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“For One to Rejoice in His Labor…Is The Gift of God”

Ecc 5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
Ecc 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Ecc 5:13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
Ecc 5:14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
Ecc 5:15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
Ecc 5:16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
Ecc 5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
Ecc 5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
Ecc 5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
Ecc 5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Introduction

The verses we will be studying today have much to do with “increase… riches and wealth”. We will of course seek to discover what the Bible teaches us is to be our mind and our attitude toward ‘increase… riches and wealth’.

There is a school of thought which teaches that any inclination toward being motivated by the offer of rewards of “increase, riches and wealth” makes one nothing more than a prostitute. If indeed there was anything to such a doctrine, then God Himself would be guilty of promoting prostitution considering all the promises given to us for obedience to His commandments.

In the first chapter of the book of Revelation blessings and rulership are promised to those who “read… hear… and keep the things written” in God’s Word:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This promise is repeated in chapter five:

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Here are some of the promises given to the seven churches of Asia:

Ephesus:

Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Smyrna:

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Pergamos:

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Thyatira:

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.

Sardis:

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Philadelphia:

Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Laodicea:

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

“Eat of the tree of life, not be hurt of the second death, eat of the hidden manna, give him a new name, given power over the nations to rule them with a rod of iron, give him the morning star, make the synagogue of Satan to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee, keep you from the hour of temptation, make you a pillar the temple of God, write upon you the name of God, come and sup with you and grant you to sit with Him in His throne”. What an incentive package that is!

Christ used incentives to encourage His own disciples, while He was here in the flesh:

Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

So the insidious doctrine which teaches against striving for spiritual “increase, riches and wealth”, has no basis in the scriptures. The exact opposite is the doctrine of our Lord Himself:

Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

I have taken the time to point out all of these Biblical incentives so we will not, in light of the theme of our study today, succumb to a very natural inclination of the poor masses of humanity to hate the rich and condemn them all as being usurious, blood-sucking predators upon society. We are not lacking such people, and indeed it is to such men the Lord has given over the nations of this world:

Dan 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Yes, there are indeed many verses of scripture which warn us against seeking to be rich or depending on our riches to save us:

Pro 23:4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

Pro 28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Pro 28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

But as we will see in this study, there are also those whose wealth is acquired honestly, as the result of diligent service to others, to society, and by exercising good stewardship over the fruits of their labors:

Pro 10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Pro 12:24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.

Pro 12:27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

Pro 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

Pro 21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

Every word here is just as true in the spiritual realm as it is in the natural realm. The spiritually rich are just as envied for their wealth as those who are rich in a natural sense of that word, and the spiritually rich become that way only through spiritual diligence and good spiritual stewardship.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Always acknowledge that our own words are actually the work of God within us.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

With all of this in mind, we read the first verse of our study:

Ecc 5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

A contractor may be given the opportunity to handle a lot of money, and can, if he is not very careful and very diligent, end up with less profit in his pocket than those who work for him. The big check is given to the man who has signed the contract, but “they… that eat them” must be paid and fed and clothed at the hand of their employer for the wage they were promised by the contractor.

But even if a man is diligent and is a good steward and turns a profit at every opportunity and becomes very wealthy, he cannot make a steak taste any better to him than it does for a poor man. The poor man may have to eat a hamburger instead of a steak, but the poor man may not have the cares and responsibilities that may be keeping his employer awake at night.

Remember the words of the man whose substance made him “greater than all the men of the east” (Job 1:3)…:

Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

… Whereas a man who works with his hands for weekly wages has nothing which he fears being taken from him. So we are given the contrast between men like Job, and those who worked for men like Job:

Ecc 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

A rich man who labors for the purpose of serving his fellow man and pleasing God, if he is being judged in this life, may well suffer the fate of Job, but ‘the judgment of Job’ is not always outward. As both Jacob and King David demonstrate, the chastening of the outwardly rich can, and often does, take place inwardly:

Gen 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
Gen 32:11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

Jacob was a very wealthy man, but he was being tormented inwardly at this time.

King David experienced the same inward fear and torment at the hands of his own son:

2Sa 15:31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.

2Sa 15:34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.

2Sa 16:23 And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

King David knew this to be true and feared that the counsel of Ahithophel might just cost him his life.

So great riches do not necessarily equal peace of mind when we are being judged and when our lives are being lived without regard to the commandments of God.

Spiritually also, there are those who accumulate great spiritual riches in the form of great spiritual knowledge, and yet they do so for the sole purpose of feeling as if they are somehow superior to other men, and they have no desire to minister to the flock of God. Worse than that though, are those who pedal their spiritual knowledge to a vulnerable and unsuspecting flock.

The prophet Baalam was just such a person who was puffed up with the knowledge God had given him, and who wanted to use his relationship with God to his own personal financial advantage.

This is an extremely revealing story of just how God deals with mankind, and of how all things are being worked after the counsel of His own will. The king of Moab, King Balak, “and the elders of Midian” wanted to secure the services of the prophet Balaam to curse Israel when they came up out of Egypt, so he sent princes with gifts to secure Balaam’s services and to curse Israel. But the first time they came, God told Balaam not to go with them, and Balaam obeyed God and told them that he had been told not to go.

