal translation of Hebrew gives the following. This is an evil affliction. A malignant affliction. This of investigating, educating, seeking wisdom, seeking answers in this world, is a painful, malignant affliction. It continues in verse 14. I have observed all the works that are done under the sun, and here that all this is vanity and affliction of spirit. Toda mi investigación, todo lo que encuentro, todas las obras que se hacen debajo del sol. Vanidad, aflicción de espíritu. Otras traducciones dicen, corretear al viento. Si tú crees, especialmente para los jóvenes que están aquí, si tú crees que estudiando y preparándote Vas a encontrar la solución a los problemas de esta vida. Que por esa vía vas a contestar las preguntas trascendentales de tu alma. Vas a encontrar las respuestas que tu alma y el mundo en converso necesitan. Salomón te dice, estás persiguiendo al viento. Solo vas a encontrar Vanity and affliction of spirit. If you think that your career, your master's, your doctorate, if you think that psychology, if you think that studying the religious books of the world, or experimenting and knowing everything to find knowledge, to have great experiences, What does this life offer you? If you think you're going to be happy like this, if you're going to satisfy your soul like this, you're going to find something very unpleasant. Verse 15. The twisted cannot be straightened. The incomplete cannot be told. Solomon already tried it, already sought it, and found this. Este mundo está torcido y nadie lo puede enderezar. Lo incompleto, lo dañado, lo fallido en este mundo nadie lo puede arreglar. Nunca vas a llegar al final de las cosas dañadas, imperfectas en este mundo. Vas a encontrar lo que dice Job, el hombre nacido de mujer es corto de días y lleno of tastelessness. Job 14.1 You will not reach life to find and experience everything that is wrong in this world. It is almost as if this world was under some kind of curse. Yes, yes, it is. The only explanation for all this is Genesis chapter 3. De hecho, nosotros mismos estamos torcidos y no podemos enderezarnos, mucho menos a este mundo. Salomón cierra el capítulo diciendo, dediqué mi corazón a esto, de la sabiduría, el conocimiento, después la locura y la necedad, pero he entendido que aún esto es aflicción de espíritu. Because in a lot of wisdom there is a lot of frustration. And who adds knowledge, adds pain. Many times the supposedly most cult people of this world are the most afflicted, the most frustrated, and the most confused. Those who have tried to evangelize and testify We know this type of people. The most prepared people, many times, are the most confused and entangled with respect to the spiritual, with respect to what really matters in life. Many times, those who have the most knowledge, are the most afflicted in this world. Those who add knowledge, add pain, This is true in all spheres of life. Look, the one who knows how to drive, comes smoking, smoking and frustrated, because everyone around him does not know. Brothers, some of those present here had to pass a driving test in the United States. Here you buy the license and that's it. There comes the instructor, and if he does something wrong, he doesn't come back later. He doesn't know how to drive. The one who knows how to drive is smoking. It's annoying because everyone is driving badly. Who knows how to cook? Who has a good taste? They despise a lot of the food they put in front of them because it's poorly made. It lacks flavor, and it's unbalanced. It lacks a touch of acidity, it lacks... No. If you see these chef's programs on TV, I say, well, where do these gentlemen eat? They don't like anything, right? Everything is wrong. They watered everything. One sees what they prepare there salivating, right? And they say, no, this doesn't work, this is garbage. Quien sabe mucho de un tema, no quiere platicar con los demás, porque son ignorantes. Porque no saben. No se puede platicar a gusto de ellos, porque ni siquiera se saben las reglas, ni siquiera saben lo básico. Pongan el ejemplo que quieran. En la mucha sabiduría y mucha frustración. Quien añade conocimiento, añade dolor. In the spiritual is the same. Look at this, this is important. Who manages to understand a lot of the Bible, a lot of the law of God, a lot of the Gospel, without knowing Christ, only finds pain. Paul says, I lived in a time without the law. ¿A qué se refiere? Sin la Biblia, sin los diez mandamientos, sin entender la palabra de Dios. Pero cuando vino el mandamiento, cuando entendí la ley de Dios, el pecado revivió y yo morí. ¿Qué pasa entre más entendemos la palabra? ¿Nos muestra nuestro pecado? ¿Nos expone cómo realmente somos? ¿Nuestra