Yeah, so Ecclesiastes. When we think about the study that we've done so far through this book, like I shared, it might be a discouragement to some. It might be a struggle. Some might wonder, wait a minute, how in the world could you say, Jeremy, that this book is in any way, shape, or form a book about joy? In any way, shape, or form a book of encouragement? How could it possibly be that? So far, most of the topics that are covered in here force us to take a look at our lives in such a way where that might be discouraging. It might even result in some cases in despair, where you look at it and you say, you know what, I don't like the idea that I might die one day. I don't like the idea that there's oppression that happens in the world that is outside of my control. I don't like the idea that people suffer. Well, I am here to say that this book is going to be an encouragement to some, and that would be those who are in Christ. Remember, we're dealing with two people groups that I believe Solomon is working to help us better understand. Those who are wicked and those who are redeemed, those who are righteous, those who are in Christ. And what he's trying to provide for us is a very clear understanding. As I spoke with someone this morning, a matter of perspective, this book is what I would consider to be a divine reset. It's a book that I cherish, a book that I've grown to appreciate over the years, because I need to be reset. And I know that we all do at some point, that we lose sight and we lose focus, that we need to be re-centered on what's most important. Here, as we get into the middle of Ecclesiastes in chapter 5, you'll notice that the book entirely shifts gears in that way. But just before we enter into that passage, I want to remind you of the challenges that were presented just earlier in the text from chapter 316 and on. Questions were asked, why is there wickedness in the place of justice and righteousness? Remember that. Why does that happen? When we look out into the world, think about it, all of our hearts struggle with that, don't they? When we see things happening in the world right now, we look at our governing authorities, a place where justice should be upheld, a place where peace should be administered, if you will, according to Romans 13. A place that should be a terror to evildoers is a place where wickedness is encouraged. A place where wickedness is nurtured, one might say. Places of righteousness, like the church, right? When we say the church, I'm going to get into that a little bit later on what I think Solomon means by the house of God. But when we say the church, we mean the gathering of the righteous, the gathering of Christ, the elect. We see wickedness there, don't we? As a matter of fact, right now, the SBC, among other organizations, even have denominations who are at one point we consider orthodox, wrestling and struggling with things like embracing homosexuality or transgenderism or just the LGBTQ commitment altogether. And we look at that and we say, that's wickedness in the midst of a place where righteousness should prevail. We look at that and we see people embracing openly a sinful lifestyle. I was even challenged with this just recently. Someone challenged me saying, I don't know if I can accept this. It's causing me to despair. This idea of me being accountable for my sin is really what it was. And the response is, no, we're supposed to be righteous. God has called us to be holy as he is holy. There's going to be no excuses made. There's going to be a light broadcasted on your life. And if you decide to live in such a pattern, you're going to be held accountable up until the point where you'll have to be church disciplined. And sadly, you might have to be excommunicated from the church. This person made a decision not to be a member of our church for that reason. I would rather live in my sin. I'd rather embrace that reality, go somewhere else where there may be a little bit more accepting of this in the name of love, in the name of the love of Christ, and not seeing Christ as Lord who ought to be honored. And that's sad. That's wickedness in the place of righteousness. The expectation of the church or the body of Christ should be that we purge the evil from among us, that we expose it and purge it, and that we desire to see someone restored in Christ and they walk in that holiness and that obedience to Him. Why is oppression unavoidable? How is it that we look out into the world around us and we see all this oppression, this wickedness? I mean, it's straight up, it's happening in corporations, it's happening all over the place. Think of just human trafficking as an example that I presented last week. What a horrible thing, right? How is it that a God who is sovereign over all creation could allow such a thing to happen? To the extent that Solomon say, aren't the dead better off or even the unborn more fortunate than the living? I imagine that people who are experiencing those things, going through those things, genuinely ask that question. I think of part of a lecture series that really turned my heart more, well, set it afire for Reformed theology was Greg Bonson's lecture series, Defending the Christian Worldview Against All Opposition. And in that lecture series, he talks about the problem of evil. Now, we all have wrestled with the problem of evil in some way, shape, or form. But one thing that was interesting about this lecture in comparison to all the other ones, the other ones were very theological and very philosophically driven. This particular lecture series was, our lecture on the problem of evil was pastorally driven. And he shifts gears entirely. Why? Because he's in, at this time, he's doing a lecture in Russia. and I believe it might have been the Soviet Union, but I'm not sure the time frame he was there. However, he was lecturing a group of students in Russia, and one of the students said, listen, I understand philosophically how we can work through the problem of evil. I understand philosophically and logically how we can argue in favor of those things. The one thing I do not understand is that why God allows the righteous to suffer. And he said at that point, we needed to put the philosophy aside. That discussion, this person had endured incredible