Wisdom, Knowledge, and Joy Are Gifts (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

record and I will pin this here. Pin. All right. Um, if you're uh well, whether you're new or not, I guess is irrelevant, but what I what I've started to do is record these and put them on a YouTube channel called 915 devotional. Uh, and then eventually, hopefully this week, I'll I'll create a link and I'm going to then put them on our website. Um, but ultimately what I would love to be able to do is for the channel to grow, uh, so that just more people see and have an opportunity to to watch um, uh, and listen to what God's word has to say. And so, if you guys are are YouTubers or you're not and you want to show up there and you want to like it or make a comment or or subscribe, uh, it's I'm not trying to make any money on YouTube.

I I don't need that. I just would like it to be available to more people. So, if you guys get an opportunity and chance and you want to do that, great. And if not, no big deal. Um, all right. So, here we are. We're back here. We're going to be we're going to go old school today. We're going to go to Ecclesiastes. uh if you're if you've never read the book of Ecclesiastes, uh it can really start out and if you if you don't have the proper context, uh it can really start out and and sound a little a little bleak, uh to be honest. And so this is a a book that Solomon has written.

He wrote it in at the end of his years. Uh he'd already amassed everything. He'd already done everything. And he was really trying at this point in his life to find the meaning of life. his kids had already kind of betrayed him and he he just he was he was he was trying to find what God had for meaning in all this. And so today we're going to hit chapter two and we're going to do the very last verse. Um in fact the the the couple verses before it are a cheerier note, but the ones before that are again Solomon and his kind of questioning where he's at and and and what what God really has for us and all this.

But but I want to cover just verse 26 today. And it says, let me read this. And it says, "To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God." This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. So dive in real quick. So the first thing that I think is very important is that he doesn't say to the person who pleases him uh uh God grants God gives it. This is this is a gift. You didn't earn the the wisdom, the knowledge or the joy.

It's not earned. You you didn't you didn't create this pile over here of all this good that you did so that God would give you wisdom, knowledge, and joy. that that's a gift. That's grace. It comes directly from him. So those that are are walking righteously th or those that are attempting to those that those that are are choosing to uh to call God Lord, the Lord of their lives. What he says is I'm going to give you wisdom, knowledge, and joy. Now, we have to receive that. We we have to accept that as well, too. You know, someone can give you a gift, but if you don't take the wrapping paper off and use it, then it doesn't do you much good, right?

And so, these are gifts that God gives to us. We didn't earn them. We we we didn't we didn't go and amass this wealth or these we we didn't go save a hundred people and now all of a sudden he's he's giving these things to us. Th those are a gift regardless of what we've done. They're a gift because he gives them uh to the person who pleases him. So those that are walking righteously, those that are calling God Lord, he says, "But to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth." So we should be I'm going to give you two the two the two there's two people he's talking about here.

He's talking about the person that is righteous and he's talking about the person that's unrighteous. To the person that's righteous, what he's saying is I'm giving you joy. So, we should find joy in our work. And this is what Solomon is talking about. Whatever that might be, wherever you're at. Um, it it it shouldn't be uh I need to make more money that that and we want to. We all should, but it should be thankful and grateful and joyful about the work that we have. This work that you're doing right now may only be temporary. Maybe God's got something else for you to do.

But, but he wants us to be joyful and happy in that in that process. He doesn't want us to hold on too tight. He He doesn't want you to strive and strive and strive to gather and gather and gather and hold on to this too tight because it's not yours. It's God's. He just wants you to steward it well. Right? And so he may have other plans or other desires for that. One of the reasons why Solomon was probably concerned about this is because he built a massive fortune and empire and his kids weren't walking right. He's like, "I built all this and I'm going to hand it over to someone that's that's not going to honor it, that's not going to do what they should with it." So, he was concerned.

The other person, the unrighteous person, I want you to think about the daily grind. That person's daily grinding it every day. They're not finding joy. They're grinding. They're How many How many people do you know that have a lot, but are still unhappy? They find no joy in that. And and it's because it's what God is saying is that to that person, I'm not going to give them the joy. They're going to do nothing but grind. The that they're never going to see enough. They're never going to hear enough. They're never going to do enough. They're always after the grind.