conciencia nos acusa? ¡Culpable, culpable, andas mal! nos inquietan. Conocer la palabra sin conocer a Cristo solo trae dolor y aflicción. Entonces, ¿sabes qué, hermano? Yo voy a optar mejor por no saber nada. Voy a optar por la locura y la necedad. No. Salomón también probó eso. Y no le funcionó. He tried both ways, both doors. And behind them, what did he find? Vanity. An empty room. Now, this is the first, the first nail. We are missing a nail and we are missing a nail. You will have to wait a little for the answer to this first nail, because we have to cover the next investigation of Solomon. Y después vamos a hilar todo para concluir. El siguiente aguijón, el placer. Salomón no encontró lo que buscaba en la sabiduría y el conocimiento, ni en la locura y la necedad. Así que dijo, en 2-1, yo dije en mi corazón, ven pues, te probaré con el placer y verás lo bueno. Pero ve aquí que esto también era vanidad. A la risa dije, eres locura, y al placer, ¿de qué sirve esto? Propuse en mi corazón agasajar mi cuerpo con vino mientras mi corazón siguiera conduciéndose en sabiduría hasta ver en qué consiste el bien para los hijos del hombre en el cual se han de ocupar. debajo del sol durante los contados días de su vida. Dijimos que Salomón buscó hasta debajo de las piedras, por todos lados, en todas las puertas, hasta, como dice él, ver en qué consiste el bien para los hijos del hombre en el cual se han de ocupar debajo del sol. Una puerta muy grande, muy obvia, that had to be explored in pleasure. Many, in these days, and I think in all generations, but today, many believe that the answer is here. Maybe some of us believe that. That this is the purpose of life, to enjoy pleasure. There are thousands Vivos el día de hoy, confiando que en esto encontrarán la felicidad que buscan. Si tú estás con la duda, si alguno de ustedes está con la duda, no es necesario que vayas y hagas el experimento porque Salomonia lo hizo por ti. Ya te hizo el favor. Empezó probando la risa. Y alguien dirá, pues hermano, o sea, ¿cómo entonces tenemos que tener puras caras largas aquí? ¿Qué tiene la risa, hermano? ¿Qué tiene de malo el humor? No dice provebios, el corazón alegre trae sanidad. Otras versiones, hace bien como medicina. Sí. La risa y el humor pueden ser buenas cosas. They are not sins in themselves. The Bible speaks of laughing as something good, many times. Later, here in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, verse 4, we will see that there is a time to laugh. Sometimes it is time to laugh. We laugh at ourselves. There are many clean things. humorous that should make us laugh. But we have to be careful. The same text tells us that laughing is not always good. It is not always the time to laugh. In Proverbs 1.22 it warns, Until when, O simple ones, will you love the simplicity Y los burladores desearán el burlar, y los insensatos aborrecerán el conocimiento. Hoy día, en la risa y el humor, abunda el pecado. En México y en el mundo, gran cantidad de las bromas o humor que vas a escuchar en el día a día tienen un doble sentido. There are many people who seem not to take anything seriously. Everything is a reason for laughter. Everything is a reason for mockery. In everything they find a double meaning. Sinful. If you look for something funny on TV, the vast majority has its base in the double meaning. In laughing at sin, in making fun of others, even in making fun of the sacred. Religious jokes abound. How many times, a plane and there was a pastor and a nun, all the time. This is undoubtedly a mistake and something we must avoid. In addition, there are many people who turn humor and laughter into the center of their lives. That's what they live for. That's the motto of their lives. You have to go through it laughing. You have to see everything with humor. If it doesn't become intolerable, laughter becomes the way they use to escape reality. I think there is more than one famous sermon titled more or less something like this. Laughing all the way to hell. To carcajadas. Entering hell to carcajadas. If everything is laughter, if everything is humor, what is it? When do serious questions of life take place? Si todo es humor, llegará el momento en que nada lo es. Si vives buscando que todo sea risa y humor, llegará el momento en que todo es dolor, lamento y sufrimiento. La risa, reírse mucho, muchas veces no es sinónimo de gozo. Verdadero. El verdadero gozo, el gozo eterno, viene de Dios. No de reír. No de reírse por reír y burlarse de todo. Salomón entendió esto en su investigación. Su conclusión respecto a la risa es locura, enloquece. Versión 60. Reír por reír, reír como un fin, enloquece. After the laughter, Solomon tasted all kinds of