suffering in her lifetime because she was a Christian in Russia. Because she was an evangelical Christian. Other questions and challenges that have been presented are like, what are the limits of man's lifespan? Why does man have a limit to their lifespan? We know that Solomon says that He has put eternity into man's heart. Why would God make you the way that He has, place eternity in your heart, and then limit your lifespan? We all ask those questions. Think about it. I'm asking that of myself right now. I'm trying not to pass out. But I am experiencing a real fragility of my health right now in this very moment, where I'm not my normal self. I'm struggling. I'm struggling to concentrate. I'm struggling to focus. And I really do recognize the fragility of my own health right now. And I'm saying, wow, Lord, here I am trying to faithfully convey a message that I prepared for for these wonderful folks who love you. And I'm struggling. We have one of the coaches here in the school is going through cancer treatment right now as we speak, and he might lose his life as a result of it. And not only that, a loving Christian, a wonderful man who needs help financially. Because he can't work. He can't pay for his doctor bills. It's super expensive. They're trying to raise $100,000 for him. Why is he suffering from cancer? Why is his lifespan being limited? Think about all the things that you want to do, that you set out to do, especially those who are more elderly among us in your life. You have all these wonderful aspirations when you're younger, but as you grow older, you start to lose those because you start to realize, wait a minute, I'm going to have to face the end, death. which can be terrifying for some. Then the challenges go on. Are we really like beasts? Are we mere matter in motion? Do we simply return to the dust? That is sad. That's totally sad. I agree, Caspian. Is that really our ontological reality? That would be set. I'd be crying like Caspian right now if that were our ontological reality. Ontologically meaning our being, our existence. If we really were only mere beasts, just like any other animal, and as we live, we just live this life, this wonderful life that we experience. I think of folks who are thinking about marriage, looking at it pretty soon. Happy engagement. Folks who have just become married. Folks who are just starting to have kids. Folks who are advancing in the raising of their children. Folks who have kids who have grown up and moved out of the house or maybe thinking about their lives of what that looks like with the empty nest, right? Is all of our limit and all this beauty that we experience just limited to this life and then we return to the dust? There's nothing to cherish beyond it? Is the only reason we work out of envy of others? The keeping up with the Joneses factor? Do we just do everything that we do so we could have a sweeter car and a nicer barbecue, Evan? And nicer things? I'm not saying that you're doing that. That wasn't my intention. I'm just saying, do we do that? Like, I see Evan's sweet barbecue, and I go, dang, I need to get me one of those pellet-fed barbecue-smoking things. It's awesome. And then Greg has like five barbecues and I can't keep up with Greg. So he has one for each type of food. Is that the reason why we go to work? To try to have the nicer car than the next guy, than our neighbor, nicer clothes and nicer things. Our kids can go to nicer schools or whatever it might be because we envy other people, right? Is that why we start businesses? Is that really the reason behind it? Is it limited to that? Could laziness be considered a virtue? I was laughing when I wrote that. Could laziness, actually, someone who just decides, no, I forget all that, I don't want to be, I don't even want to think. Matter of fact, all of those things that you just mentioned, Jeremy, is the reason why I'm lazy. Because why, I just kind of give up on life, right? Why invest in anything? You're absolutely right. So I'll be lazy, and that's a virtue. Maybe, maybe it could be, right? Is it necessarily evil to be a miser, to sort of keep everything for myself? Like, so what? I'm not trying to hook you up. I'm working for me and mines, right? Everything that I do is just for me. Is it evil necessarily? Are we better off being lonely as a result of that? Think of the miser and the loneliness that comes from being a miser, right? Even to the extent where Solomon mentioned this person is so miserly, they don't even have a family. They're just so focused on the gathering and the obtaining wealth. And then lastly, why try to encourage or change Why try to encourage change or be a force for good? We learned about a young man who was in prison, a younger man who was in prison who was exalted to a kingly status because the king was fired for failing to listen to other people. Is it wrong necessarily for an older king not to be arrogant and not listen? Or is it wrong for people not to listen to or forget a man who desired to change? and be a force for good? Is it okay for people to have a short-term memory and be fickle?" Those are a lot of challenges. You can see now why people would have some despair as they're thinking through this book and reading through it with Solomon. But I think it's very helpful for us. What is not vain? This is what I think is probably one of the most amazing shifts in this book. This is where the light of encouragement really starts to come in, and I want you to listen very carefully. What is not vain is the way we approach God. A true fear of God must direct our every thought and action. We must live before God. Quorum. Deo. A life lived before God must be carefully thought out in the way we handle ourselves, in the way we listen, and in the way we speak. R.C. Sproul's, I like his definition of what that looks like. What does it mean? What does Coram Deo mean? This is actually an article, exactly that title from Ligonier.org. Listen to this, quoting him. This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of God. To live Coram Deo is to live one's entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God. To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can't escape that penetrating gaze. To be aware of this presence of God is also to be