1 00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:04,560 Well, hey, welcome to the final session. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,080 Or as I guess we could call it, the final sadness, right, For 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,120 Ecclesiastes, no, it's not all sad. 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,160 But to be honest, I, I, I said this at the beginning and I'll 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,240 say it again, I look at it completely differently after 6 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:19,600 studying it. Those of you who have been here 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,800 for several of them, do you look at it any differently after 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:24,200 diving into it and seeing some of it? 9 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,400 It's, it's not so much a book of sadness for me as it is really a 10 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,720 book of hope. It's actually a book of freedom 11 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,440 for me. And so this last session as we 12 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,200 cover the last two chapters is called Chasing the Future. 13 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,600 And just as a reminder for our schedule, next week is the 5th 14 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:42,880 Wednesday, which means we've got no, no regular service. 15 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:44,960 There will be a night of prayer in here for people that want to 16 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,360 gather and just pray. We'll be having a leadership 17 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:48,720 training meeting in the other building. 18 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:50,920 So there's prayer that's available if you want it, but 19 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,000 no, no service. And two weeks from tonight is 20 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,760 night of worship for May, which is great because we didn't have 21 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,160 one in April because I don't know, the worship team said it's 22 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,760 a lot of work on Resurrection Sunday or whatever. 23 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,400 No, no, no, we really appreciate them and everything that they 24 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:07,720 do. So we gave them April off. 25 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,560 But May is the night of worship. But on the second Wednesday in 26 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,920 May, we will begin our next Bible study, which is Song of 27 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,360 Songs. So very intimidated by that 28 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,280 book, but it'll be fun. Before we jump into your fill in 29 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:23,880 the blank notes, I just want to give you a little bit of an 30 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,440 introduction here. By the time we arrive here at 31 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,960 the final two chapters of Ecclesiastes, we have seen him 32 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,040 searching for a lot of things. And now it feels less like the 33 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,680 teacher is searching less for new answers and more like he's 34 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,400 gathering everything he's already discovered and placing 35 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,080 it right in front of US one last time so that we can understand 36 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,160 it. And so throughout this book, if 37 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,760 you've been following along, he has explored what it is to 38 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,760 pursue meaning, to pursue pleasure, achievement, control, 39 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,640 security. Last week, we talked about 40 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,160 pursuing certainty. And so every single one of them 41 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,040 offered something that feels promising at first, but just 42 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,160 doesn't carry the full weight of life. 43 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,920 And so the question begins to shift as we go into Chapter 11. 44 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:07,520 It's no longer about what life means. 45 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,680 Now it becomes, what are we going to do with the life that 46 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,280 we've been given? And that question naturally 47 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:17,680 pulls us all towards the future. If we're trying to figure out 48 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:19,720 what we're going to do with the life that we've been given, 49 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,240 well, you can't do anything about that in the past. 50 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:24,800 You can do a few things right now, but the things you do now 51 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,880 affect the future. Most people do live with an 52 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,320 awareness of something that's coming next. 53 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:35,160 We make plans, we make goals, we have decisions, and a lot of 54 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,800 times our decisions get delayed because we assume that there 55 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,200 will be more time later. But there's a general belief 56 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,440 that life is going to settle into place at some point and 57 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:50,040 things won't be so crazy. I paused for laughter. 58 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,280 So the teacher, instead of telling us how to handle all of 59 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,480 that, he's just telling us to live faithfully in the present, 60 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:58,360 even when the future remains uncertain. 61 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,200 And that perspective was not just personal to the teacher. 62 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,640 This is the way I want you to understand as we close this. 63 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,480 This is the way it was understood by the Jewish people 64 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,960 who read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Temple. 65 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,920 It was especially read during the Feast of Booths. 66 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,720 And this is when God's people would live in temporary shelters 67 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,560 to remember their time in the wilderness. 68 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:20,120 It was a celebration. It was a joyful thing for them, 69 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,280 but it was also filled with reflection because as they lived 70 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,960 in these temporary structures, tents, a lot of people will do 71 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,840 it today and they'll stay for a few days in a tent during the 72 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,680 Feast of Booths or Suckot. And so they'll do this, and it 73 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,520 reminds them that everything is temporary. 74 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,960 And so this was something that was a constant reminder for them 75 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,360 that life itself is temporary. And that's the context that 76 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,280 really gives weight to what the teacher's going to teach us 77 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:45,800 here. And as I like to do, I want to 78 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,760 share the words of Jesus before we jump in, because thousands of 79 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,520 years later, Jesus was still echoing the same sentiment. 80 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,440 It's almost like we serve a sovereign God, right? 81 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,200 Matthew 25, he talks about the parable of the 10 bridesmaids. 82 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,720 And he says the Kingdom of heaven is like 10 bridesmaids 83 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:04,160 who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 84 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,200 Maybe if you read an older translation that says the 10 85 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,960 virgins, but it says the five of them were foolish and five were 86 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,440 wise. The five who were foolish didn't 87 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,680 take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were 88 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:18,720 wise enough to take along extra oil. 89 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,280 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell 90 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:25,080 asleep. And at midnight they were roused 91 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,080 by the shout. Look, the bridegroom is coming. 