pleasures. And I'm going to summarize the list very briefly, very quickly. In verse 3, it starts with a whole list of pleasures that he tasted, starting with wine. But look, it says that he tasted these things, and this is something that must be emphasized, he tasted these things Mientras su corazón seguía conduciéndose en sabiduría. Es decir, Salomón no se convirtió en un alcohólico. No se tiró al vicio. Hay que entender lo que hizo. Probó a un poseído de su sabiduría. Como un experimento sin convertirse en alcohólico. or what we would consider an addict to substances, right? He did it by searching, by trying, not completely abandoning himself to vice. A translation says that he did it while his heart was still mediating with wisdom. His goal in all this was not to become a vicious person. It's obvious to everyone, even to society, that happiness is not there, nor the answer that everyone is looking for in this life. What Solomon did was to see what good is for the children of man. So he tasted the wine. After the verses 4 to 6, he built great works, houses, mansions, field houses, vineyards, ponds. In other words, we could say that he proved himself to be a great architect. He proved himself to Slim. He built buildings, museums, aquariums, theaters, everything. Let's see if this is the solution. Luego, en el reciclo siete, tuvo ciervos, o sea, probó a la Mark Zuckerberg. Tuvo muchos empleados. Un gran ejército de personas que hacían lo que él les mandaba, y creaban lo que él les pedía, y se dedicaban a lo que él quisiera. También probó ganado, oro, plata, o sea, What would come to be exotic cars, Ferraris, McLarens, jewels. The things we see of the rich and famous in Dubai, in Monaco. Verse 8 describes it as the precious treasures of kings and provinces. All the best. After that, singers, musical instruments. Salomón had the best musicians, the best singers. He had at his disposal the best plays, the best orchestras. When he wanted, the day he wanted, at the time he wanted, just for him, first row. And finally, says Ocho, That proved woman after woman. That can be explained by itself. We saw in the first study that this deviated the heart of Solomon for a while. He got cold with God because of this. And he made many mistakes. But in the end God restored him and gave him wisdom to write all this that we are reading and studying. Lo que nos interesa aquí es que no le faltó nada en su indagación. Tú no vas a encontrar nada que Salomón no haya probado. No, hermano, es que yo siento que hay unos huecos ahí en el trabajo de Salomón. Yo voy a aportar mi tesis y voy a mejorar sobre su trabajo. No. No vas a poder. He tasted the best pleasures, the most exquisite delights. He left nothing out. They say, I grew up in 2.9. I grew up, I accumulated more than all those who were before me. And in all this, my wisdom remained with me. I did not deny my eyes anything they desired. Nor did I refuse my heart any pleasure. Porque mi corazón se alegraba de todo mi duro trabajo. Esta fue mi parte de todo mi duro trabajo. Vean, esto es muy importante y por eso tenemos que leer esto con cuidado y resaltar ciertas cosas. Noten lo que dice al final del versículo 10. Otras traducciones dicen, esta fue mi recompensa de todo mi duro trabajo. ¿Por qué agregue eso? ¿Por qué agrega él eso? Está aclarándonos que trabajó para obtener toda la lista que vimos. Es decir, no fue que simplemente lo heredó o simplemente le llovió del cielo sin mover un dedo. Se dice coloquialmente, ¿no? No te sabe igual si no lo trabajaste. Si no te lo ganaste, si no te costó esfuerzo, ya no sabe. Salomón nos está dejando en claro que él trabajó para tener todo esto. Se esforzó, le costó tiempo y esfuerzo. Por lo tanto, él podía, en teoría, disfrutarlo al máximo. Entonces, ¿cuál fue la conclusión? ¿A qué llegó? nos dijo al principio, como lo suele hacer decirnos, nos da un hint, nos da un tip al principio. En dos dos, dije al placer, ¿de qué sirve esto? ¿De qué sirve? Esa es la conclusión. En el versículo once, yo consideré todas las cosas que mis manos habían hecho, toda esta lista, All the pleasures, all the rewards he obtained by working and striving. And here everything was vanity and affliction of spirit. There was no benefit under the sun. The same conclusion. None of this is the answer. Work is not the answer. Wisdom and knowledge are not the answer. Madness and naivety are not the answer. Laughter is not the answer. Pleasures are not the answer. So with this we are heading to the first nail, the first answer, which is in verses 24 to 27 of chapter 2. Now, before that, come verses 12 to 23. Most of this is what I was telling you, as a review In the 12th verse Answer directly to those