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The Vanity of Joy Apart from God (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Would you now take your Bibles and open them
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to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 2. We're
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going to look at just three verses today, 24
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through 26. And we are returning there after
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a few Sundays away from this book. So just to
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remind you what we've already seen. Ecclesiastes
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chapter 2, we have seen Kohelet, which is the
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Hebrew name for teacher or preacher or very literally
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the assembler of people. He has been talking
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about finding meaning in life and he has gone
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through so many different avenues to try and
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find such meaning and he's found that there is
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so much, as he says, heathel, the word that's
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used for vanity in your translations or futility.
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He has found that everything is passing. But
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what he's going to do for us today is to look
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beyond those things, to look to the God who gives
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the good gifts. And he's going to tell us to
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enjoy those gifts, but to enjoy those gifts responsibly.
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And so would you look at this with me, Ecclesiastes
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chapter two, 24 through 26. For it reads, there's
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nothing better for a person than that he should
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eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.
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This also I saw is from the hand of God. For
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apart from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
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For to the one who pleases him, God has given
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wisdom and knowledge and joy. But to the sinner,
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He has given the business of gathering and collecting
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only to give to the one who pleases God. This
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also is vanity and a striving after wind. This
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is God's word. Let us pray. Father, we give you
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thanks and praise for the book of Ecclesiastes,
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but certainly as we look at it, we at times don't
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understand. And so we need ears to hear and eyes
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to see. I pray that you will grant us these things.
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Give us discernment and understanding. We pray
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now in Christ's name. Amen. He really had it
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all when you think about it. He had money. He
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had power. He could have had pretty much any
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wife that he wanted. When you really think about
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it, Moses had everything. And yet we know this
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about Moses, that he gave up nearly everything
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in order to follow after God. This is the point
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of the book of Hebrews, or the point of chapter
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11 of Hebrews, 24 to 26. By faith, Moses, when
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he was grown up, refused to be called the son
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of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be
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mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy
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the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered
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the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the
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treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the
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reward. Moses forfeits temporary pleasures in
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order to please God. And what this text shows
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us and what the life of Moses shows us is that
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pleasure is not wrong. Pleasure is not wrong,
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but ignoring the source of pleasure is. It's
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very much like what C .S. Lewis once said, a
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famous quote. It would seem that our Lord finds
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our desires not too strong, but too weak. We
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are half -hearted creatures. fooling about with
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drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy
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is offered to us like an ignorant child who wants
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to go on making mud pies in a slum because he
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cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of
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a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
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Friends, in order to be pleased, in order to
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really enjoy God's gifts, we must first enjoy
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And that's what we see today in our text. I want
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to see it in two different ways. First of all,
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we're going to see what God gives to the believer,
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and then we're going to see what God gives to
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the unbeliever. Verse 24, go ahead and look there.
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There are three possible interpretations to,
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well, I'm going to combine two of them together.
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There's two possible interpretations to verse
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24. Let me read it again. There's nothing better
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for a person than that he should eat and drink
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and find enjoyment in his toil. And so what some
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say as they look at this is to say, well, life
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is meaningless. So just go ahead and eat and
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drink and live it up. Live it up while you can
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because it'll soon all be over. That's one interpretation.
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I don't believe that it's correct. The correct
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view is this. It's not with sarcasm. And it's
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not with fatalism, but we are to recognize that
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God gives good gifts to be enjoyed in Him. And
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I think that you would all agree with me here,
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for you're in this place. We are here for a very
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good thing. We are worshiping, and we are to
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worship the way that God tells us, but we're
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also to enjoy the other things of God as He would
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have us to do so. And yet, there are two dangers
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to this, and I've used this analogy before. You're
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on the road. And on one side is a ditch. And
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on the other side is another ditch. These are
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two dangers, okay, when it comes to our pleasures.
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One, this side, we forget the giver and we abuse
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the gifts. Meaning we elevate the gifts to a
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status that they ought not have. But on the other
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side, the other ditch, is that sometimes we forget
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how to enjoy life altogether. Friends, you're
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not more spiritual because you refuse to smile.