92 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,040 Come out and meet them. All the bridesmaids got up and 93 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,200 prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked 94 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,720 the others, please give us some of your oil because our lamps 95 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,960 are going to go out. But the other said we don't have 96 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,800 enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for 97 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,440 yourselves. And while they were going to buy 98 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,160 oil, the bridegroom came and then those who were ready went 99 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,080 in with him to the marriage feast and the door was locked. 100 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,000 Later when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood 101 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,320 outside calling Lord. Lord, open the door for us. 102 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,640 And he called back. Believe me, I don't know you and 103 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,480 Jesus said so you 2 must keep watch, for you do not know the 104 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,960 day or the hour of my return. For me that has always been the 105 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:11,200 encouragement to do everything I can to live in alignment with 106 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:14,280 the Lord. Now a lot of times we're like, 107 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:16,840 I'm not really ready, but you have to do what you can with 108 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:19,360 what you know now. And I want you to understand the 109 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,520 historical context. This was a real thing that these 110 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,080 people would have understood because when you got married, 111 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,720 the the bridegroom then would go off and he would prepare a place 112 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,440 for you. I mean, this was literally the 113 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:31,680 way that it was. It's not so for a lot of 114 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,000 relationships today. But he would go and prepare it 115 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:35,920 and then he would come back and he would get you. 116 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,480 But if you didn't have your lamp lit when he came back, he 117 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,520 wouldn't know where to go. You weren't going to be getting 118 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,640 a text message from him. Hey, GPS says I'm 3 minutes out, 119 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,120 so you had to be ready. And there's a lot of people that 120 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:49,520 we're trying to marry into security. 121 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,600 So there could be people knocking on the order saying, 122 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,200 hey, I'm supposed to be here. This is the imagery that they 123 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,440 would have understood in that day. 124 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,640 So it's not about, hey, one day I'll get it right? 125 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:00,280 He's saying, what are you doing now? 126 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,400 So let's go into the 1st 6 verses. 127 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:05,440 This is where your notes start and we'll go through the 1st 6 128 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,360 verses. I'm calling it let go and live. 129 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,880 I thought about live, laugh, love, but it's not me. 130 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,880 All right, he says this. Send your grain across the seas, 131 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:20,120 and in time profits will flow back to you. 132 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,360 But divide your investments among many places, for you do 133 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:26,040 not know what risks might lie ahead. 134 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,440 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. 135 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,360 Whether a tree falls north or South, it stays where it falls. 136 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,560 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plan. 137 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,200 If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 138 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:42,040 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the 139 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,880 mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, you cannot 140 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,680 understand the activity of God who does all things. 141 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,120 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon. 142 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,840 For you don't know if profit will come from one activity or 143 00:06:54,840 --> 00:06:58,840 another, or maybe both. So he's starting this section 144 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,160 with some imagery that, at least for me, feels unusual, until I 145 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,000 sat with it for a little bit and it started to make more sense 146 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,800 when he's saying send your grain across the seas. 147 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,080 Or maybe you have an older translation that says cast your 148 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,800 bread on the waters, which honestly sounds like a rap lyric 149 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,160 for some reason to me. It's not the kind of advice most 150 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,400 people would naturally follow because bread is meant to be 151 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,720 kept, eaten and preserved, and they did not have the 152 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,080 preservatives in the bread back then that we do now. 153 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,280 Throwing it on the water sounds like loss or risk. 154 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,720 And so that's the point he's making. 155 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,720 The word that's translated as cast when he says cast it on the 156 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,720 water comes from the Hebrew word shalak, Shalak. 157 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,920 And it means to send out or to release, to release or to let 158 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:43,560 go. It's really just trying to carry 159 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,400 the idea of taking something that's in your control and then 160 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,000 placing it somewhere that is not in your control. 161 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,600 And I mean, I don't think I have to really illustrate this, but 162 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,480 don't you imagine you have a sandwich and you're at Union 163 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,560 Point Park in Newburn and you put it in the water. 164 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,560 That sandwich is no longer in your control, right? 165 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,680 OK, so the teacher's describing a view of life that is willing 166 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,160 to release things instead of grasping for more. 167 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,640 That's the whole idea in setting up what he said here. 168 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,880 And so he continues on saying invest in seven ventures or 8. 169 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:13,200 He's talking about these different things. 170 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,280 That language is not about exact numbers. 171 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,600 It's a Hebrew way of expressing fullness or expansion. 