Ecclesiastes 6

• Let's review Ecclesiastes:

  • This book is Wisdom literature, written by Solomon, a man God gave wisdom and discernment greater than any man.

  • The book of Ecclesiastes establishes Solomon’s theory of the meaning of life.

    • The thesis is the meaning of life can’t be found in the creation, therefore it is vanity to try and seek for it there.

    • Solomon began providing proof through the repeating cycles in nature that display a meaninglessness in understanding an advantage in life.

    • Solomon continued to establish this by his personal experiences concluding that wisdom and wealth and seeking an earthly legacy are meaningless in understanding an advantage in life.

    • There is a God-appointed time for every event under heaven. Man’s purpose in life is to seek God’s sovereign will lived out.

  • God has allowed wicked men to oppress others, do not be surprised when you witness this truth.

  • Approach God in reverence seeking only to know His Will in every situation. Keep your word before men and God. Do not be focused on what can be accumulated or achieved in this life on this earth it is not what counts in the end, it is not where the advantage to life is found. Be satisfied in what God provides. In that is true contentment.

Eccl. 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men —
Eccl. 6:2 a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.
Eccl. 6:3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he,
Eccl. 6:4 for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.
Eccl. 6:5 “It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.
Eccl. 6:6 “Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things — do not all go to one place?”

• v.1 What does Solomon begin with now? (There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men)

  • Solomon describes this as evil.

  • What does ‘which I have seen’ mean? (This is something Solomon has been an eye witness to.)

  • What does ‘under the sun’ mean? (Happens here on earth)

  • What does ‘prevalent among men’ mean? (Happens commonly)

• v.2  How does this evil begin? (a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires)

  • Where did the provision come from? (God has given)

  • What did God give? (riches and wealth and honor)

  • Where else do we see these three things listed together in the scriptures?

2Chr. 1:9 “Now, O LORD God, Your promise to my father David is fulfilled, for You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.
2Chr. 1:10 “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?”
2Chr. 1:11 God said to Solomon, “Because you had this in mind, and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king,
2Chr. 1:12 wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings who were before you has possessed nor those who will come after you.”

• This is the only other scripture reference where these three specific items are listed together and in the same order.

  • What is the difference between riches and wealth?

    • Riches defined – abundant and valuable possessions.

    • Wealth defined – anything that has utility and is capable of being appropriated or exchanged.

    • Honor – high respect, as for worth, merit, or rank.

  • Solomon is described as a man with riches and wealth detailed in 2 Chronicles.

2Chr. 1:14 Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
2Chr. 1:15 The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the lowland.
2Chr. 1:16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders procured them from Kue for a price.
2Chr. 1:17 They imported chariots from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver apiece and horses for 150 apiece, and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.

• Solomon is not short of the resources seen as riches and he can use those in exchange for objects to be used as great wealth.

• Eccl. 6:2 How did this verse continue? (so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires)

  • With all the wealth and riches at his disposal what does Solomon also say is true? (yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.)

  • What could it mean ‘God has not empowered him to eat from them’?

  • What does empowered mean? (to enable or permit)

  • Who does eat from them? (for a foreigner enjoys them)

    • Is there a time during Solomon’s reign when with all his money and wisdom and honor he could not do something without the significant aid of a foreigner?

2Chr. 2:1 Now Solomon decided to build a house for the name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
2Chr. 2:2 So Solomon assigned 70,000 men to carry loads and 80,000 men to quarry stone in the mountains and 3,600 to supervise them.
2Chr. 2:3 Then Solomon sent word to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, so do for me.
2Chr. 2:4 “Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, this being required forever in Israel.
2Chr. 2:5 “The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods.
2Chr. 2:6 “But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?
2Chr. 2:7 “Now send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.
2Chr. 2:8 “Send me also cedar, cypress and algum timber from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber of Lebanon; and indeed my servants will work with your servants,
2Chr. 2:9 to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.
2Chr. 2:10 “Now behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.”
2Chr. 2:11 Then Huram, king of Tyre, answered in a letter sent to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them.”
2Chr. 2:12 Then Huram continued, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
2Chr. 2:13  “Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding,
2Chr. 2:14 the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father.
2Chr. 2:15 “Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of which he has spoken.
2Chr. 2:16 “We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.”
2Chr. 2:17 Solomon numbered all the aliens who were in the land of Israel, following the census which his father David had taken; and 153,600 were found.
2Chr. 2:18 He appointed 70,000 of them to carry loads and 80,000 to quarry stones in the mountains and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.

