The Book of Ecclesiastes … Part III

Solomon's trial of life continues with …

Chapter 6 …

Solomon gives the example of a man, who possesses the vanity of riches and makes no use of them; who has not the time or energy to enjoy them.

Ecc. 6:1-2 … "THERE IS an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavily upon men: A man to whom God has given riches, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing for his soul of all that he might desire, yet God does not give him the power or capacity to enjoy them things which are gifts from God, but a stranger in whom he has no interest succeeds him and consumes and enjoys them. This is vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility); it is a sore affliction!"

Many times people work their whole lives to store up God's material blessings for the future and yet never get to enjoy it. Your time runs out and what you leave behind … someone else gets to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Ecc. 6:12 … "For who limited to human wisdom knows what is good for man in his life, all the days of his vain life which he spends as a shadow going through the motions but accomplishing nothing? For who can tell a man what will happen to his work, his treasure, his plans under the sun after he is gone?"

Those things which we deem good are often evil; those which we think are evil often are good. While man lives, he wishes to know what is before him, what his future is. When he is about to die, he wishes to know what will be after him. Because He is merciful … God will reveal neither.

Chapter 6 could be summed up with Solomon's words this way …

"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun … all the labor of man is for his self-preservation and enjoyment, and yet his desire is not satisfied. For who can tell a man what will happen to his work, his treasure, his plans under the sun after he is gone?"

Chapter 7 …

Ecc. 7:1 … "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."

Why is the day of your death better than your birth? In Solomon's mind, birth is the start of a life of fruitless toil, labor and despair. The toil and labor is all over at death and you go to be with God. By only seeing this life as full of vanity, vexation and misery, to Solomon it is more desirable for a man to go out of it, than to come into it.

Ecc. 7:20 … "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

This statement from Solomon may have been one of self reflection concerning his own life; but to me it sounds a lot like Paul's statement in Romans … "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Solomon said to himself … "I will be wise; but it was far from me." These rules I have laid down for my own conduct, and sought after more wisdom; but have fallen far short of what I wished to be.

To strive after wisdom through the knowledge of things is labor in vain. He said he found two things … with respect to women, judged by his experience in the world; he has found none good; among men … one in a thousand.

Chapter 8 …

He asks this question … "Who is a wise man?" Then he advises men who desire to live quietly and comfortably, to honor and obey the powers that be that rules over them and not be anxious or worry about things to come since there is a set time for everything, and the future things cannot be known anyway.

After speaking of the futility that goes on upon the earth, such as … "righteous men fare as though they were wicked, and wicked men fare as though they were righteous" … he says that this also is vanity or emptiness. In other words … what does it matter if life isn't fair?

Solomon ends the chapter saying that he … "recommends enjoyment and pleasure, because a man without God has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be joyful. Although I applied my mind to know wisdom and to see the business activity and the painful effort that takes place upon the earth, and though I saw all the work of God that is done under the sun, yet I fell short, because even though a wise man thinks and claims he knows all of God's work, he will not be able to find it out."

Chapter 9 …

Solomon is now ready to start his summation of … "the trial of life."

Ecc. 9:1 … "For all this (what I have just written) I considered in my heart to declare … that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God … and no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them."

I believe Solomon is saying … we are not to judge man's love or God's love by whether good things or bad things come to us.

Solomon continues speaking truth as he has seen it …

Ecc. 9:2-3 … "All things come alike to all … there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the clean, and to the unclean … to the good and to the sinner. This is an evil under the sun … there is one event unto all: yea they live, and after that they go to the dead." One event does come alike to all … death.

Ecc. 9:11 states … "time and chance happens to them all." Chance? Many times it seems as though God just stands back and lets things come our way as though it is by chance, when in reality … nothing happens by chance.

Chapter 10 …

Solomon shares some observations on wisdom and folly … Be careful if you dig a pit, a trap for others, you might fall into it. Watch what you say … a fool speaks many words. The folly of the fool has consequences. A wise man keeps his ax sharp; if not it will take more strength.

Chapter 11 …

Basically, this whole chapter is right on target. Solomon wisely says … You cannot out give God. Give and it will come back to you. If a man lives many years, rejoice in them all. Remove sorrow from your heart and put away evil from your flesh.

Chapter 12 …

Ecc. 12:1 … "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth …" To sum up the whole thing … God must be remembered … before weakness and old age overtake you.

Ecc. 12:13-14 … "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

The conclusion of Solomon's trial of life is this …

"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Finally … the chief subject of this book is the foolishness of man's efforts in seeking happiness in his life. All of this life's experience is in contrast with true wisdom, which is … submission and obedience to God.

Remember this book gives us only … the experience and reasoning of this wise man on all that happens under the sun … even though it looks as if he has lost his faith.

There is nothing in this book concerning grace and redemption or a covenant relationship with God … only the experience of this present life.

Man's conscience also has its part in this matter and Solomon's final conclusion in the end has only one rule of life to follow … fear God who disposes of our life, who judges every action of our life … all the days of our life.

And so it is today … it is this world that is brought into question … not God.



Comments welcome.