It's a grind every day they wake up. And they don't get to experience the joy that only God can give you. And so those are the two different people that that God is talking about in here. And so he says, "But to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth. and to what? To hand it over to the one who pleases God. So ultimately God is going to take whatever that person has done, whatever that unrighteous person has built up. And eventually God's going to use it for what his purpose and his glory is, not for the unrighteous. And so he says then he goes then Solomon goes on to say this too is meaningless.

The chasing after the wind. So so it kind of gets confusing. It's like all right, you're telling me that God's going to give me wisdom, knowledge, and happiness or joy. And to the sinner, he's going to give constant grind and constant uh uh unrest or or or or unsatisfied. But ultimately what Solomon says, this too is meaningless in a chasing after the wind. And and what you see this happen is he writes this many time in the book of Ecclesiastes because ultimately what Solomon is trying to say is and he says it in here and I think it's in chapter nine.

He says listen, enjoy your life. Eat, drink, be merry, enjoy your family, work hard, but know that this is not it. That's it. This is just a temporary spot for us. This is not where we're going to spend eternity. That we we should enjoy these things, but to remember to put the things here in their proper place or their proper perspective. You can go earn $10 million, it's going to mean nothing to you in heaven. Zero. Nothing. So, it's better to be the righteous one. It's better to be that person that walks righteously. It's better to be that person that seeks God's face through all things rather than just trying to build up your silos.

There's a there's a parable in in the New Testament where where the rich guy goes and he tear down his barns and he builds bigger barns to store more of his stuff. And the moment he finishes building these bigger barns and the moment he finishes filling them up, God calls him. All right, I'm going to take you now. You're all done. He doesn't even get an opportunity or chance to enjoy what he's done. And he wasn't enjoying it while he was doing it. And so there's a parable there. And so this is what Solomon is also talking about. This too is meaningless.

He's not saying don't go do it. He's not saying don't enjoy your time. He's not saying don't work hard. He's not saying it's it's it's it's no good to have money. It's not he's not saying any of that. What he's saying is just remember its place. That the most important thing is to put God first and to remember who he is. All right. So thoughts, comments, suggestions. Just one thought I guess I guess godliness produces contentment and contentment is the greatest uh thing. I The scripture says that give do when when it's due. So, it's it's it's a good thing.

Amen. All right. Well, then no one else Let's go ahead. It's already 9:27. Let's bow our heads and pray out. Father, thank you so much for today as always. Lord, we we thank you for those those things that you give to us that we don't have to earn. It's that's your grace. Um that includes that wisdom and the knowledge and the joy that that that you make a decision to give to us. And why? Because we call you Lord. Father, I pray that that we would be content that we would be thankful for where we're at. That we would recognize and realize as the scripture says that every good and perfect thing comes from above.

And so maybe right now with our natural eyes, we don't recognize it as good and perfect. But if you've given it to us, text say as it is. And so Lord, I just pray that we would we would grab that, that we would understand that, that we would ex we would accept this wisdom, we would receive it, and that we would apply it to our lives. Uh Lord, allow us to make sure that we are putting you first. And that's the most important thing that everything else, as Solomon calls it, is meaningless and chasing after the wind, Father. That that we know that you've you've created it.

You created it for us to enjoy. But we have to remember that that you created it and that we we we must always put you first in this process. So, Father, I just pray that that we would always think about that, that we would always remember that that this is one of those things that we would completely tie to the tablet of our own heart. Father, watch over us today, guide us, walk with us. um give us an opportunity um for lessons as Aggie said that when there's areas in our lives where where we need to we need to start building and growing in that fruit of the spirit Lord that you would put those opportunities in front of us so that we could gain in our walk with you.

Father we love you. We praise you and as always in your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. All right. See you guys tomorrow. You guys all have a great day. Have a blessed day. Have a blessed day. Thank you.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly edited for readability.