• The first foreigner mentioned here is Huram the king of Tyre.

• Next we see who will be sent to Solomon. “Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding.

  • Who is Huram-abi’s mother? (A Danite woman) 1 Kings 7:13-14.

1Kings 7:13 Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre.
1Kings 7:14 He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.

• It would appear Hiram’s mother is from the tribe of Naphtali but had been living in the tribe of Dan’s region. The point is that she was a Jew and therefore so was Hiram.

  • Who else does the King of Tyre send to Solomon? “I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber”

  • How many foreigners come to Israel? (The number of aliens in Israel numbered 153,600.)

  • These are the foreigners Solomon brings to Israel. This is clearly defined  in 2 Chronicles 2:17 the detail that Solomon numbered these after the census his father David had been taken.

    • Could this be what Solomon is referring to when he writes ‘yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them?’

    • What conclusion does Solomon give in Eccl. 6:2? (This is vanity and a severe affliction.)

    • This is a direct contrast to a verse we studied last week.

Eccl. 5:19 Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

• God gives riches and wealth to both. The outcome is the difference.

  • One is, ‘He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor.’

    • The contrast is, ‘God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them.’

  • One is ‘the gift of God.’

    • The other is ‘vanity and a severe affliction.’

  • Could it be that Solomon had experienced both of these and knows the difference? Just like in Ecclesiastes 2:26.

• Eccl. 6:3 Where does Solomon move next? (If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he.”)

  • What two things are listed as things seen as a benefit by many men? (fathering children and living a long life)

    • Let’s be clear here. The term used is ‘fathering children’ — many offspring.

    • This does not equate to being a father to a hundred children.

    • Children were often seen then, and in many cultures today, as a form of wealth. They work for the family. They are part of a team that works together for their family unit. They are often the people who will take care of the parents as they age. They can therefore be a form of retirement for the parents.

  • The second thing listed was one who ‘lives many years’. This is seen as a natural desire for all mankind. There is a qualifier to ‘lives many years.’ What is it? (however many they be)

    • This is a relative qualifier since what may be many for one is not many for another. There is not a qualitative number that captures what many years is.

• In-spite of many children and many years to live, what is missing? (but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial)

  • This man will not experience contentment and in death will not have a ‘proper burial’.

    • What is a proper burial versus non-proper burial? Let's look at Kings.

1Kings 14:11 “Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the LORD has spoken it.”’
1Kings 14:12 “Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die.”
1Kings 14:13 “All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.”

2Kings 9:8 ‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel.”
2Kings 9:9 ‘I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.”
2Kings 9:10 ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.’

• These verses simply demonstrate that a burial was provided for someone when something good was found toward God and those without this were denied a burial.

  • In context in Ecclesiastes then this person was not content in life and did not receive the end-of-life fulfillment of a proper burial—not content in life or in death.

• Eccl. 6:3 How does this verse end? (then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he)

  • A miscarriage is a life conceived yet not born. Solomon says this life conceived yet not born is better than the person born who father’s many children, lives many years, yet is not content in his labor, and dies without regard.

  • v.4 Why is this true? (for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity)

    • What is Obscurity? (Dictionary.dotcom defines it as the condition of being unknown)

    • The miscarriage moves on to an unknown ending to men and its name will be unknown by men as well.

