• Download Video
• Download Audio
• Print
• Email
• Save As PDF

"The man who will come after me"

Text: Ecclesiastes 2:18

A SENSE OF DESPAIR

Solomon found it hard to fight the sense of despair that sought to overwhelm him.

“Then I hated all my labour in which I had toiled under the sun,
because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.
And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?
Yet he will rule over all my labour in which I toiled
and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun.
This also is vanity.”
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19

1. “All my labour”

a) Solomon had inherited much from King David.

b) But he had to work very hard to establish his kingdom too.

i) He made trade pacts with many nations.

ii) He was involved in many building projects.

iii) He made peace treaties with many countries.

iv) He diligently sought to teach wisdom to his subjects.

2. “I hated all my labour”

a) His interest turned into “hatred”.

b) His labour now brought on a sense of despair.

3. A major reason cited

a) He must leave all that he had accomplished to his successor.

b) Solomon had many sons.

c) But he knew his sons well enough to know that not one of them would measure up.

d) But the reality of his death meant that all he had acquired would be passed down to his heir.

4. Expressing great doubt

a) Would his heir be a wise ruler?

b) Or would he be a fool?

c) He was not convinced that his successor would be a good and wise ruler.

5. A sad reality

a) His successor would rule over his kingdom.

b) His kingdom had been built on

i) Hard work (labour).

ii) Wisdom.

c) Solomon had worked hard at seeking and finding wisdom.

d) He struggled even more intensely with a sense of futility

“This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:19).