Part 2 of 3
We are continuing our study of Ecclesiastes 5:8-6:12. This passage can be divided into seven smaller sections. We’ve looked at the first three in the previous article and we will consider the next three in this article.
The fourth section is from verses 18 to 20, which is really the heart and center of this passage. Solomon shifts from a purely under the sun perspective to a believing viewpoint. The key word in this section is “God.” God is brought into the picture. Riches and wealth and other material things are viewed as gifts from God and are to be enjoyed as such.
Solomon writes, “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. 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.”
The godly man does not view the blessings of this life simply as the fruit of his labour but rather as gifts from God. Food, drink, riches and even the ability to eat, and to rejoice in his labour – all these things come from the hand of God. He can say with all his heart the words of the well-known doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
Notice the important principle here – that life is to be enjoyed. One of the great misunderstandings among some Christians is that the Christian life is meant to be sombre and sorrowful and serious all the time, and that there is no place at all for enjoyment. But this is not so. Yes, our chief goal or purpose in life is not the enjoyment of this world. Nevertheless, as we seek God first, He blesses us with good gifts so that we may rejoice in Him.
Solomon then says in verse 20, “For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.” What he means is simply that the godly man, like any other person living in this fallen world, will have his fair share of difficulties and troubles in life. Nevertheless, he shall not much remember those evil days in the sense that he shall not get totally absorbed thinking and worrying and fretting about them.
Why? Because God answers him in the joy of his heart, that is, God occupies his heart with joy so that he is not overwhelmed by the remembrance or thought of his troubles. In the midst of his troubles, God gives him true joy and pleasure, which the world cannot give or have, and which no man can obtain in and of himself. Try as hard as you want, you will never be able to lay hold on true joy and satisfaction by your own effort. The only way to have it is by God giving it to you and you opening your empty hands to receive it as a gift from Him.
The fifth section is from chapter 6 verses 1 to 6, and it stands in sharp contrast to the previous one. Here, we are reminded that riches or long life without the power to enjoy them is meaningless.
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 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.”
Solomon shifts back to the under-the-sun perspective and he sees a man who has great riches and wealth and honour. This man has no lack. He has all that he desires. But the problem is that while God has given him all these material benefits, God has also withheld or withdrawn the ability to enjoy them.
For some reason, perhaps a physical illness or mental affliction or even an early death, this wealthy person is deprived of the enjoyment of what he has. Think about it, what is the use of possessing everything in this world and yet be unable to benefit from it? Someone else may get to enjoy it but not the man himself. And so Solomon says – this is meaningless and it is a sickening evil.
The section continues in verses 3 to 6, “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. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?”
Solomon considers the blessing of children and a long life. He pictures a man who has many children – one hundred of them, and who lives for a very long time as long as 2000 years.
Obviously, he is using a hyperbole or an exaggeration to make his point. No one can have a hundred children, unless of course he has many wives, and certainly no one can live 2000 years.
Now in scripture, a person with many children is considered blessed. Similarly, old age is spoken of as a blessing in scripture. But here in this passage, Solomon speaks of a man with many children and who lives very long, but whose life is miserable; and at death, he does not even get a proper burial. Such a man is even worse off than a child who dies at birth or a stillborn child. Why? Because at least the stillborn child was not conscious and did not experience all the miseries, vexations and hardships of life in a fallen world.
So while both the stillborn child and the old man with many children go to the same place, that is, they both die, yet the advantage is with the stillborn because he was spared the experience of these things.
The sixth section is from chapter 6 verses 7 to 9. Here, we learn that wisdom that leads to wealth is useless since wealth can never satisfy. The connection between this section and the previous sections is the idea of seeking meaning and satisfaction through material things.
Verse 7 gives another reason why this is foolish, namely, because the appetite or desire can never be filled in the sense of being satisfied with the fruit of one’s labour. All the labour of the ungodly man is for the purpose of satisfying his desire but his desire is never satisfied. Such a search for satisfaction will be never ending and will leave him frustrated and unfulfilled.
Verse 8 speaks of wisdom and poverty. The question is asked, “What advantage does the wise man have over the fool?” Again, we should remember that Solomon is not talking about true wisdom but rather about the wisdom of the world. It was commonly thought in those days and even today that wisdom leads to wealth. Wisdom showed the way to material riches. But here’s the problem, if wealth cannot satisfy, then what good is wisdom in the worldly sense of the word?
The worldly-wise man may be able to get riches but he is unable to quench his desire for satisfaction. For all his so-called wisdom, he has no answer to the question of finding true meaning and satisfaction in life. This leads us to the second part of verse 8 which essentially asks, “what advantage does the poor have by knowing how to act in front of the living?” The point is that the poor have no advantage in utilizing worldly wisdom to find satisfaction in wealth.
Sometimes, those who are poor or indebt say, “if only I knew what the best way to get rich is.” Or “if only I could become a clever money-making guru, then I would be able to bring in the money.” Solomon is saying that even if your wisdom could make you rich, it will not be able to satisfy your deepest longings and desires. This section concludes with a proverb in verse 9, “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit” The meaning is that it is better to be content with what you can see, that is, with what you already have, than to restlessly and endlessly pursue what you desire but do not have. This restless pursuit is meaningless…