Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

• What is the Meaning of Life?

  Text: Ecclesiastes 1:12 – 2:26
  Preacher: Bryan Schneider
  Main Theme: Life “under the sun” is futile apart from God, but joy and purpose are found in receiving His good gifts with thankfulness.

  ✍️ Key Points:

  • The Futility of Work: Solomon pursued wisdom and work with all his might, but found it could not ultimately satisfy—it was "vanity and grasping for the wind."

  • The Limits of Wisdom: Though wisdom is better than folly, it cannot prevent death, nor does it guarantee legacy or control over outcomes.

  • The Illusion of Pleasure and Empire: Solomon denied himself nothing—pleasure, projects, possessions—but concluded all of it was empty without God.

  • The Tyranny of Legacy: One cannot control what happens to their work after death. Even the wise leave their legacy to those who may be foolish.

  • God-Centered Contentment: True joy is not in striving but in receiving simple, daily blessings—food, drink, rest—as gifts from God.

  🧭 Big Idea:

  Stop striving to find meaning in work, wisdom, pleasure, or legacy. Instead, rest in the God who gives every good thing and rejoice in what He provides.

Finding Meaning in a Meaningless World

Focus Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:12 – 2:26

1. Scriptural Context

Ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to Solomon ("the Preacher") and offers raw reflections on life “under the sun”—life from a human perspective, without regard to eternity or divine revelation. Solomon's philosophical and experiential quest spans labor, learning, laughter, and legacy—all of which ultimately fail to satisfy.

2. Themes & Theology

A. The Burden of Life Apart from God (1:12–18)

• Solomon explored wisdom and work to their limits.

• Life "under the sun" was burdensome, filled with striving, and ended in frustration.

• Key phrase: "What is crooked cannot be made straight..." (v. 15)

• Theological Insight: This reflects the effects of the fall (Gen 3), showing that no human effort can redeem the brokenness of the world.

B. The Emptiness of Pleasure and Productivity (2:1–11)

• Solomon pursued pleasure without restraint—wine, entertainment, accomplishments, and wealth.

• Despite having everything, he concluded: “All was vanity and a striving after wind” (v. 11).

• Application: Even the most indulgent lives end in emptiness if God is not the center.

C. The Universality of Death and the Uncertainty of Legacy (2:12–23)

• Wisdom is better than folly—but both the wise and foolish die.

• Legacies are fragile and out of our control.

• The attempt to control or ensure a lasting legacy is futile.

• Cross-Reference: Psalm 49:10–12, “The wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.”

D. Receiving Joy from God's Hand (2:24–26)

• A turning point occurs when Solomon acknowledges the hand of God.

• Simple pleasures (eating, drinking, work) become meaningful when received with thanksgiving.

• Gospel Connection: Only in Christ do we find lasting joy and rest. True contentment comes when our identity is rooted in Him, not in what we accomplish.

3. Historical & Redemptive Context

• Creation: Work was originally good (Gen 2:15), but sin made it burdensome (Gen 3:17–19).

• Fall: Human striving is now marked by futility, toil, and decay.

• Redemption: Christ offers rest to the weary (Matt 11:28–30), providing the true answer to our longing for meaning.

• Consummation: In the new creation, our work will be fruitful and joyful again (Rev 21:1–5).

4. Westminster Confession & Catechism References

📜 Westminster Confession of Faith

• WCF 5.5 – God permits hardship and frustration for the good of His people, to humble and draw them to Himself.

• WCF 16.2 – Our good works, though commanded, cannot earn salvation, but are the fruit of gratitude and faith.

📘 Shorter Catechism

• Q.1: What is the chief end of man?
  A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
  ➤ Ecclesiastes reminds us that joy apart from God is fleeting.

📗 Larger Catechism

• Q.193: Teaches us to pray for daily provision with contentment.
  ➤ Echoes Ecclesiastes 2:24–25—receive food, drink, and labor as gifts from God's hand.

5. Reflection & Application

A. Personal:

• Are you trying to find meaning in your job, family, legacy, or comfort?

• Where have you made idols of productivity or pleasure?

• Can you name and savor daily blessings from God?

B. Communal:

• How can the church be a place where we remind each other that our worth is in Christ, not our resumes or riches?

• In what ways can we model contentment to a culture obsessed with success?

6. Prayer & Worship

• Adoration: Praise God as the Giver of every good gift.