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And you're not more spiritual because you refuse
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to have a good time. No, this passage right here
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commends enjoyment, which is one of the things
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I think is wonderful about the book of Ecclesiastes.
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I know how you've probably felt about chapters
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one and two. I know, I get it, right? But actually
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we see over and over again that Solomon within
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Ecclesiastes He upholds joy. He tells us how
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to have it, right? Firstly, he mentions here
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eating and drinking. I think we could see this
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as kind of a metaphor for all of joy in life,
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right? We should understand that God does want
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us to have joy in this life, and he does give
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us these good gifts. But sometimes, As Kohelet
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is here, we live in a life that is difficult,
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that it's very trying, that it weighs us down.
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Can we still have joy in the midst of all of
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the hardships of this life? I would say absolutely.
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I've already referenced Moses. Psalm 90, Moses
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speaks about this. For he says in verses 14 and
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15, satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast
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love that we may rejoice and be glad all of our
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days. Make us glad for as many days as you have
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afflicted us and for as many years as we have
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seen evil. This is Moses's prayer and if you
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read the rest of it you would see his prayer
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amidst hardship. that he's saying life is tough
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but oh Lord please continue to make me joyful.
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Help me to enjoy the good gifts that you give.
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But sometimes we misplace those things or as
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I said we elevate those things to a place that
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they ought not be. Have you ever heard of something
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called the World Happiness Report? Maybe some
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of you saw that. I think it was released this
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week, it was very recently, the World Happiness
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Report. I wonder what you would guess would be
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the happiest countries in the world. I'll tell
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you it was Scandinavian countries for the most
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part because I think they get to see the northern
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lights. But the World Happiness Report, it sounds
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like a useful thing until you look at the criteria
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for happiness. The World Happiness Report, that
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has Finland in the top spot, it points to money.
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It points to social factors. It points to the
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government. But the World Happiness Report misses
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the source of happiness. It misses the source
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of all joy. Where does joy really come from?
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This text is clear. It comes from God. That's
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not the only place. Let me take you to another
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thing that Solomon wrote. Proverbs, or no, Solomon
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didn't write this one. I'll get to Proverbs later.
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Psalm 1, verses 1 and 2. Blessed is the man who
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walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands
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in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of
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scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the
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Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
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Some translations use the word happiness there
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instead of blessedness. Either way, we see that
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our delight is to be in the Lord. Now why is
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that? How is that? Amidst everything that we
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go through, can we really have such joy in God?
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Absolutely. For one, the word says it. But two,
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your joy comes from somebody who doesn't change.
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In our lives, circumstances change, and sometimes
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that changes our demeanor, who we are, right?
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But we can have joy in one who is steadfast.
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We can have joy in the immutable God who doesn't
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change at all. Therefore, when the storm clouds
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roll in, when we have a really bad day or we
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go through something very, very difficult, we
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can still have joy because it comes from God.
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And it is true, God does give us good things,
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and sometimes the best things are the most simple
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things. The seasons. How many of you are delighting
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in springtime, right? The azaleas are blooming
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outside, the grass is green, right? It's beautiful.
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This is one of God's gifts. Or maybe you're more
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like me and you like the cold weather. What about
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when the weather turns to autumn and the leaves
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change, right? It's sweater weather. What about
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the good gift of the smell of coffee in the morning?
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What about the taste of a sweet, juicy apple
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picked right from the tree? What about when you're
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at the beach and the waves are just slowly crashing
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against the shore? What about when you're in
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the woods by a babbling brook, like a little
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small creek we have in the woods behind this
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church? Friends, these are God's good gifts.
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They are to be enjoyed. And God has made us,
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He has designed us for pleasure. Think about
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the very garden of Eden and what that must have
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been like, truly beautiful. What about the promised
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land that God brought his people into, a land
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flowing with milk and honey? What about the description
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of the new heavens and the new earth? At the
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end of Revelation, these all sound just glorious,
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don't they? And very pleasing. God is the source
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of all of that. But according to our text here,
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he's not only the source of joy, he also gives
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wisdom and knowledge there in verse 26. For to
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the one who pleases him, God has given wisdom
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and knowledge and joy. Yes, God is the source
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of those things. Proverbs 1 -7, the fear of the
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Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. And friends,
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this is not something that we just put off till
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later. This is not something just for eternity.