acutely aware of his sovereignty. The uniform experience of the saints is to recognize that if God is God, then he is indeed sovereign. When Saul was confronted by the refulgent glory of the risen Christ and the Lord to Damascus, his immediate question was, who is it, Lord? Or who are you, Lord? He wasn't sure who was speaking with him, but he knew that whomever it was, was certainly sovereign over him. Knocked him off his horse and made him blind with glory, right? Living under divine sovereignty involves more than a reluctant submission, listen to this, to sheer sovereignty that is motivated out of fear of punishment. That is really important. It involves recognizing that there is no higher goal than offering honor to God. Our lives are to be a living sacrifice, oblations offered in a spirit of adoration and gratitude. To live all of life coram Deo is to live a life of integrity. It is a life of wholeness that finds its unity and coherency in the majesty of God. A fragmented life is a life of disintegration and is marked by inconsistency, disharmony, confusion, conflict, contradiction, and ultimately chaos. The Christian, listen to this, who compartmentalizes his or her life in two sections of the religious and the non-religious has failed to grasp this big idea. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. I'm gonna repeat that. You need to understand this. The big idea is that all of life is religious or none of life is religious. He goes on to say to divide the life between the religious and the non-religious is itself sac-relig. So to somehow compartmentalize this life we call Christianity is itself sac-religious. So we need to pay very close attention in light of who we are every day of the week at every given moment. May I say, that is exactly why we observe the Lord's table every week. As often as we gather together, we partake of it. Why? Because it is a reminder of who we ought to be throughout the week. How we handle ourself, the way we listen, and the way we speak matters to God. In chapter five, verses one through three, Solomon says this, guard your steps. when you go into the house of God. Draw near to listen. It is better to offer sacrifice to fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few. For a dream comes with much busyness and a fool's voice with many words." What does it mean to guard your steps? I was just trying to think about Should we be so terrified of God that we're walking on eggshells? That's not what it means. That's not what it means. It's to know that you're interacting with God Almighty, the very One who spoke all things into existence. Think about who you are interacting with, right? Think about what Moses' experience was at the burning of the bush. I'm trying to think about this as best I could. What he said was, The Lord calls out, you know, from the burning bush, Moses, Moses. He said, here I am. And then he says, what did he say? Do you guys remember? Everything's cool. Come on, man. Let me get you a big bear hug. Well, he says something right before that. He says, don't come near. Right, is this teddy bear Jesus, right? Don't come near. Take your sandals off your feet. The place on which you're standing on is holy ground. So when you think about guarding your steps, we'll start with, how about a proper reverence for the very ground that you walk on? Think of that. To the extent where God's holiness will strike you dead, take your shoes off. Take your sandals off." That's pretty incredible. The commander of the Lord's army said the exact same thing to Joshua in Joshua 5.15. He said, take your sandals off your feet for the place where you're standing is holy. And Joshua did so. He didn't even argue. I mean, can you imagine? It was a terrifying sight to be in the presence of the commander of the Lord's army, the angel of the Lord. Secondly, it says know where you are. So not only know who you're interacting with, but you better know where you are. You're in the house of the living God. It's God's house. Let's look at Genesis 28, 10 through 17. We got time this morning. Let's do some study time together. Genesis 28. Let's look at what Jacob's experience was. This is pretty powerful. Starting in verse 10, Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. Then he came to a certain place and stayed there that night because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and he lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed and behold, there was a ladder and set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, I will give you into your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad in the west, and the east, and to the north, and to the south, and in it your offspring shall be all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And then Jacob awoke from his dream, from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place. I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? This is one, this is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Now he was just in a piece of land, put a rock under his head, went to sleep. And what is his response? I didn't know the Lord was here. Think of that. I didn't know the Lord was here. Like the Lord could have been somewhere else. Like when Elijah was punking the prophets of Baal, what did he say? Hey, maybe your God can't hear you. Cut yourself a little more. Cry a little louder. Maybe your God's on vacation. Maybe he's on the toilet. I don't know, maybe he can't hear you. Like God somehow is in this place where God isn't present with him. No, this is the God of very gods who spoke all things into existence who told Moses and told Jacob to take your sandals off, you're standing on holy ground. Where you're at, God is at, and you should know that he is at. He's where you're at. And you should say, like him, like Jacob, how awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Let me ask you a question, where is God's house now? Where is God's house now? What did he mean by that? Think about that. This is Jacob, this is before Moses had built the tabernacle according to God's construction. What is the house of God? Have you guys thought of that? What does it mean to be the house of God? Well, in the Old Testament, the house of God, according to Jacob, is everywhere, but also