Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #5: Good, Better, Best
Ecclesiastes
2:24-26
24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he
should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his
labour. This also I saw, that it was
from the hand of God.
25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto,
more than I?
26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight
wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather
and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Introduction:
Reminders of the unique aspects of Ecclesiastes that must
be observed to appreciate what the author has done
Reminder of the inspired and inerrant nature of
Ecclesiastes as the Word of God
Reminder of the impact of Ecclesiastes on proud
unregenerate philosophers and mankind in general
Outline:
I. Mankind, Meaning,
and Mediation (2:24)
II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)
III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)
Transition:
“The most satisfactory division is,
in our judgment, that into four parts, which was proposed by Vaihinger in the,
“Studien und Kritiken,” for 1848, and
has since been adopted by Keil
and others. It is a modification of
that of Ewald, (whom Heiligstedt
follows,) which is itself an improvement upon that of J Koster, all of whom
assume the same number of sections. "His scheme is the following, viz.
I.
i. 2-ii. 26.
II.
iii. 1-v. 20.
III.
vi. 1-viii. 15.
IV.
viii. 16-xii. 14.”
— William Henry
Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf
[accessed 7 NOV 2015]. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. inexplicably refers to this as an
“unsigned article” on at least two occasions in his commentary despite the
facts that: 1) William Henry Green is clearly indicated as the author under the
title on the first page of the article (pg. 419), and 2) one of his own faculty
members (Ted Hildebrandt) has posted the article on the school’s web site where
Kaiser has served as both a faculty member and as President. See: Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979);
and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn,
Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).
The conclusions of the four major
sections of Ecclesiastes are as follows:
2:24-26 — 24 There is nothing
better for a man, than that he should
eat and drink, and that he should
make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. 25 For
who can eat, or who else can hasten
hereunto, more than I? 26 For
God giveth to a man that is good
in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth
travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
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.
8:15 — Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under
the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with
him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
12:8-14 — 8 Vanity
of vanities, saith the preacher; all is
vanity. 9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still
taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. 10
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was
upright, even words of truth. 11
The words of the wise are as
goads, and as nails fastened by the
masters of assemblies, which are
given from one shepherd. 12 And further, by these, my son, be
admonished: of making many books there is
no end; and much study is a weariness
of the flesh. 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil.
This last section conclusion also
serves as the epilogue of the entire book.
J. Sidlow Baxter refers to the
first three as Ad Interim Conclusions,
distinguishing them from the last which he calls the Final Conclusion. See his Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible
Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing), 3:148.
I. Mankind, Meaning, and Mediation (2:24)
There is
nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should
make his soul enjoy good in his labour.
This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
1. Mankind not the Source of Good
There
is nothing better for a man,
3:12 — I know that there
is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his
life.
3:22 — Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own
works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be
after him?
8:15 — Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the
sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him
of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
On the translation of this initial
phrase in the verse see especially Leupold (pp. 74-76) and Barrick (pp. 58-59)
who defend the following translations based on grammatical and contextual
considerations:
“It is
not a good thing inherent in man that he is able to eat and drink and get
satisfaction in his toil.”
— H.
C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1952), pg. 74.
“There
is no good in man that he eat and drink and see his soul good [an idiom = get satisfaction] in its labor”
— William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes:
The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series
(Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pg. 58.
2. Meaning and the Enjoyment of Good
than
that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in
his labour
Is. 56:12 — Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we
will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and
much more abundant.
1 Cor. 15:32 — If
after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth
it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
Cp. 1 Tim. 6:17 — Charge them that are rich in this
world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
Lk. 12:16-21 — 16 And he spake a parable unto them,
saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he
thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I
will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which
thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.
3. Mediation of Good from the Hand of God
This
also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
It was from the
hand of God!
Cp. 9:1 — For all this I considered in my heart even to
declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth
either love or hatred by all that is before them.
2:13 — Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far
as light excelleth darkness.
3:16 — And
moreover I saw under the sun the
place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness,
that iniquity was there.
4:7 — Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.
8:10 — And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come
and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where
they had so done: this is also vanity.
9:11 — I returned, and saw under the sun,
that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
It was from the
hand of God!
“Solomon’s strong view of God’s
sovereignty brings comfort after an honest critique of what life in a cursed
world entails!”
— John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed.
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), pg. 929, s.v.
note on Ecclesiastes 2:24.
It was from the
hand of God!
“I don’t mind living hand to mouth so long as it is God’s
hand and my mouth!”
— Dr. Ralph Stoll, Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA (circa
1976)
It was from the
hand of God!
II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)
For who can
eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
A textual issue underlies differences between older and
modern translations in this verse.
