Shabbat Shalom everyone! Today we are going to start the study of a new book. So I would like you all please to turn in your Bible to the book of Ecclesiastes today, or as his Hebrew name Kohelet. And so I would like first of all just to read today for the introduction of the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1 and verses 1, 2, and 3. And I'm reading: "The words of the preacher, the son of David, King of Israel, Melech Yisrael: Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What prophet has a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?" When I was traveling to Israel a few weeks ago, after concluding the study of the second epistle, the second letter to the Thessalonians, I was praying to the Lord and I was asking: "Lord, what will be the next subject that we should be studying together in our Shabbat meetings?" And I was praying on the airplane on the way to Israel, doing the tour that we have had in Israel for the 11 days that we were there, and including the time which I remained to visit my family in Israel, and of course also on the return back from Israel to Toronto, to Canada.

On my mind, I wanted to be ministering the Word on a book as we do so week by week. We are studying one book at a time from the Word of God, from the Bible, sometime in the Tanakh, the Old Testament, sometime in the Brit HaChadasha, the New Testament. And the book of Kohelet came to my mind. I actually was deliberating and praying between the book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, or the book of Lamentation, Eicha, which is also the Lamentation of Jeremiah found in the Tanakh. But the book of Kohelet came to my mind especially in light of the reality that we, even as believers, and all men in general, neglect to make sure that his walk here in this world is not merely a time of passing here in this world, making sure that things are well with me here in this world, and neglecting to understand that this time here in this world will end for each and every one of us here today.

It may be not today, but it will end in the lifespan that God has given to us here in this world. The book of Ecclesiastes is the kind of a book which encourages us to realize that we must, all of us, as believers, and also the unbelieving world must realize that they are to give an account one day to the living God. The writer of the book of Ecclesiastes, Shlomo, the king of Israel, said in chapter 12 and verse 1, when he was speaking to the young people, "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth." Don't forget God. Realize in your life that it doesn't matter what you accomplish here in this world, one day you're going to have to stand before the living God.

The span of life that God is giving to you here, it might be 50, 60, 70, 80, and even 90 or 100 years, but one day the life of every one of us here on earth will end. And we will have to stand before the living God. We will have to give an account to the living God because we're going to have to face Him. The unbelievers, of course, will be rejected and will end in eternal separation from God. But the believers, you and I, or the people of Israel to whom Kohelet was written many years ago, they will have to stand before God as a redeemed people and the Lord will have to ask them, "How did you spend your life here on earth?" "What have we done with our life on earth here?" And the book of Ecclesiastes or Kohelet speak to the heart of the nation of Israel in a time when they needed instruction as to how to live their lives as the nation that belonged to God.

Will they follow God? Will they live for Him in this world? Will they continue to be a testimony to a world that needed to know about the living God? For you and I as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, the question is just the same. Will we live for God? Will we live for the Lord Jesus, for the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah? Will we be a testimony for Him here in this world? Because one day the time in which we live here is going to end. Because life at best is very brief. And one day we're going to have to stand before our blessed Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

And the book of Kohelet came to my mind. And sometimes we have to search our hearts, we who are believers, because initially that book was not written to the world, to the unbelieving world. They would not even read it. That book was written to the nation of Israel by Solomon, the king of Israel, the son of David, Ben David, Melech be Yisrael. And he wrote to our people Israel of all. And for us who are believers in Yeshua today, his writing is to you and to me as well today. It was James, Jacob, who said in James chapter 4 and verse 14, for what is your life?

It is even a vapor. Our time here in this world is like a vapor, like smoke that one day we were born and it doesn't take too long and the Lord is taking us out of this scene. What is your life? What is your life? Jacob has asked the people to whom he wrote many years ago. The psalmist of Israel in Psalm 90 and verse 9 said, For all our days are passed away in thy wrath. We spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are seventy and if by reason of strength there are eighty years, Yet is there strength, labor and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away.

And so the book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, is a very practical book, beloved brothers and sisters, which reminds us of the necessity to continue on for God even though the Lord had blessed us with many, many things that we have to do here in this world. We were born into this world. We are growing up. We go to school to study. Later on we find a husband or a wife and we get married. We accomplish much here in this world. We build a family and we are growing together. And then later on we continue to establish ourselves here in this world. But we can't neglect to have God in our lives.

