Ecclesiastes Chapter Six
Ecclesiastes 6:1 (NASB) There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men—
Here seems a condition which is common to all men. This verse needs to be considered with verse two. The condition is that man gains riches, wealth and honor – yet he is not able to enjoy it.
Matthew Henry said: “A man often has all he needs for outward enjoyment; yet the Lord leaves him so to covetousness or evil dispositions, that he makes no good or comfortable use of what he has. By one means or other his possessions come to strangers; this is vanity, and an evil disease. A numerous family was a matter of fond desire and of high honour among the Hebrews; and long life is the desire of mankind in general. Even with these additions a man may not be able to enjoy his riches, family, and life. Such a man, in his passage through life, seems to have been born for no end or use. And he who has entered on life only for one moment, to quit it the next, has a preferable lot to him who has lived long, but only to suffer.”
Ecclesiastes 6:2 (NASB) 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.
This person has died without being able to enjoy his wealth and honor. Everyone dies, and both rich and poor end up in the grave. Many people work hard to prolong life and improve their physical condition. Yet people spend little time or effort on their spiritual health. How shortsighted it is to work hard to extend this life and not take the time to prepare for eternity.
Ecclesiastes 6:3 (NASB) 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,
From all outward appearances this man should be “happy” yet that is far from the case. His soul is not satisfied. His deepest needs have not been met. Because of this – the writer says – it is better that he not even have been born.
Ecclesiastes 6:4 (NASB) for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity.
The word “for” shows that this verse is connected to verse three. It does not matter how many children you have – it does not matter how long you live – it does not matter how many good things a person has – it does not even matter if he has a good burial – there is more to life than any of these things if God is left out of a person’s life. It is better that he had never been born.
Ecclesiastes 6:5 (NASB) "It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.
A child who has miscarried is better off than this man. It has never seen the sun. It does not know anything yet – but this man who has lived a godless life and will go down in the dust miserable.
Ecclesiastes 6:6 (NASB) "Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things--do not all go to one place?"
It does not matter how long a man may live – even if he lives 2000 years – he will die just like everyone else and will go to the same place as everyone else.
Gill said, “Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told.... Or two thousand years, which no man ever did, nor even one thousand years; Methuselah, the oldest man, did not live so long as that; this is than twice the age of the oldest man.”
Who would want to live this long if your life was nothing but vanity?
Ecclesiastes 6:7 (NASB) All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.
All of man’s labor is to feed himself – and when he has eaten his full – he will have to eat again. What use is that? He is never satisfied.
Benson has said, “All the labour of man is for his mouth — For meat and other necessary provisions of this life; and yet the appetite is not filled — Although all that a man can obtain by his labours is but a provision for his bodily wants, which the meanest sort of men commonly enjoy, yet such is the vanity of the world, and the folly of mankind, that men are insatiable in their desires, and restless in their endeavours after more and more, and never say they have enough.”
Ecclesiastes 6:8 (NASB) 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?
If this is the case – what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? Both of them struggle to feed themselves yet neither one of them is satisfied.
Utley has said: “This may be poetry. The parallel lines would be:
1. all animals toil just to eat; yet they can never eat enough to give lasting satisfaction (i.e., they get hungry again).
2. both the wise and the foolish are caught up in the trials and problems of a fallen world.
3. all humans want more than they have, yet when they have much it is still not enough (i.e., vanity, futility).”
Ecclesiastes 6:9 (NASB) What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.
This is exactly the phycology of advertising. Show a person something that they do not want nor need and make it look attractive – and they will buy it. People often think, “If I just have this or that I will be happy – I will be satisfied.” But we know that is not true. It is futility and striving after the wind. When Eve saw the fruit, “it was a delight to her eyes.”
Ecclesiastes 6:10 (NASB) 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.
God knows and directs everything that happens, and he is in complete control over our lives, even though at times it may not seem that way. How foolish it is for us to contend with our Creator, who knows us completely and can see the future.
Barnes has said, “God from the beginning definitely ordained the course of events external to man, and constituted man in such a way that events materially affect his conduct and his destiny. Hence, God, by withholding from certain people the gift of contentment, and thus subjecting them to vanity, is acting according to the predetermined course of His Providence which man cannot alter.”
Ecclesiastes 6:11 (NASB) For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man?
The word “for” indicates that this verse is connected to the preceding verse.
We are now confronted with the question: What then is the advantage to a man? This may refer to the general approach of the entire book, or it may speak specifically to the immediate context. However, it is obvious that the Preacher is concerned about man’s role on this earth and if there is any way in which he can come to the end of the day and honestly say, “See, this is my profit for today!” It is evident from his previous reasoning that the rich have nothing more than the poor. That the wise have no advantage over the foolish. We are to accept his inquiry then as a sad but true commentary of life’s endeavors. Regardless of what is accumulated, there is no profit to man who lives simply for pleasure itself.
Ecclesiastes 6:12 (NASB) 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?
Again this verse is connected with the preceding thoughts and asks the question: Who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime – during the few futile years that he will live?
In answer to his question, the implication is that God knows what is good for man. Man is not in a position to determine what is good because he, like that which he desires, is subjected to vanity. His own conclusions, apart from God’s help, will inevitably lead to the frustrating burden of feasting on the wind.
To spend his life like a shadow suggests that his life is fleeting. This figure reinforces the idea of a “few years.”
The final question of this section is: “For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?” It does not refer to eternity but rather to the activities which shall occur upon the earth tomorrow, the day after that or in the following years. No man knows. Since God is in control of His world and is the One who permits man to enjoy living, then it would follow that man should cease fretting about what might happen and live each day with simple trust and enjoyment. The wise, rich, but yet unhappy man has concerned himself with many problems that pertain to tomorrow: Who will come after him? To whom will he really leave all that he has collected and gathered? What if he has no son to carry on? Will he receive proper burial? What will people think of him when he has died? These and many other questions continually trouble his mind. He is rather required to submit to the power of God and enjoy with moderation the goods of life which God has permitted to accumulate and now potentially at least offer him the ability to enjoy.