172 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,960 Expansion. The idea here is to live open 173 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,160 handed and to step forward with what you have instead of waiting 174 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,760 for the perfect circumstances. Why? 175 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,200 Well, he says, because you don't know what kind of disaster might 176 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,200 come upon the land. The future is not certain. 177 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,120 But that uncertainty is not something you'll ever fully 178 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,159 eliminate. And that's where the teacher 179 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,400 then challenges how we think about things like risk and 180 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,240 control. And if I understood the stock 181 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,440 market better, I'm sure I'd have a killer illustration for you. 182 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,120 But most people wait for the right moment. 183 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,760 The perfect conditions strike while the iron's hot. 184 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,880 We say stuff like that, right? We look for the guarantee that 185 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:55,840 things are going to work out. It's a sure thing. 186 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,360 But if you wait for the wind to be just right, you never plant, 187 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:00,840 he says. And if you wait for the clouds 188 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,080 to clear completely, you never harvest. 189 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,080 Could you imagine if your job completely depended on the 190 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,040 weather of North Carolina? So what we see translated as, 191 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,040 you know, watching the wind or speaking about someone like that 192 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,320 is someone who is overly observant. 193 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:19,520 Overly observant? Are you offended yet? 194 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,320 Because that one offended me. Any people watchers here? 195 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:24,440 We like to observe people. OK. 196 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:26,200 Yeah. Don't do too much. 197 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,640 He's talking about someone who's constantly analyzing conditions, 198 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,000 trying to predict the perfect moment before acting. 199 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:33,800 And the teacher is telling us this. 200 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,160 It is not wisdom. It is you ready. 201 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,280 It is hesitation disguised as caution. 202 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,640 Hesitation disguised as caution. And what he's trying to say is 203 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,840 over time, it leads to inaction. It leads to inaction. 204 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:52,000 Yeah. I didn't like it either. 205 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:54,960 So then he brings out one more layer when he says, just as you 206 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,040 cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a 207 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,240 tiny baby growing in his mother's womb, you can't 208 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,720 understand the activity of God when he's talking about 209 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,280 understanding these things. It connects to that Hebrew word 210 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:07,200 we talked about a few weeks ago. That is yada, which means to 211 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,000 know or fully grasp or comprehend. 212 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,920 Most of us know where babies come from. 213 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,960 If you don't, the rest of the staff is open for counseling 214 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:21,920 this week. I'm booked up. 215 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,480 Most of us know where babies come from, but very few people 216 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,560 can say they fully comprehend all of the complexities on how a 217 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:32,600 baby is formed and grown and delivered and all of this. 218 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:34,840 And he's saying, you may understand some stuff, but 219 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,120 really the more you learn about something, you generally also 220 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:39,760 learn how much you don't know, right? 221 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,000 So instead of that whole concept leading to fear, he points us 222 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,560 towards action because he doesn't want us in in action. 223 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,040 So he says, plant your seed in the morning, keep busy all 224 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,440 afternoon. In other words, he's saying 225 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,960 live. That's not a blank, it's just 226 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,040 good advice. He's saying live, do something, 227 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,840 move, invest, step forward with what God has placed in your 228 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:03,920 hands. But don't do it because you have 229 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,000 a guarantee for the outcome. Do it because you can't 230 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,120 guarantee the outcome. Why do we invest in our kids? 231 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,840 Because we don't know who they're going to choose to be, 232 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:16,160 but we want to be part of it. Why do we love the people that 233 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:17,320 we love? Because we don't know their 234 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:20,080 choices eventually, but because we want to be a part of it. 235 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,960 Don't be frozen solid and and afraid to do something and miss 236 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,600 your chances. The teacher would never 237 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,920 encourage reckless living. He's pushing us into a life that 238 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:31,960 is faithful in the face of uncertainty. 239 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,640 Could you imagine looking at God one day when you step into glory 240 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:37,600 and he says, what did you do with all these blessings I gave 241 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:38,480 you? And you said, well, I wasn't 242 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,000 sure what to do, so I did nothing. 243 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:41,960 There's another parable about that, right? 244 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,480 The teacher would never encourage you to live recklessly 245 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:48,440 because the future can't be controlled. 246 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,840 But that doesn't mean that the present should be wasted while 247 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:55,120 you're waiting on it. It shouldn't be wasted while 248 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,040 you're waiting on it. That means we have to learn to 249 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,400 release the need for perfect conditions before we act and 250 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,960 recognize that waiting for certainty leads to missed 251 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:08,920 opportunities. All right, the next 4 verses, 7 252 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,080 through 10, this is called. It's also cheery. 253 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:18,160 Enjoy it while you can, he says. This light is sweet, how 254 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:20,040 pleasant to see a new day dawning. 255 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,240 That verse alone is great. You know what the modern 256 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:23,920 translation of that is in church culture? 257 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,640 Hey, how are you doing today? Well, I woke up and I'm 258 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,400 breathing, so I'm blessed. We've all said that or heard 259 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,680 that in some form before. Listen, he says light is sweet, 260 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:34,400 how pleasant to see a new day dawning. 