who believe that they can improve. Add that Salomon was missing something, but I'm going to put what he was missing. I found the secret that he failed, that went between his fingers. I'm going to overcome the investigation that Salomon did of all these things in 2.12. What can the man who comes after the king do? Nothing, but what has already been done. No one is going to overcome the investigation that Solomon did. No one is going to find something that he did not find. No one is going to find something different that changes his conclusions. In verses 13 to 14, he answers the question, and this is for those who were thinking, Better some young people who don't like to study. Mom, dad, brother Mark says that wisdom, studying, all that is useless. There is not the answer of life. So let me get out of studying. I'm tired. All that is vanity and affliction of spirit. Let's see. What is better? To be stubborn or to seek to be wise in this life? According to Solomon. Wisdom does not save us. We already saw that. It does not solve the problem of our sin. Wisdom does not save us. So, if it does not save us, and if knowledge does not solve the problems of this life, what is the use of being wise? Well, in Ecclesiastes 2.13, I said that wisdom has an advantage over need. O sea, si tiene ventaja estudiar, joven. Si tienes que ir a la escuela, si hay ventaja. Como la ventaja que la luz tiene sobre las tinieblas. El sabio tiene sus ojos en su cabeza. Es decir, el sabio puede ver y el ciego es como un ciego. El necio, el ciego es como un ciego. El necio es como un ciego. anda en tinieblas, pero también yo entendí que lo mismo acontecerá a todos ellos. Esta no es la respuesta a la vida nuevamente, no te confundas. Es mejor ser sabio que necio. Salomón lo compara con caminar en luz o andar en oscuridad. El sabio es como si andara con su camino alumbrado, el necio es como si andara sin luz, tratando de manejar sin luz en la carretera. Se va a accidentar. Es obvio que caminar en luz es mejor, pero ser sabio no te va a librar del mismo fin que el necio, si no encuentras algo más que la sabiduría, si no encuentras a Cristo, Jesús. Ser sabio tampoco te va a librar of suffering the afflictions of this life. Continuing, verse 15, I said in my heart, the same thing that will happen to the fool will also happen to me, so that I become wiser. And I said in my heart that this is also It was vanity, that is, it is not the solution to life. The verses 16 to 23, we are going to skip them, they are like a review of what we already saw in the second study of this series. It speaks that apart from Christ, the wise and the foolish will be forgotten for the same, we already saw that. All work is annoying, we already saw that. When you leave this world, you will not be able to avoid the possibility of leaving everything to someone who does not deserve it. Or someone who destroys and destroys everything you built and everything you put together in your life. We already saw it. And with that we come to the last section that we are going to consider today. Verses 24 and 26. We cover a lot of ground. Comenzamos en el 24. Este es otro de mis versículos favoritos. Tengo muchos versículos favoritos en este libro. No hay pues mejor cosa para el hombre que comer y beber y hacer que su alma vea lo bueno de su trabajo. Yo he visto que esto también proviene de la mano de Dios. Pues, ¿Quién comerá y se regocijará separado de él? Porque al hombre que le agrada, Dios le da sabiduría, conocimiento y alegría. Pero al pecador le da la tarea de acumular y amontonar para que lo deje al que agrada a Dios. This is also vanity and affliction of the spirit. What a great passage! I get goosebumps with those three verses. Did you notice the change of tone? The change of perspective in this section? This is the first nail in the book of Ecclesiastes. We have seen the problems, the vanity of work, The vanity of wisdom. The vanity of pleasure. We have seen the vanity of life under the sun. Without God. In short. But here we have the transcendental answer. The transcendental solution. The first nail. For the first time we see God. en la ecuación. Hasta aquí todo era el hombre bajo el sol, sin Dios. Pero aquí tenemos la respuesta. Salomón ya había mencionado una vez a Dios en el versículo 13 del capítulo 1. But only as the one responsible for giving men the painful task of investigating and exploring everything that is done under heaven. I mean, that verse is practically a complaint. God gave me this painful task. In 2.24, he is talking about God with a completely different tone. We see his gratitude to God. There is no better thing for man than to eat and drink and make his soul see the good of