Rising Above the Tide - Ecclesiastes 2:12-17

My how smart you were nor how much you had better how big your Sandcastle laws of the garages were attached to it matter how much stuff you had stored in the attic, no matter how many toys you had that bumper sticker was wrong.

It reads the man with the most toys wins.

Salomon would say read the man with the most I know I discovered Solomon talking about the futility of pursuing what this world has to offer in our section today, Solomon makes it clear that living wisely is better than living foolishly, but he also makes an important point matter how wise you are and no matter how much you accumulate in life, you're going to die. In light of that reality, the only wise thing to do is to rise above what this world offers an embrace Jesus Christ who is the way the truth and the life he gives life meaning and you'll learn how next every year I find it intriguing. There are a lot of coastline states and other countries along the oceanfront's around the world that hold elaborate contests every year. The summer months. Sandcastle building contests. Some tournaments offer cash prizes of $10,000 and more. Some of the winners I went online and looked from this year's competition around the country feature incredibly exquisite, beautiful artistry.

It's amazing what somebody can do with saying I just poured out of a pail and stop on what people do some of the entries this year were huge and scope and size palaces really made of sand and water every year thousands of people come to watch these contestants as they create their masterpieces on Charlotte's really remarkable to me is that these can be built in such a short amount of time. Typically, the contest will begin around 9 AM and runs until late afternoon, the contestants choose their place along the beach and start from scratch. They got to finish their masterpieces around 3 o'clock so their entries can be judged because somebody else is going to show up to take a close look at these masterpieces.

The Sandcastle view never fails to show up right on time. When he does everything stops.

We call it the time the tide is coming in, and when he arrives. All these sand castles and these creative marbles are washed away.

I did a little digging and found that the history of the English word for time originally referred to a portion of time. In fact, tide and time are close cousins in English language we use the word today. The words glad tidings that means you clad season of time there is any glad Aventis think of the King James version's translation regarding the Angels delivering to the shepherds.

Good tidings of great joy regarding the birth of Jesus with chapter 2 verse 10. It's also interesting to discover that the worker's high originally carried the idea that not only was something going to happen, but something was going to happen. That was predictable. It was as certain as the rising and falling of the ocean waters, which is why the word hi got attached to that event was always on time. Always expected that there's nothing the Sandcastle could ever do to avoid it.

No matter how beautiful, how elaborate workplace in the contest. How magnificent tide was on his way you not occurs to me it doesn't matter. People spend their time making Sandcastle masterpieces or just pouring piles of sand out of a plastic tail that coming time cannot be rescheduled. The tide is going to come in that. By the way, happens to be an issue in a sense that's keeping Solomon at night and he describes his frustration for us here in his private journal. If you're with us in our last study in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon is asking the question, is there anything I can do is there any thing I can experience. Is there anything I can accomplish that will make me hang on to happiness.

Is there anything that will make it last long. In fact, to outline the answers no matter what placement, no matter what that through is like winning Wimbledon one tennis professional admitted to a reporter not too long ago, the euphoria she felt.

She said lasted about two hanging on to happiness. Solomon concludes, is like trying to catch the wind Internet. Now we arrive at a section in his journal is going to ask another question he's going to ask the question, is there any advantage to living wisely rather than living while so stick it up chapter 2 and verse 12. So I turned to consider wisdom and medicine. Following for what did the man who comes after the king only what is already been done. Solomon does here as he turns his attention to a new train of thinking a train of thought. So I turned the book to be read, and I turned my attention to think about this. Is there any advantage to living wisely or while, and by the way, the combination of the words madness and folly are not two different things are combined little do the zero several times to basically refer to the wildest, craziest party life that you could ever imagine and notice in this text is solid and suggest that there isn't any man is ever going to come after him who can experience it even more wildly, that he did that they could somehow live more prudently than he did.

There isn't anybody that's good be able to experiment with any anything more than he has been able to experiment. So here's the question, is living a moderate prudent moral wise life any better than living the party life which commercial is it early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise is it that commercial or is it you only go around once in lives of Graham just so you can while you have the chance is that it which one which direction is going to be better and I gotta tell you that even though most of his journal is been rather negative and jaded. You know Solomon dancer Mike might surprise you. Notice first. 13 then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in life than in darkness in your thinking. Finally, as a verse I can memorize.