• Confession: Repent of self-reliant striving and misplaced priorities.

• Thanksgiving: Acknowledge daily blessings—however small—as tokens of God’s care.

• Supplication: Ask for hearts that rest in God’s sufficiency and delight in His presence.

Please turn in your Bibles with me to Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter one. This morning we have a broader swath of the passage to work through. We're going to be looking at verses 12 through the end of chapter two. Ecclesiastes chapter one, if you're using the New King James pew Bibles provided for you in the pews, you'll find that on page 588. Ecclesiastes chapter 1 beginning at verse 12. I, the preacher, was over Israel in Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed it is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. I consumed with my heart, I communed with my heart saying, look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understanding, my heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge. And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceive that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with myrrh, Therefore enjoy pleasure. But surely this was vanity. I said of laughter, madness, and of mirth, what does it accomplish? I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine while guiding my heart with wisdom and how to lay hold on folly till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. I made my works great. I built for myself houses and planted vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had great possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. So I became great and excelled at more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor, and this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done, and on the labor in which I had toiled, and indeed it was all vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no prophet unto the sun. Then I turned myself to consider wisdom, madness, and folly. For what can the man do who succeeds the king? Only what he has already done. Then 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. Yet I myself perceive that the same event happens to them all. So I said in my heart, as it happens to the fool, it also happens to me. And why was I then more wise than I said in my heart, this also is vanity. For there is no more remembrance of the wise and the fool forever. since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool. Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity in grasping for the wind. Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? He will rule over all my labor in which I toiled, in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. Therefore, I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what has man for all his labor and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work Burdensome. Even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw was from the hand of God. For who can eat or who can have enjoyment more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight, but the sinner he gives the work of gathering and collecting that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and a grasping for the wind. Thus ends this portion of the reading of God's word. The grass withers, the flower will fade, but the word of our God endures forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. Sometimes it can seem like an enigma, a riddle. And so Father, we pray that you would give us light to see. Lord, sometimes your word is hard and says hard things. Father, we pray that you would not let us harden our hearts. But Father, we pray that you would give us ears to hear. hearts to believe. Lord, we pray that you would be with us as we work through your word this morning. We pray that we would be Bereans, that each person would hear the words of this sermon and would go back to the scripture and ask themselves whether these things are so. Father, we pray that your spirit would even be with me. Father, please help me. to be a mouthpiece for you, to speak truth, even those that are hard, to comfort and care for your sheep, your people. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Ecclesiastes is just a hard book. It's a hard book because it just looks sometimes the absurdity and insanity of life dead in the face and doesn't shy away from just the difficulties of life. Yeah, rabbis actually would argue amongst themselves whether if somebody read the book of Ecclesiastes whether they were clean or unclean after they had read it. Because they wrestled with it, because it doesn't give the pithy answers that the book of Proverbs gives, right? Proverbs gives you just little principles, just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And most of the time you're able to get your hand around them and put them in your pocket and you're able to just go on with life. But Ecclesiastes isn't like that. Ecclesiastes is like a wrestling match. You gotta wrestle with it. And there's some times that even though things are difficult and they're hard to understand, yet at the same time, every time we read through Ecclesiastes, it's like, this guy, this guy really knows what life is like. And speaks to our souls in a way that's more palpable than other books sometimes can. And today, the narrative switches. In verses one through 11 of chapter one, it was all third person. It was he, the preacher, he, the preacher, he, the preacher. But did you notice what happened in verse 12? Verse 12, going on, starts, I. Now we hear this internal wrestling, this internal struggle, this internal battle to find something of substance. that Koha left the leader of the assembly can latch on to. And most of us feel that regularly in our lives, don't we? When things are hard, when things seem just like, what's the point? As you wrestle for meaning, as you try to figure out, why am I doing what I'm doing? What is life about? We strive sometimes in our lives and we strive and we work and we work and we strive, trying to find meaning and trying to find something that is actually going to fill our heart with joy and peace. And the answer is, it's never gonna be. In the things you do, in the things of this life, but that peace and joy comes from being thankful and resting in the God who gives you everything. So what I would hope that you would walk away from this sermon from is that you would be able to stop striving and that you would receive joy from God's hand. That you would stop striving and receive joy from God's hand. So first look with me at verses 12 through 15 as we look at the striving of work that seems to fail, verses 12 through 15. Old man Solomon says, I, the preacher, was king over Israel and Jerusalem, and I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and indeed it is all vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered." Coalesce is not a lazy man. The preacher is not a guy who just sits in his ivory tower and doesn't do