Because King Solomon here in this whole book, and we are going to study this with the help of the Lord, shows us the necessity of trusting in God and living for the Lord, living for God here and now in this world. Let me just remind you that the book of Ecclesiastes is an inspired word of God. I would like you to turn with me first of all to Isaiah chapter 45, if you may. He said through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel in chapter 45 and verse 23, he said, "I have sworn by myself the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return that unto me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess or shall swear." God says, "My word came out of my mouth.

And if I spoke a word out of my mouth, eventually it will accomplish that which I have sent it." In chapter 55 of Isaiah verse 11, Isaiah also says, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It will not return unto me void." And the Lord had said. And he said, "But it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the things which I have sent it for." God is very clear the book of Ecclesiastes is an inspired word of God, just like any one of the books of the Bible, the 66 books of the word of God. So when we began the study of the book of Kohelet, the book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded that it is God breathed.

And that God is the one that spoke into the men who wrote the scripture. And God uses men to convey his word to his own people. So if you notice here, when we are going to look at the introduction for a moment, I would like to remind you that the book of Kohelet, it was written in the Hebrew language and it is called Kohelet in the Hebrew. And the word Kohelet simply means the one who speaks to a congregation or to an assembly. That's why in the Greek it is called Ecclesiastes which from the Greek word it is an assembly, a congregation. And the book is called in Hebrew Kohelet and in English Ecclesiastes.

And that's how we read already in verse 1, the words of the preacher, verse 1, the son of David, the king of Israel. The word for preacher in a King James series is actually the Hebrew word Kohelet. And it's far more than merely preaching to the people. It is gathering them together and ministering to them that which God is intending for them. That is the meaning of the word Kohelet. You notice also that the date of the book, it was written at about 900 to 930 BC. About 900 years before the Messiah was born. And it was written as one of the books I would say that King Solomon have written for the people of Israel.

In fact, we learn from scripture that King Solomon wrote three books. He wrote the book of Song of Songs in Hebrew Shir Hashirim. He wrote the book of Proverbs in Hebrew Mishle. And he also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in Hebrew Kohelet. Reading about this and listening to many about this book, we have found out that some suggest that the three books that King Solomon wrote, he wrote them in three different stages in his life. He wrote the book of Song of Songs, Shir Hashirim, when he was at his young age. He wrote the book of Proverbs when he was in his middle age. The book of Wisdom.

And he also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet, at his very old age, towards the end of his life. And he's looking back. And he sees throughout his history the things that he had accomplished And he's reminding to the younger generation the necessity to have God in their lives. Now, before we're going to look even at those three verses, I would like a little bit to share with you about King Solomon. In Hebrew, we call him HaMelech Shlomo. I would like you to turn with me to the book of 1 Kings, first of all. And as you turn to 1 Kings, we find out King Solomon's father, by the name of David, give instruction to his son of the importance of following the God of Israel.

And I'm reading 1 Kings, chapter 2, and verse 1, we read: Now the days of David drew nigh, that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth, be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man, a man of God. Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgment, and his testimony, as it is written in the law of Moses. That thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee, said he, a man on the throne of Israel.

David, just before he passed away, he gave instruction to his young son by the name of Shlomo. And he said to Solomon, Solomon, I'm going to die. I'm going the way that all the earth go. You remember that this is exactly what the book of Ecclesiastes seeks to teach us. That we are all going in the same way that all the earth is going. We are all going into this world, and we are going to pass away out of this world. And David gave this instruction to his son, Shlomo. And he said, Solomon, he said, keep charge, the charge of the Lord their God. Walk in his ways.

Keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgment, and his testimony, as it is written in the law of Moses. Shlomo, follow the Lord. Continue to follow the Lord as I have done so. And if you will do so, Solomon, there is a promise that God has given unto us. That there shall not fail thee, a man on the throne of Israel. What a beautiful instruction a father gives to his son. Solomon himself said in the book of Proverbs, my son, my son, listen, my son. It's wonderful instruction that Solomon received from his own father, the king of Israel. The king who was the man after God's own heart.