the house of God started in a particular place. We learned about it this morning. It started in Eden. It's where heaven was joined, the very gate of heaven. Heaven itself, the throne of God, dwelled with man on earth. And then that was developed later into the tabernacle. The tabernacle, as you might know, reflected Eden. It had all the different decorations were oriented around Edenic type decorations. And it represented the holy dwelling of God. And as you got closer and closer into the holy of holies, you entered in what? Through the veil. And the veil had what on it? Do you guys remember? Do you remember what decoration was on the veil? Cherubim. What was guarding the entrance of the garden? What did God do when he kicked Adam and he bowed after the fall? He left a chair of him there with a flaming sword which turned every direction, right? God's holy presence was guarded, it was veiled from man. Think about all the symbology that's in the tabernacle, okay? You entered into the Holy of Holies, what was the Holy of Holies described as? The throne room of God. The mercy seat. there were two cherubim that were above the Ark of the Covenant. And inside the Ark of the Covenant was God's provision for His people. Jar of manna, the selection, the staff that selected the leadership, and also the law, the Ten Commandments. And God sat above it, and they sprinkled the blood over it. The point being, though, is you're entering into the Holy of Holies, the most holy presence of God. And what would happen If the high priest didn't handle himself appropriately, listen and follow and obey the word of God, and utter things that he should not utter, what would happen to him? He was, yeah, exactly, dead. He'd fall dead in the sight of God. What would happen if you touched the Ark of the Covenant? Even by accident, dead. Think of that. So there is something to be understood about God's warning to Moses of not even coming near, but also in the way we interact and handle ourselves. So then later on, this tabernacle, as it moved, God's heavenly place, if you will, His throne room, the Holy of Holies, moved throughout the wilderness, and then it settled in the Promised Land. And then that became what? The temple where God's Shekinah glory dwelled, His throne in Jerusalem, in Israel. What happened to that temple? It's gone. 70 AD came around and it was wiped out. It no longer exists. But we are given some insight in Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well as to why that might have happened. Turn to John 4. In John 4, Jesus was pretty plain with the woman at the well. He says straight up to her exactly what would happen. He says in verse 21, Jesus said to her, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. Now, outside of the fact that he's telling this straight up, and he was the most direct, I think, with her than any other person that he spoke to, what would that have meant? Not only him talking to a Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day, but he's telling her straight up something that's profound. He's saying to her that the worship of the living God, that we know, right? There's going to come a point in time when it's not going to be on this mountain. And if you know anything about the Samaritans, they were Torah only-ists. They didn't hold to the prophets, the writings or anything. They hold strictly to the Torah. They thought themselves more pure in terms of their worship, even though they had totally given themselves over to marriage with foreign countries. That's why they were rejected by the Jews in Israel. But they were Torah only, and so they created and established their own mountain of worship, which was compromised. Jesus said, salvations of the Jews, not you Samaritans, compromisers, right? But it doesn't matter, your hill doesn't matter, and Jerusalem won't matter. Well, wait a minute, God established the temple of worship in Jerusalem. Why would he say it's not gonna matter there either? What does he go on to say? There's an hour coming, in verse 23, and is now here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit. Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." And then he reveals himself as the Messiah. Why do I bring that up? What is the house of God? I'm trying to answer this question. It was formerly the garden, right, and then Jacob acknowledges that God's presence is everywhere, that this is his house, and then later on, they have the development of the tabernacle with Moses, the giving of the law, and that moves around, and then it finally gets established in the promised land, and then that gets wiped out. Well, where's God's house now? Where's the house of God? All God's people said. Where's the house of God? It's the what? It's the us? It's the us! Interesting enough, Paul says that very thing in Ephesians 2. Turn there. But you guys didn't know we were going to be moving through so many texts today. Think about this, guys, how powerful this is. Ephesians 2, starting in verse 11, just so we can get the fullness of this text, he says, Therefore remember that at one time Gentiles in the flesh, that's most of us here, outside of Chris and Toto, I think. Most of us are Gentiles in this room. You were called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, right? It was kind of a derogatory thing. You're uncircumcised, right? which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were, at that time, separated from Christ. You were separated, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, listen to this language, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope without God in the world. That's pretty sad. It's a pretty desperate situation, right? But now, now, in Jesus Christ, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law and commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in the place of the two, so making peace between these two different people groups, right? And also that he might reconcile us both to God, the Jews and Gentiles needing to be reconciled both to God. Listen to that, right? in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near." Remember, this is in Ephesus. They're pretty far off from Jerusalem, right? The mountains, that doesn't matter anymore. But the worship is still happening while