The Economies of GodEcclesiastes 3-5

Foundational Issues…

“Everything is meaningless...completely meaningless!” (Eccl.1:1)

“I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” (Eccl. 2:17)

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart. (Eccl. 3:11) 

3:13 ENJOY!

3:12b Build

3:12 Rejoice

Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and

drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for

these are gifts from God.

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Objection!

• Where is God’s Justice?

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the

courts of law are corrupt! 3:16

"Sometimes there just ain't enough rocks out there"

Luke 18:2 "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.

Objection!

• Where is God’s Justice?–God will straighten it out

• Injustice is allowed for now…• But also limited…

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the

courts of law are corrupt! 3:16

Eccl. 3:17 (NIV) God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed.

Objection!

• Where is God’s Justice?–God will straighten it out–Injustice reveals the beast…

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the

courts of law are corrupt! 3:16

As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 3:18

Objection!

• Where is God’s Justice?–God will straighten it out–Injustice reveals the beast…

• Institutions can’t hide our frailty.

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the

courts of law are corrupt! 3:16

Ecclesiastes 3:19 (NIV) Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.

Objection!

• Where is God’s Justice?–God will straighten it out–Injustice reveals the beast…

• Institutions can’t hide our frailty.• We even die like animals!

I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the

courts of law are corrupt! 3:16

3:20-21 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?

Winning Against Oppression4:1 Again, I observed all the oppression that

takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.

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4:2-3 So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

4:1 …The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.

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The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System (a.k.a. “Free Market” Economics)

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Ecclesiastes 4:4 Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Imagine the possibilities of TUPPENCE!

Just imagine the mortgage foreclosures!

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System (a.k.a. “Free Market” Economics)– 4:6,5 HIPPIE SOLUTIONS?

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“Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with

hard work and chasing the wind.”

And yet, “Fools fold their idle hands,

leading them to ruin.”

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System (a.k.a. “Free Market” Economics)– 4:6,5 HIPPIE SOLUTIONS?

• REALLY DUMB!!

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“Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with

hard work and chasing the wind.”

And yet, “Fools fold their idle hands,

leading them to ruin.”

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System (a.k.a. “Free Market” Economics)– 4:6,5 HIPPIE SOLUTIONS?– 4:7-8 The YUPPIE Solution

• SO LONELY & MEANINGLESS!

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Ecclesiastes 4:7-8 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can.

But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. 3:4

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution

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Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution

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put you here

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution

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put you here

Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 (NLT) Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

EVEN A MARRIAGE NEEDS MORE RELATIONSHIPS!

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution– This is wisdom: your greatest asset!

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4:13-14 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution– This is wisdom: your greatest asset!– The Economy of God always WINS!

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4:13-14 It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.

Even against OPPRESSION…“even the courts of law are corrupt!” 3:16

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution• 4:15-16 NOT Trusting Human Love

– Betrayal, abandonment…

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4:15-16 But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him. Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution• 4:15-16 NOT Trusting Human Love• 5:1 Understanding, Knowing God

– Because “God is Love” 1 Jn. 4:19

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Ecclesiastes 5:1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.

John 4:24 (NASB) "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution• 4:15-16 NOT Trusting Human Love• 5:1 Understanding, Knowing God

– Because “God is Love” 1 Jn. 4:19– Godly relationships in the “Living Temple”

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5:1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

2 Corinthians 6:16 For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God , and they shall be my people. Three are even better, for a triple-braided

cord is not easily broken. EVEN A MARRIAGE NEEDS MORE

RELATIONSHIPS!

The Source: the envy & strife that fuelsthe World System

• 4:9-11 The LOVE Solution• 4:15-16 NOT Trusting Human Love• 5:1 Understanding, Knowing God

– Because “God is Love” 1 Jn. 4:19– Godly relationships in the “Living Temple”

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5:1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

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3:13 ENJOY!

3:12b Build

3:12 Rejoice

“I’m only here because I love you”

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3:11,13 Enjoy Beauty!

3:12b Build

3:12 Rejoice Build SIGNIFICANCE,

Not “Treasure”

Victorious Love GIVES

…nothing better than to rejoice and to do

good in one's lifetime;

The Time Economy of God

INCOME

EXPENSE

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Think About It…• Are you THANKFUL or DEMANDING?

Ecclesiastes 3:12 (NASB) I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice…

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Think About It…• Are you THANKFUL or DEMANDING?• Are you BUILDING or demanding?

Ecclesiastes 3:13 People should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

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Think About It…• Are you THANKFUL or DEMANDING?• Are you BUILDING or demanding?• Are you LISTENING or demanding?

5:1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut.

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Think About It…• Are you THANKFUL or DEMANDING?• Are you BUILDING or demanding?• Are you LISTENING or demanding?• Are you GIVING or demanding?

…nothing better than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime;