A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on July 9, 2023.
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep. There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger. Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place? All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:9).[1]
In our passage today, Solomon begins by returning to the presence of societal oppression and the absence of justice and righteousness. At first reading, it seems an odd topic for one whose vocation included suppressing one and encouraging the others. But as we consider this paragraph more closely, we find that Solomon is not lamenting but observing, not advocating indifference but counseling consideration: “do not be amazed at the matter” (5:18). He is using the matter of oppression, injustice, and unrighteousness to engage not only our minds but our hearts. He knows that when we see oppression, we will be concerned, even incensed, desiring justice for the oppressed, seeking righteousness in resolution. When we see it, we want to do something about it, and rightly so. But sometimes in our angst and action, we can run past what the situation is telling. The observation Solomon is making and the counsel he is giving goes deeper than the atrocities witnessed, to the why behind them. The presence of oppressions speaks; the absence of justice and righteousness is telling: Solomon is teaching us about fallen human nature. Do not be amazed: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10).
If you think that people are basically good, then Solomon says to come look at this province where the poor are oppressed. If you think that people are basically good, come see what they can do in the absence of justice and righteousness. If you think that people are basically good, then Solomon says let me show you how corrupt government can be. Even in a country where the king cultivates the land to help feed the hungry, there will still be people who manipulate power for their own gain and the oppression of the vulnerable. If you think that people are basically good, then you are not only naïve but uninformed, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
And one of the areas that we see this evidently, is with money, wealth, and possessions. The apostle Paul warned Timothy, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim. 6:10). Sadly, some of us have witnessed this firsthand. It is disappointing, even tragic, and almost always predictable. You can see a person change, as the love of money takes root. Francis Bacon said, “Money is a great servant but a bad master,” and it’s true. When money is a servant, we can do many things for God, and with it we can enjoy many of his gifts. But when money becomes the love of your life, captivating you heart, soul, mind, and strength, then your love for God runs cold, and you will not love but use, and even oppress, your neighbor to suit yourself.
The Love of Money
A sign of loving money is being consumed with consumption. Your thirst for more is unquenchable. As soon as you get what you want, it’s not what you want anymore; you want more. For the consumed, work is not a gratifying means to glorify God with our talents but a means to make more, to do more, to accumulate more.
Solomon warns that money and the accumulation of wealth will not satisfy, but instead builds a balance sheet of vanity. Solomon tells of a business owner who hoarded his profits to his hurt, only to lose it all in a bad deal. That which he treasured now taunted him, that which he hoarded now haunted him. Having built his life on wealth, in its absence everything became loss: lost inheritance, lost necessities, lost significance. Describing him like Job, Solomon says, “As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand” (5:15). A lifetime of work resulted in an empty hand. But unlike Job, he did not bless the Lord (Job 1:21) but secluded himself in self-pity, eating “in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger” (5:17). When the love of your life is money and she’s gone, there’s nothing left to live for.
The love of money is really a form of idolatry. When you love God’s gifts more than God, the gifts become tyrannical idols, and consequently robbing you of enjoyment. God can give you wealth, possessions, and honor, but what good are they if you cannot enjoy them? Like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:16-21), when the accumulation of wealth becomes your god, you no longer enjoy and use your wealth graciously but build bigger and bigger barns full of stuff that will sell for pennies on the dollar to the highest bidder at your estate sale.
Or, consider Solomon’s scenario of the man of “wealth, possessions, and honor” (6:2) Imagine that God blessed you with a long life and the wealth of many children. You would be rich indeed! But there’s one catch: For your whole, long life you can’t enjoy your children, or grandchildren, or great grandchildren. Instead of their beloved patriarch or matriarch, you’d become like an inherited piece of unnecessary furniture, passed-down and present but useless. As you grow old and near death, you’re forgotten. No one plans your funeral, there’ll be no graveside service, because there’s no one to even bury you in the ground. Solomon says graphically that “a stillborn child is better off” (6:3). That’s what the love of money gets you: no enjoyment, no love, or memory, or heritage.
