Marriage is a Secondary Pleasure

 Because God has set eternity in the hearts of men, only God can fill the void. Solomon pursues wealth and power and sex and achievement as objects of primary satisfaction, but nothing can hold the water. Death levels the playing field. “You fool, tonight your soul will be required of you!”

Solomon has taken great pains to rip everything out of our hands that could be an idol. None of it worth selling your soul for. We dare not worship even good things. “Fear God and keep his commandments.” Only God matters. At the point when our heart surrenders, God is gracious. Now that He is alone as our primary pleasure, He- as the Father of lights and the Giver of good gifts, begins to restore what has been taken.

But those pleasures have been transformed. The good gifts, wealth, food, and sex, are no longer vying for supremacy in our lives. Instead, God does two things, according to Solomon:

1. He gives us these secondary pleasures because they have finally learned their place in our lives. We recognize them as coming from the hand of God.

2. He gives us the power to enjoy them. In Solomon, the gifts from the hand of God and the power to enjoy them are two different things.

Eating, drinking, working, and marriage are listed by Solomon as those things that come as secondary pleasures from the hand of God. Marriage, then, is a secondary pleasure. When it occupies the primary position, it is an idol.

How can marriage be an idol? Whenever we love or worship the gift more than the Giver, we have traded the creature for the Creator. When we make the relationship an end in itself, we forget that all things must point to God or they detract us from real purpose. Christian culture must uphold the dignity of marriage as part of the creation ordinances, but be careful not to make it a god.

Marriage after all is for life “under the sun.” Jesus told the those who denied the resurrection that men and women will not be given in marriage in eternity. Marriage is the shadow for which our relationship to Christ, is the substance. Christ’s relationship to the church is not like marriage, but marriage is like the church’s relationship with Christ. Marriage here foreshadows the eternal relationship: That relationship is the ultimate reality.

When we make marriage primary, we make single believers second-class citizens in the Kingdom of God. But Paul commended singleness for its singular passion for Christ and His mission. In Isaiah, God promises to give Eunuchs and foreigners “a memorial and a name” better than sons and daughters. Jesus said, there are three reasons that people are Eunuchs: They are born that way, they are made that way by the hand of men, or they choose to remain single for the Kingdom of God. We must not minimize their service for God as second-rate. Marriage is a gift. So is singleness. Both come from the hand of God as blessing for the believer.

Christopher Yuan tells the story of Ken and Floy Smith, a couple whose life of ministry resulted in the conversion of Rosaria Butterfield. When Floy died, Ken was comforted by this thought: “Our marriage was not interrupted (by death), but fulfilled. So I took my ring off. Marriage completed. Interestingly enough, this brought me immense comfort, peace, and thanksgiving.”

What Really Matters?

 What really matters?  Man has a peculiar kind of longing, a yearning for spending life in a way that matters.  Purpose and meaning are bound up in the way we are made.  The image of God, stamped onto every living soul, demands permanence.  But in this world of transient things, what is permanent?

Solomon is on record with a full investigation into the world and its affairs.  The Book of Ecclesiastes is a search for a purpose strong enough to engage a man's soul.  God has put eternity into man's heart.  No temporal affair matters, ultimately and finally.  All of life, under the sun, is transient, ephemeral, like the wind.  Nothing has the permanence of eternity.  All that we think, say, and do will pass away.  No inheritance lasts.  It is enough to bring us to despair at our toil (Ecclesiastes 2:20) if that were the end of the story.

Solomon has an answer and he has been waiting to tell us.  He has been careful to arrange his book to give us a full, lasting glimpse into man's transient world.  He has taken great care to communicate- choosing words of delight (Ecc. 12:9), specific images that will stick with us.  The words, the proverbs, the mood and the genre were all a product of Solomon's care.  He weighed out and studied and arranged his proverbs to communicate truth.