And so Solomon had very good instruction. In fact, if you turn the page to chapter 3 now, you notice that in 1 Kings chapter 3, Melachim Aleph, Perek Gimel, Melachim Aleph, the 1 Kings chapter 3, you notice that now in chapter 3, Solomon asked God for help to follow his ways. And God responding to Solomon's request. Look how beautiful a beginning was in the life of Solomon. We read in chapter 3 and verse 3 that Solomon loved the Lord. He walked in the statues of David, his father. Only he sacrificed and he burnt incense in high places. Look at verse 5. It says that the Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream by night.

And God said, ask what I shall give thee. God is giving Solomon an opportunity to ask whatever he wants from God. And God is desiring Solomon to follow after his ways. That's how Solomon requested from the Lord in verses 6 and 7 and 8 and so on. Look how beautiful we find out. Solomon said, And now look at the prayer at the request of Solomon, verse 7. And now look at the prayer at the request of Solomon. And now look at the prayer at the request of Solomon, verse 7. And now, O Lord, my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David, my father. And I am but a little child.

I know not how to go out and how to come in. See, Solomon in the beginning of his life as the king of Israel wanted to know how to handle life among his own people, the people of Israel. And so he asked from God the ability to go in and to come out among the people of Israel. And so you notice it says in verse 9, Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this thy so great people? What a desire Solomon had in his own heart. He wanted to be the kind of a man that's leading our own nation, Israel, in such a way that they will be able to continue to follow after God.

In fact, we just read in verse 3 that Solomon loved the Lord and he walked in his statues. And he wanted the people of Israel to follow the Lord. And so his request was from God in verse 9 that he will receive understanding heart. To be able to judge the people of Israel that he will discern between good and bad. Who is able to lead such a nation as the nation of Israel? What a request, beloved brothers and sisters. Sometime in our prayer to the Lord, we need to ask the Lord to help us to discern how to live our life in such a way to be a blessing to God's people.

To be those that can be an example and a blessing for the people of God. That's how Solomon began. Beautiful request from the Lord. In fact, you will notice what the answer that God is giving to him in verse 10 on. 1 Kings chapter 3 and verse 10. The speech pleased the Lord. That Solomon had asked him this thing. And God said unto him, Because you hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hath asked riches for thyself, nor hath asked the life of thine enemies, but hath asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment. Behold, I have done according to thy words. Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee, shall any arise like unto thee.

In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, except Yeshua, the Messiah, there was no wise man as Shlomo HaMelech, the king of Israel, Solomon himself. The wisest man on earth. We have many stories that we hear about Solomon in his wisdom, how he was able to discern between good and evil in the beginning of his life. What a beginning. What an amazing beginning Solomon had. In fact, God had given him even more than wisdom. In fact, in verse 13, we read, I have also given thee that which you have not asked riches in honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

The whole world have experienced the man that was wise and rich and honorable like Solomon, Shlomo, the king of Israel. And you remember the stories of the queen of Sheba, who came all the way, the queen of the south, as we read this in Matthew chapter 12, where Yeshua was speaking to the Pharisees, to the leaders of Israel. And he reminded them that the queen of the south came all the way to listen to the wise words of King Solomon. We read in Matthew chapter 12, verse 42, for the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it. For she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

And Yeshua said, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. And though Solomon received the wisdom from God, there was one, of course, that is always above all others. And his name is Yeshua. He is superior than all. But Solomon, what a beginning he have had. He loved God. He received instruction from his father. He prayed to God and asked to help him to lead the nation of Israel. And God blessed him, gave him wisdom, gave him honor, gave him riches, and made him the greatest man that lived upon the face of this earth as a man that followed God in his early days. And I want you to notice that in 1 Kings chapter 6 and verses 1 and 2, Solomon began to build the house of the Lord.

And it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziph, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. You see, the word for Ziph is Nisan, is the first month, Sivan, this is the second month in the Hebrew calendar. Then he began to build the house of God. What a privilege Solomon, the king of Israel, had had. God had allowed him to build the first temple for the people of Israel, where the Lord dwelt in the midst of the cherubim and the Holy of Holies among the people of Israel.