NASB: For who can eat and who can have enjoyment
without Him? [1]
[So Gr; Heb me]
ESV: for apart from him who can eat
or who can have enjoyment? [2]
[Some Hebrew manuscripts,
Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts apart
from me]
HCSB: because who can eat and who
can enjoy life apart from Him? [3]
[Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read me]
NIV: for without him, who
can eat or find enjoyment? [4]
NLT: For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?* [5]
[As in Greek and Syriac versions;
Hebrew reads apart from me?]
NKJV: For who can eat, or who can have
enjoyment, more than I? [6]
[So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb.
mss., LXX, Syr. without Him]
On this see especially the
following sources for support of the textual decisions of the modern
translators:
F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol.
VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary
on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint), 3:252-253.
Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction
and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament
Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983),
pg. 88.
H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1952), pp. 76-77.
In an unfallen world there was only
one way to live, and that was with God.
There are two ways to live in a
fallen world.
There are those who live without
God, apart from Him, and there are those who live with Him.
There are those who recognize and
acknowledge their utter dependence upon the Sovereign Creator for everything,
and who “practice His presence.”
Then there are those, the vast
majority of mankind, who repress and deny that reality in their conscious and
willful rebellion of their Creator, and rejection of the truth of His
revelation.
In the New Heavens and New Earth
there will only be one way to live.
In the outer darkness, the lake of
fire, there will be only one way to live.
The judgment of God, the Sovereign
Creator, will determine the population of both destinies.
III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)
For God
giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but
to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to
him that is good before God. This also
is vanity and vexation of spirit.
What is the difference between “a man that is good in his sight,”
or “him that is good before God,” and “the sinner”?
“Two
points from 2:24–26 should be noted. First, Solomon stated that God’s
disposition of wealth and the enjoyment of one’s labors and its fruits are
based on whether a man is pleasing to God or is a sinner. As is clear from the words “the man who pleases” God and
“the sinner” elsewhere in Ecclesiastes (7:26; cf. 8:12), this implies that a
person will be judged on the basis of his ethical behavior and his trust in God or lack of it. Second, Solomon
wrote that this judgment would take place in this life (not in a life after
death) and would involve temporal not eternal rewards. These two points
(enjoyment of life and judgment), which are brought together only here, are crucial
in the development of the book. The enjoyment theme, mentioned at crucial times
in the book (3:12–13, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10), is here specifically related
to the theme of judgment (11:9; 12:14), and to the advice to fear God and keep
His commandments (12:13).”
— Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures,
eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985), pg. 983, s.v. Eccl. 2:24-26.
7:26 — And I find more bitter than
death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso
pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
8:12 — Though a sinner do evil an
hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
Conclusion:
Why is this still to be considered “vanity and vexation
of spirit”?
Is this true just for “the sinner,” or for all mankind, i.e.,
“the sinner” and “him that is good before God”?
Remember! It was
from the hand of God!
“I don’t mind living hand to mouth so long as it is God’s
hand and my mouth!”
— Dr. Ralph Stoll, Grace Baptist Church, Lancaster, PA (circa
1976).
1 Jn. 2:15-17 — 15 Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not
in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of
God abideth for ever.
Mt. 6:19-21 — 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For
where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
1 Tim. 4:4 — For every creature of God is good, and
nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
1 Tim. 6:6-8 — 6 But godliness with contentment is great
gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Col. 3:1-2 — 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
[Sermon preached 8 NOV 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. Mankind, Meaning,
and Mediation (2:24)
1. Mankind not the Source of
Good
2. Meaning and the Enjoyment of Good
3. Mediation of Good from
the Hand of God
II. One Requirement for Joy (2:25)
III. The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away (2:26)
Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:
J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly
Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1
ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).
William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes:
The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series
(Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).
Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction
and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament
Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).
F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol.
VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary
on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).
Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman, 1993).
Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,”
in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton,
IL: Victor, 1985).
William Henry
Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf
[accessed 7 NOV 2015].
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, in Everyman’s
Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn,
Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).
H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1952).
Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed.
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
Roland Edmund
Murphy, Ecclesiastes,
Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).
Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes:
Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
Philip
G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The
Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus
Publications, Ltd., 2015).
J. Stafford
Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5,
Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1991).
End Notes:
[1] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (Ec 2:25). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
[2] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. 2001 (Ec 2:25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
[3] The Holy Bible:
Holman Christian standard version. 2009 (Ec 2:25). Nashville: Holman Bible
Publishers.
[4] The New
International Version. 2011 (Ec 2:25). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd
ed.) (Ec 2:25). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[6] The New King
James Version. 1982 (Ec 2:25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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