Solomon describes his writing in two images (Ecc. 12:11):  His words are goads.  A goad was a long stick used for guiding oxen when plowing.  We will feel the sting as he directs us to the one thing that matters.  His words are also firmly fixed nails:  Solid, dependable words we can build our lives on.  These goads and nails are not just the work of Solomon.  His wisdom is sourced in the wisdom of the Shepherd.  God Himself has overseen the work.

We have been reading the words of a master.  Ecclesiastes has all been assembled for the sole purpose of guiding us to true purpose, true permanence.  Qoheleth has wrestled out of our hands all the vanities I might have sold my soul for.  Without his warning, I could have lost everything.  I could have wasted my life.

The sage is now the evangelist.  His wisdom has brought us empty-handed to the edge of eternity.  What matters, what lasts, is God Himself.  Only God matters.  Our relationship with Him lasts.  Solomon's comprehensive survey of all that matters boils down to one command:  Fear God.  Fearing Him, obeying His commands is our duty and our delight.  We come to God because a relationship with the Creator is eternal.  It is the purpose for which we are created in His image.  The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.  Every deed will be brought into judgment.

Some writers have described the last paragraphs of Ecclesiastes as postscript, an addendum added by another author from another time or another place.  This section is not an addition.  It is the whole point.

Risk, Uncertainty and the Will of God

 How do we face uncertainty?  I want to do the will of God.  I want to try new things.  But, is now the right time?  Will my venture meet with success or failure?  Should I wait until I am sure?  Anxiety over God's will stems from this uncertainty.  These are the kinds of questions Qoheleth wants to address.

Ecclesiastes 10:8-11 describes the uncertainty in our daily affairs.  Sometimes the uncertainty stems from our own actions, sometimes its unavoidable.  We fall into a pit we have just dug.  We work in danger when we work with wood or stone.  If we try to charm a snake, well, you get the picture.  How do we keep this uncertainty from paralyzing us?

Solomon would remind us that while uncertainty exists from our point of view, all things are certain to God.  Where clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth (11:3).  Where a tree falls, there it lies.  Who knows how the spirit joins the body of a baby in conception?  There is so much we don't know. It is a comfort then that God orchestrates all things and will dispose the day.  Why doesn't He tell us what He's doing?

There is gravity in the uncertainty of our world.  We don't know what disaster will fall upon the earth (11:2).  We don't know what will prosper, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well (11:6).  This uncertainty can breed sloth:  He who observes the wind will never sow and he who regards the clouds will never reap (11:4).  Proverbs makes this point as well:  The sloth excuses his inactivity by fearing "There is a lion in the streets- I will be slain in the public square."  I suppose there is a lion outside his door somewhere, but what are the chances it's anywhere near?

If uncertainty is built into life, then faith in God is essential.  Watch how faith works in the face of uncertainty:

    "So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there were there with great, fortified cities.  It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord has said."  (Caleb, Joshua 14:12)

    "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.  Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God and may the Lord do what seems good to him."  (Joab, II Samuel 10:11-12) 

     "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."  (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel 3:16-18)

     "Go gather all the Jews in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my young women will fast as you do.  Then, I will go into the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." (Esther, Esther 4:16)

     "Some of you they will put to death.  You will be hated by all for my name's sake.  But not a hair of your head will perish."  (Jesus to His disciples, Luke 21:16-18)

     "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring... Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  (James 4:13-16)

Some Bible expositor might say:  "To move from your place without a sure word from God is reckless presumption."  Solomon would respond by saying that risk and faith are related.  If uncertainty is built in, then faith in God is essential.  Good and bad happen together.  Light and darkness are a part of life.  The proper response is to rejoice in all our years, remembering that the many days of darkness are unavoidable.

Solomon shares three pieces of advice for managing uncertainty and the element of risk.  First, cast your bread upon the waters:  Invest your life wisely even when there is no promise of immediate reward (11:1).  Second, give a portion to seven or eight- diversify (11:2). Finally, be diligent:  The merism "morning and evening" means to consistently invest your life- not everything will succeed, but not everything will fail.  Keep working.

