Part 1 of 3
We are continuing our study of the book of Ecclesiastes and have arrived at Chapter 4 verses 4 to 16, which we will cover in three articles.
The numbers zero, one, two and three (or at least the concept behind those numbers) all feature in this passage. For example, we see the number zero in verse 8 when it says that the lonely man had no child or brother. We see the numbers one and two in verse 9, which says that two are better than one. And finally, we see the number three in verse 12 where we are told that a threefold cord in not quickly broken.
Now if I were to ask you, “which of these four numbers do you prefer?” You would probably say, “it depends on the context.”
After all, there are times when one is better than two or zero, but there are also times when two is better than one, and still other times when three is better than either one or two. It really all depends on what the situation is or what the numbers represent.
This passage contains three plus one sections. Solomon gives us three examples of vanity in this life, but between the second and third example, he takes us on an excursion and talks about the advantages of companionship.
The three plus one sections are as follows, the meaningless of hard work and success (vv. 4-6), the meaninglessness of loneliness (vv. 7-8), the advantages of companionship (vv. 9-12), and the meaninglessness of political success (vv. 13-16)
The Meaninglessness of Hard Work and Success (vv. 4-6)
In this article, we will look at the meaninglessness of hard work and success.
In chapters 1 and 2 of Ecclesiastes, the preacher said that hard work is meaningless because one is not able to enjoy the success or fruit of his labour. Here in chapter 4, he turns his attention again to the issue of hard work and success but now focusing on the motivation for success.
Verse 4, “Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.” What he is saying is that a person’s success in work is often motivated by an envy of his neighbour. He looks at his neighbour – what he has achieved or accumulated or attained – and he is jealous. And this jealousy drives him to work hard in order to keep up with his neighbour or even to exceed him.
There are so many people in the world like that, isn’t it? Their motivation comes from comparing themselves with others and trying to outdo or at least to keep up with those in their circle.
Is Solomon describing you? If you’re a student, what is your primary motivation to study hard? An envy of others? A desire to be the best so that you can earn the praises of men? Or is it simply a fear of doing badly and what others might think of you? What motivates or drives you in your studies?
Or if you’re a parent, what is your motivation for teaching and training your children well? Is it so that your children can do better than those of your friends or neighbours or relatives, be it in terms of their behaviour or studies or sports or other areas?
And if you’re a working person, what is your primary driver in life for doing well? Your colleagues around you, your neighbours, your relatives, your peers, your friends, or even your fellow church members?
Let’s be honest and take a careful look at our own hearts. Does the fear of God and the love of God motivate you or are you dominated by the fear and envy of man? Solomon warns us that it is meaningless to seek for happiness by trying to keep up with those around. There is no end to this kind of pursuit, and there is certainly no satisfaction and contentment to be found there.
But the flipside or opposite is also vanity. Verse 5 says, “The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.” Solomon is describing the lazy person here. He folds his hands together and refuses to work hard. He is the opposite of the guy who works very hard because of envy. The lazy and idle person of verse 5 is described as a fool, because by refusing to work, he will have nothing to eat but his own flesh, which is a very graphic way of describing self-destruction. Such a person will destroy himself through a lack of effort.
The text does not give us the reason for his inactivity. It could be that he is very discouraged and disillusioned with work and life, and he just wants to escape from reality and do nothing. Or it could be that he is very ill-disciplined and just wants to do what he likes rather than what is needful and important.
Perhaps a modern equivalent of such a man is one who can sit in front of his mobile device and play games or surf the internet or watch shows or reels for countless hours without doing anything meaningful or useful.
May the Lord cause us to recognize the meaninglessness and the self-destructiveness of such a life, and to seek His help to give us a life of true freedom and meaning.
In verse 6, Solomon gives his recommendation in light of these two extremes. He says, “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” Notice how in these three verses, from 4 to 6, we have essentially three kinds of persons being described.
The first is the man who works very hard with his two hands. He is motivated or driven by an envy of others. He succeeds in filling up both his hands so that they are full but that kind of success does not bring contentment or satisfaction. Instead, all he really gets at the end is a sense of purposelessness in life.
In contrast, the second man takes his two hands and folds them together. He refuses to work. Not only does he lack success, but he utterly destroys himself.
The third man avoids both the error of the first man, who grabs with two hands, and the second man, who folds his two hands together and does nothing. Unlike the second, he is not lazy. He works hard for his living and he fills one hand with food sufficient for him. You can call him the one-handed working man. But unlike the first, he is able to enjoy the fruit of his labour with quietness and tranquility.
The point that Solomon is making is that it is better to live modestly and enjoy peace and tranquility, than to make large gains and suffer much anxiety and discontentment. Elsewhere, he says in Proverbs 15:16, “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” And again, “Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.” (Prov. 17:1)
This is a very difficult lesson to learn and not many people in the world or even in the church have learnt it well. It is easy to go from one extreme to another. Either we fold our two hands together and destroy ourselves through a lack of effort or else we open our two hands and give ourselves to a covetous pursuit of this world. Few are satisfied with just a sufficient handful in one hand.
Let us take time to seriously consider where we stand in relation to these three men, or if you like, these three approaches to work and life.
And so in this first section, we have a case of one is better than both two and zero. “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.” But in the verses that follow, we see that two is better than one in another situation.
To be continued…