Reflections on Ecclesiastes 6

 Ecclesiastes 06 (Contemporary English Version)

1. There is something else terribly unfair, and it troubles everyone on earth.
   
2. God may give you everything you want--money, property, and wealth. Then God doesn't let you enjoy it, and someone you don't even know gets it all. That's senseless and terribly unfair!
   
3. You may live a long time and have a hundred children. But a child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial.
   
4. That child will never live to see the sun or to have a name, and it will go straight to the world of darkness. But it will still find more rest than you,
   
5. (SEE 6:4)
   
6. even if you live two thousand years and don't enjoy life. As you know, we all end up in the same place.
   
7. We struggle just to have enough to eat, but we are never satisfied.
   
8. We may be sensible, yet we are no better off than a fool. And if we are poor, it still doesn't do us any good to try to live right.
   
9. It's better to enjoy what we have than to always want something else, because that makes no more sense than chasing the wind.
   
10. Everything that happens was decided long ago. We humans know what we are like, and we can't argue with God, because he is too strong for us.
    
11. The more we talk, the less sense we make, so what good does it do to talk?
    
12. Life is short and meaningless, and it fades away like a shadow. Who knows what is best for us? Who knows what will happen after we are gone?

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The first section of Ecclesiastes is about the futility of man's effort to be continually striving for more and the wisdom of being content with what one has. This section concludes in chapter 6 with a discussion of the tragedy of being blessed by God with much and not having the capacity to enjoy it, always desiring more. Solomon sees this as a tragedy that "weighs heavily on humanity." From his perspective this inability to enjoy what one has happens because God has not given the person the capacity to enjoy what he has. His desire outstrips his acquisition or accumulation. But a preferable perspective is that God has not given the person the capacity to enjoy what he has because the person has not given God the opportunity to do so.

According to the scenario in verses 1-2, the person passes through life without enjoying his wealth, then dies and his wealth passes to a stranger. This, says Solomon, is a "sickening tragedy," for the one who worked for it does not enjoy it, and one who didn't work for it gets to enjoy it. Presuming the one to whom it passed has the capacity to enjoy it.

This tragedy of not enjoying what one has is not offset by having many children or a long life. Having many children and longevity of life only acerbates the person's dissatisfaction. Solomon considers a stillborn child better off than this person. The stillborn may never see the light of day or ever be known, but it has more rest than the one who lives but does not enjoy it. In the end, this person and the stillborn go to the same place - the grave.

The primary and initial purpose of man's labor is to fill his stomach, that is, to meet his basic needs. But some are not satisfied once their needs are met and continually want more. They are never satisfied. This was the case with the person previously mentioned. But this inability to enjoy what one has can afflict anyone. The wise man and poor man have no advantage over the fool in this regard. All are susceptible to this dissatisfaction. It is better for all, though, to be content with what one has rather than to desire more. Such desire is as futile as chasing the wind.

Nothing exists that was not ordained by God, including man. It is futile for man to contend with God, and the more he does so (with many words) the greater the futility. What advantage is there in contending with God? It is not as if man has any answers, for he doesn't know what is best for him nor does he know what the future holds. Only God knows these things and man is wise to look to Him for all things.