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This is for something right now. You can have
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real joy and real knowledge and real wisdom right
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now. But friends, if you do not know God through
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Christ, what does God give to you? Look at the
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end of verse 26. This is probably a metaphor
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for work, for labor, for toil. Those who toil
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but don't know God cannot truly enjoy it. And
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when it uses the word sinner here, this is quite
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literally one who misses the mark. They miss
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the purpose of labor. They fail to see that everything
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that we do is to be done with God in mind, to
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please God. A person who doesn't please God will
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not be pleased by God. A person who doesn't please
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God will not be pleased by God. And so verse
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25 seems to ask this rhetorical question, apart
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from him, who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
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Can a person have real, true, lasting enjoyment
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apart from God? The answer to that is emphatically
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no. And friends, life is hard enough as it is.
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Don't take God out of the equation. We need the
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source of joy. And we need to recognize that
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these joys may be given to people, but ultimately
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for those who miss the mark, who are sinners,
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who don't know God, they will be unable to please
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God. And this text even shows us that those pleasures
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will be given to those who please God. And so
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yes, it is true that we look around and sometimes
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we see that There are all kinds of people out
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there who do not know Jesus Christ, they don't
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know God, they don't submit to Him, they don't
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respect Him, they don't honor Him, and it seems
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like they're living their best life. But what
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is communicated here is that they will not always
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live their best life. That those pleasures will
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be given to those who do know and please God.
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And this isn't merit theology. This is not prosperity
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gospel here. You don't earn God's favor. And
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there's no guarantee of material blessing. But
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we do see this time and time again in Scripture,
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actually. If I can take you to another thing
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that Solomon said here, Proverbs 13 22, this
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illustrates perfectly what I'm saying. A good
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man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.
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but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.
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Or even think about, think about some of the
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stories from scripture, the unrighteous versus
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the righteous. Think about in the book of Esther,
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right? So you've got Mordecai and you've got
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Haman, right? And Haman is working to destroy
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Mordecai and ultimately the Jews, right? But
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God has different plans in store. Haman thinks
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that he is working his way up the ladder. He
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is soon going to be clothed with the best crown
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and the best robe and there's going to be parades
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for him and all these things. But actually what
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happens according to the book of Esther, those
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things that Haman wanted, that he desired are
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ultimately going to be placed upon Mordecai,
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right? And what does Haman actually get? The
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very gallows that he built. It's there in the
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stories of Joshua with the Israelites in these
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Canaanite cities. The Israelites did not build
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these Canaanite cities, but they got to take
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them over. Or maybe you remember the parable
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of the 10 pounds or the minas in Luke 19. You
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remember how there is a There is a master who
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goes away for a time and he has servants and
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he leaves his money with the servants and says,
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do something with them. But when he comes back,
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there is one servant who has done nothing with
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his. And so he takes that money and he gives
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it to the one who has invested much. Friends,
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all this to say, don't miss the mark. People
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coast through this life. Without thought to God,
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without thought to his creation, without thought
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to his word, without thought to what he promises,
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people go through life convincing themselves
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that nothing is wrong. But isn't that one of
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the humongous points of Ecclesiastes? Friends,
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something is wrong. And pleasures won't fix it.
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I think this is accentuated by the very fact
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that as you read through the beginning of Ecclesiastes
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in chapter one through, in chapter 114 through
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about chapter two, verse 23, the very name of
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God is absent. But what happens when you get
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to 24? You have the name of God there. And then
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you see it again in verses 26. You see it twice
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in verse 26. Kohelet Solomon here is being reminded
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that God is the one to be enjoyed and he is the
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one who gives the gifts. Friends, God doesn't
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want you to find your meaning in stuff. He doesn't.
