Eld Ko Swee Chay

Things that make life a vanity (Ecclesiastes 4:1-8)

Introduction

In Ecclesiastes 3:16-22, Solomon reflects on two apparent inequalities in God’s control of the world and mankind: (1) there is unfairness where there should be justice; (2) man created in God’s image dies just like the beasts. God will not let injustice and wickedness go unnoticed or unpunished, and there is an appointed time for judgment. Every man will have to give an account to God of all he has done in life either good or evil. Man will die and return to earth like the beasts. Man has life after death, but not animals. Death is not the end of things for man but is only the beginning of eternity for his soul: believers in heaven, non-believers in hell.

In Ecclesiastes 4:1-8, Solomon goes on to highlight things that make life on earth a vanity: (1) life is full of oppression; (2) life is just work and never enough; (3) life is aimless in loneliness.      

Life is full of oppression (Eccl. 4:1-3)

¹ So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. ² Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. ³ Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Solomon returned to look again at all the oppressions that are done under the sun, with reference to the wickedness in the place of judgment which he had observed in Ecclesiastes 3:16. He laments the injustice and oppression that exist under the sun. He saw the tears of the oppressed. The ones who are oppressed have no power to fight back and no comforter to console them. It is better to be dead than to be alive because then his life of oppression ends while the one who is alive is still experiencing the oppression. But better than both (the dead and the alive) is one who is not born so that he is spared from the oppression of this life.

Oppression is an act of treating other people unfairly or cruelly and depriving them of their rights. In the face of oppression, the oppressed is powerless, he is unable to right himself, and he has no one to help him and to redress the wrongs. To emphasise the awful state of the oppressed, Solomon declared that death is better than being alive, and that one “which hath not yet been” (i.e., no born yet) is the most fortunate of all, with reference to escaping the miseries of oppression and suffering. For example, those who have gone home to be with the LORD are spared the draconic experiences of the pandemic!

Oppression is a sin. Many Bible verses in the OT speak against oppression and extortion. Examples: oppression of a hired servant by his master (Deut. 24:14), oppression of the poor by the rich (Pro. 22:16), oppression of the fatherless and widow (Jer. 7:6), oppression by charging high interest (Ezek. 22: 29), oppression by using “the balances of deceit” (Hos. 12:7). In our time, we continue to see oppression in schools, camps, workplaces, and countries. We need to recognise that oppression, injustice, and exploitation are facts of life in this evil and corrupt world ruled by Satan. Turn your eyes toward the pictorial images of devastated Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. The images speak louder than words. 

Life is just work and never enough (Eccl. 4:4-6)

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. ⁵ The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. ⁶ Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

Solomon went on to consider another thing that makes life a vanity. When a man works hard and achieves success in every work he does skilfully, he is envied by his neighbour. The phrase “foldeth his hands together” means refraining from work.  The phrase “eateth his own flesh” is a metaphorical expression implying starvation and self-destruction. This describes a man who is lazy, refuses to work, will eventually become so destitute that he almost starves and hence might want to consume his own flesh metaphorically. Solomon then gave this advice: it is better to have “a handful” (i.e., a little) with “quietness” (i.e., tranquillity and peace) than to have “both the hands full” (i.e., a lot) with “travail and vexation of spirit” (i.e., toil and a grasping of the wind). 

The person who works hard and makes lots of money is envied by his neighbour. He is motivated by greed, envy, and desire to stay ahead of everyone else. But if he were to be lazy such that his neighbour will not envy him, then he starves and eats his own flesh, hurting both himself and those who depend on him. The better way is to just work enough diligently and faithfully and live day by day, i.e., by a handful, by the grace of God. It is better than to have plenty, i.e., to work very hard where the hands are full of travail and vexation of spirit because his neighbours envy him. He has no true friends. But whatever state and choice one makes in one’s work life, it is vanity without God!

Life is aimless in loneliness (Eccl. 4:7-8)

⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. ⁸ There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Solomon described a recluse who has no companion, child, or brother; yet he works ceaselessly, and his eye is not satisfied with riches. Solomon wondered why this man does not ask himself: “For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good?” The phrase “bereave my soul of good” means deprive self of enjoyment or happiness and comfort. Solomon declares that such futile or meaningless toil “was a sore travail”, i.e., a sad business, a woeful employment.

The person works hard and makes lots of money but lives alone. Even though he has no one to live and care for or to share his wealth with, he exhibits an insatiable appetite for wealth. When he dies, all that he has worked hard for is left behind for no one. This makes hard work meaningless. How sad is a life that is lived alone and driven by carnality to have more even though he already has no lack, and worse still no one to share it with! This is truly an aimless and lonely life. For example, many parents work hard because they are motivated to provide for their families. But the man who has no one works hard for no one!

Conclusion

These verses testify of a point in Solomon’s life where he had forgotten God. He lived like an unbeliever. He saw a world of oppression and all men lived in it. The dead who had already lived in it are better off for they are no longer under oppression. The one who is still living experiences constant oppression from man, society, and the weather! It is best not to be born than to live in such an oppressive world.

Life is a life of toil. Toiling can bring great wealth, but it also brings envious neighbours resulting in loneliness and vexation of spirit. By being lazy envious neighbours may disappear, but then starvation will be the result. To live day by day and work hard with quietness in the heart that God alone can give, which Solomon lost, is the only way!

Aimless living leads to loneliness. Working hard for no one is vexation of spirit. He knows that at the end of his life, all that he worked for will go to someone else who means little to him. The accumulation of riches cannot fill this emptiness in the soul. Only when we live for Christ can life be meaningful and rich.

May the Lord guide and guard us from the things that make life a vanity and help us to live a meaningful and joyful life in Christ Jesus according to His Word. AMEN.