I read that it will. Every so often I let my kids read this using your head is smarter than running while waiting. Solomon finally he says there's more gain in wisdom by knowing the word gain in Hebrew language is a commercial term which you can translate profit or advantage. He's saying yes there is an advantage to living wisely rather than living wildly in fact you notice in the text he equates folly with darkness and he equates wisdom with light.

Night goes on. As he does here has already dropped in this proverb verse 14.

A wise person has his eyes in his head but the fool walks in darkness.

What is that mean the wise person has his eyes in his head, meaning as his eyes open. Got 2020 vision, but the fool walks through life as in a fall, we would describe a foolish man today bye-bye say something like that guys in the dark is in the dark that there's no light bulb turned on in the attic is not thinking what author commented the German author that those reading this Hebrew proverb this keeper is and is translated into his German culture to read it. He who wants to play chess had better not keep his eyes in his pocket, which is a silly way of saying life is like a game of chess and you better have both eyes open and an alert. My grandmother taught me that she taught me how to play chess. One of the things that she taught me was that about playing her chess. I better stay alert and I never beater by the way ever and she might've been an older woman. She might've been my grandmother. But when it came to playing chess.

She was bloodthirsty vicious, unmerciful, after years of counseling I think I'm over it, but at any rate, never to be that she taught a good life lesson life like chess is that you better keep your eyes open the fall. On the other hand, notices and constant trouble.

The word fool or the attorneys not using this prerogative, you fool kind of thing that you hear out there. The word fool will determine. Ecclesiastes easily using 18 times is it referring to somebody with a low IQ or the village idiot or whatever is is referring to a person lives in a life a dishonorable life, a life that rebels against God.dishonoring life you get the witness without the full does not have his moral headlights turned on so we drive in the dark and any any just totals his life. One event after another. You go to the jails and interview them or that way houses and asked them what is it like total your life by keeping those headlights off. This is the idea here. The only thing a foolish person seems to be looking for is the next opportunity to see that's what they're alert you my workaround that they you would not recommend going to call foolish person, but they can't wait for the weekend like this are looking forward to got there I saw learned to sit in front of me I can't since the foolish person and select the question, is there an advantage to living wisely or foolishly and silences. Yes, there is an advantage to living wisely before you and I Solomon Sam, so glad to see you finally writing a verse you I can memorize or use my devotions.

Solomon says that's a fact not so fat verse wise person as his eyes and temper the fool walks in darkness and to fast box.

I perceive that the same event happens to all of them. Same event, read the Hebrew language means Satan or destiny. The same thing happened to us all. Verse 15 that I said in my heart.

What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why, then, have I been so why so many are go Solomon again and what is that event will happen about the wise and the fool's event number 16 the wise dies just like the fool, the tide comes in for a soul. Solomon says okay that eliminates any advantage you thought I was good to take you down that path with Megan do whatever he wanted. Build an elaborate Sandcastle going go to the beach for the dozen time is coming for us all, and he makes a couple of observations that affect us all. And by the way he's telling the truth here.

It's brutal when we want to hear.

Here's the first no matter what you do. Your accomplishments are forgettable and it is encouraging to hear on a Sunday morning came early to hear that this is the brutal facts of why we were succeeding for the why is as of the fool. There is no enduring remembrance seeing that in the days to come. All will have long forgotten things already talked about that in chapter 1 verse 11. If your Windows he said it this way, generations, going to generations to come after. Forget the generations that came, we tend to forget is not trying to be mean to rub your nose at it. He's he's trying to be painfully honest. This is observation of a very discerning man, our lives will be forgotten. Solomon Artie knew by the way how the Egyptian pharaohs were living.

They had a practice even during Solomon's life nearby of sandblasting off names of their predecessor, Ferris, and chiseling their names into the monuments they didn't want their predecessor to be remembered and Susie in a bit the dust. Forget about them when I used to do that in Solomon effect Egyptian texts written about the same time, Solomon lived with the been excavated. Read and I translate read from the translation.

Those who built pyramids pharaohs are soon forgotten. Those who were once considered God's life forgotten in their two is the brutal truth one day. Nobody on the planet is going to remember you or what you did to help Bill how big the monument is which you build affected my my research for these studies read recently in an article by genealogist to studying the area of modern genealogy and and the article commented that the average person doesn't know the names of their family members beyond four generations, on average, if you do your your remarkable you're an exception to the rule, so you know your parents names you know your grandparents names about your great grandparents names.

How about your great great grandparents men and was she then named Fred it's been carried on your for the fifth. Given that the count than to just four generations. In fact, the names of people without whom you would not be here today. No matter what you do, your accomplishments are forgettable.