Paul is preaching the gospel to the Ephesians. Think about that. You're far off. For through him, we both have access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but our fellow citizens with the saints and members of what? Say it. You're members of the household of God. Amazing. And built on what? The foundation. of the apostles, the prophets, Christ himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined together grows up into a holy temple to the Lord. In him you are also being built together to a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." You are the house of God, people. We want to be careful with this word, this term, church. The ekklesia, the qahal, is the household of God. Be careful how you enter it. Now, let's put that into perspective. You need to listen to God's word and obey. Listen to what Samuel says to Saul, right? As he totally disobeyed what God had to say. He goes, great delight in burnt offerings and sacrificing, as in obeying the voice of the Lord. So if you remember, God sent him out to do a particular task, and then saw a thought for himself, he's like, you know what, I bet you God would appreciate it so much more if I did, you know, preserve this and that, and offered up these wonderful sacrifices, did this whole thing, basically took himself on the office of priest and prophet, and then, you know, just did his own thing. And Samuel calls him out. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. Saul, your idea of what sacrifice means, this is the idea of the foolishness of sacrifice. Your idea of sacrifices is meaningless in the eyes of God. So much to the point, what does he say? To listen is better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is as the sin of divination. What you basically did was witchcraft. You came up with your own little version of worship. That's divination. That's offering strange fire. Presumption on your part is as iniquity and idolatry. So not only are you offering strange fire, coming up with your own forms of worship that you think is probably okay, but it's not. God hates it. And not only that, he considers it iniquity and idolatry. And because you've rejected the word of the Lord, he continues to say, he has also rejected you from being king. He lost his position by being disobedient, and he no longer represented Israel as king. Guard your tongue, Solomon says. I love this, Charles Bridges quotes this Nagy's correspondence, this point from Nagy's correspondence. He says, I quote, the fewness of the words is not the main concern, by the way. It's not the main concern, like the limitation of the words. He says, but whether the words are of the heart, whether they be of gold or lead, what life there is in them. So there's a substantive aspect of the words. You could just ramble on. Think about what Jesus rebukes in terms of prayer. He says, don't be like the heathen, right? They just ramble on, they just go on and on. Don't be like the Pharisee who just likes to be heard in front of people. They just think that they're gonna be heard because of their many words. The point of it is not about, you know, because immediately what happens in our minds, we go, all right, well, then how many words am I supposed to say? We're Americans, like we think numerically, quantifiably. You're saying don't say a lot or say a bunch. Not the point. It's the substantive nature of it. The weight of it. Is it gold, refined gold, precious in the sight of God? Or is it lead? Really, in a lot of ways, a worthless metal. Think about what the Proverbs say about this. Proverbs 13.3, whoever guards his mouth preserves his life, and he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. If you're a minister of lead, you'll come to ruin. If you're a minister of gold, you'll preserve your life. A fool's mouth is his ruin, Proverbs 18.7-8. His lips are a snare to his soul. The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels. They go down into the inner parts of the body. You love gossip? This is what it says, it's like a delicious morsel, you just can't get enough, you just keep taking more and it goes down into your body. And what it ends up doing is poisoning you, poisoning your heart. It'll become a snare to your soul and your ruin. Proverbs 18 goes on to say, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Those who love it will eat its fruits. Think about that. There is quite literally, life in the power of what you say, and death on the other side of it, based on what you say. We've all experienced what that's like. This is especially true in terms of our interaction with the Lord in prayer, okay? Jesus says in Matthew 12, 13, four, part of it through 37, he says, out of the abundance, the heart of the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you'll be condemned." Remember how Solomon ends Ecclesiastes The end of the matter has been heard. Fear God, keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Be obedient, listen to God, for God will bring every deed into judgment, every secret thing and every good or evil, meaning every idle thought, every idle word, every idle action will by God be brought into judgment. In light of that, I would implore all of us together with Paul, what he says in Romans 12, one through two, he says, I appeal to you therefore in light of this, In light of who we are living before God, in light of His presence, in light of His gaze, in light of Him paying very close attention to every little thing we do, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That is our spiritual worship. Don't be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we might test and discern what is the will of God, what is the good and acceptable and the perfect. So apart from God's word, we have not the capacity, again, to be able to do that. We lack the ability to be able to live a life that is honoring and glorifying to God before him. In light of this, a true fear of God must direct our covenants, our promises and our commitments. I love this, again, quoting Charles Bridges. He has a lot of really great stuff. Guys, if you ever get a chance, definitely read his. He has a commentary that takes you through verse by verse in Ecclesiastes. It is fantastic. There are so many gems. I could just sit here and quote him