261 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,560 When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of 262 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:43,040 life, but let them also remember there will be many dark days. 263 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,120 Everything still to come is meaningless. 264 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,120 Now, once you remember meaningless is that word hevel, 265 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:53,080 which means it's like smoke or, or when you breathe in the cold 266 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,480 and you can, you can see your breath, you can see it, but you 267 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:56,920 can't really grab it or control it. 268 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:59,640 That's what he means by that. Then he turns to younger people, 269 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,160 says young people, it's wonderful to be young. 270 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:05,400 Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do. 271 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,600 Take it all in, but remember that you must give an account to 272 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,520 God for everything you do. So refuse to worry and keep your 273 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,040 body healthy, but remember that youth with a whole life before 274 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:23,280 you is meaningless. OK, so after telling us to step 275 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,520 forward without waiting for certainty, without waiting for 276 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,200 guarantees in life, now the teacher turns and reminds us of 277 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:29,960 something that is just as important. 278 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,520 And just because it's a cliche doesn't mean it's not true. 279 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,680 Life is a gift, it really is, and it's meant to be enjoyed 280 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:40,200 while you have it. When he's saying light is 281 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,440 pleasant to see the Son, you know he's, it's a simple 282 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:44,760 statement, but it really carries weight. 283 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,800 The ability to wake up and to see it and to experience another 284 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:49,560 day. These are not small blessings. 285 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:52,440 And just because you've had that blessing yesterday and you had 286 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,680 it today doesn't mean you get it tomorrow. 287 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:58,560 So the word that is translated pleasant there comes from the 288 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:02,240 Hebrew word nayem. Nayem, which refers to something 289 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,960 that is delightful or agreeable. My favorite translation is this 290 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,480 something that is good in a way that settles the soul. 291 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,520 You know, science catches up with scripture a lot of times. 292 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,840 And there's a lot of studies that say it's really good to 293 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,040 step outside when you first wake up. 294 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,920 If you can get outside and have sunlight hit your body or even 295 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,520 have your feet touch grass, that there is something about it. 296 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,560 I understand some people get up at 3:00 AM and where there's 297 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:34,200 darkness and gnashing of teeth. But But if you can, like studies 298 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,320 say it's a really great thing for your body. 299 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:38,440 He's talking about what a blessing this is. 300 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,000 OK, he's saying it's good in a way that settles the soul and 301 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,600 that he's not talking about the extraordinary mountaintop 302 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:46,440 moments of your life. He's pointing to the everyday 303 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,880 reality of don't miss the blessings of today. 304 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,000 When he goes on to say people have to be very old, let them 305 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,880 rejoice. That encouragement feels 306 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,320 surprising after he said everything's meaningless, but 307 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:58,880 he's saying that they should enjoy it. 308 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,520 And he's just saying, But as you enjoy a long life, know that 309 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:07,400 even a long life has limits. And even at that, he doesn't 310 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,400 ignore the limits. Eventually, he says, remember 311 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:10,920 that there will be many dark days. 312 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,160 The word translated dark, by the way, comes from the Hebrew word 313 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,280 josec, josec. And it means obscurity or 314 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:26,960 difficulty or a season where you have no clarity, a season where 315 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,400 you have no clarity. Even if you've never used that 316 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:31,560 sentence, I think we can all think of a face of life where 317 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,200 we're like, I have had no clarity. 318 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,600 And the teacher is holding both realities in the same time. 319 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,680 Life is good and life is hard. There's light, but there's 320 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,480 darkness and wisdom learns to live in both because you can't 321 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,320 avoid either. 1 And that's why then he turns his attention to 322 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,800 the youth. He says, young people, it's 323 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,920 wonderful to be young. Enjoy every minute of it. 324 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,040 Not because of the age, but just because those are the seasons 325 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,520 where you have a different kind of strength and energy and 326 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:58,840 opportunity. Opportunity. 327 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:02,240 He's saying there's moments in life where the ability to make 328 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,720 decisions in general is more available to you. 329 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,400 So if you're young, he's saying don't waste that. 330 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,880 But as you make your decisions, he then adds that line that 331 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,400 should make every believer slow down, which is remember that you 332 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,680 must give an accounting to God for everything you do. 333 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,800 That's where enjoyment must be framed correctly because it 334 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:23,600 can't be careless. It can't be self-centered. 335 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,400 Enjoyment is meant to be lived with this awareness that God is 336 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:29,360 going to hold you accountable. And that word that's translated 337 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,040 as account comes from the Hebrew word mishpat. 338 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:36,240 Mishpat. It means judgement, justice or 339 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,200 evaluation. What would life be like if at 340 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,960 the end of every day we went to the Lord and we said give me a 341 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:47,960 grade. You live a little differently. 342 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:52,520 I know that because I'm you. It reminds us life really isn't 343 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:53,840 random. It's something that is seen by 344 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,560 God and and the teachers telling us every part of it matters. 