Secondly, Solomon essentially as a matter who you are.

Your death is unavoidable. He had this! Back then in verse 16. How the wise dies just like the fool what he means is we all occupy that tomb whether you're the brightest person in kindergarten or not so bright.

No matter how smart you were.

No matter how much you had matter how big here Sandcastle laws that many garages were attached to it in the matter how much stuff you had stored in the attic, no matter how many toys you had that bumper sticker was wrong.

It reads the man with the most toys wins. Solomon would say at all to read the man with the most toys still dies can handle the truth. Sunlight with bravado say I don't come, and who cares I was behind this past week.

Mustang GT was going faster than I was with bothered me a little bit let them go and as he was taken off his license plate read hello down. I wondered if you knew Ty is coming in and with the shadows of death, reflecting back on Solomon's life.

He comes to three conclusions we give them to you quickly.

First of all, life has become disgusting. Verse 17 just the first phrase so I hated life and I want to take the lunch I hated life. You paraphrase history.

Therefore, I was disgusted with life. When I think about the fact here. I want to get away bill of this masterpiece here comes the time for this is disgusted. He's angry, frustrated, come to the realization that no matter how long you live. He's going to die like everybody else cares about the Sandcastle. This is true for those that reflect on death believer and unbeliever.

It is for the believer, a sign of wisdom that we count the days we number our days, we consider our mortality for the unbeliever without any hope it's it would lead to this kind of anger and again we got a remember. Ecclesiastes is understood backward he gets to his grand conclusion in chapter 12 came across by the way, an article of the man reminds me of Solomon one of the siding is the fourth richest man on the planet right now is worth about $55 billion. He's pouring monies are reported 40 million of it into what he's calling.

Quote lifespan development processes. In other words, ways to figure out how to avoid the tide wrong with longer lives. Larry Ellison said this, however, in an interview. Death makes me angry. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Death has never made any sense to me.

How can a person be there and then just vanish and not be there. The idea dad makes me disgusted in life.

Solomon adds life is not only become disgusting.

Life is become distasteful or 17 so I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me as that little phrase to a phrase we've Artie studied the return for grievous can be rendered unpleasant or distasteful. In fact, it's a word attached to bitter herbs. He's saying life down here under the sun is like one meal bitter herbs after another not taste good. I think about it, the tides, and have some ice cream and how good is I got a taste when the tides coming. He's giving us the truth yet. Thirdly, life is become disheartening under the sun down here all is vanity striving after when there are no pockets in shrouds is the Jewish proverb says if is George Strait. The country-western singer used sing it it if if he's never seen a hearse with a luggage rack on top. The thought that is true Billy Graham haddock coined it this way never seen a horse pulling a U-Haul cemetery plot, then yes, that's what you're living for the no matter how much stuff in your pockets all you've done is chase after the wind and in the end you caught nothing for the believer. Life can be at times distasteful and disgusting and disheartening. Solomon is telling us the truth but Solomon is telling us the whole truth. Remember, he stuck down here at this point in his journal with the perspective that never goes any higher than the sun, but if you go to the end of his journal and I keep taking us up there to make sense of what is writing here but it's going to be that grand observation. Remember your creator. Don't forget your creator. You don't belong my faith to your creator who raised above the sun then you're stuck down here and then all you really are doing is temporarily building the Sandcastle without any hope beyond the grave. My friend, you can't avoid the tide. You can't cheat tide. You can't reschedule the tide, but by faith in Jesus Christ. You can rise above the tide. One day, for Jesus that I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, yet shall he live. John 1125. How well for God so loved the world, the world of humanity stuck down here under the sun that he sent his son to come here under the saw them live among us and live a perfect life and died for so that if we believe in him we will not perish that is eternal judgment but have everlasting life. So, do you know if you don't build the best Sandcastle you can.

In the end, the tide preps God is brought you here to this moment in your life to hear this true mortal life in his private journal. Another preacher wrote this name was John Wesley and he entered this in his journal on January 2, 1777 is a 66-year-old man with a sigh close. I have begun expounding on the book of Ecclesiastes, but I wish I had his notes and how long it would take until you said I never before had so clear the site of the meaning. Neither did I imagine that it's parts so connected together all anything up to prove that grand through.

There is no lasting happiness outside of God, since there's no lasting happiness outside of God, the wise response is for you to pursue God whole heart