  • v.5 What else is true for the miscarriage? (“It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.)

    • The miscarriage does not experience any of what life on earth can provide yet it is better off than the man described by Solomon.

  • v.6 Solomon says this is true even if what? (“Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things — do not all go to one place?”)

    • For the sake of exaggeration, Solomon says even if the living man lives two thousand years and has the same fate of not enjoying the good things, the miscarriage still is better.

    • Why is this true? (do not all go to one place?)

    • Where did Solomon say all would go before?

Eccl. 3:20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.

• This verse is talking about the physical fate — not the spiritual fate of men, miscarriage, or those who live and experience death.

  • This is not about where the souls of men go.

  • This is not about burial versus other forms of disposing or remains.

Eccl. 6:7  All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.
Eccl. 6:8 For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?
Eccl. 6:9 What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.
Eccl. 6:10  Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is.
Eccl. 6:11 For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?
Eccl. 6:12 For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

• v.7 Solomon moved back to talking about the life of the sad man how? (All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.)

  • The focus of men’s labor to satisfy himself physically is never met.

• v.8 Knowing this truth what question does Solomon ponder? (For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool?)

  • In this state of living an unsatisfied life what benefit does the wise have over the fool? (none)

    • Wisdom is of no benefit.

• v.8 What rhetorical question does Solomon pose next? (What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?)

  • Does a poor man live a better life than the wealthy because he is poor during their lives? (No)

• v.9 For the poor man and the wealthy man what leads them? (What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.)

  • Both men seek after what they can perceive here on the earth with their eyes. They are led by their temporal decisions. The physical wins over the spiritual. The eyes are never satisfied and so there is never contentment.

  • When this happens Solomon says this is futility and striving after wind.

• v.10 What is true about the created world? (Whatever exists has already been named)

  • What does it mean when someone has the right to name something?

Gen. 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Gen. 1:8 God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Gen. 1:10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

Gen. 2:19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
Gen. 2:20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.

• God created and therefore God has the right to name everything in His creation.

  • God allows man to name what God created.

• Eccl. 6:10 What has God said about man? (and it is known what man is)

  • Why can’t man argue with God? (for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is)

  • The one who names is the stronger one.

Is. 40:21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
Is. 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Is. 40:23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Is. 40:24 Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
Is. 40:25 “To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Is. 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

• Man is not equal to God. To demonstrate His great authority, God says to look up to the heavens. God says I created these starts and I have the right to name the stars.

Is. 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!

• God identifies that He is the Creator of Jacob. As the Creator, God has the right to name, and He does.

  • John 10:3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

  • Jesus says He call us by name. Jesus is the creator and yet He calls us by name. What a humbling recognition of who God is and who God is to us!

• Eccl 6:11 When men speak many words what is true? (For there are many words which increase futility.)

  • When man speak many words, what is the rhetorical question? (What then is the advantage to a man?)

    • Man’s words do not create anything.

    • Man’s words increase futility.

  • What is futility? (emptiness or uselessness)

    • Men can speak many words, but that only increases their emptiness or uselessness.

    • Man can disagree or agree with God all he wants, but it does not change the outcome and therefore is not an advantage to man.

• v.12 What is the first question man can’t answer? (For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life?)

  • God says what is true how? (He will spend them like a shadow.)

  • What is ‘them’ referring to? (The years)

    • The years will be used up like what? (a shadow)

  • What is a shadow? (A shadow is a reflection that does not make an impact.

  • It is not the real substance of anything.

  • It is only what an eye sees for an instance then it is gone.

• What is the ultimate question for men? (For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?)

  • The clarifier is ‘under the sun’. What did under the sun mean? (Here on earth)

  • Man cannot know what comes after him here on earth or what impact his life will have on things or people after he leaves.

• The point is, not to spend our lives as if this world is our focus. Believers are to spend our minutes, days, and years in pursuit of following a sovereign God working through us for His sovereign purposes.