The Gifts of God
In contrast, Solomon points to the laborer who works, receives his wages, and enjoys the simple pleasures of life (5:12). He does not lay awake at night worrying about his barns; his sleep is sweet. He finds satisfaction in the use of his God-given gifts and a job well done. His food and drink are simple fare, enjoyed with succulent pleasure. Solomon says work, eat, drink, and sleep like that guy, with gratitude to God who provides for all that we need.
Solomon is not advocating simplicity for simplicity’s sake, but a life lived in enjoyable gratitude for all that God has given us. God gives us this life (5:18) and our lot in it (5:19); God gives us work and the ability to enjoy it (5:19); God gives us wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them (5:19).
To be angry with your life, your lot, or your wealth, then is to be angry at God, and to receive God’s gifts without responsive gratitude is an offense to the Giver of those gifts. God has given us this life and our lot in it, yet how often do we think of life as a curse and our lot as a burden? Such is the deceit of our sin nature. But the truth is our lives are not accidents; it is no mistake that we are here. By God’s perfect design, we were formed, knit together, in our mother’s womb. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. And even before our conception, God formed our days before us (Ps. 139:13-16). Likewise, God knows the beginning from the end, which we do not. Our lot is according to his sovereign purpose, for his glory and our good. Let us give thanks to God for life and lot, for every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
God also gives us work and the ability to enjoy it (5:19), yet how often do we consider work a grind, even a curse, and a mere means to a paycheck? Such is the deceit of our sin nature. But the truth is God commissioned us to a have dominion, to work and cultivate creation. God has gifted each of us with talents that testify to being made in the image of God. Part of our human uniqueness is revealed in using our giftedness in work. And God blesses us with work to use our gifts for his glory and the good of our neighbor. Let us give thanks to God for our work, for every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
God also gives us our daily food and drink, yet how often do we go through our day without a passing remembrance of who gives us our daily bread? Such is the deceit of our sin nature. Let us be faithful to give thanks and let us teach our children to pray before their meals, not because it’s required but because it teaches us gratitude. To say a “blessing” before a meal carries not the sense of conveying favor but of giving thanks (eucharisteo). Let us give thanks to God for our food and drink, for every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
God also gives us wealth and possessions and the ability to enjoy them (5:19), yet how often are we dissatisfied with what God has given us, lusting for more, and then more. Such is the deceit of our sin nature. But the truth is whether what we have is just enough for today or enough for more than a lifetime, God has given it. Whether our possessions are few or many, they are gifts from God. And with what God gives he includes the grace to enjoy. Let us give thanks to God for our wealth and possessions, for every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).
The Greatest Treasure
How often we are like Israel in the wilderness, rescued from slavery, promised an inheritance, fed daily from heaven, yet frustrated with God’s provision? If anything, this should remind us that our greatest need is not a better lot in life, or a better job, or a better meal, or more money and possessions. Israel witnessed the miraculous and experienced the glorious and yet were consistently dissatisfied in God’s provision. They treasured their temporal satisfaction over God’s promised provision. And often we are tempted to do the same, even those of us who possess the greatest treasure.
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44). What is he saying? He’s saying that there is something more valuable than anything, worth selling everything. He is saying that what he ushered in and what he reigns over is infinitely valuable. And its value is in him.
The greatest treasure is Christ himself. But he cannot be sold or bought but received by grace through faith: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And we receive God’s gift through faith with joy because God has given us the gift, a gift we did not earn, a gift to be received with gratitude, and enjoyed for eternity. Such are the “unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8), to be enjoyed by undeserving sinners saved by grace, like you and me.
This means that the life God gives, in Christ, is abundant life whatever our lot. This means that the work God gives, in Christ, is worship unto him. This means that the possessions God gives, in Christ, are incomparable to the treasure he is. This means that as sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, we can sing:
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
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