Num 22:2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
Num 22:3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
Num 22:4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
Num 22:5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Num 22:6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
Num 22:7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Num 22:8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
Num 22:9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
Num 22:10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
Num 22:11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
Num 22:12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
Num 22:13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
Num 22:14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

Obviously King Balak suspected that Balaam really did want to come and curse Israel, so he sent a second time:

Num 22:15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
Num 22:16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
Num 22:17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
Num 22:18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
Num 22:19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.
Num 22:20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
Num 22:21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
Num 22:22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

This is all an admonition for us to know how the adversary diligently pursues us. Notice that God told Balaam to “go with them”, and then “God’s anger was kindled because he went”, proving the truth of this verse:

Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Eze 14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

Which is exactly what happened to Balaam:

Num 31:8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

This fact is repeated in the book of Joshua:

Jos 13:22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

But let’s look at Balaam’s own puffed up perspective of himself, which comes out of his mouth as God is turning his curse of Israel into a blessing:

Num 24:2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Num 24:3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Num 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

Num 24:15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Num 24:16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

Balaam considered himself to be given knowledge from God, and to be in God’s service even as he lusted after the riches he was being offered by King Balak.

The apostle Paul warns us of such men:

2Co 2:17 For we are not as the majority, who are peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God in Christ, are we speaking.

Balaam is the most referenced false prophet in the scriptures, and almost always in regards to his love of money over his love of God:

Num 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

Deu 23:4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
Deu 23:5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

Mic 6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

2Pe 2:15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

Jdg 1:11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Cain was envious of Abel’s relationship with God, and Balak and Balaam were envious of Israel’s relationship with God, so they went “the way of Balaam” which is always 1) that which is physically easy to do, and 2) that which serves to satisfy one’s desire for physical wealth and riches over spiritual wealth and riches.

Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

So we continue:

Ecc 5:13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

In other words, physical wealth without a desire and determination to serve God turns that physical blessing of wealth into a spiritual curse. Christ warned us of this pull of our flesh when He said this:

Mar 10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Mar 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Mar 10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar 10:20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mar 10:23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mar 10:26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Riches which become our God, whether they are ill- gotten gain or if they are simply used to gain more wealth, are said to be “deceitful riches”, and this is what happens to “riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt”.

Ecc 5:14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

Any man who does not give his children the words of God and present Christ and His doctrine to his children as the true riches, is living out these verses of scripture, and “he begets a son, and there is nothing [spiritual] in his hand”.

Here is how Christ gives us this same admonition:

Mat 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

“The deceitfulness of riches, choke[s] the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.” When our desire to be rich keeps us out of the Word of God for extended periods of time, the hunger we once had just disappears, and we don’t even care that it is so. We “become unfruitful” spiritually, but we think we are “rich and increased with goods” and don’t even realize that we have lost our love for “the things of the spirit”.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art [spiritually] wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Our “nakedness” is our inability to discern our spiritual poverty and our inability to see how easily we prefer to exalt ourselves and follow the traditions of men and to fit in with this world and to separate ourselves from those who do value the things of the spirit over the traditions of men and the things of this world. We come into this world both spiritually and physically naked and without Christ within us; if we remain in that state, we will go out as we came in, spiritually naked and with no hope of being given life beyond the grave.

Ecc 5:15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
Ecc 5:16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

There was no spiritual understanding granted to men before Christ, and while some of the prophets were given to know that a resurrection from the dead was an essential part of the plan of God, no one in the Old Testament had a clue of the “kingdom of God [which] is within you”. So when we know this, it is easy to understand the hopelessness that any apostate king would feel within himself in his old age:

Ecc 5:17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.

‘Eating’ in scripture is Bible- speak for spiritual knowledge and understanding. Christ tells us that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have no life in us:

Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Joh 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

“All his days… wrath with his sickness”, confirms that all men are born into this world as unbelievers who are under the wrath of God, as we are also told in the New Testament:

Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Who was ever born in a believing spirit?

What we spiritually are eating symbolizes what we know and understand of spiritual matters demonstrated by our risen Lord in the book of Luke:

Luk 24:41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
Luk 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Christ ate “a broiled fish, and… an honeycomb” to symbolize for us “the words I spake unto you, while I was yet with you” are a spiritual meal. Christ is a risen spiritual body and will never again experience physical hunger, except to make a point like this for us, and to let us know that without Him and His words “All [our] days also [we] eat in darkness, and [we] ha[ve] much sorrow and wrath with [our] sickness” [and our deception].

This is what we cannot see in our darkness, our sorrow and in our sickness:

Ecc 5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
Ecc 5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
Ecc 5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Solomon makes it clear that his understanding of “the gift of God” is only what is given us in this life. He sees no joy beyond the grave, and he truly and hopelessly believes that God answers us only in the physical joy of our physical heart.

The truth is that wealthy men and Godly kings in the Old Testament were nothing more than types and shadows of the true riches we have been granted in understanding and knowledge of the things of the spirit which we have been given in Christ under His new covenant. Abraham is a type of “father of the faithful”, and for that purpose he is described in this way:

Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Christ is the anti-type and the true Father of the true faithful:

Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Rom 4:12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.

Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

All who are in the true father of them that believe are also “very rich”:

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

These are the riches we are to desire and for which we are admonished to strive for and to seek:

Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Being spiritually rich is the same as being spiritually clothed in white linen.

Next week, Lord willing we will see that until the resurrection “all go to one place”, and that even beyond the resurrection “there is one event to all” (Ecc 9:2).

Ecc 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
Ecc 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
Ecc 6:3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
Ecc 6:4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
Ecc 6:5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
Ecc 6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?