Solomon had a great beginning. Solomon loved God. Solomon served God. Solomon had an amazing beginning in his life. He built the temple of the house of the Lord. In fact, Solomon, when he built the temple, if you just again turn the page to 1 Kings chapter 8, Solomon praised God. He lifted up a praise to God among the people of Israel. We read in 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse 1, "Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is in Zion, in Sion." And if you look up throughout chapter 8, you will notice how he praised God.

And he prayed to God on behalf of the nation of Israel. You notice that it says here that Solomon assembled the elders. Here is where you get the word Kohelet or Kahal. He is the one, he gathered the people together. That's where you get the word Kohelet that we have here in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 1, the words of Kohelet. Here we have the words of the assembler who speak to the assembly, to the congregation. Solomon, Shlomo was this kind of a man. He had a great start. And in the early days of his life, he was a man of God who followed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

But beloved brothers and sisters, unfortunately, just like you and I, often times we have a great start, but we don't finish right. There seem to be departures that come often in the life, even of God's people. Failure comes. Weakness is being evidence in the life of the people of Israel. And ultimately there are falls, which eventually bring the judgment of God. And so if you turn the page in 1 Kings and you turn to chapter 11, you will notice in this chapter, verses 1 to 6, you see Solomon's weakness. Solomon's fall and the punishment that came by God as a result of his weakness and fall. And ultimately the judgment of God came.

And so in 1 Kings chapter 11, the very man Kohelet, who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in his later days of his life, who wrote the book of Proverbs in the middle part of his life, who wrote the book of Song of Songs in the early days of his life, shows his weakness and his failure. And so we read in verse 1 of 1 Kings chapter 11. But, after all what we read of him in the earlier part of his life, we find out, but King Solomon loved many strange women. Together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonites, and Hittites. All the women, all the people of the land around, surrounding the people of Israel, which were actually nations that were godless, idol worshipers, denied the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But Solomon, he loved many strange women together with the daughter of Pharaoh, which he already took. The daughter of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, he married her earlier in his life. Now he adds to this women, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonites, and Hittites. And notice it says in verse 2 of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Solomon, ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come into you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon, look at this, verse 2 at the end, Solomon claimed unto these in love. And so we find out, beloved brothers and sisters, while earlier in the life of Solomon, we heard that he loved God.

But as time passes by, his love towards God has cooled, and his love towards other things and women have grown. And we find out that in 1st King chapter 11 and verse 2 that Solomon claimed unto these women from the other nations of the world in love. In fact, it is so interesting that we read in scripture that we ought to love God because he first loved us. And God desires a response from his people in love for him, Yeshua, Jesus himself desires that we will respond to him in love for him. But it's often true in our own lives that our love towards the Lord grows cold.

Things creep in, things coming into our life very quickly, and we have time for everything else, but our love towards the Lord has grown cold. And because it has grown cold. And because it has grown cold, we find ourselves at a distance from the Lord. And look what happened here. God strictly said to the people of Israel in Exodus 34 and in Deuteronomy chapter 7 that they should not intermarry with the nations around them. Why? Why? Not because Israel were better than the other nations. But because he knew very well that by intermarrying with these women of other nations, they will draw his heart after other gods.

Now you remember in Israel's history, God had brought in many from the other nations, like Ruth, the Moabite. She became a believer in the God of Israel. Like Rechab, the prostitute, she became part of the nation of Israel. But she became a believer in the God of Israel. But here the opposite happened. Instead of Solomon leading them to the God of Israel, he ended up loving them and ultimately led astray. In fact, look what we read. In verse 3, we read that he had 700 wives. And we read a princesses and 300 concubines. 700 wives and 300 concubines. Can you imagine how Solomon, Shlomo, with all the wisdom that God had given unto him, this wisdom did not help him when his heart turned away from the Lord.