anything. But he's on a search, he's on a mission inquiring and going after what is real, what is tangible, what is worth anything in life. And so he starts with work. And he knew hard work, discipline. He was driven and intelligent. But even with all of his powers and resources, He would find all of the work that everyone was doing, including his own, all the toil, all the tasks, all the hard work that he could find, were burdensome. And at the end of this day, fleeting. Like a breath. This is again what that word hevel in the Hebrew is. It's a breath. It's like it goes out and it's gone. And what are you gonna have to do next? Breathe in and breathe out again. It's just a cycle, this wrestling for something that's not evanescent. And God's assigned humanity to labor endlessly under the sun. And this is what God did. God put Adam and Eve in the garden, and there's a whole bunch of Genesis 1 and 2 vocabulary in this section we're looking at. But he put Adam and Eve in the garden to tend the garden, to work it, to subdue it. But then when they sinned and they fell, and they're expelled from the garden as they're cursed. They get thistles and thorns and they're gonna work the hard ground and it's gonna fight against them. They're gonna build things and they're gonna decay. They're gonna make houses and they're gonna get mold in them. We're gonna build cars and they're gonna rust out underneath us. This is what's going on. He says all this labor that they're doing just falling apart underneath his feet. He sees all the labor underneath the sun. All the works that are done under the sun, and indeed, it is all vanity and grasping for the wind. But you see, God gave us work to do. God gave Adam and Eve work to do, not because the work would ultimately satisfy their souls. Because guess what? There will always be more work to do. God gave them work to do, even after the garden to humble them. and to cultivate in them a heart of thankfulness to God. Solomon looks and he says, what is crooked cannot be made straight and what is lacking cannot be counted. If you've ever been a manager in a company and tried to work with people, it's really, really hard to work with systems and with people. You could try to work something that's broken, and you could try to make a system, and implement the system, and train the people for the system, but at the end of the day, everybody knows what's going to happen. Eventually, somebody's not going to want to get on with business. Somebody's not gonna wanna listen to instructions, the system's gonna fall apart, you're gonna have to repair, you're gonna have to reassess, you're gonna have to redo things, and people are like that too, if you've worked with people. Some people, it doesn't matter how much truth you give them, or how much insight you give them, you can give them all the statistics, all the warnings, all the instruction, you can say, hey, if you do X, Y, and Z, it's not gonna go well for you, so instead you should do these things, and what will they do? They will jump headlong into the things that they know are going to be fruitless. And so if you pin your hopes on finally making a system or counseling or working with people or managing people, and then eventually when the system and the people finally do everything they're supposed to do, just like you've created it, then it's finally gonna go well with your soul, you're never gonna find peace. You'll never find peace. Solomon's the king. It's worked hard. And even as the king, he cannot fix what's fundamentally bent. It's frustrating. He says it's vanity. Havel. I know some of you are good, knowledgeable Christians, and you're gonna say, but I thought work was a good thing. I thought God gave us work to do in the garden, and that was prelapsarian, right, before the fall. So why are you saying this? How can the Ecclesiastes say this? Well, yeah, work is a good gift from God. God didn't make us to sit on the couch watching TV all day. That may be what I want to do, but it's not what God designed us to do. But see, when we take work and we disconnect it from God's glory, it becomes an idol. And that idol will never fulfill us. Others of you might say, but, oh no, I thought we were supposed to work hard and be diligent, because isn't the natural consequence of being diligent and working hard having blessings in this life? Well, yes, generally that's the case, right? We're not saying the Proverbs, the principles of the Proverbs don't apply, but what we are saying is that if you expect your ultimate meaning in life to come from your job or from productivity, you will always be chasing the wind. There will always be more work to do. I remember sitting with a man at the nursing home who, I mean, his days were numbered. Everybody knew it. He didn't have that much longer to live. I remember sitting next to his wheelchair, and we'd talk about the farm, and he wanted to, he couldn't see anymore, but he wanted to know about how the bean fields were doing, and how, whether the corn was tasseled. He wanted to have all these conversations about these things, but when I started to bring up the things of God, he said, I'm just too busy for that. I thought, you're sitting here in your wheelchair, you can't even see your field and you're anxious about what's happening in your field, but you don't have time to have a conversation about your soul. Do you see his work had consumed him his whole life, that even when he finally did have time, there was more time he had at that point in his life than he ever had in his entire life, he still didn't have time for it. There was no room in his heart for these conversations. And this confronts every single man and woman who tries to justify our existence by our resumes, our work ethic, or the size of our paycheck. The preacher isn't criticizing laziness, he's calling out self-reliant striving. And the thing is, God will allow this. God will allow our work to frustrate us. because we're often busy building our own little towers of Babel, trying to build up something that's going to be of worth, trying to find joy in what we're doing rather than being thankful for what comes from his hand. Solomon turns away from work after he's seen that it's a grasping for the wind. And in verses 16 through 18, he turns to something else and he, He goes towards the intellectual pursuit, the pursuit of wisdom. But even that becomes a burden and fails him. Look with me at verses 16 through 18. I communed with my heart saying, look, I have attained greatness and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understanding, great wisdom and knowledge. And then verse 17 is very important. And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceive that this also is grasping for the wind, for in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Coalesce had been looking outwards. He had been looking at everybody working in the field and building houses and doing all their work, grinding in the mills and stuff like that. But then he turns inward and he starts just contemplating. This is the contemplative life. He goes inwardly and he starts thinking through things. Not just about wisdom, hokuma, but about madness and folly. He explores both reason and insanity, trying to figure out, okay, so what's really important here in life? What can we latch onto as an anchor? And even this journey through his mind left him hollow. He says, and much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Why? Because wisdom might give him insight, but it couldn't give him control. Wisdom can help you see the brokenness, but it can't help you heal it. Wisdom opens the eyes, but it can also open your heart to a whole lot of grief and pain. And again, there's some of those who are going to say things like, well, hold on, isn't wisdom the beginning of life? Yes, yes, absolutely. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Absolutely. But that's not what Koaleth is getting at. He's exposing what it looks like to chase after wisdom and understanding, detached or divorced from worship. Detached from God. And wisdom apart from God leads not to peace, but as Koaleth would find, anxiety. The problem was not Koaleth's, ignorance. but the problem was sin and death. You know, I've met a couple of these guys, both an undergraduate, graduate in seminaries, who would search after wisdom, give their heart to going down, trying to understand as much as they possibly could. The scary ones were at seminary. The guys who would be on an intellectual pursuit, seeking wisdom, trying to figure out everything, and going to the scriptures, and they would study the scriptures, and they would learn the languages, and they would stand on top of the word, and they would rip it apart and tear it apart, and the issue was is that they never had the word on top of them. Instead, they were seeking wisdom and understanding in an abstract way, trying to master the wisdom of God's word, rather than God's word mastering them. They had not learned what Koholeth had said here. Even their religious pursuit was nothing more than an intellectual pursuit. And they would find themselves at odds in the church, and at odds with their families, and at odds with people. It wouldn't go well. Many of them would walk away from the faith, walk away from the Lord. People like to dissect truth, but not to submit to it. If we're honest, if I'm honest with myself, this is one of my fears when coming to the scriptures. How often do we treat things like just an intellectual pursuit, thinking that if we just gain enough accumulation of Bible knowledge, that then we'll finally have enough in our Bible bag to be able to be satisfied. But that's not how it works. And I'll eventually come back as a grasping for the wind. Your soul will stay hungry. Kolitha speaking here, the preacher speaking directly to those who are intellectually proud. To those who imagine that if you just read one more book, listen to one more lecture, go to one more seminar, sign up for one more masterclass, and just get one more degree, then you'll finally have some type of satisfaction, you'll finally arrive in your soul. But you'll never have peace. Because the person who's doing that with their intellect is trying to be omniscient. And at the end of the day, it'll feel like chasing after the wind because we're not God. He's the only all-knowing one. Wisdom without Christ is nothing more than a mirage holding out the hope of water, but it's elusive. Don't be driven deeper into your own mind, but be driven to Christ. Solomon changes again here, the third move that Solomon does in verses one through 11. As he gives himself over to building an empire and seeking pleasure, these two are interwoven with each other. There's no way, I tried to kind of parse this out in a nice way, but these two are held together by him. In verses one through 11, the preacher goes and he says in his heart he's going to go after myrrh, he's gonna go after pleasure, he's not gonna hold anything back from himself, he's not gonna restrain himself at all. but he's also doing it while building an empire for himself. He moves from thinking to tasting, from intellect to indulgence. And we know from Solomon's life, and I believe that this is Solomon, I think his life best fits everything that we see here. He's the king in Jerusalem who does these things more than any other king we find who was before him or after him. And what do we find him doing? We find him trying to build his own empire, make his own legacy. And I mean, it's massive. I mean, if you read through the histories of Solomon's life and look at the archeological evidence, I mean, the guy built massive building projects. He has houses and he has a massive temple. There's more gold that's said to be in the temple that Solomon built than could be imagined. When the Babylonians came, they tore it down, they beat down the building blocks with hammers, and then they lit fire to the temple to melt it of its gold so they could take it away. And even then, the gold that was there was just beyond count, and the bronze that was used in the temple was so vastly numerous that they couldn't even count it. He built vineyards for himself, he makes gardens, he irrigates it, he makes channels of water to go to the gardens and the groves that he had made. He has slaves upon slaves. We read about Solomon that he sends out ships to the furthest ends of the known world and they bring back every three years all sorts of riches. There are people coming from all over the place, from Egypt and throughout the Middle East to come and to hear of Solomon's wisdom and to see what he's done. But then we also see what he does here in verses one through 11. He makes himself merry and he goes after assembling a great choir and we know from the histories that he has something like 300 wives and 700 concubines. I mean the dude has a harem that is disgusting, but the point is he's not holding anything back. He goes on that, what might be the greatest pursuit of all time? Go after pleasure. Maybe that will fulfill me. Make himself merry with laughter. He didn't keep anything he desired back from himself. And what was the conclusion of all of it in verse 11? Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done. And on the labor which I had toiled, and indeed it was all vanity and grasping for the wind, there was no prophet under the sun. He had tried to build for himself a perverted, distorted garden of Eden. He tried to recreate a paradise of pleasure in his own eyes, without God in the picture. And he saw it was useless. He tried to play both king and God, and it came to nothing. Again, some of you might say, well, hold on. Can't pleasure and success be a sign of God's blessing on your life? Possibly. Possibly they can be. But when pleasure or success are pursued apart from God, they become distractions and snares. Any temporary thing that's lifted up to become an ultimate thing is called an idol. Any temporary thing that becomes an ultimate end or an ultimate thing becomes an idol to us. And that's what the preacher had done here. Again, some of you might say, well, hold on. What's wrong with just enjoying life? Well, that's not what he's getting at. No, it's that pleasure had become his idol. And his response wasn't thank you, Lord, but it was enjoying it in the pleasure for the pleasure's sake. I mean, we see how this just makes a wreck of people's lives. And we can look at it with famous people's lives, right? I could just name off some names, P. Diddy, Epstein, Cosby, right? We could go on and see people who built their empires on pleasure and whatever, and then it crumbles underneath their feet. But that might be a little bit too abstract. When we were at graduate school, we lived in the richest suburb of Chicago, in the richest county, in the richest city in Chicago. This weird thing, poor graduate students living surrounded by extremely wealthy people, and I was a private tutor. And so I would go into homes, specifically with older elementary kids and junior high and young high school kids, and I would see the families. Families who owned entire cruise lines, resorts, restaurants. Families who would go on incredible vacations. And the marriages would crumble. And the children were suffocating. Starving for their parents' love. I remember sitting down with one little boy. Supposed to be helping him with his math. And we got done with his math homework. That was fine. I realized he knew his math just fine. What was going on? Why couldn't he get it done? He just needed somebody in his life he could just talk to. His parents were chasing, building their empires, and they were multi, multimillionaires. They didn't have time for him. Their pleasures and their empires were snuffing out the life of their children right in their home, and they weren't seeing it. Coalesce madness so often is the American dream. We pour equity into our homes, trying to buy bigger farms, larger tractors, better combines, newer trucks, more things, more trinkets, more pleasures, more vacations, more stuff, more, more, more, building an empire, building an estate, all the while ignoring What's true? This is why he had said in the early part of chapter one, the eye is never full, the ear is never satisfied. When are we going to get off the rat race? When do we step off the treadmill? This passage confronts every functional materialist It pulls down the American dream and it shows it as a false Eden. You can upgrade everything. From your wife to your dishwasher. And you'll still be dead inside. That's how many people treat their marriages. Just upgrade to the new spouse, the better one. Just like you would your oven. and they still find dissatisfaction. Because the answer to emptiness is not more or better, but it's contentment, thankfulness, and surrender. It's not in what your eyes see, but in whom your soul trusts, and only Christ will ever be enough for our souls. And Solomon comes to the hard conclusion of what this legacy looks like. What this empire's gonna happen to in verses 12 through 23. He asks the question, what's gonna happen to it? What's gonna happen to my empire? What's gonna happen to my state when it's all done? What's gonna happen when I die? Well look with me beginning at verse 16. Well, first 14, we'll start at 14. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness, yet I perceived that the same event happens to them all. This is a poetic way of speaking of death. So I said in my heart, so as it happens to the fool, it also happens to me. And why was I then more wise than I said in my heart, this is also vanity, for there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool. This is just the, bold-faced looking at the reality that is appointed for each one of us. For it is appointed every man to die. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 8. We're all gonna die. Every single one of us. But there's something really, really irks the preacher here. Something that he just comes to a hard realization about. And look at verse 19 with me, what he says about it. I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. The preacher realizes he can build his greatest empire, make the largest estate in the world, but at the end of the day, he's gonna die, and he has zero control over his legacy. He's gonna leave it to someone else, and he could write all the stipulations he wants in his will, but at the end of the day, he's not there. His empire goes to someone else, His death is certain, but his legacy is not. And this leads into despair. Did you notice that, the despair that he has in verse 17? Therefore I hated life because of the work that was done under the sun. And then in verse 20 as well. Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun." The last thing, I'm begging you to hear this now while you are breathing, and while it still seems there's life in your bones, Because this is the fear I have as a pastor going and visiting you on your deathbed and you saying, I think I wasted my entire life. I don't want you to despair about how you worked in this life. God does not want you to despair with all the work that you have done. He wants it to have been with a purpose and for a meaning. Your toil does not need to be futility. Again, there's, we just have to be nuanced here, right? Because doesn't the Proverbs say, like, it's better for the parents to store up for the children than the children for their parents, right? Doesn't that say that essentially inheritances are a good thing? Yeah, they can be. Yeah, that's true. As you get older, it is a blessing to your children if they know that you're gonna be able to have your retirement home and your nursing care paid for without them having to struggle for it. That is a blessing to your adult children later on in life. And so I hope you're putting into your 401k or whatever retirement investment you have. I hope that however you're planning to do that works out well. But that's not what Solomon was doing here. He had way more than he ever needed. Way more than his children ever need. And do you know one of the most contentious times that happens in almost every single family? When it's time to settle the parents' estate. There are more families that get ripped apart and torn apart because I want that stuff. I have a right to those things. Those are my goods. Dad said I got that. Mom, I know Mom had that account. I want to see the will because that's my things. Families literally turn on each other and end up acting like enemies. And that's what Solomon's looking at here. Inheritance can be a blessing, but it also can turn into a family curse. But what he's just bold-faced looking at is that someday every single one of us is going to end up six feet in the ground in a box. It may be a nice box or it may be a pine box, I don't know. But the dirt will be the same. The end