345 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,640 When he says refuse to worry, keep your body healthy, He's 346 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,280 he's talking really about this word worry and it connects to 347 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,160 the Hebrew word kaos, which we've also seen earlier, but 348 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,800 means frustration, agitation or internal distress, internal 349 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:11,800 distress. Those of you who struggle with 350 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,119 anxiety, first of all, I am among you. 351 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,920 Second of all, internal distress is a great way to describe 352 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,000 anxiety, and it's the kind of emotional weight that can steal 353 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,680 the joy out of a present moment where you could be surrounded by 354 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:28,560 blessings and you feel unable to tap in or enjoy it. 355 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:32,360 Who has not been there before? He's just warning you about 356 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:35,520 letting the difficulty of life consume the life that you've 357 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,400 been given. But remember this youth, 358 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,520 strength opportunity, They are all fleeting. 359 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,640 They pass quickly. They are all vapor hevel, or as 360 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,080 he said, meaningless. But in today's meaning of the 361 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,440 word meaningless, they're truly not meaningless, right? 362 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:52,600 They're valuable. That's what he's trying to teach 363 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,640 us by saying that they're fleeting. 364 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:56,280 You can't hold it, you can't control it. 365 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,560 He's actually underscoring this is so valuable. 366 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,680 Don't waste it. So renewing our minds on this 367 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,800 means learning to receive life as a gift instead of postponing 368 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,760 it for a future that you can't control or for a future you 369 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,240 don't even know will arrive. We have to recognize enjoyment's 370 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,160 not found in having everything, but in seeing everything that's 371 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:20,440 already been given. The next section is the 1st 7 372 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,880 verses of the final chapter of Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verses 373 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:31,240 one through 7 and I'm calling it remember your Creator since 374 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:34,560 we're talking to the youth. He says don't let the excitement 375 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,640 of youth cause you to forget your creator. 376 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,240 I'm sure nobody here struggled with that when they were younger 377 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,520 than they are today. I ran from him. 378 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,360 He says honor Him in your youth before you grow old and say life 379 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:51,040 is not pleasant anymore. He said, Remember him before the 380 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,080 light of the sun, moon and stars as dim to your old eyes, and 381 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,520 rain clouds continually darken your sky. 382 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,400 Remember him before your legs the guards of your house start 383 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,720 to tremble, and before your shoulders the strong men stoop. 384 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,880 Remember him before your teeth, your few remaining servants stop 385 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,160 grinding, and before your eyes the women looking through the 386 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:16,240 windows see dimly. Remember him before the door to 387 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,920 life's opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. 388 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,480 Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then 389 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,680 all their sounds will grow faint, he says. 390 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,040 Remember him before you become fearful of failing and worry 391 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,680 about danger in the streets. You remember that. 392 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,720 Do you remember time in life where you were not worried about 393 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:40,320 anything in the future? Adulting is hard, he said, 394 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,320 before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom. 395 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:46,920 Why did we ever lose that description? 396 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,280 And you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper. 397 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,080 And the caper Berry no longer inspires sexual desire. 398 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:00,520 Remember him before you're near the grave, your everlasting 399 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:03,240 home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral. 400 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,640 Verses 6 and seven, he says remember your Creator now, while 401 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,920 you're young, before the silver cord of life snaps in the golden 402 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,680 bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar 403 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,520 is smashed at the spring and the pulleys broken at the well. 404 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,320 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the Spirit will 405 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,560 return to God who gave it. That's a very sobering section 406 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,920 of Scripture. But after telling us to live 407 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,280 fully in the present, he turns and gives us the full reason why 408 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,480 this matters so much. When he's saying don't let the 409 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,400 excitement of youth, he's saying don't get distracted. 410 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:35,560 No matter your age, no matter where you're at in life, this 411 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,240 matters. And I think sometimes we lose 412 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:41,000 this thought as we get older. And I think sometimes we start 413 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:42,880 to look down on people that are younger than us. 414 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,760 Youth is not wrong. Obviously, it's just temporary. 415 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,000 But the teacher's warning against a specific type of 416 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,920 distraction that occurs in our younger years. 417 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,040 A lot of times as we get older, we're not as distracted by the 418 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:54,960 same things that used to excite us and distract us. 419 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,400 Because I'd like to say we learned some things, but we 420 00:20:57,400 --> 00:20:59,440 learned it from life kicking us around for a while. 421 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,320 And then we look at somebody younger than us and we wonder, 422 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:05,760 like, why won't they listen? Why won't they do it this way? 423 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:07,320 Well, sometimes they got to get kicked. 424 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,080 And that word remember comes from the word zakhar. 425 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,160 It means more than simply recalling something mentally. 426 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,760 It's like the whole idea of calling something to mind in a 427 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:19,560 way that changes or shapes your life. 428 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,920 It's living with the awareness that changes how you act, 429 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:27,640 changes how you act. It is to remember your creator. 430 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:31,080 It means not just to believe in Him, but to live with Him at the 431 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,720 center of your decisions. The center of your decisions. 