And we do read, beloved brothers and sisters, listen. It says in verse 3 at the end, his wives turn away his heart. It's amazing. You would think that King Solomon, the wise men, the wisest men on earth, will turn the hearts of these wives to the God of Israel. But the opposite happened. Solomon, instead of turning their hearts to the God of Israel, his heart turned away from the Lord God of Israel. We read in verses 4 and 5 and 6, it says, For it came to pass when Solomon was old. And now, beloved brothers and sisters, we can learn that the book of Ecclesiastes, Kohelet, was written by a man who became older now.

He has seen the experiences of his life in the past. And he is now instructing the congregation, the people of Israel, you and I today as well, as believers in the body of Messiah, the body of Christ. He is instructing us about the necessity of living life and having God in our life, not forgetting God in our lives. And so, notice, when he became old, when he was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as was the heart of David his father. In verse 5 we read, For Solomon went after another beloved brothers and sisters, the man who loved God in the beginning of his life.

Now we find him going after Ashtaroth, the goddess of the Sidonites, verse 5, after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he went not fully after the Lord as did David his father. You know what that teaches me? And I believe it should teach all of us. That we really cannot trust our hearts. When God said that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, he means that when he says that. When God said that I know, as Paul said, that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, he knows very well that the flesh, the old nature, is sinful and corrupt.

And it is only as we set our affection upon the Lord, he is able to sustain us for another day to follow after him. Here is a man that became the king of our people Israel, who had been the wisest man on earth. Yet all this wisdom could not help him when his heart turned away from the Lord. Yet instead of thanking God and following after him, he went after Ashtarot, the goddess of the Tzidonite, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. What a sad conclusion, you might say, to the life of a believer, a man of God, who was supposed to follow after the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In fact, what we read, beloved brothers and sisters, in verses 9, 10, and 11, that God had to punish him. And though God loved Solomon, and though God loved his own people, he loves you, he loves me, he loves everyone who belongs to him, he loved the whole world. But God is holy, and he must judge even his own people. And so God said to Solomon, listen to this, how sad it is. The Lord was angry, verse 9, with Solomon, with Shlomo, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice. Verse 10, and he had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

Wherefore, look at this, beloved brothers and sisters, the Lord said unto Shlomo, For as much as this is done of thee, as thou hast not kept my covenant and my status, which I have commanded thee, that I will surely, listen to this, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and I will give it to thy servant. David, his father, said to him when he was younger, Solomon, if you're going to fall on our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God made a promise, that no one will fail from sitting upon the throne of the kingdom of Israel for my own family. But King Solomon didn't listen to his father's advice, and he ended up in such a condition.

God was angry with Solomon. And when God was angry, when the Lord was angry, he had righteous indignation. He is holy, he is righteous. He must judge sin. And so God promised to Solomon, surely I will rend the kingdom from thee, and I will give it to thy servant. And if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, the kingdom was given to another man by the name of Yeruvam. After Solomon's son became the king of Israel, then God had purposely allowed Rechovam, the son of Solomon, to lose the kingdom to a servant by the name of Yeruvam. And Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, Israel.

The southern kingdom, Yeruvam. And they have fought against each other for many, many generations. And until today, beloved brothers and sisters, until today, the twelve tribes of Israel are dispersed and scattered throughout the world. Until the future day when God is going to restore the second coming of the Messiah, Yeshua, Israel, back to the Lord and back to the promised land. Now notice what happened in chapter 11 at the end of the chapter. Eventually, King Solomon died. We do read in 1 Kings chapter 11 and verse 41, 42 and 43, that the rest of the acts of Shlomo and all that he did and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

And the time of Solomon's reign in Jerusalem over all Israel was 40 years. And Solomon slept with his fathers. And he was buried in the city of David, his father. And Rechovam, his son, reigned in his stead. So, what a lesson to see this man by the name of Shlomo. His name, Shalom, means peace. In fact, throughout his reign for 40 years, there was no greater peace on earth than in the time when King Solomon had reigned. Israel, our own people have experienced a peaceful time, a peaceful period in the history of our people. But it ended when King Solomon had died. In fact, the time that King Solomon had reigned is a representation, prophetically, to the time when the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, the King of the Jews, will reign one day over the whole earth.