will be the same. And you're not gonna be able to take your little empire of stuff and things with you. The pharaohs tried that and tried everything they could to hide all their stuff from the people on the outside and grave robbers would still come. and steal all their stuff even when they were dead. The cycle of inheritance becomes idolatry and the children indulge in what the parents gave them and the cycle starts over again. So if you're living to be remembered, what will you be remembered for? Will you be remembered for the legacy of love that you left behind? A legacy of thankfulness and of godliness? Or an empire of trinkets that your family has to go through for months after your death? Are you going for trying to create a great Empire whether that's I don't know what that looks like in your life. Maybe it's a business. Maybe it's stuff. Maybe it's buildings Maybe it's a the biggest grandest tombstone in the cemetery. I don't know But what happens in 60 70 80 years from now Those in Christ do not strive for stone and we await the resurrection of the dead. The kingdom we are seeking is Christ's kingdom, his glory. Not worrying about what we're going to eat or what we're going to drink or what we're going to wear, because we know that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both God and mammon. But will you take your highest and chiefest joy in Jesus Christ? If God made you as poor as dirt tomorrow, would you say with Job, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord, or would you be embittered at God because he took away your empire, took away your stuff? What is the foundation of your life? Your worth is not in what you leave behind, but it's in who you follow now and how you love people as Christ loved and point them to the love of Christ. But I don't think Solomon ends just there. There's a certain vocabulary switch that happens in our very last section, verses 24 through 26. Let's look at that together, this last section, verses 24 through 26. After Solomon's gone through all this empire building and pleasure seeking and intellectual excursion and trying to figure out life by work, he says, you know what I realized, verse 24? Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in his sight, but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and collecting. that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and a grasping for the wind. There's a vocabulary change that happens here. It's no longer toil. It's no longer pleasure. It's no longer this laborious work, but now it's joy. After four different segments of futility, Ecclesiastes seems to shift a little bit at this point. And the name of God himself reappears. In verse 24. And in verse 26. Seems as if the smoke lifts a little bit. The mist is burned away. And he says there's nothing better than to eat and drink. and find enjoyment, and that his soul should enjoy the good in his labor. He's coming to the conclusion of this section, and he's saying, as I've realized this, there is a simple joy in work that can be had, recognizing that as a gift from God, not as an ultimate goal, not as an ultimate end, But when you do a hard day's work, an honest day's work to the glory of God, you can lay down in your bed tired and shut your eyes and have a sense of satisfaction and thankfulness to God. Not because life under the sun is meaningful, but because God gives us good gifts. God gives us food and God gives us drinks. And so we thank Him for it. We give Him glory for it. We enjoy the good gifts because of the giver. When you come to this section, the preacher's trying to encourage the readers, and he's trying to say, when you get that cup of warm coffee, And it tastes so good, you can thank the Lord for your taste buds and for the warmth in your stomach. When you look out at the sky and you see the clouds gently moving in the sky, you can thank the Lord and enjoy it. When you see the blue sky and you hear the birds, you can know that the Lord is caring for even the sparrows and He's caring for you. When you look at the flowers, They've got reds and yellows and purples and oranges and whites, and this is amazing, and the Lord's clothing the flowers of the fields. You know that He's gonna clothe you also. He cares for you. When you hear the babbling of a little baby, or the laughter of children as they chase each other around, you can thank the Lord that life goes on, that there's a sweetness to life, When you stand out in the sun and you feel your skin warmed, you can have a simple joy thanking God that he cares for you. That's what Solomon is getting at here, saying God's given good work and good things to enjoy. Sinners, they're gonna be about, that's what he calls it here at verse 26, to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and collecting. That's his way of saying everything I was talking about before. All their going out and just working just to work. That's nothing but Hevel. But for us, we get to listen to Jesus, what he told us in Matthew chapter six. And we get to ask God for our daily bread, and we get to enjoy that daily bread, because we know our Father in heaven has heard our prayers. We don't have to worry about where we will eat, or what we will drink, or what we will wear. We'll let the pagans chase after those things, be anxious and worried about that. But we can rest in our heavenly Father who knows we need all those things. And we can be thankful. So next time you tie your shoes, be thankful God gave them to you. The next time you hear the AC click on, thank the Lord for his gifts to you. When you go downstairs and you eat a donut, remember life's not about the sweets. But do enjoy it every once in a while. Remember that he's good. that he cares for his children, and that he's proven this to us in his son, Jesus Christ. Live for the kingdom, not that you're building, but may his kingdom come, and may his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let's pray. Father, we want meaning in life. We want purpose. We want to have something that endures. And Father, we thank you that your kingdom has no end, and that you have given us the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who reigns and lives forever, who was and is and is to come. And Father, we pray that we would be busy about your kingdom and your work. We pray that we would not be anxious about anything. But Lord, we pray that you would teach us in all things to bring to you our prayers and petitions, but that we would bring also to you our thanksgivings, and that we would meditate upon those things that are good and just and right and pure and lovely and of good report, and that the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, would fill our souls. Lord, we thank you. that we indeed get to serve a king who does not go after vanity and a kingdom that will never fail. God, please let us find our purpose and our joy in you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

• Why is human righteousness insufficient before God? Human righteousness is insufficient before a holy God because, as Romans 3:10-12 and Genesis 6:5 highlight, we are all inherently sinful. Our thoughts, intentions, and actions consistently fall short of God's perfect standard. We are prone to evil, and even our best efforts are tainted by selfishness and pride, meaning we cannot achieve a state of righteousness that would satisfy God's justice. This demonstrates the dire need for an external source of righteousness.

• What is meant by 'substitutionary atonement' in the context of Jesus' suffering? Substitutionary atonement refers to the concept that Jesus, who was completely righteous, willingly took the punishment for our sins upon himself. As Isaiah 53:4-6 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 show, he suffered and died on the cross as a substitute, bearing the consequences of our wrongdoing. This act of love and sacrifice satisfied God's justice, allowing us to be reconciled to him. Christ's suffering was not merely a demonstration of love but a means of payment for the penalty that we deserved, hence the "just for the unjust".

• How does Christ's resurrection impact our hope and justification? Christ's resurrection is vital because it proves the completeness and success of his sacrifice. Romans 5:1-5 and Philippians 3:9-11 describe how it demonstrates that God has accepted Jesus' atonement. It signifies not only the forgiveness of our sins but also our restoration to a right relationship with God. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, the believer has been given an "alien righteousness", one that was not earnt by them, but imputed to them by God through faith. It is through Christ's resurrection that we have the hope of eternal life, having been both acquitted of our sin and declared righteous in God's sight.

