21. Understanding Riches (3)
Hymns: 532 Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us 558 We Plough the Fields 136 Come, Ye Thankful People
Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes
(Remember Now Thy Creator)
– Understanding Riches (3)
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. 20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
OUTLINE
- The Fruit of Honest Labour is God’s Gift (v18-20)
- For Your Enjoyment (v18-19)
- For Your Comfort (v20)
INTRODUCTION
We began chapter 5 with the call to the worship of the living and true God. This blessed exercise of the soul, above all else, brings vitality and strength to the human soul. It is the beginning of wisdom and the means by which God blesses man. As he worships God, He imparts him heavenly wisdom for life’s journey. Solomon’s admonition is that we be not rash in hastening along life’s pathway till you have received proper bearing for the journey. He tells us to take the time to find spiritual orientation and bearing before setting off. He brings us hereafter the snare of those who went on life’s journey pursuing after riches and materialism, the number one snare to the human soul. He tells us clearly that the love of money is the root of all evil and while some coveted after, they pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The snare of riches is delineating for us in verses 8-17. He tells us of its (1) Oppressive Tendencies (v8-9), (2) Limited Satisfaction (v10-11), it is (3) Sleep Robbing (v12), (4) Hurt Its Owners (v13), (5) Has Wings (v14), (6) Temporal (v15-16) and (7) Utilised in Sorrow, Sickness and Anger (v17).
Having analysed for us the snare of riches pursued as an idol, he now tells us material things is legitimately given by God for the enjoyment and comfort of man. When a man would endeavour to do honest work, the fruit of his labour is God’s gift and blessing
- The Fruit of Honest Labour is God’s Gift (v18-20)
- For Your Enjoyment (v18-19)
- For Your Comfort (v20)
- The Fruit of Honest Labour is God’s Gift (v18-20)
- For Your Enjoyment (v18-19)
18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
Solomon urges his readers to open their eyes wide and see. Look with understanding for he now gives us a heavenly perspective to view the material things of this life. He tells us that “the God”, the living and true God is the One that gives a man his portion. Whatever that portion may be, it is God’s blessing for his enjoyment. Solomon tells us that man is to enjoy the “good of all his labour.”
The wages that we receive for our honest labour is for our enjoyment. Money is so much part of our daily life. The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil (1Timothy 6:10). Money itself is not evil. There is the satisfaction that is derived from its use.
Solomon says it is “good and comely”, literally means “good and beautiful” to see man use the fruit of their labour to eat and drink, that is, to use the common blessings which God bestows with thankfulness and contentment Man, indeed, must labour, but God giveth the increase [Barnes]. Do so with thanksgiving to God!
1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Enjoy the food that your taste buds so desire from the wages that you have received from your work. This is God’s gift for you. Enjoy it.
There is an old saying that goes, “All some people get out of life is to – hurry, worry, marry and bury.” That mad rush and maddening pace to get on in life but missing out of the God-given pleasures of life.
Solomon gleaned this truth from God’s law that His people are to enjoy the fruit of the land.
Deuteronomy 12:7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
Deuteronomy 12:18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
In all the labours of their hands, and what they got thereby, which they were to cheerfully enjoy, and express their thankfulness for it in this way.
We are taught to pray in the Lord’s Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread. Recall when we were studying the Lord’s Prayer (The Precepts of Prayer), we said the first three aspects of the Lord’s Prayer are summed up by the first part of Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” We are instructed to direct our attention to God the Father. We pray to the Father that His Name be hallowed, His kingdom come and His will be done. The second part is given in the fourth petition “and all these things shall be added unto you.”
We pray:
For our provision – “Give us this day our daily bread.” Focusing on God’s care for our present.
For our pardon – “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Focusing on God’s care for our past.
For our protection – “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Focusing on God’s care for our future.[1]
Recall the two thoughts to guide us in this prayer (1) Dependence and (2) Delight:
(1) Dependence
Give to us the bread of our necessity, the bread that suffices for each day. This is a prayer for God to take care of our physical needs. May our heavenly Father supply and furnish our needs. The bread that we need, do give to us today, and day after day.
This is a prayer acknowledging God as the Sustainer of our physical wellbeing! The emphasis is on the action of God supplying. This is a pray request for God to provide food on the table for our meal.
It can be a prayer that we can take for granted in the environment that we live in where there seemed to be ample material supply! This prayer goes beyond simply asking for bread but to ask God to supply all of our physical and material needs in this earthly life. This is a prayer acknowledging our dependence upon God and thanksgiving for who He is as the Supplier of all our needs.
Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
(2) Delight
Why delight? Because we prayed this prayer the day before and how God was faithful to have provided and so it is a prayer borne out of delight. It is a joy to ask God to provide, knowing that He does and He will because He loves us. This prayer teaches us to love God, to delight in the Giver and He surely will give us the desires of our heart.
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Love the Giver. The trouble we have is that we are attracted to God because of the gift. The natural man seeks God because of His gift. If he seeks just the gift then he misses out the essence of godliness. Not because God is going to bless us but to make us like Him. This is a prayer to acknowledge our Giver. Apostle Peter understood this when he encouraged believers to delight in God when he testified.
1 Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
- The Fruit of Honest Labour is God’s Gift (v18-20)
- For Your Comfort (v20)
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
Recall after the fall of man, the ground is cursed. He has to till the ground all his life to fill his hungry stomach.
Genesis 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The toil and the labour, the sweat of the brow, this is the plight of the fallen man. Ask any worker, ask any employer alike, they would tell you there is no escape to the work that is to be done. He has to courageously do his duty. And the days of one’s life can be hard.
But God has deemed it fit that man should with joy and gladness enjoy the fruit of his labour, this is his comfort amidst the toil. This is God’s blessing to the man made good by God. This is his comfort upon earth for all his labour.
When Israel possess the Promised Land, they are a witness for the LORD and He sought to bless the labour of their hands:
Deuteronomy 28:8-12 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
God’s people are cared for by their good Shepherd, more than material blessing, God gives His people more importantly, gladness in their hearts and a good night’s rest:
Psalm 4:6-8 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
CONCLUSION
May the good Lord cause His people to bless His Name and walk with Him! Amen.
[1] Ray Pritchard, And When You Pray – The Deeper Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002, 121.