And there would be truly shalom upon the face of this earth. But King Solomon reigned for 40 years. And then he died. And he was buried in the city of David, in the city of Jerusalem. And his son, Rechovam, had reigned in his stead. So, King Solomon, most Bible teachers believe that he reigned for 40 years from about 971 BC to 931. 40 years from 971 BC to 931 BC. And most believe that he became a king at about 20 years of age. And so, if he was 20 years old and he reigned for 40 years, he must have died at the age of 60. He was actually younger than many of us here who are here in this meeting hall today.

Others believe that King Solomon was about 52 years when he died. Some believe that he was born in about 848 BC and he died at about 796 BC at about 50 years of age. But to find out the exact dates, none can be sure. But we know that he reigned for 40 years. And he must have been between 12 to 20 when he began to reign over the whole nation of Israel. And so, if you remember, we began by the study of Ecclesiastes Koheled. That it says the words of the preacher. Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes chapter 1. The word of Koheled, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. And so, he wrote this book before he passed away, before he was taken away in order to instruct the younger generation in the importance of having God in our lives and not neglecting to only live our life for the flesh and rejecting the living and the true God.

And the reason that he gives us here, and we're going to see it in our study, is because what is our life? It is but a vapor. We may live here for a certain season, but our life here will end. And we're going to have to stand before the living God one day. So, Solomon began by giving a declaration. And I think it is amazing when you think about his beloved brothers and sisters in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 and verse 2. Look what he says. A man that has experienced all this in such a, you might say, short time, about 60 years of his life. He is now telling the people of Israel, presenting to the nation of Israel, the facts of life.

Without God, in your mind, in your heart, and in your purposes in life, without God, he is really saying in verse 2. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. The word for vanity comes from the Hebrew word hevel. Hevel really means futility, or emptiness, or foolishness. People who live life without God in their mind, are actually living life which is an empty life. They might be successful in many things that they are working in their life. They might have a nice family. They might have a nice business. They might have accomplished a lot of things in their life as students and as teachers.

And maybe they are doctors or lawyers or professors or people that have accomplished a lot in their lives. And there is Solomon, the king of Israel, at the end of his life, writing in the book of Koheled, the book of Ecclesiastes. And he makes a declaration. Without God, without God, vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities, all is in vain. That's what he is declaring. And you notice, beloved brothers and sisters, that you will find out that in the book of Ecclesiastes, the word for vanity is mentioned 38 times. The word hevel in Hebrew. Vanity of vanities. Notice, you begin here with chapter 1 and verse 2.

And if you please turn in your Bible to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Look at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. And notice what he says in verse 8. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher. All is vanity here in this world without God in our lives. Most of us travel around the world. We visit. We meet people. We speak with them. We have an opportunity to share with them about our lives. And they share about their lives. And many times we find out that people say, listen, I don't want to hear about the things of God. What is important for me is what I'm going to accomplish here and now in this world.

I don't care about the sweet by and by. I want here and now to make sure that I've accomplished a lot in my life. That I've gained much in my life. That I've studied a lot. That I became wealthier in my life. That I have accomplished something here in this world. Because when I die, everything is over. But the Bible teaches us that life is not over when we end here in this world. We must all one day stand before the living God. One day all men are going to have to stand before God. And if we live our life, if men live his life without God, everything is vanity here in this world.

Because one day he will have to stand before the living God. And so that declaration is so clear. The message of the book of Ecclesiastes is pointing to the loss for men who live life without God. How much he works and how much effort he gives here in this world. Eventually he will lose out everything if he doesn't take God into account. And if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, everything began in Genesis chapter 3. When Adam and Eve fell into sin in the garden of Eden. The garden of Eden was the garden of delight. In Hebrew, Eden means delight. And Adam and Eve, as long as they were right and obedient to God, they could enjoy delight in the presence of God in the garden of delight.

But they made a choice. And they turned away from God. And they listened to Satan. And Satan beguiled Eve. And Adam disobeyed God. And he plunged the whole human race into sin. And from there on, we all run and run and run. And trying to accomplish delight in our life. We want to gain. We want to have more and accomplish more. And we end up like James said. For what is your life? It is even as a vapor that passes away. And so God made an appeal to man. And he invited him. And he provided for him forgiveness of sins. Through the sacrifice, which was a type of the Messiah, of Yeshua.