• What does it mean for a Christian to be "blessed" in suffering for righteousness? According to 1 Peter 3:13-17, suffering for righteousness is a blessing because it means our lives are aligning with Christ's teachings, and we are participating in His suffering. When we are persecuted for our beliefs, it is not a sign of God's disfavor, but rather a testament to our faith and a confirmation that we are following Christ's example. It gives us a unique opportunity to testify to the hope we have in Christ. Instead of fearing such suffering, we are to view it as an honour and an opportunity to glorify God.

• How should Christians respond when they face evil or persecution? Christians are called to respond to evil or persecution not by retaliating, but by exhibiting compassion, humility and love. 1 Peter 3:8-12 says, instead of returning evil for evil, we should bless those who persecute us. We are to seek unity and pursue peace, trusting that God is ultimately just and will avenge us. The focus should be on reflecting the character of Christ, showing grace even when facing injustice. This includes being gentle and respectful when defending our faith.

• Why is the concept of Christ's finished work so crucial for Christians? The "finished work" of Christ means that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection were all sufficient for our salvation. This means our righteousness is not based on any personal achievement, but a gift given freely by God. As the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms point out, Christ's obedience and sacrifice fully satisfied God's justice. Because of this, we can have full assurance of our salvation. There's nothing more we can or need to add to what he has already accomplished. This frees us from the burden of trying to earn our salvation and establishes Christ as the sole foundation for our relationship with God.

• How should the assurance of Christ's finished work influence our daily lives? The assurance of Christ's finished work should lead us to live with a deep sense of gratitude and confidence in our relationship with God. Knowing we are righteous because of Christ, not ourselves, should cultivate humility and motivate us to pursue a life that is pleasing to him. We should seek to display unity, peace, and love in our interactions with others. In our lives, we must seek to give a defence to others for the hope that we have in Christ, in meekness and fear. This should inform the way we approach every aspect of our lives.

• What is the practical application of the phrase "the just for the unjust" in our lives? The phrase "the just for the unjust" highlights the central tenet of Christian faith: Jesus, being perfectly righteous, took the punishment that we, being unrighteous, deserved. This realisation should foster a spirit of gratitude and humility. We must acknowledge we have no merit of our own, and our salvation comes entirely through grace. The just one took our place so that we might be brought into the presence of God. The application is that we can never rely upon ourselves for our own righteousness, and so must place our full trust in Jesus. This should lead to living lives that honor God's grace.

• Justification: God's act of declaring a sinner righteous in his sight through faith in Christ, not through their own good works or merits.

• Imputation: The act of crediting or transferring something, in this context, God credits Christ's righteousness to believers.

• Atonement: The reconciliation between God and humanity through Christ's sacrificial death, which covers the debt of sin.

• Substitutionary Atonement: The doctrine that Christ died as a substitute for sinful humanity, bearing the punishment and penalty for their sin.

• Righteousness: Moral perfection and conformity to God's law. In Christian theology, it's seen both as a standard and a gift of God through Christ.

• Sanctification: The process of being made holy, where God works in believers to transform them into Christlikeness over time.

• Passive Obedience: Christ's willing submission to suffering and death as part of his obedience to God's will, not limited to simply his active obedience to the law.

• Alien Righteousness: A righteousness that is not inherent to the individual but comes from an outside source. In Christian theology, it refers to the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers.

• Reconciliation: The restoration of a relationship to harmony, specifically, the bridging of the gap between God and humans through Christ.

• The Spirit: In the context of this study, refers to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who is believed to give life and bring about spiritual regeneration.