432 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:37,960 In other words, you ever have that moment where somebody asks 433 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,760 you to do something as a kid and you're like, no. 434 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,200 And they say why? And you're like, because my dad 435 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:42,520 will kill me or something like that. 436 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,200 I'm not saying he's going to come down and thump you from the 437 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,480 sky, but he is at the center of your your decisions. 438 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,400 It's not just that he exists. And what follows after this is 439 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:53,840 not really a list of instructions. 440 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,280 It's a carefully crafted poetic picture of what it really looks 441 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:01,840 like as life slowly fades, fades. 442 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,240 The teachers talking about aging through really, really somber 443 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,320 imagery. And he talks about the sun, the 444 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:11,000 moon, the stars all growing, dim clouds coming in, the keepers of 445 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,360 the house trembling, strong men bent over. 446 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,040 Every single image there points to something that is familiar. 447 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:19,800 And especially to people in that day, they would have understood 448 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:23,240 all these things, the pulleys, the windows, you know, and, and 449 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,000 all of this because it was, it was all their lifestyle. 450 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:28,800 And while it's not the happiest of thoughts, it's not written to 451 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:30,920 discourage you. It's just written to be honest. 452 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,040 One of the hardest things to find in churches, at least in 453 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,280 America today, is honesty. You'll find the the scripture 454 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:41,640 preached, but it is full of, hey, how are you doing? 455 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,480 And then a fake answer and he's trying to give it to you 456 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,440 straight. Your days are numbered and I 457 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:48,640 hope you have many of them. There's still a number to them, 458 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,440 so don't lose sight of this. That Hebrew word translated as 459 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,720 difficult comes from the Hebrew word raa. 460 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,800 Raa. It means hardship, just hardship 461 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,880 or adversity. And by the way, he's not saying 462 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:02,520 every moment of aging is painful. 463 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:06,360 Certainly there are some, but he's just saying that life 464 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:08,040 becomes more limited, more fragile. 465 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:12,400 It becomes more dependent. As that moves on, the imagery 466 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,920 becomes even more personal when he starts talking about doors 467 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,080 closing and work fading and sleep being lighter and fear is 468 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,480 increasing. And he's saying, don't let this 469 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,160 happen to you. And then he finally gets to the 470 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,360 heavier part where he talks about the silver cord being 471 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:27,240 severed in the golden bowl is broken. 472 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,400 These these phrases describe the end of life itself. 473 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,440 He's talking about the body returning to dust from which it 474 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,160 came, and then the life within us returning to the God who gave 475 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,440 it. But that word translated as 476 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:40,720 spirit here. I know that we have seen a lot 477 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,840 of ruach, but that word for spirit there is Nishima. 478 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:47,840 Nishima. And it actually refers to breath 479 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,160 or the life force given by God. It's a specific kind of life 480 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,800 force or energy given from God, but it is the same idea that you 481 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,480 see in Genesis when God breathes life into humanity, when he 482 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,040 forms him out of the dust of the earth. 483 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:05,000 And the teacher's just trying to remind us your life was never 484 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:06,720 something that you self generated. 485 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,800 It was given to you by him. It was sustained by him. 486 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,720 And one day it'll be returned to him. 487 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,360 And that's the direction that life moves. 488 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:17,320 And he teaches us that to wake us up. 489 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,800 Because if life is temporary, then what we do with that 490 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,360 matters more than we really thought. 491 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,440 If our strength is going to fade, then the time to live with 492 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:28,000 strength intentionally is now. If mental clarity will not 493 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,040 increase forever, then the time to pursue what matters the most 494 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:36,320 with your mental acuity is now. So we have to learn to refuse to 495 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,960 push God to the edges of our lives until later, until we just 496 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,360 need Him at the last second. We got to pursue Him with 497 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,440 everything we've got now. Don't wait until life is fading 498 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,280 to start living for what matters the most. 499 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:49,440 All right, we're in the homestretch. 500 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,440 Verses 8 through 12, the teacher's final words, and then 501 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,280 we're going to give you the answer he found after all of 502 00:24:56,280 --> 00:25:01,000 this, he says this. Everything is meaningless, says 503 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,200 the teacher. Completely meaningless. 504 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,000 Isn't it interesting? Now, it's not really coming from 505 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,520 his mouth in the same way. It's almost like in the third 506 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,120 person, he says, keep this in mind. 507 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:14,200 The teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people 508 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:16,880 everything he knew. He listened carefully to many 509 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:20,240 Proverbs, studying them and classifying them, and the 510 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,920 teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths 511 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,400 clearly. The words of the wise are like 512 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,960 cattle prods, painful but helpful. 513 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,360 Their collected sayings are like a nail studded stick with which 514 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:38,120 a shepherd drives the sheep. He really wanted you to 515 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:42,080 understand what this was. And in verse 12, he says, But my 516 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,160 child, let me give you some further advice. 517 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,080 Be careful for writing books is endless and much study wears you 518 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:57,600 out offensive. Thanks for coming here for 519 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:58,240 study. Tonight. 