Ecclesiastes 5 (5)

Pray Psalm 25.14, 15
The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Read Ecclesiastes 5.10-12.

Prepare.
1. What is Solomon’s view of great wealth? Does he think wealth is evil?

2. How does the honest laborer sleep, compared to the rich man? Why?

Meditate.
Any who may think to find satisfaction and fulfillment in riches and wealth need to think again.

Ask any winner of the lottery how many friends he suddenly has – and just how long they remain his friends. The allure of wealth is in what it can gain us. Once it has done its work in getting us things – all of which become boring and perish – the wealth we thought would bring us happiness is gone – and so are the friends.

The faithful laborer lives one day at a time and retires each night, content with a good day’s work and an honest day’s pay to go with it. The rich man tosses and turns on his bed, worrying about what will happen to his wealth. An alternate understanding of the last part of verse 12 might be that the rich tend to overindulge in the good things of life, and this can be unhealthy. Either way, if Rehoboam – or any of us – thinks he’s going to be happy once he’s rich, take it from Solomon, who’s “been there, done that”: this way lies vanity.

Solomon’s admonition moves smoothly from superficial views of religion, to false views of power and influence, to misguided views about wealth. Each of these things is good in themselves – Solomon will get around to saying this at the end of chapter 5. However, as ends in themselves, they are deceitful, destructive, idolatrous, and even diabolical.

Our own age has been described as an age of materialism, relativism, narcissism, and superficiality. The manifest lack of happiness and peace, evident in so many ways, serves to confirm the wisdom in Solomon’s warnings to his son, and makes Ecclesiastes all that much more important and timely for our day. 

Reflect.
1. Money and wealth are not inherently evil; but they can become evil. How?

2. Should believers spend a lot of time worrying about whether or not they’re going to have enough to meet their needs? Explain.

3. What does Solomon commend as the key to having a good night’s sleep? Why do you think he says that?

An abundance of evil can be revealed in wealth. But this type of evil should be viewed as more of a weakness. Therefore, everyone who guards his wealth for himself does not know the wisdom of God, nor is his heart inclined to insight, nor to instructing his children. He has neither received the words of God’s commandments nor has he hidden them in his heart.. Evagrius of Pontus (345-399), Scholia on Ecclesiastes 39.5.12-13

Lord, help me to desire contentment more than wealth, and help me to use the wealth You entrust to me to…

Pray Psalm 25.14-18.
Seek contentment from the Lord. Confess your sins, and seek His mercy for your shortcomings. Commit yourself and all you have to serving the Lord throughout the day ahead.

Sing Psalm 25.14-18.
Psalm 25.14-18 (Festal Song: Revive Thy Work, O Lord)
Your friends are they who fear and seek Your holy face;
Your covenant with them You share and save them by Your grace.

Be gracious, Lord, to me; my heart is weighed with woe.
My troubles and affliction see; let my transgressions go.

T. M. Moore 

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).