And the Messiah came in the fullness of time. And gave his life for mankind. And gave us a hope beyond this world. A hope for time and eternity. If man will only trust the Lord. And so, Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Kohelet, Solomon. He's saying, "Vanity of vanities. All is vanities, sayeth the preacher." He began the book with this statement in chapter 1 verse 2. And he ended this book in chapter 12 and verse 8. And he's saying, "Vanity of vanities." Hevel havalim. Kohelet amar. Hevel havalim. Hakol hu hevel. Everything is vanity in this world. When we set God aside. So someone said, "Is it wrong for me to study in school.

And to accomplish here in this world certain things. A position in life. And a family in my life." Of course not. God has allowed us to live here in this world. So we can build an accomplishment here in this world. But he never wanted us to do so without him. In our minds and in our hearts. And so the whole book of Ecclesiastes. Is really directing us to the folly. Of men. To seek to live life. Rejecting the true and the living God. And so notice brothers and sisters. 38 times. In the book of Ecclesiastes. The preacher. Solomon. Kohelet says. Vanity of vanities. You notice how also.

Immediately. After this. We find out. That Solomon used this expression. I have seen it. I have experienced this. I have seen it. Notice in verse 14. He used the word. I have seen all the works that are under the sun. I have seen it. I have experienced this in my life. Look at chapter 2. And verse 13. Then I saw. That wisdom. Excelles folly. I have seen it. I have experienced it. Solomon is saying. To the younger generation. Of the people of Israel. In chapter 3. And verse 10. He says. He says. I have seen the travail. Which God has given. To the sons of men. To be exercised in it.

I have seen it. I have seen it. I have seen suffering. I have seen travailing. I have seen all the wisdom. That's going on in this world. I have seen all the works. That are going on in this world. I have seen it for myself. He is saying. To the younger generation of Israel. And he is saying this to you and I today. I have experienced this. Learn from me. Before it is too late. Don't live your life. He is saying to us. Without God in view in your life. You remember what Yeshua said to his disciples. In John chapter 15. Without me. Ye can do nothing.

There is nothing that we can do. Here in this world. Without having the Lord. As the Lord of our life. As the guide. As the encourager. As the director of our life. Here in this world. I saw it. Solomon said. I have seen all these things. Here in this world. I have seen it. I am telling you. Of all that which I have seen. And finally. Beloved brothers and sisters. For this message today. Is verse 3. In verse 3. King Shlomo now. Is emphasizing. What prophet. Has a man. Of all his labor. Notice. Which he is doing. And then he is adding the word. Under the sun.

In Hebrew. The word is. Tachat Hashemesh. You know. We are all living here. In this world. Under the sun. We are all here. In this world. All of us. Believers. And unbelievers. All of us. Are living here. And now. But we are under the sun. It is here. In the world. In which we live in. And here. King Solomon said. What prophet. Has a man. Of all his labor. Which he taketh. Under the sun. And the Hebrew word. For taketh. Is the Hebrew word. Yitaron. Which remain. Under the sun. You know. It is so strange. That we labor. And we work. All our life. And when we get older.

We can't even enjoy anymore. What we labored for. And we find ourselves. In hospitals. We find ourselves. In retirement home. We find ourselves. Unable to move. We find ourselves. Unable to speak. And eventually. We open our hands. And we leave everything. For the next generation. Under the sun. Working. And laboring. And accomplishing. And accumulating. Without God in view. Solomon. Shlomo says. It is vanity. It is vapor. You must have God. In your life. In order. To learn. To have the wisdom. From the Lord. Solomon is saying. In order. That you will be able. To live your life. In a way. That is pleasing. To God.

In fact. I want you to turn with me. To Mark. Chapter 8. Look at the words. Which the Lord. Yeshua. Spoke. To our people. Of Israel. Of old. Many. Many years ago. Just like. Shlomo said. What. Prophet. Hath a man. The Lord. Said. In Mark. Chapter 8. In verse. 36. To our people. Israel. The Pharisees. And the Sadducees. And the people of Israel. When Yeshua. Was on earth. 2000 years ago. The very same thing. Yeshua said. What shall a prophet. A man. If he should gain. The whole world. But lose. His own soul. Or. What shall a man. Give. In exchange. For his soul. You see. What Yeshua. Is saying.