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Daniel Gibson says this, endless enjoyment does
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not come in the box with your iPhone. If it did,
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why have you been considering that upgrade? That's
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a good question. Enjoyment is not automatically
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part of sex, and it's not the key ring to your
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dream house. It doesn't ride with you on the
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passenger seat in your new car. We all know what
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it's like to have tasted the best life has to
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offer and still to be left wondering what comes
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next. Recently, my children have turned me on
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to a really good song. It's by an artist, a contemporary
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artist named Josiah Queen, and his song is called
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Dusty Bibles. He says this, we got dust on our
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Bibles, brand new iPhones, no wonder why we feel
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this way. We walk with our eyes closed, blind
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leading blind folks, and I'm done with these
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idols in Dusty Bibles. Friends, are you done
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with idols? Are you done with elevating the pleasures
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of this life above God? We live in a culture
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that is just governed by pleasure. We live in
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a culture that says live your best life while
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we ignore the one who gives us life. We all know
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this, I know it repeated a lot. Westminster Shorter
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Catechism number one. Man's chief end is to glorify
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God and to enjoy Him forever. We are to enjoy
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Him. Do you enjoy God? Do you ever just sit in
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quiet and ponder upon who God is? Philosopher
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Blaise Pascal once said, all of humanity's problems
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stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a
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room. We want to be constantly bombarded with
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pleasures and entertainment. And if I can show
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you how this has been in my own life. Many of
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you know I love music. If you ask me on a random
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Tuesday, what are you thinking about? There's
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probably a song going through my head and I'm
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thinking about the lyrics. For many years I would
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have music on nearly 24 -7. I would go to bed
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listening to music and I would sometimes leave
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it on all night and wake up to it. But somewhere
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in there I realized it was crowding out prayer.
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It was crowding out Bible study and Bible reading.
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It was crowding out service to others. And I
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had to learn to turn it off. And I wonder, in
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your life, is there something that you just need
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to turn off? Is there something that you just
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need to put it away? And so ask these questions
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about yourself and about your pleasures. Do your
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pleasures come from God? Music, as I said, it's
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not a bad thing, but there need to be restrictions
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on these things, right? So, do your pleasures,
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secondly, help you enjoy God more? And thirdly,
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are your pleasures replacing family, church,
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work, service, or your walk with Jesus? Friends,
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our pleasures, they can be good things, but there
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need to be limits on how we enjoy them. Sex,
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for instance, is, as we know, to be enjoyed simply
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within the confines of biblical marriage between
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man and woman who love Jesus. There are limits
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to this. Food. Food is to be enjoyed. We even
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have a term for this, foodies. It's to be enjoyed,
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but with self -control. Gluttony is sinful. We
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ought to avoid overindulgence out of control,
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eating, drink. Solomon has already talked about
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this earlier in Chapter two about trying to find
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enjoyment in meeting in life simply in strong
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drink. Friends, he doesn't say that drinking
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is wrong, but he certainly says it is wrong to
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be drunk or to find your meaning in this. And
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Paul affirms this later in the scriptures. All
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that to say, you could probably do this with
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any of these pleasures. They are to be enjoyed
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the way God would have us to enjoy them. One
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more example for you as I begin to close, and
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I think this is a good example. We return to
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Eden. We see this over and over again in Ecclesiastes,
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this return to Genesis. In Eden, Adam and Eve,
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they had it all. Really, they did. Even more
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than Moses has, as I've already referenced him.
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They had it all, including God himself, but unrestrained
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pleasure led to the fall. Eve looked at that
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fruit, she saw that it was a delight to the eyes,
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and she decided her pleasure and the possibility
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of what it might bring was more important to
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her than obedience. And we can say the same thing
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for Adam. Friends, the pleasures we enjoy should
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lead us closer to God, not in rebellion. against
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him. Can I give you one more concluding thought?
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Would you like to know what Jesus's joy is? Hebrews
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chapter 12, one and two. Therefore, since we
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are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
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let us also lay aside every weight and sin which
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clings so closely And let us run with endurance
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the race that is set before us looking to Jesus,
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the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for
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the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
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despising the shame and is seated at the right
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hand of the throne of God. What is Jesus's joy?
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It's accomplishing the Father's will to secure
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redemption Jesus's joy is in his father and Jesus's
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joy is in you and friends there is no vanity
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no heathel in that because this what Jesus offers
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for us is eternal let us pray