520 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,960 As the teacher starts to close, here he is stepping back and 521 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:03,520 reflecting on everything that he just said. 522 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,720 He's basically summarizing it using the same word he used at 523 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:08,720 the very beginning when he says everything is meaningless. 524 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,600 That's this word hevel that we talked about earlier. 525 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,440 Something like vapour or mist. But that word itself really 526 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,480 brings the entire book full circle if you let it. 527 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,000 After exploring every path, testing every pursuit, and 528 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,080 examining every single angle because life felt meaningless, 529 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:30,600 he came to the same conclusion. Everything under the sun is 530 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:36,120 temporary, it's temporary. Everything under the sun is 531 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,520 temporary. And so that means everything we 532 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:40,680 try to build our lives on will eventually slip through our 533 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,760 hands if we expect it to last forever. 534 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,320 He does something really important here. 535 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,120 He shifts from observing life to reflecting on his role as our 536 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:52,600 teacher. And he's reminding us that his 537 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,360 words were not thrown together. Wasn't somebody having a bad day 538 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:58,840 writing sad poetry. He intentionally pondered and 539 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,120 searched and studied Proverbs. And that word that's translated 540 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,320 as pondered comes from the Hebrew word takan. 541 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:06,440 Takan. It's the whole idea of weighing 542 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,920 something or examining it or setting something in order. 543 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,280 It's not random. This was thoughtful and 544 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:18,920 intentional. And he also says that he sought 545 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,240 to find just the right words. The teacher was not trying to 546 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,000 impress anyone. He's not trying to seem 547 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:26,080 eloquent. He's trying to communicate 548 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:27,760 something that would last. And I think he did. 549 00:27:29,120 --> 00:27:30,800 So he describes what these words are meant to. 550 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:32,040 Do you remember what he called them? 551 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:37,320 The words of the wise are like a cattle prod, something used to 552 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,440 guide or to push or move something forward when it would 553 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:45,480 otherwise stand still. That word, translated as goads, 554 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,440 like to goad a a a sheep forward, is from the word 555 00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:52,600 darban, and it refers to a pointed stick used to direct 556 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,640 Animals. Guys, we're animals. 557 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,400 I thought about looking up a cattle prod and showing it on 558 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:02,600 the screen here, even though we don't typically have slides on a 559 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:04,920 Wednesday night. But every time I looked up a 560 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,040 cattle prod, it really just looked like a piece of wood with 561 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,320 a nail through it. I think we can all picture that. 562 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,400 That's what the words of the wise are like. 563 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,840 It's meant to be something that's painful, but you won't 564 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:16,960 stay where you are once you're faced with it. 565 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,840 And that's the whole purpose of it. 566 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:22,000 In the same way, wisdom is not always comfortable. 567 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,240 It moves us and challenges us. And then he closes with one 568 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:27,840 small morning, which as I said, was offensive. 569 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,160 He said be careful, for writing books is endless and much study 570 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,600 wears you out. What he's trying to get across 571 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,160 here is this. He's reminding us that knowledge 572 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,880 alone is not the goal. Have you ever met somebody who 573 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:43,200 knows a lot about the scripture, a lot about ancient history, and 574 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,120 no relationship with the Lord? He's reminding us knowledge 575 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,320 alone is not the goal. You can keep searching and 576 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,760 reading and analyzing and still miss the point. 577 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,040 If it never moves how you actually live. 578 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,840 If what you learn doesn't impact how you live, it's useless. 579 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:04,800 In fact, I would call it Hevel. Last section, last two verses, 580 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:09,480 the final conclusion. Here's what he says. 581 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:14,200 That's the whole story here. Now is my final conclusion. 582 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,600 Fear God and obey His commands, for this is everyone's duty. 583 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:23,560 And the very last thing this book says is this God will judge 584 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,600 us for everything we do, including every secret thing, 585 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,800 whether good or bad. Does that encourage you or scare 586 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:32,680 you? Little both. 587 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,480 OK. After pages and pages of these 588 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,360 tensions and questions and observations and honesty and 589 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,640 wrestling, he gathers it all and puts it into a place where 590 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,920 everything is final. Now he has walked every possible 591 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:51,200 Rd. tested everything out for himself, and at the end he just 592 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:52,760 said fear God and obey his commands. 593 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,280 That's everyone's duty. So first glance, that might seem 594 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,360 too simple, but have you ever learned that simple things are 595 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:03,080 not always easy things? We have to maintain reverence, 596 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:07,560 stay in awe of the Lord, have a have a right awareness of who 597 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,200 God is in relation to us. It's not fear in the sense of 598 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,280 being afraid, like if I do the wrong thing, I'm going to get 599 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,000 struck with lightning. We've already addressed that in 600 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,600 a previous week. You can't control blessings by 601 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,240 doing the right things, and you can't control what feels like 602 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:20,640 hardships by doing the right things. 603 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:25,320 You just can't control life. This is more along the lines of 604 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,440 just the recognition that God is God and we're not. 605 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,040 So after everything that we can't control and can't predict, 606 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,400 after everything we can't fully understand, He's saying this is 607 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:40,240 the only safe place to stand. But that reverence that you have 608 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,040 is not meant to be internal. If you're in awe of God, it has 609 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:45,200 to move outward into obedience in your life. 610 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:47,200 That's why he said keep his commands. 