Is exactly. What Solomon. Is saying. In Ecclesiastes. Chapter 1. And verse 3. What does it. Profit a man. If he gained. The whole world. He has been working. So hard. He's laboring. And he's accomplishing. And so on. But what. Is he going to lose. His own soul. This is. For the unbelievers. Of course. The believers. Souls. Are forgiven. Because. They've accepted. The Messiah. But even. For believers. What. If we profit. For believers. Who. All his life. Labor. And work. And leave. God. Outside. Of their life. Beloved. Brothers. And sisters. Shlomo. Kohelet. Saying. Vanity. Of vanities. Sayeth. The preacher. Vanity. Of vanities. All. Is vanity. If God. Is not.

In the life. Of his people. Set. God. Aside. And the result. Is just. As Solomon. Is saying. To us. Here. In this. Passage. By the way. The word. Under the sun. Tachat Hashemesh. Is mentioned. Almost. In every. Chapter. Of the book. Of Kohelet. Of Kohelet. Beginning. With chapter 1. Verse 3. And verse 9. All the way. To the end. Of chapter 10. And verse 5. Tachat Hashemesh. Is under the sun. Under the sun. Meaning that. Here and now. On earth. Wisdom. Riches. Power. Possession. Without God. To be part of our life. Is vanity. Is vain. Is vapor. Is vanish away. And I'm just going to close. With this. Solomon said.

To the younger generation. In chapter 12. Remember your creator. In the day. Of thy youth. Don't forget God. He's saying. Realize that. God. Delight. And desire. To be part of your life. And if you are young. And you begin your life. I have gone through it. Solomon is saying. Take God. To school. Take God. To work. Take God. At your home. With your friends. Wherever you go. For vacation. Don't neglect. The Lord. God. Of Israel. Don't neglect. The Lord Yeshua. The Messiah. In your life. That's what we learn here. From this. Passage. One day is going to come. And we must all appear. Before the judgment seat.

Of the Messiah. This is for the believers. And the unbelievers. Going to have to stand. One day. Before the great. White throne. Judgment. And God. Going to. Re-evaluate. Our lives. Are you going to show us. How did we live our lives. As believers. And also. The unbelieving world. The believers. Are you going to show us. How did we live our lives. Did we take God. With us. Did we enjoy him. In our life. He delight. To be part. Of the life. Of God's people. Here. And now. Under the sun. Tachat Hashemesh. He desire. To have his people. With him. And by the way. Just. I want you to notice.

One more thing. Before I'm going to close. There is not even one time. The name. Jehovah. Yehovah. Is mentioned. In the book. Of Ecclesiastes. Many times. The word. God. Elohim. In our mother's tongue. Elohim. Is mentioned. But not even one time. The name. Jehovah. Jehovah. Why? You know why? Because the name Jehovah. The name Jehovah. Or Yahweh. Is the covenant. Keeping name. Of God. Which he. Taught Moses. To say. To the people. Of Israel. In Exodus. Chapter 3. Verses 13. To 15. This is the. Covenant. Keeping. God. With his own people. Israel. And how he promised. To enjoy. Them. And they can enjoy. Him. As the one that was.

The one that is. And the one that ever shall be. Jehovah. Jehovah. But it's not mentioned once. In the book of Ecclesiastes. Because. The people. To whom. He was writing. Are people. That needed to learn. That life. Without God. Under the sun. Is vanity. Is vain. Is empty. Is foolish. And it is necessary. For them. In order to enjoy. Fellowship. With God. Is to have him. As part. Of their life. And so. I'm going to conclude. By reading. Once again. Verses 1. 2. And 3. The words. Of the preacher. Kohelet. The son. Of David. King. In Yerushalayim. Vanity. Of vanities. Says the preacher. Vanity. Of vanities. All. Is vanity.

What prophet. Hath a man. Of all his labor. Which he taketh. Under. The sun. The sun. Remember. Thy creator. In the day. Of thy youth. May the Lord bless. His word. Can we say amen.