Man was made to take dominion over God's creation, to care for the garden and to bring more order and beauty to God's world.  Solomon wants us to get after the goals we have set:  Follow your heart, but know for all this God will bring you into judgment.  If your plans are good and true, pray about them and then step out.  We are called to be faithful.  Success comes from God.  Don't let uncertainty stand in your way.  Risk in order to take dominion, to advance the kingdom of God, is good.  Perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.

Qoheleth and the Good Life: Secondary Pleasures

 Solomon wants us to make sure we understand our priorities.  God is our chief concern and we are responsible to remember our Creator in the days of our youth- before we've wasted the short life we have been given.  Other things may vie for our attention but it will be disastrous if we make money or possessions, or relationships, or honor our primary concern.  Let God alone be your goal.

However, once we have that priority straight, Solomon discusses secondary pleasures.  These are good gifts that come down to us from the Father of lights.  We are to see them as our portion, gifts from God designed for our blessing.  Watch for all the things in Ecclesiastes that fall to our account as secondary blessings.

The blessings are not intrinsic to themselves.  Solomon says wealth and possessions and honor are neutral concerns:  One verse says God gives us the power to enjoy them.  Another verse says God could withhold the power to enjoy them.  Solomon is saying the difference is not in the gift but the Giver.

One blessing from God is the reminder that the righteous, the wise,  and their deeds are in the hand of God.  He is our security and our rest.  Whatever secondary gifts we might receive are not worthy to be compared with the contentment available in our relationship with Him.

One assurance regarding our short life in this world is that God "has already approved what you do."  This is as close as Solomon gets to Paul, said one commentator.  Because we have a faithful relationship with God, we can dress in white garments, wear the oil of gladness, and rejoice in the blessings of this life.  God has already approved our work.

Finally, in the midst of our toil, as we carry out the dominion mandate, these secondary pleasures go with us.  As we sweat and toil over the thorns and thistles involved in our work, God keeps us occupied with joy and gladness of heart.  These secondary pleasures keep us occupied with joy.

What are the secondary pleasures to which Solomon refers?  A quick scan of the book of Ecclesiastes is enough to help us find a load of gifts that are curses when we pursue them instead of God, but blessings when they come back to us from His hand.  Spend some time making your own list of secondary pleasures from the book.  Here's my list:

    Eat

    Drink

    Wealth

    Possessions 

    Honor

    Marriage (wife)

    Ability to do good

Qoheleth and the Good Life: What is the Role of Death in the Book of Ecclesiastes?

 Death plays a prominent role in the Book of Ecclesiastes.  Yet, Solomon doesn't have a morbid preoccupation with the physical decay or the emotional pangs of grief and loss.  Instead, he refers to death like Stephen Covey (First Law of Highly Successful People):  Begin with the end in mind.  His, and Solomon's reasoning, goes something like this:  1.  What do you want people to say at your funeral?  2.  Back up and live with those words in mind so that people actually say those things at your funeral.

Here are Solomon's two concerns:

First, Death reminds us of our limitations.  "No man has power over the day of his death."  Death is sure and we have no power to delay or divert it.  Our memory will be forgotten- there will be no enduring remembrance.  In death, there is no more reward for the things we do and we have no more share in what is done under the sun.  Man is limited to these few days that are given to us.  In light of death, how should we live?

Second, Death makes us rearrange our priorities.  "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth."  Before our bodies remind us daily of our approaching decay (it's too late for me, save yourselves!), we are to make Christ the central focus of our lives.  He is our central concern, our chief priority.  Then, Solomon says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, because your time is quickly passing."

Our task is to invest our remaining time wisely with eyes wide open for opportunities to do good.  "Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes, but know that God will bring you into judgment."  Open our eyes, Lord, to what our investment possibilities are for Your glory!

For Solomon, death is not a tragedy, it is the finish line for a life well-lived.  May we arrange the days of our short life under the sun, in order that we may hear "Well done, good and faithful servant!"