his work. I have seen that this also comes from the hand of God. Well, who will eat and enjoy apart from Him? This is a rhetorical question. The answer Nadie Además en el versículo 26 Salomón nos deja claro que todo lo que hemos visto hasta ahora es desde la perspectiva del pecador Desde la perspectiva del hombre sin dios La perspectiva del hombre con dios The perspective of the man who has surrendered to Christ as his Lord is very, very different from everything we have seen so far. It says in verse 26, to the sinner God gives him the task. Other versions say, the affliction, the desire to accumulate and pile up, so that he leaves it to the one who pleases God. Y vamos a explicar más qué significa eso. También esto es vanidad y aflicción de espíritu. Esto es lo que le acontece al inconverso. Todo lo que hemos visto hasta aquí es desde la perspectiva del inconverso. Aquí Salomón está separando, está diferenciando las perspectivas del inconverso y el creyente. Y qué gran cambio. ¿Qué gran transición tenemos aquí? ¿Qué alivio? Hay una solución. Hay una respuesta. Conocer a Dios, ser hijos de Dios, cambia todo. Todo lo que habíamos visto hasta este punto en el libro era vanidad, aflicción de espíritu, nada de provecho bajo el sol. Solo vacío, sin sabores, fastidio, tedio, frustración, aburrimiento, falta de satisfacción, falta de paz, falta de propósito, falta de contentamiento. Pero de repente, hay un cambio. There is light at the end of the tunnel. To the man who pleases God, He gives him wisdom, knowledge and joy. How, brother? I thought all that was vanity and affliction of spirit. For the man without God, yes. For the man who makes those things his end. su propósito en la vida, para él sí. Pero para el que teme a Dios, para el que ama a Dios, el panorama es muy diferente. Fuera de Dios, Salomón no encontró nada de provecho, nada que valiera la pena en esta vida. Pero en Dios, y con Dios, The same themes, the same congojas that left him empty and without profit, become sources of joy. Knowing God makes all the difference. Knowing God is the answer to all the problems and all the afflictions of life. I can't say it enough times. I can't say it with the emphasis it requires. We ask God to imprint this in our hearts. To know Him is the answer to everything. To know God in a personal way, as the Heavenly Father, as the Redeemer, through Christ Jesus, is the answer to everything. It allows us to understand life. It allows us to enjoy this life. With God we can enjoy life under the sun. It is specifically mentioned that with God we can enjoy food. It gives these examples, a brief list. Food, our work and in 26 wisdom and knowledge. Things that for the natural man end up being sources of affliction, sources of frustration. For us, no. For the natural man, things that do not meet his expectations. Because he wants to satiate himself with them. He wants to satiate his soul with them. For us, they are blessings. What changed here for Solomon? tener a Dios y tener la perspectiva correcta, reconocer que estas cosas vienen de su mano. Dice, ¿Quién comerá? Y se regocijará separado de él. El versículo 24 en particular siempre ha sido de mis versículos favoritos del libro. because it shows us that it is not true that the Christian is someone who always lives in denial. It is not true that he cannot or should not enjoy the things that God has given him. It is not true. In other words, everything that has been sold to false religions and Catholicism in particular, if you have really surrendered to God, you are going to become a monk and you are going to renounce all your possessions No es cierto. No es cierto. Como un fin, si es cierto, no puedo disfrutar estas cosas como mi fin, como mi meta en la vida, pero como una bendición de Dios, con un corazón agradecido, si puedo disfrutar. Y no solo se puede, no solo puedo, debo. Enjoy the blessings of God. With God, something so simple, something so everyday like eating, is something that I can enjoy with gratitude. It is an opportunity to thank God, to glorify Him. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31. Whether you eat or drink or do other things, do it all for the glory of God. Enjoying the blessings, even if they are small, of life, with gratitude, is an act of praise to God. When we recognize God as the creator of work, and the one who assigns us the work that we have to do in this life, if we perform a profession or a legitimate task. If God is my boss, Si trabajo para él, eso transforma el significado de mi trabajo. Nuestra perspectiva se vuelve todo lo que hagáis. Hacedlo de buen ánimo, como para el Señor y no para los hombres. Nosotros somos hechos a la imagen de Dios. Y Dios mismo trabaja. Es un trabajador. Realiza labores de acreación, labores de providencia. Realizó la obra redentora. Cristo dijo, mi padre hasta ahora trabaja. También yo trabajo. Juan 5, 17. Este mismo cambio de perspectiva ocurre con el conocimiento y la sabiduría. Once you recognize God as the creator of all knowledge, the creator of all science, studying anything becomes valuable. When God is your teacher, learning becomes a joy, something joyful. In reality, the ability to enjoy anything is a gift from God. It comes from his hand. We can't even have the right perspective to enjoy this life without God. Who will eat and enjoy, apart from Him? Nobody. God gave great gifts and talents to Solomon, but he could not enjoy them until God gave him the ability to do so. That was where everything changed. Y lo que cambió fue el corazón de Salomón. Ya no buscaba las cosas terrenales como fines. Dios se volvió su fin. Y eso le permitió disfrutar de esta vida en su justa medida. No puedes disfrutar cosas buenas en este mundo hasta que encuentres tu sumo bien en Cristo. The earthly things, possessions, labor, knowledge, are a curse or a blessing according to the perspective you have of them in your heart, according to the spiritual state of your soul. Whoever sees them as the source of happiness will always be disappointed. Because you are looking for in these things more than they can give you. The best way to enjoy things under the sun is not to make them an idol. You want to ruin something, make that an idol. It's that, brother, I love this, this is my passion. Make that your idol. Ruined. Deja que compita con el lugar de Dios en tu corazón arruinado. Dios se va a encargar de destruir eso en tu vida, en tu corazón. Sea lo que sea, una actividad, una persona, conocimiento, Dios lo va a destruir. Si eres un creyente, Dios It will sanctify you and it will destroy that thing. So, let's close. For the believers, the application, what we must do is to maintain a correct perspective of things in this world. If God is our everything, we can appreciate and enjoy everything that comes from his hand. en su justa medida. Matthew Henry dice, si eres creyente y no estás disfrutando un festín de continuo, es tu propia culpa. No está hablando de comida física, está hablando de comida espiritual, comida para tu alma. If we continue to fall into the trap of looking for our end on the ground, we are going to starve. And we are going to be a very bad witness for the world. If you are not a believer, pay close attention. If you do not know Christ, I tell you this, Mientras sigas buscando la felicidad, nunca la vas a encontrar. Pero si buscas a Cristo, la hallarás. Y con Él. Si buscas a Cristo, lo hallarás a Él. Y con Él. Felicidad. Hallarás que Dios nos provee todas las cosas en abundancia para que disfrutemos. 1 Timothy 6, 17. You will find that it fills our hearts with sustenance and joy. Acts 14, 17. You will find that it supplies all needs according to their riches in glory. In Christ. Jesus. Philippians 4, 19. God gives to the believers Without asking for it, without that being the goal of our lives, the earthly satisfaction that the inconverses seek in vain. The same things that bring misery, affliction, frustration to the inconverses, are sources of joy for the believers. If today you are without Christ, you are in great danger. The danger is this. Al final, cuando pases a la eternidad, Dios te quitará todo, aun lo poco que tuviste. Aun lo que nunca pudiste disfrutar realmente en este mundo. En Mateo leemos, porque a todo el que tiene, le será dado. y tendrá en abundancia. Es decir, al creyente que comenzó a disfrutar las bendiciones de Dios en esta vida, le será dado más en la vida venidera. Pero ven esto, al que no tiene, aún lo que tiene le será quitado. Estos son los que mueren sin Cristo. Es decir, este es Mateo 25-29 y está diciendo lo mismo que dice Eclesiastes. Dios al pecador le da la tarea de acumular y amontonar para que lo deje al que agrada. A Dios. Al ciego inútil, Dios lo va a echar en las tinieblas de afuera. Y ahí habrá llanto. Vamos a orar. Señor, te damos tantas gracias porque nos das este clavo al final del versículo, del capítulo dos. Gracias, Señor, porque en ti encontramos todo. Todo lo que necesitamos. paz, descanso, y enura, felicidad. Señor, te rogamos que no dejes que ninguno de los que está aquí siga por su vida pensando que va a encontrar una solución fuera de ti, que algo va a encontrar. Que quite su necesidad de doblar la rodilla ante ti, de entregarte todo, de entregarte su alma, de decirte haz de mí lo que tú quieras. Señor grande es tu fidelidad, nos gozamos como tus hijos. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.