Two Are Better Than One (Ecclesiastes 4:7-16)

Introduction

• Nature’s ceaseless toil > The emptiness of pleasure.
• Discontentment > Despair/Joy in God’s provision.
• God’s sovereign orchestration of time.
• Enjoy your work despite pervasive wickedness and death.
• Live in contentment despite oppression and envy.

Read Ecclesiastes 4:7-16

• The vanity of life “under the sun,” no mention of God. This doesn’t mean all of his conclusions are wrong.
• He makes sense discussing the value of having a partner to share the work and the reward.
• He also speaks accurately regarding the corruption of power and wealth. The king whose arrogance led to an attitude of isolation also needed to learn the value of community.
• Money and power tend to isolate people from their dependence upon a community.
• Do you value your community more than your position?
• Two are better than one.

1. The Disadvantages of Isolation (7-8)
2. The Advantages of Cooperation (9-12)
3. The Disadvantages of Position (13-16)

The Disadvantages of Isolation (7-8)

• Anecdote: The vanity of being alone and wealthy.
• These verses elaborate on the greedy (6 – two hands full). There is no end to their toil.
• Those who are isolated still find themselves part of the ceaseless toil of everyone else. Wealth never satisfies even though he only provides for himself. Like everyone else, he finds no relief, no contentment from his toil.
• He concludes this too is empty and unhappy business.

• Similarly, Jesus tells a parable in Luke 12:15-21. Storing up treasure for yourself leads to emptiness.
• Isolation is part of the painfulness of our human experience. We can trace the effects of alienation beginning with Adam and Eve, then Cain and Abel, then the Tower of Babel, and so on throughout Scripture.
• The Western world tends to think individualistically. Christians must learn to think communally.
• We must learn to value two more than one.

• Do you agree with this assessment? Aren’t there times when you crave isolation?
• Sometimes you want to tune out the noise and find peace.
• The single person can spend his wealth however he wants.
• Isolation has obvious value, and it’s important to enjoy it from time to time.
• But isolation is not the answer to my dissatisfaction.
• Why do I know that? Because my need for accountability trumps my desire for autonomy.

Let’s consider…

The Advantages of Cooperation (9-12)

• Proverb: Two are better than one.
• Cooperation leads to productivity and profit. Communities provide support.
• Three illustrations from wilderness traveling:
  1. Recovering from a fall is faster with two.
  2. Keeping warm is easier with two.
  3. Withstanding a thief is more likely with two.
• A third person is even better. The benefits of a healthy community increase as it grows. All kinds of partnerships are in view (not just work or marriage).

• However, we often set a moralistic standard for ourselves that leads us to be dishonest when we fail.
• Or we become unrealistic, acting like we don’t need a partner, especially if they frequently make us unhappy. They become oppressive to our well-being and freedom.
• We crave communion because are created in the image of a Triune God. The Gospel provides the greatest expression of that communion, which is found in submission/accountability to Jesus.

• The Gospel frees us to fight selfishness and to enjoy the rewards of our toil in fellowship.

Ryken: There is spiritual warmth in going through life with other believers. It is easy to grow cold in the Christian life, to become numb to the work of God, and eventually to freeze almost to spiritual death. But when we are growing cold, the heat of another Christian can warm us up.

Lastly, the Preacher considers…

The Disadvantages of Position (13-16)

• Anecdote: Position squandered by foolishness.
• Comparing a poor and wise youth to an old and foolish king.
• The king came from humble beginnings but quickly lost sight of it all with wealth and power. Now, he sits on the throne and will not consider anyone else’s advice. He became too good for everyone else.
• Now, a young prince stands in line to take the throne. He will lead a great number of people, yet future generations will dislike him.
• Money and power (position) won’t take you far without wisdom.
• Illustration: Lottery winners or gamblers? Not responsible with winnings. Instead of paying off debt they incur more debt.

• The underlying danger for the isolated person is the same as the foolish king who no longer heeds the advice of others. Those who think they are above accountability are in grave danger.
• And yet don’t we think like this?
  • Don’t we strive for isolation rather than cooperation?
  • Don’t we fight for promotion sacrificing the affection of our loved ones along the way?
• In both cases, Christian accountability is the remedy. A partner will keep us honest. Advisors keep us humble.
• Autonomy allows us to exercise our power and spend our money freely, but it can’t bring the contentment that comes from supporting others and watching them succeed (i.e. teaching/coaching).

In…

Conclusion

• A teachable spirit is best exemplified by Jesus, who “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52). He was obedient to his Heavenly Father “to the point of death” (Phil. 2:8)!
• Jesus is the King who was born in obscurity and humbled in his crucifixion. But, after his resurrection, he was exalted to the throne above all thrones, seated at the right hand of the Father.
• The only way to break the cycle of selfishness is to see the contentment and compassion that develops out of accountability. And that’s only possible when we are accountable to one who is entirely giving – Jesus.
• If the lordship of Christ is what we most need, how can we find it? Praying a specific prayer? Making a particular decision? The typical evangelical response perpetuates an autonomous attitude.
• Instead, once we recognize our sin, we should cry out for help.

Lord, if anyone can change my selfish heart it’s you alone!

• It’s not so much the content of the prayer, but the Spirit-wrought attitude of dependence.