the whole time and bless you more than my own sermon. It's amazing. He says, never suffer thy mouth to promise what thou canst not and oughtest not to perform. This is to bring sin upon us by seeking occasion for it when God has left us free. I'm going to do that in modern language. Never suffer your mouth to promise what you can't not promise and you ought not to perform. This is going to cause you to sin by seeking occasion for it when God has set you free. Think about that. You've been set free in Christ, right? You don't have to make vows in certain ways. You don't have to make certain commitments. You've been freed in Christ, but when you do, it's really important that you keep them up. Listen to what Solomon says in chapter five, verses four through seven. When you vow a vow to God, this is different from when you vow one to man. It's just as important, but I say even more so, God takes it far more serious that when you vow something to him, you should not delay in paying it. He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not bow than you should bow and not pay. Pretty straightforward. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before a messenger, well, that was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity, but God is the one you must fear. In the law, something very similar said Deuteronomy 23, 21 through 23. If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay in fulfilling it. For the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin if you fail to, right? But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. You should be careful to do what is past your lips, for you have not voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth. You have voluntarily vowed, excuse me. What are some of those vows? What are some examples? I was trying to think of some really good examples. First and foremost, I would say marriage covenants. That is a vow sworn to the living God that you promised to uphold to your spouse, right? Doug Wilson also has amazing sermon series. I like what he says. He says, he goes, I'm not really into the whole renewal thing. He goes, that means you're not keeping it up in the first place. Let your yes be yes. What you vowed before the living God, uphold it and maintain it. No renewing needed. Just keep up what you had promised in the first place. You know, I really appreciated that. Think about some vows that people make like in other from other perspectives, we would say even from a cult-like perspective, chastity and celibacy. As a matter of fact, I can think of the example, I forget his name, but he's a man who recently came to faith within the last few years, came from a homosexual lifestyle and said, I am now vowing myself just to be celibate because I'm a homosexual man on the inside. I was made that way and I can't change the way I am. So better off to just be celibate. Careful what you vow, homie. Why? Because the Lord might change your heart and you might be starting to be attracted to the sex that you were designed to be attracted to and bring this wonderful woman in your life that you have now vowed before the living God that you would not partake in. Be careful what you vow. Chastity and celibacy, it would only cause one to sin even further. It would destroy you. Some have vowed silence, periods of time of silence. Good luck with that. And monasticism is another form of a vow before God, right? And we can think of many others, but I think the best example, what I think Solomon's trying to represent to us and trying to get through to us is exactly what Ananias and Sapphira got trapped in in Acts chapter five. Specifically in verse one through four, listen to what Luke says in Acts. But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property And with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet." Now, what's wrong with that? Listen on. Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself a part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it you contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to God or lied to man, but to God. What was the big sin there? If you guys know the story, what was it? They had boasted in front of the presence of the house of God in the house of God, that they were going to devote all of the sales of the land to God and to the work and the advancement of the kingdom, okay? When they had devoted that to the Lord, that was a devotion to the Lord, but they did it in order to have a certain status level with their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, like they wanted to be looked on. Higher, right? They wanted to be given some credence for what they were doing. They wanted to be honored. They wanted to receive honor. Well, that honor ended in their death because they had devoted something to the Lord that they had no right to keep back. And they were seen as lying to God. So be very careful. Don't be like Ananias and Sapphira. Lesson over. Point three, I believe that Solomon is making here. deals with the just and the unjust being dependent on God's gracious provision. Again, Charles Bridges. When you think about the just and unjust being dependent on God's provision, humility ought to reign. Humility is the lesson for the rich and contentment, contentment ought to reign for the poor. Think about that. If you're a very wealthy, you need to acknowledge as a man who lives in God's world, that God has provided everything for you. So there should be a humility that extends from understanding that provision. When you're a broke and you live in God's world, God has also appointed that for you, your brokenness, and there should be a contentment in your brokenness. We often struggle with both sides of it. When you are very wealthy and you have a lot of disposable income, arrogance tends to set in, doesn't it? Guess who you can think of the best example of that being? Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest example of that. Look at what everything I've done. Look at this empire that I've amassed for myself and all these wonderful, aren't I awesome, right? And then God made him like a beast, right? But on the other side of the fence, the broke, the ones who are poor, the ones who are struggling to make ends meet, typically struggle with anxiety, frustration, anger even. They're not content people. And they end up giving over to envy and other things because they get consumed by envy, wanting to have what these wealthy people have. So Ecclesiastes 5, eight through nine, he says, don't be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence, or do not see justice and righteousness in the province. For one official is watched by a higher official, and there even a higher official over them. The produce of the land, and this is the Lexham Bible version, I think this is a better translation of this. The produce of the land is exploited by everyone. It's all exploited by everyone. Even the king profits from the field of the poor. So although exploitation tends to be hierarchical, all are involved, it goes all the way to the top, all are ultimately dependent upon God. Listen to what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 12, one through two. Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you, yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all of the treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root, and they grow and produce fruit. You are neared in their mouth and far from their heart. Why in the world, Lord, would you cause them to prosper?" While, if you know Jeremiah's story, the righteous seem to suffer. Jesus answers that question. He says, well, he could say this directly to Jeremiah, and he would say the same thing to us who are crying out in our hearts. He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good. God does. He sends rain on the just and the unjust. And what is the lesson? Knowing this, that the Lord calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. So those who are oppressing you, realize they're dependent upon the Lord too, but guess what thing they lack? Me, a relationship with me, an appropriate relationship with me. Everyone's in a relationship with God, but they're going to be facing my judgment one day. Yes, they're oppressing you, and I'm doing that to work out something in you and in my plan of redemption, more broadly speaking, toward my glory. Stop complaining. Ah, that's a hard word, Lord. So God's fully aware of what's going on. He knows what's going on. He knows your pain. He knows you're frustrated. But you need to entrust yourself to a faithful Creator who will bring all things into judgment, who will set things right. You need to embrace His appointed time, place, and habitation for us. That's a hard word. Point four. No amount of wealth will ever satisfy. No amount. Listen to Ecclesiastes 5, 10 through 12. Whoever loves money and is not satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth and is not satisfied with profit, this is also vanity. When prosperity increases, those who consume it increase. So its owner gains nothing except to see his wealth before it is spent. In contrast to that, listen to what he says, the sleep of the laborer is pleasant, whether he eats little or much, but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest. So if I might provide my thoughts on this, money, although it helps, doesn't necessarily solve all the problems, even though he'll later say in Ecclesiastes, money solves problems. Not all of them, though. And it can even turn out to make matters worse, as we're gonna see later in the next point. Some examples of that you guys can think of right off the bat are examples like music artists. Like MC Hammer came to mind immediately. Hilarious, you guys remember that? MC Hammer from the 90s, right? You guys know his story? It's hilarious. So he was so wealthy, I mean, he hit it. So wealthy, the guy builds this crazy mansion and he's literally putting gold sinks in there. Like gold faucets and sinks. The guy went broke building the mansion that he was making with his millions. and lost it all. That happens to actors. It happens to athletes. Think about people who win the lottery, very common, because they're incapable of actually managing all that wealth. It comes to them so fast, they didn't have the discipline necessary to manage that. There's also a strange phenomenon in terms of accruing wealth. We've all experienced this, I'm sure, in some way, shape, or form. I know I have. As it grows, so does our lifestyle to match it. and the number of those desiring to take it. Not to harsh Andrew here, but those financial managers come along and say, hey, give me your wealth, let me help manage it for you. Life insurance comes along, Greg, punk Greg right now too. Think about all these people who want to come help you with your money in the name of taking your money. All of those who want to be a part of your sweet entourage, right? Buying you dinners and stuff, and your beers, and, you know, doing all that sweet stuff. Picking up the tab at the restaurant. Those kind of things, right? With that comes more issues. If I might quote the late, notorious B.I.G. from his hit song, More Money, More Problems, or Mo Money, More Problems. He says, I don't know. what they want from me. It's like more money we come across, the more problems we see. And that chorus continues to grow in greater repetition as the song progresses, which is really interesting. I didn't notice that until recently. I've heard that song tons of times. That song, I believe, was posthumously written, and it was like triple platinum worldwide. Bajillions of dollars created it. He couldn't even spend it, right? But what did he say as a result? That the more we grow wealthy, the more problems that we face. And it's true. Think about the parable of the rich fool. What did the Lord say to him? Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. That's not where life is found. He told him a parable saying, the land of a rich man produced plentifully. And he thought to himself, hmm, what shall I do for I have nowhere to store all of my crops? And he said, I will do this. I will tear down my barns and I will build laundry ones. And then I will store my grain and all my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, You have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry." But God said to him, "'Fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.'" That's a hard word. So, realize that life doesn't consist in the abundance of your possessions. If you do have an abundance of possessions, I would say the Lord also has blessed you with that. Respect it, appreciate it, but be humble about it. Be actually someone who is generous with that. Realize that it's the Lord who has given it to you to desert. But if you're broke, realize that the abundance of life is not in your possessions, but is in Christ. Point five is the double-edged sword of storing up wealth. So there's a grievous evil in which I've seen under the sun, wealth hoarded by its owner to his arm, as in verses 13 through 17. That wealth was lost in a bad venture though. Although he has a born child, he has nothing to leave him. Just as he has come from his mother's womb naked, he will depart just as the same. He will take nothing with him for his toil. This also is a grievous illness. Exactly as he came, so he'll go. What profit does he gain for all his toil for the wind? Also he eats in darkness all the days he is frustrated in a much sickness, resentment." I was trying to think of what kind of an example would closely resemble what Solomon's trying to drive at here. And I believe in a way it's Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge. I think that's the closest example that I can think of, of a man who spends his entire lifetime amassing wealth only to lose it. His lust for amassing wealth brought about a miserable, lonely life devoid of friendship and family. Now, if you think about it, if we wanted to add to the analogy, if Ebenezer Scrooge had a child, and let's say, had a venture where he had lost everything, he not only would have completely alienated himself from all of his friends and family members and his co-workers and everybody around him, but he would have, in doing so, amassed this wealth and had nothing to leave his child, and then left with darkness and bitterness and resentment. Let's look at Proverbs 1.8-19 as we get close to wrapping up here. I appreciate you guys' patience with me. I'm really fighting here. Fighting the good fight. Proverbs 1, 8-19. The enticement of sinners, it's titled in my Bible. Those are not always inspired. Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are graceful garland for your head and penance for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, come with us, let us lie in wait for blood. Let us ambush the innocent without reason. Like Sheol, let us swallow them alive. and whole, like those who go down to the pit. We shall find all sorts of precious goods. We shall fill our houses with plunder. Throw in your lot among us, and we will have one purse. My son, do not walk in the way with them. Hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in any sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood. They set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. It takes away the life of its possessors." So if you are greedy towards unjust gain, if your life is consumed by amassing gain, it's going to take away your life. It's going to destroy you. Jesus describes it this way in Matthew 6, 19 through 21. He says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Why? Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And lastly, We can only enjoy our lives as God enables us to. This is something I was trying to explain to this gentleman who decided, I'm going to step away from it all. I'm going to go live a life of destruction. I'm going to give myself over to sexual immorality and drunkenness. And my response for those who were part of that thread, no. But I said, well, that's too bad. That's impossible. You're not going to enjoy anything. You'll never find joy in that. because it's God is the one who gives joy and you can only find joy in Jesus Christ. Listen to what Solomon concludes. Look, I have discovered what is good and fitting to eat and to drink and to enjoy all the fruit of the toil which one toils under the sun during the number of his days of his life that God gives to him. For this is his lot. This indeed is gift of God. Everyone to whom God gives wealth and possessions, he also empowers them to enjoy them, to accept his lot and to rejoice in the fruit of his toil. For he does not remember the brief days of his life. Why? Because God keeps his heart preoccupied with enjoyment of life. You'll find yourself in one of these two groups. If you are of the wicked, I encourage you to repent and believe the gospel today. Believe the gospel. Trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior. Be obedient to Him. Listen to His voice. Follow Him. For those who are of the righteous in the house of God, be encouraged. God will keep you preoccupied with enjoyment in life. He's given you this lot. He has set you in this place, time, place, and habitation. He's given you this life. Guys, stop for a moment and step back and look at the blessings that God has brought into your life. Be thankful for them. Appreciate them. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the blessings in my life, my precious wife, my beautiful family. Even though I have suffered greatly, in difficulty, I have been stripped away of everything. You have used that as a rod of correction in my life. You have restored what the locusts have eaten up. And I have no reason, whether I had little or I had much, but to worship you and be thankful for you. Lord, you are a gracious and merciful God. You give and you take away. We truly need to understand that we do come in naked into this world and naked we'll return. But ultimately we know that we will be, for those in Christ, clothed in His glory. That our hearts would be knit to Him, treasuring up our future treasures in heaven when heaven is restored to earth and all of our work would have been for naught. That we have a proper focus today as we walk in here and we leave. That we think of you more highly than we have. That when we pray, our words are more meaningful, substantive. That we listen to your word and allow it to guide our lives. That we not get stuck in the snare and the trap. of focusing on our daily actions, not focusing on the news as we watch the oppressions and the injustice. But Lord, that we would entrust ourselves to you as a faithful creator, knowing that what we have, we have been given the power to enjoy in Christ. And that is something that we ought to be eternally thankful for.