611 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,640 That word keep, I mean, keep sounds old when you say keep his 612 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,040 commands. Most of us don't say to our 613 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,400 kids, you know, clean your clean your room and keep the rules of 614 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,880 the house. That word keep is shamar. 615 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:02,320 That means to guard or watch over or carefully attend to 616 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,640 something. Carefully attend to something. 617 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,400 It's it's this picture of somebody holding something 618 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,640 valuable with great intentionality. 619 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:14,960 It's not about checking religious obligations. 620 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,360 Well, I go to church every Sunday. 621 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:17,960 You ever notice that becomes convenient once you have 622 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,040 friends, right? So I mean, it's not about doing 623 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:24,480 the religious thing. Yesterday I said to my kids, do 624 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,760 you want to play a video game? And they said no because they 625 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:35,440 had to go water their plants. I had to wait 7 minutes. 626 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:38,600 They have this little plant, right? 627 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:41,080 They were doing the right thing, right? 628 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:44,000 They were doing the right thing. They were holding it with a 629 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,000 sense of importance. So it's not something you check 630 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:48,400 off. It's it's a responsibility. 631 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:52,520 He calls it a duty. Now all of that being said, the 632 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,400 teacher says everyone's duty. The idea under that runs deeper 633 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,600 than the obligation we were talking about because the Hebrew 634 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,600 word Cole points out to the whole, the entirety or the 635 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:05,640 completeness of something. In other words, he's saying this 636 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,080 is what life actually looks like. 637 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:09,360 It's not a life that has everything figured out. 638 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,000 It's just pointed towards God in the middle of everything it 639 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:15,280 can't figure out. And then that final layer that 640 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,080 he, he adds to level the playing field for everybody. 641 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,640 He says God will judge us for everything we do, including 642 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,000 every secret thing, good or bad. And the word that's translated 643 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,200 there is judge. It comes from the Hebrew word 644 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:31,200 shafat, which means bringing things into right order, into 645 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,200 right order or evaluating with justice. 646 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,360 It's not as much about punishment for the wrong things 647 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,360 as it is about being accountable and making sure that nothing in 648 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:42,240 our lives is ultimately insignificant. 649 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,200 And this is actually encouraging if you look at it in the right 650 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,400 light, OK, Because he's teaching us this, that even the hidden 651 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:52,240 parts of life are included. And so most of us, when we read 652 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,680 that, we think about some of the worst thoughts we've ever had, 653 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,240 the things that we would never say out loud. 654 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,080 And there's not a human being in this room who has not had things 655 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:01,840 that they would be ashamed to get up here and say. 656 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,000 But he's saying this, the word secret, which is Sithar. 657 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:11,040 It's talking about what is concealed, concealed what is 658 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,280 done out of sight or what nobody else sees. 659 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,040 And he's reminding us that life is not measured only by what's 660 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,400 visible or recognized, but the internal decisions we make. 661 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:23,120 Those unseen moments, unseen moments, they all matter because 662 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,920 they are all lived before God. And to be honest with you, 663 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,720 that's encouraging to me because if you remember when we were 664 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:33,240 talking about thirsting for justice, yes, all of our secret 665 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,760 thoughts are accountable to the Lord, but at the same time, so 666 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,680 are everyone else's. So if you've ever had a moment 667 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:41,800 where you were struggling with somebody or struggling with the 668 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:44,840 situation and it felt like they didn't, you know, get any sort 669 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,280 of accountability, they're going to. 670 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,400 Maybe they have and you don't know it, but even if they 671 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,760 haven't, they're going to. Everything is lived in front of 672 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:54,600 God. None of us escape it. 673 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,280 And so that final conclusion settles in and everything that 674 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,320 the teacher said begins to find its right place. 675 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,480 Life is vapor, temporary, unpredictable and confusing. 676 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:07,640 But the message of Ecclesiastes is this. 677 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:14,320 It's not actually meaningless because it's lived in the 678 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:18,159 presence of a God who sees and a God who knows and who will 679 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:21,719 ultimately bring all things into right order, even if it's not on 680 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,719 your timeline. So we have to allow this truth 681 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,440 to recenter how we live. Instead of chasing control, we 682 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,760 walk in reverence. Instead of demanding certainty 683 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,440 or a different form of control, we learn to live in obedience. 684 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,840 We start measuring life not by what we can build or achieve, 685 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,440 but we see it through the lens of what actually lasts, and 686 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,679 that's the relationship that we have with the Lord. 687 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:45,480 All right, if you're watching on the live stream, we're going to 688 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:46,920 go ahead and end it here. We're going to have group 689 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:49,040 discussion. And then in about half an hour 690 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,679 or so, we'll we'll move into some acoustic worship to end the 691 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:53,320 night. Thanks for being here and going 692 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:54,520 through Ecclesiastes with us.