Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. You're listening
Speaker 1: to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible. I'm John Stonge
Speaker 1: and today we're in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 and we'll be
Speaker 1: reading from the New English Translation. I thought to myself,
Speaker 1: come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if
Speaker 1: it is worthwhile. But I found that it also is futile.
Speaker 1: I said of partying, it is folly, and of self-indulgent pleasure,
Speaker 1: it accomplishes nothing. I thought deeply about the effects of
Speaker 1: indulging myself with wine. All the while, my mind was
Speaker 1: guiding me with wisdom and the effects of behaving foolishly.
Speaker 1: so that I might discover what is profitable for people
Speaker 1: to do on earth during the few days of their lives.
Speaker 1: I increased my possessions. I built houses for myself. I
Speaker 1: planted vineyards for myself. I designed royal gardens and parks
Speaker 1: for myself. And I planted all kinds of fruit trees
Speaker 1: in them. I constructed pools of water for myself to
Speaker 1: irrigate my grove of flourishing trees. I purchased male and
Speaker 1: female slaves, and I owned slaves who were born in
Speaker 1: my house. I also possessed more livestock, both herds and flocks,
Speaker 1: than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. I also amassed
Speaker 1: silver and gold for myself, as well as valuable treasures
Speaker 1: taken from kingdoms and provinces. I acquired male singers and
Speaker 1: female singers for myself, and what gives a man sensual
Speaker 1: delight a harem of beautiful concubines. So I was far
Speaker 1: wealthier than all my predecessors in Jerusalem. Yet I maintained
Speaker 1: my objectivity. I did not restrain myself from getting whatever
Speaker 1: I wanted. I did not deny myself anything that would
Speaker 1: bring me pleasure. So all my accomplishments gave me joy.
Speaker 1: This was my reward for all my effort. Yet when
Speaker 1: I reflected on everything I had accomplished... And on all
Speaker 1: the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded,
Speaker 1: all these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless. Like chasing
Speaker 1: the wind, there is nothing gained from them on earth. Next,
Speaker 1: I decided to consider wisdom as well as foolish behavior
Speaker 1: and ideas. For what more can the king's successor do
Speaker 1: than what the king has already done? I realized that
Speaker 1: wisdom is preferable to folly. just as light is preferable
Speaker 1: to darkness. The wise man can see where he is going,
Speaker 1: but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized
Speaker 1: that the same fate happens to them both. So I
Speaker 1: thought to myself, the fate of the fool will happen
Speaker 1: even to me. Then what did I gain by becoming
Speaker 1: so excessively wise? So I lamented to myself, the benefits
Speaker 1: of wisdom are ultimately meaningless. For the wise man, like
Speaker 1: the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because
Speaker 1: in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas,
Speaker 1: the wise man dies just like the fool. So I
Speaker 1: loathed life, because what happens on earth seems awful to me,
Speaker 1: for all the benefits of wisdom are futile, like chasing
Speaker 1: the wind. So I loathed all the fruit of my efforts,
Speaker 1: for which I worked so hard on earth, because I
Speaker 1: must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.
Speaker 1: Who knows if he will be a wise man or
Speaker 1: a fool? Yet he will be master over all the
Speaker 1: fruit of my labor, for which I worked so wisely
Speaker 1: on earth. This also is futile. So I began to
Speaker 1: despair about all the fruit of my labor, for which
Speaker 1: I worked so hard on earth. For a man may
Speaker 1: do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, However, he
Speaker 1: must hand over the fruit of his labor as an
Speaker 1: inheritance to someone else who did not work for it.
Speaker 1: This also is futile and an awful injustice. What does
Speaker 1: a man acquire from all his labor and from the
Speaker 1: anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? For all day
Speaker 1: long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at
Speaker 1: night his mind cannot relax. This also is futile. There
Speaker 1: is nothing better for people than to eat and drink
Speaker 1: and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceive
Speaker 1: that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God. For
Speaker 1: no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart
Speaker 1: from Him. For to the one who pleases Him, God
Speaker 1: gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But to the sinner, He
Speaker 1: gives the task of amassing wealth only to give it
Speaker 1: to the one who pleases God. This task of the
Speaker 1: wicked is futile, like chasing the wind. Let's pray. Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to read it together today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, again, as we look at this portion of Scripture,
Speaker 1: we can see that chasing after the things of this world,
Speaker 1: whether it be amassing wealth or indulging in earthly pleasures,
Speaker 1: it amounts to nothing. It's not what you invite us
Speaker 1: to ultimately pursue. Lord, you invite us to find ultimate
Speaker 1: joy through faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. And through Jesus,
Speaker 1: we're granted wisdom, we're granted hope, we're granted the ability, Lord,
Speaker 1: to delight in who you are all the days of
Speaker 1: our lives, even as we look forward to the future,
Speaker 1: knowing that you've got our futures secured in your hand. So, Lord,
Speaker 1: we're grateful for this, and we're grateful for the reminders
Speaker 1: that you give to us through your word. We love you, Lord.
Speaker 1: We commit ourselves to you today, and we pray this
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen.