INTRODUCTION
1. Background
Ecclesiastes is one of the most puzzling books of the Bible. Its apparently unorthodox statements and extreme pessimism caused its inclusion in the canon of Scripture to be questioned. However, because historically it was thought to have been the work of Solomon (see Authorship), its place in the canon of Scripture was generally secure.
2. Authorship and Date
Traditionally, the authorship of the book has been ascribed to Solomon. This is implied in the opening verse, where the author, “the Teacher” (Heb., Qoheleth; GK 7738), is described as the “son of David, king in Jerusalem.” Again at 1:12 he states, “I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.” The tradition of David as singer and psalmist is borne out by an early reference at Am 6:5 and is taken seriously in the light of the lament for Saul and Jonathan (2Sa 1:17–27). We ought to take Solomon’s reputation for wisdom equally seriously and see his court as the center that drew the wise from all quarters to discuss problems of living in a difficult world (1Ki 4:34).
Solomon was on the high road of trade and culture. He had important contacts with Egypt, including an Egyptian wife, and Egypt had a wealth of wisdom literature. This literature includes poems that reason about the problems of life. Other known writings of a similar type come from Babylon. Presumably, Solomon too listened, collected, and added to the literature by facing the realities of life and showing the way through for the God-fearing person. A close examination of the book of Ecclesiastes reveals that there are no passages that conclusively rule out the possibility that Solomon was the author (though to view someone other than him as the author is a defensible position for evangelicals to hold).
If Solomon was the author, then this book was written sometime during his time, presumably in his latter years. Because some of the expressions in the book seem to require a later date than the time of Solomon, it is plausible that his words, preserved by wise men over several centuries, were eventually recorded by a new Teacher in his own dialect or in the Hebrew of his time.
3. Purpose
The theme of the book appears in the prologue: “Meaningless! Meaningless! . . . Everything is meaningless.” The general conclusion comes in the epilogue, which speaks of fearing God and keeping his commandments because we must one day give account to him. The meaning and purpose of the book must be discovered within this framework. Life in the world is subject to frustration; but human beings can still accept their circumstances, even enjoy them, and find strength to live life as it comes.
The book tells us to begin where we are, with the assumption that God has his purpose for today. To fulfill this purpose we must use our God-given sense as well as our own experience of ourselves and that of others. God has a proper time for each thing to be done (3:1–8), and recognizing this allows us to accept life as it comes (3:11a), even though we know that we have fitted no more than one piece in the great puzzle. Thus we are directed from speculation (e.g., 8:16–17) to observation. It is right to meditate on the total work of God, but we are to glorify God in the common things of life; i.e., we are to make the fullest use of the present moment.
There may be times of stress and strain and special calling; but the norm is to eat, drink, and live our daily lives as those who gladly rejoice in God’s good gifts and intend to use them to his glory. This is the theme of the refrains (2:24–26; 3:12–13, 22; 5:18–19; 8:15; 9:7–9). In fact, it tallies with the NT teaching that we are to eat and drink and do all our actions to the glory of God (1Co 10:31; Col 3:17), since he has generously given us everything for our enjoyment (1Ti 6:17). In all this there is nothing unworthy.
4. Theological Values
Ecclesiastes encourages the reader to a God-centered worldview rather than falling victim to frustrations and unanswered questions. None of its contents has to be rejected in the light of the NT. Although the NT revelation is vastly greater than that in Ecclesiastes, the two are not devoid of similarities (e.g., Jas 4:13–17). Like the people of God in Solomon’s time, believers today are subject to the unexpected changes and chances common to humankind. Yet they know that God works through every vicissitude of life. Respecting the future, which for Solomon was shrouded in a shadow land, Christians have the glorious hope of being in the presence of Christ himself (2Co 5:6; Php 1:23).
The writer of Ecclesiastes was no humanist. He named God some forty times, and six times he spoke of the fear of God (3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12–13; 12:13). He used the general name Elohim (GK 466) and not Yahweh (“the LORD”; GK 3378), the covenant name of God. This may be because he was writing about God in relation to the whole of humankind. Another possibility may be that as the OT period drew to its close, there was a growing reluctance to use the sacred covenant name in daily speech. Hence, when Ecclesiastes reached its final form—even if Solomon had been the author and had used the covenant name—reverence would have required the use of Elohim.
So far as a person’s state before God is concerned, the book contrasts two classes of humanity. One comprises the God-fearing (3:14; 5:7; 7:18; 8:12–13; 12:13), righteous (3:17; 7:15–16, 20; 8:14; 9:2), good (9:2), and wise (frequently mentioned, e.g., 10:2). The other comprises the sinners (2:26; 7:26; 8:11; 9:2, 18) and the wicked (3:17; 7:15; 8:10, 12–14; 9:2). There is also frequent mention of fools (e.g., 5:4), a term that does not mean a jester or merely unwise person, but one who is godless and wicked (cf. Pss 14:1; 53:1). It is especially descriptive of those who act wrongly because they do not make any effort to discover the will of God. At the same time the book recognizes that there is no such thing as sinless perfection (7:20).
Strangely, there is no reference to repentance and forgiveness. There are, however, two references to sacrifices (5:1; 9:2), the second of which is linked to moral evil and uncleanness. Lest we downgrade Ecclesiastes because of its silence about repentance and forgiveness, we should take into account that a book on godly morals need not necessarily deal with these things. Rather, it assumes that the reader knows about these teachings.
EXPOSITION
I. The Meaninglessness of Nature, Wisdom, and Wealth (1:1–2:23)
1. The Theme: All Is Frustration (1:1–3)
1–3 “The Teacher” (GK 7738), writing as a wise and observant king of David’s line, sets out his theme. He lives in a world riddled through with vanity, futility, and frustration. Human beings, struggling to live, meet frustration at every turn. One looks back to the record of sin’s entry into human life (7:29; Ge 3). The human race chose to become self-centered and self-guided rather than remaining God-centered and God-guided. Thus they became earthbound and frustrated, and this book demonstrates that there is no firm foundation under the sun for earthbound people to build on so as to find meaning, satisfaction, and the key to existence.
2. The Frustration in Nature and History (1:4–11)
4–11 The Teacher plunges straight into the search for ultimate truth and stability in nature and in human history. He cites examples of research into repetitive phenomena, choosing first four basic facts of the created order: (1) the solid earth, (2) the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies, (3) air currents, and (4) the flow and evaporation of water. South and north are selected as a balance to the east and west of the sun. Solomon was interested in nature generally (cf. 1Ki 4:33).
Scientists define physical laws that have always operated; but if we ask them about origins or some ultimate purpose, there is nothing they can tell us from nature that will give the meaning of life. The biblical view of nature, however, is that it testifies to a Creator, though it does not compel belief in him (e.g., Ps 19; Ro 1:20). But the Teacher is concerned with proof rather than testimony and rightly maintains that meaning and security cannot be found in nature alone. If everything is endlessly cyclical, how can we break out of the temporal circle into a state that leads somewhere? We may also ask, What is the true meaning to be found in nature—if there is a meaning, is it found in the beauty of spring or in the violence of the storm and the earthquake?
There is a similar impasse in the study of history. What help is there in an endless succession of birth and death? History shows men and women struggling to find meaning in their experiences, but all in vain. Every generation looks for some satisfying novelty, but each novelty can be analyzed as only a variant on the past. Obviously, there have been many inventions; but in the context the Teacher probably has in mind any invention that enables human beings to break out of nature and the succession of history into meaning, which transcends the sense of futility. They have not found it; and each generation, regarding itself as the greatest, still reaches no conclusion.
3. The Frustration of Wisdom (1:12–18)
12–13 The Teacher has confronted us with a situation that today might be called “existential.” The human race exists in a series of experiences and cannot discover any onward meaning in them. All people can do is exist and make the best of what comes—or drop out altogether. Yet most people still believe that life has some meaning if only they could find it. In his first mention of God, the Teacher stated what comes out again later (e.g., 3:11)—namely, that God has given something to humankind that he has denied to the rest of the animal world: the constant, though often worrying, urge to make sense of life and to work toward a transcendent ideal. Human beings, in the likeness of God, look for meanings so that they can control and direct their instinctive desires.
14–15 There is so much people cannot understand. Not only are people aiming at unsubstantial ideals, which blow away like the wind, but their efforts to straighten things out and supply what seems to be lacking are continually disappointed. Today we have straightened out many of the twists of the past and added many comforts to life; but as many of us have seen in our lifetime, in one moment a whole generation or some dominant group of rulers can revive the horrors of the past and destroy what is truly good and meaningful in life.
16–18 The Teacher was remorseless in his effort to make us think, but even the wisdom of Solomon could not break through on the basis of human reason. We observe that those who have struggled to wrest the secret of the universe and those who have abandoned any attempt to understand it both find frustration. Those who take life seriously can never take it lightly. At the end of this section, the Teacher is frustrated because his thinking is earthbound under heaven, for he depends wholly on his own great wisdom and increased knowledge.
4. The Frustration of Unlimited Wealth (2:1–11)
1–2 We notice that this description of Solomon omits mention of immorality but is concerned with the joys of luxury. No serious thinker supposes that a Casanova is on the way to discover the purpose of living (cf. 7:26). The Teacher set his sights on those pleasures that many people considered worthwhile in themselves. He surrounded himself with happy people who kept him amused, but even the jokes and laughter grew stale (cf. 7:1–6).
3 The Teacher then turned to sensual pleasures. Yet he still kept a hold of himself so that he could analyze his experiences and see whether they proved to be the answer to all human desires.
4–8 A sensible use of money may be a form of creativity; so Solomon expressed himself in extensive buildings and planted things. Naturally Solomon did no more than supervise the work. He had only to give the word, and slaves did his bidding (cf. 1Ki 9:17–22). The service of others is something that money can buy.
Solomon also determined to be the largest owner of cattle and sheep. He did not lose sight of the need for an ever-increasing income; and his position of holding the trading bridge between Egypt and Asia made him one of the wealthiest monarchs of the day (1Ki 10:21–29). As a connoisseur of music, he collected at court the finest soloists and choirs. The final item in the list (translated “harem”; GK 8721) may well refer to Solomon’s wives and concubines, but the Hebrew word does not occur elsewhere in the Bible.
9–11 More than any other man, Solomon was able to buy every single thing he imagined could satisfy him. He kept his sense of discernment intact (vv.3, 9). Solomon wanted to determine to what extent one could find the key to life in a varied use of great wealth. In the end money and the pleasures it can buy do not lift us out of the realm of earthbound frustration. The Teacher will later amplify this conclusion in terms of death and the handling of one’s possessions (see 5:8–17). Despite riches we may still be empty shells and our gains only as substantial as the wind.
5. The Ultimate Frustration: Death (2:12–23)
12–16 A critic may object that the pursuit of luxury is the aim of a fool, but what of wisdom as a proper guide to life? Nobody who follows in Solomon’s steps will ever have greater opportunities than he had for combining wisdom and wealth. Granted that wisdom is more worthwhile than folly and gives light in the darkness of life; yet both wise and foolish have to face the ultimate fate of dying, and death is the ultimate frustration. The Teacher did not go back on his conclusion that wisdom is better than folly but asked how much better it is in the light of the fact that both the wise and fools will be forgotten in future ages.
17–23 The Teacher found no security and purpose in the rewards of his labor. A person may not be so rich as Solomon but may live wisely and accumulate wealth in a perfectly legitimate way. Such people may wear themselves out in the process. Then comes death and the sharing of the estate. What sort of persons will the heirs be? They too may be wise; but they may also be fools, especially if they have imbibed their father’s materialistic values without having had to struggle for a living.
II. Divine Order of Life (2:24–3:22)
1. Daily Life to Be Enjoyed (2:24–26)
24–26 This is the first of similar refrains that, if taken out of their context, might seem to advocate a life of mere pleasure seeking. The Teacher was clearly speaking to normal people in normal circumstances. He was not discussing physical and social evils that needed to be put right. Up to now he had considered life from the angle of the person who tried to have a knowledge of good and evil (cf. Ge 2:16–17) without being accountable to God for one’s standards of thought or behavior. The alternative is the life of faith, which does not understand everything (see ch. 3) but looks for the hand of God in the events of daily life.
The walk with God means that we can ask for his wisdom to use life rightly and his knowledge to understand such of his ways as he may disclose to us, and thus experience the joy of fulfillment despite life’s difficulties. The Wisdom writings of Scripture speak of life in a stable society where individuals and authorities should be carrying out the will of God. Normally such a society prospers. It is God’s will that sinners who are here something more than fools and who, because they are sinners, do not mind what means they use for “gathering and storing up,” should hand over their ill-gotten gains. The final sentence at v.26 obviously refers to the frustration for sinners.
2. God’s Plan for Living (3:1–8)
1 Human beings are to take their lives day by day from the hand of God (2:24–26; 3:12–13), realizing that God has a fitting time for each thing to be done. The significance of this section is that human beings are responsible to discern the right times for the right actions; and when they do the right action according to God’s time, the result is “beautiful” (v.11). The Teacher did not say that everything was imposed on them against their will, even though some events go beyond their understanding.
2 Birth and death, the boundaries of life under the sun, are mentioned first. Children have always been looked upon as a blessing from God (cf. Ps 127:3–5), whereas barrenness has been considered a judgment from him (Ge 30:22–23; 1Sa 1:6–7; 2:1–11; Isa 4:1; Lk 1:25). On the other hand, increased medical knowledge enables life to be extended far beyond the limits of threescore years and ten. So we look for God’s plan, not for euthanasia, to determine when and whether to resuscitate lives that are ready to slip away. Planting and uprooting have both a natural and a metaphorical sense. The natural is taken up at 11:6, the metaphorical in Jeremiah’s call to break up the fallow ground and uproot the thorns (Jer 4:3; cf. Mt 13:24–30).
3 Killing and healing involve the question of a so-called just war and capital punishment. What is God’s plan for our time and for the specific situations that confront us? When should aggression be met by resistance and when should there be some healing compromise? When does an offender need a life sentence, and when does he need psychiatric treatment?
Tearing down and building up, while involving plans for building development, also have a metaphorical meaning. The Christian life has its negative and positive sides (1Co 3:10–15; Gal 2:18).
4–5 There are appropriate occasions for tears and laughter (Ro 12:15). Biblical society had a healthier attitude toward the use of weeping and mourning as a meaningful and healing part of life (cf. Ps 6:6–7; Jn 11:35). There is a time to clear the ground of loose stones before collecting other stones for building. There are also times for expressing or refraining from love, a relevant reminder for many people today that there are standards of sex.
6–8 Acquisition and sacrifice form part of life, as do tearing up and repairing, silence and speech. Love and hate are both needed, provided we love and hate the proper things (Ro 12:9; ljn 4:20). When must we war against those who promote evil? With whom are we to be in happy agreement?
3. The Pieces and the Whole (3:9–15)
9–11 Admittedly, God has his proper time for every event, but we naturally want to grasp the whole plan he has for our lives. What is the point of it all? (1) We have to take steps to discover and fulfill the duties to be done each day. Doing the right thing at the right time yields a beautiful sense of fulfillment. (2) However much we see things as units of knowledge and experience, we must try to bring these units into a meaningful whole. This is an aspect of our likeness to God, who alone embraces the whole. The Fall occurred when our original progenitors chose to have their own knowledge of good and evil and to be in charge of their own lives. By cutting themselves off from God, they were without clear direction, no longer living in the light of God’s whole plan.
In this fallen world the believer must ask, “Lord, what would you have me do now? I know my life has an eternal purpose, and I desire to understand how all things work together for good. But I realize that I am not as you and cannot say just why such-and-such a thing has come to me” (cf. v.11).
12–14 There is much to be enjoyed, especially as one goes through life doing good. It requires faith to declare that there is a permanency about all God-inspired good deeds. Therefore, one must walk in humble fear lest one miss the will of God in life. The fuller Christian revelation enriches these principles. Treasure may be laid up in heaven (Mt 6:20), works of gold and silver will survive the fire test (1Co 3:10–15), and a Christian’s works in the Lord follow him or her (Rev 14:13). But unbelieving humanists, however earnest, cannot plan their lives in the light of eternity.
15 If we look for further guidance as to the will of God, we may find it in his working in history. History does repeat itself. We may discard the lessons of history, but God confronts us with them again and again (cf. 1:10). We have no basis for complaining that he has not warned us that he will call the past to account.
4. The Consequences of Mortality (3:16–22)
16–17 One of the greatest problems in understanding the total plan of God is that reward and punishment sometimes seem conspicuously absent. People in positions of power have a tendency to grab for themselves. Hence believers by faith hold that God will redress the wrong assessments made on earth (Mal 3:16–4:3; Rev 22:11–12).
18–22 Meanwhile, the Teacher centers his thoughts on the inevitability of death. God makes all sensible people realize that they are as much subject to death as is the animal world. Both are animated by a similar breath of life that sustains them while living and is withdrawn at death. People and animals also resemble each other in having bodies made of vegetable and mineral substances that revert to dust at death. There is no reference here to any personal spirit or soul, but the spirit or breath is the sustaining life that comes from God (Ge 6:17; Ps 104:29–30).
Most people behave as though they have endless time and close their eyes to the fact of death. God wants us to face that fact. The Teacher challenges those who live as though they are immortal and are never to be accountable to God (vv.16–17). We shall not be brought back for a second chance to cooperate with God in doing his will on this side of eternity. We must make the most of the present in order to please God. We cannot count on the future, since we do not know what it is.
The conclusion is a further summary of the refrain that God has his day-by-day plan for our lives and that we can find the joy of fulfillment in it.
III. The Frustration of Politics (4:1–16)
1–3 The Teacher had seen that God must inevitably redress the wrong judgments of unjust rulers (3:17) and that high and low must face the fact that they are but mortals (3:18–22). The Teacher met the valid objection that some people find it hard to take their lives each day from the hand of God and enjoy them (3:22). Granted that average persons in settled circumstances may not find much difficulty in aiming at this, but observation shows that the simple ways of life may be wrecked by leaders who misuse their power.
There are times when we thank God for delivering some poor tortured sufferer through death. Anyone who feels deeply, like the Teacher, may wish on occasion that he or she had never been born into all the sufferings of the world (cf. Mt 18:1–9).
4 This verse gives a profound diagnosis when it says that all achievement comes through a drive toward superiority. The desire for achievement is good in itself, since God never intended humankind to be static or simply passive. The challenge to be the best and to be breaking fresh ground always involves some rivalry of ideas and has led to notable scientific progress; but rivalry between individuals and nations may divert healthy competition into bitter envy. In industry, moreover, where the average worker has little scope for creativity, there is envy for another person’s money or status. So a healthy drive becomes yet another frustration and a chasing after the wind.
5–6 Two proverbs follow. To ignore the drive for achievement and become a dropout is foolish self-destructiveness. But the drive must be harnessed to what is compatible with inner peace.
7–8 The drive may turn into miserliness—the overaccumulation of money or other possessions. Collecting possessions can become an obsession, which kills sane thinking and prevents a person from following the advice of 3:22. Here is another form of the power complex—wherein one’s success gives that person a feeling of triumphant superiority.
9–12 The drive to succeed is mature when it has its interplay with the whole of society. Two acting together are better than one selfish individual; they can support each other when there is need for support. This proverb applies to all relationships. Individualism and divisions make for weakness. There is a proper complex of power in a three-strand rope, provided the strands are good and support one another.
13–16 Finally, the power complex is seen in the struggle between tradition and revolution. Political leaders or business executives may fight to keep their position when they are no longer capable of making wise decisions; yet they will not take advice. Young revolutionaries who have been imprisoned or kept down may indeed be wiser. But if they come to power, they too may succumb to the desire to lord it over everyone else; and those under them will be glad to be rid of them. So the Teacher concludes that power all too often brings only frustration. It does not hold the key to life.
IV. The Frustration of Life (5:1–7:29)
1. Quiet Before God (5:1–7)
1–2 In contrast to the power complexes of the previous chapter, we are brought quietly into the presence of God. Here is a keen analysis of motives in prayer and worship. We come before God in humility, recognizing his majesty and his right to our lives. We seek his guidance and listen to his words.
The alternative is to suppose that offerings can be a substitute for a God-ordered life. Sometimes extreme concern over one issue is an unconscious screen against facing other issues. It is as though we call God’s attention to the sacrifice we are making while being blind to some essential command that he makes.
Yet we are meant to speak to God in prayer. The emphasis in v.2 is on rashness and haste. Prayer is not reciting a list as quickly as possible so as to rush once more into the round of daily life (cf. Mt 6:7–8).
3 As personal and business cares produce dreams, which are unsubstantial things, so many words produce foolish and empty prayer. When we come before God, our minds are full of our own business rather than with the worship of God. When we talk too much, we usually talk like fools. This can be especially bad in the house of God.
4–6 There is, however, a place for making resolutions (vows) before God. The challenge that comes through a sermon or a book and, above all, from Scripture itself should be clinched by definite commitment. The same follow-up is vital if in time of trouble we make a promise to do something if only God will deliver us. If we do not carry it through, it would be better to have made no commitment at all. We must not draw back and make an excuse about not having understood what we were required to do. This can only arouse God’s displeasure, and he may well take away what we were hoping to keep for ourselves.
7 The section concludes with the reminder that our approach to God must be a realistic response to what he has shown us to be his will—not a wordy presentation of our dreams for ourselves. In other words, we should try to put ourselves in a position to discover God’s way to use what he has given us in our daily lives.
2. Money and Mortality (5:8–20)
8–9 The Teacher again speaks of the use and abuse of money in daily life. Too often the struggle for power brings suffering for the underdog. Each shows servility toward those above and waits to take their place while lording it over those below him or her. The Teacher on the whole sees an advantage in a supreme ruler truly concerned for the welfare of the land. One hopes for a wise person at the head of the country or a business or an institution—one who has both ability and humility.
10 Struggle for power comes from the desire for more and more money. It is not wrong to have a proper concern for a living wage, but the prestige of perquisites and greed for luxuries make this verse as relevant as ever. These insatiable desires also bring frustration. Not money itself, but a love of money is “a root of all kinds of evil” (1Ti 6:10).
11–12 The person who has an abundance of material possessions may become a miser (4:7–8) or may never know real friendship because of the numbers of acquaintances who want to share in the wealth. On the other hand, assuming that one has a living wage, the honest worker can sleep peacefully at night. But the anxieties of money-grubbers drive them to sleeping pills and tranquilizers.
13–17 A note of even deeper sadness is that people may accumulate money, even to the extent of warping their character. Then a miscalculation or an unfortunate turn of events destroys everything. What they had hoped to leave to their children is gone. Perhaps the children have been counting on inheriting that money and have done nothing for themselves (cf. 2:18–21). So the parents have wasted the driving desire of their lives. They have measured success by wrong standards; and when their long struggle for money came to nothing, they died poor and frustrated (cf. Mt 6:19–21).
18–19 So the refrain comes again. The Teacher has described those who aim for money and lose real life. Can we then have life first and secondarily find a place for money? The refrain says yes, if we take life day by day from God and seek to know his plan, so far as it may be known. We must be willing to work. Once most work was constructive and often creative. Today many are involved in monotonous activity, another example of frustration. We must also look for constructive uses of leisure—activity that may not bring much money but will bring the added enjoyment that the Teacher has in mind. Therefore, it is right to pray and to look for work that will produce enough to live on and possessions we can enjoy with a good conscience, because they are things God has given us to enjoy (1Ti 6:17).
20 In summary, the ideal for those devoted to God is that they not brood over the past or worry about the future; for God fills their hearts with joy (cf. Mt 6:25–34; Php 4:4–7).
Again we remember that the Teacher in this section has in mind the average person with a living wage. Elsewhere, as we have seen, he takes up the frustration of the suffering and despised.
3. The Unfulfilled Life (6:1–9)
1–2 There is an obvious contrast between the wording of 5:19 and 6:2. It seems that 5:19 describes those who accept a standard of living for which they have worked, without continually craving for more (cf. 5:10; 6:9). The “man” described in 6:2 is more concerned with having everything he wants, and his God-given status in life allows this. But his tragedy comes when God allows this wealth to be taken over by a stranger. This may happen when the man has no children or when he loses his property through war, violence, or some other act of injustice. Many have been broken by such calamities. Others have refused to succumb to what the Teacher sees as vanity but have rebuilt a new life, often with less regard for the intrinsic value of possessions (Heb 10:34).
3–6 Many children and long life were looked upon by the Hebrews as a mark of God’s blessing, but neither guarantees a satisfying life. Some parents think they have to decide how many children they ought to have, in view of the population explosion (see 3:2). The exaggeration here may suggest that the large number of children keeps the whole family in poverty so that life cannot be enjoyed properly and so that at the end there is not enough to pay for the funeral. Or possibly, since children are considered in the Scriptures a blessing from the Lord, this verse may mean that a person may have double blessings—children and wealth—and yet not have the capacity to enjoy them and at the end die either in poverty or unloved or both. A life of total misery, which might have been avoided, is worse than natural abortion, by which a life never sees the light of day and never has to struggle in the arena of life (cf. Job 3:16). The death of the fetus reminds the Teacher of the death that awaits every person, even though they live to more than twice the age of the patriarchs.
7–9 This section speaks of another possible frustration. A human being has to work to live but has an insatiable appetite for more. This is common to both wise and foolish. Today the business world contains many clever people who work hard because they are obsessed with piling up money, while on the other side there are those who are ever alert for a quick profit—honest or dishonest. In between come the average people who, though poor in material things, have come to terms with life. They also work for their living but are content with what they have.
4. What Is Good? (6:10–12)
10–12 The Teacher was prepared to listen to objections. He said that human beings should do the will of God by being content to take their daily life from God’s hand. But are they really free to choose? Since God is supreme, he has predestined everything and has made humanity too weak to resist. Reasoning, complaining, and arguing bring no answer and lead to further frustration. What value are categories such as “good”? Life is too short to worry about behavior. Even if moral standards have some bearing on the future, no one knows what the future will bring.
5. Practical Advice For Daily Living (7:1–14)
Ultimately the Teacher will return to the theme that obedience is possible even though we cannot discover the whole plan of God for us. So we now have some practical proverbs for daily living, showing that God’s will for humanity is not a set of meaningless rules but a walk that brings a sense of fulfillment.
1–6 The first group of proverbs speaks of a serious view of life. The Teacher says that a good and well-deserved reputation is better than a mask of perfumed cosmetics. Preserve your good name until the day of your death and you achieve the potentiality of your birth inheritance (cf. v.8a).
If we are looking for signposts for living, we are more likely to gain insight when face-to-face with eternal things than in noisy company where the deeper realities of life are drowned in food, drink, and levity. Remembering that life on earth does not go on forever, we are moved to look below its surface. A sorrow shared may bring more inner happiness than an evening with back-slapping jokers.
Moreover, if we are in earnest about God’s good plan (cf. 6:10–12), we must be ready for serious conversation with men and women who are experienced in life and be open to criticism from them. They may not answer all our problems, but their advice will be worth far more than popular songs devoid of serious moral content and the shallow humor of comedians.
7 The next proverbs are not so closely linked, though each relates to the question of how to live an acceptable life. If we hold an influential position, we must not use it for personal advantage. A reputation can be destroyed in a moment.
8–9 Patience is needed to see our resolutions and enterprises through to the end. How often we embark on something with pride in our ability to carry it through but abandon it because of a few discouragements! Then we may become angry and lash out at other people as an excuse for our own incompetence.
10–12 People have always looked back to the good old days. Even Christians sometimes overestimate the early church, the Reformation, or periods of revival. Wise people certainly learn from the past, but they live in the present with all its opportunities. Overmuch dwelling on the past can prevent us from overcoming the world, which often seems so much more wicked today than ever before. Many suppose that sudden wealth, which would relieve them of having to earn their living, would solve all problems. If money comes like this, one needs wisdom to use it properly. The security wisdom gives can be compared with the security associated with money; in fact, wisdom is a better guarantee of the good life.
13–14 God’s name so far has not been mentioned in this section. The Teacher has set out advice that commends itself to any sensible person, even a humanist. But he is looking for the God-guided life that does not contradict the true wisdom of the ages but rather goes beyond it. The believer must look for the hand of the personal God.
The reference to God’s “making crooked” (GK 6430) stresses his sovereign control over all events. There are some things that we cannot alter. As children of God, we commonly experience both good and bad and may even thank God for allowing hardships rather than giving us an entirely smooth passage (cf. Mt 8:20; Lk 10:38; 2Co 1:4–7). Part of the life of faith is accepting prosperity and adversity from God’s hand without being able to explain just how everything will be worked out for the future (Ro 8:28).
6. Moderation Commended (7:15–22)
15 We have been told to live the good life. But if goodness is not rewarded in this life, why be good? The Teacher’s life, like everyone else’s, is lived in a world subject to frustration. It is all very well to talk of accepting prosperity and adversity (v.14); yet it is strange when righteous people die while they have still much to offer while villains survive to carry on their misdeeds.
16 This verse is not intended as an answer. In fact, its continuation at v.17 says that being a fool may bring on an early death, whereas the problem of v.15 is that a fool may live beyond his proper time. There may be unknown factors in the length of life of the good person and the bad, but there are some factors that are controllable. Being “overrighteous” is an obvious synonym for that type of Pharisaism that Christ warned against (Mt 5:20; 23:1–36). “Overwise” may be the subtle casuistry that such righteousness needs to support it (Mt 23:16–22), or it may be the substitute of a vast knowledge of facts for the knowledge needed for practical living (cf. 12:12).
17–19 We need not suppose that the Teacher means that we may be a little wicked so long as we do not plunge headlong into folly. We are not to model ourselves after either the prig or the villain. Neither can lead us to the full life. We need to take both pieces of advice to heart and to act on them. The way of victory is to keep God in the forefront of life. Wisdom is not the knowledge of accumulated facts but the inner strength that comes from a God-instructed conscience. There is a link between the fear of God and the true wisdom that gives inner strength (v.10; cf. Pr 9:10), which is here contrasted with mere power.
20–22 The good life has to be lived with the awareness that there is no such thing as sinless perfection. Righteousness is the settled way, though sins certainly occur and need to be repented of. The godly should be genuine and sincere. They should not listen to gossip, especially if they are hoping to hear themselves criticized or cursed especially by those who can observe them closely, such as their servants. The criticism may not be deserved, but again it may be.
7. Bad Relationships (7:23–29)
23–29 From a discussion of the good life, the Teacher passes to the intense depression he has felt when seeing men and women at their worst. Wise people admit that the problem of evil is insoluble, but practical evil is a horrible reality for which human beings can be held responsible. As in modern times, the Teacher faced the evil of unrestrained sex (cf. Pr 7). As an example of human folly, he warned against women of easy morals. Verse 28 is not about “upright” men and women but about “wise” men and women (NIV’s “upright” is not in the MT). He found that an absolutely wise man is exceedingly rare, one in a thousand; but so far he had not found even this tiny percentage among women. One cannot blame God for this; so the fault lies in our misuse of our freedom.
Verse 26 may reflect Solomon’s experiences with his hundreds of wives and concubines (1Ki 11:3–4). Though Solomon’s desire to compete with other Oriental potentates may in large measure account for his building up a royal harem, he found that a harem did not provide the appropriate companion for a man. How much better he would have been with one good wife, such as he speaks of in 9:9 and Pr 31!
V. Life in View of Death (8:1–9:18)
1. The Inevitability of Death (8:1–14)
1 Chapter 7 concluded with a pessimistic view of human attainment of wisdom. Great teachers sometimes use exaggerated language to make their point (cf. Mt 19:24). Here the Teacher shakes himself out of his depression. There are truly wise people; and while true wisdom must be realistic, it need not make a person perpetually gloomy.
2–7 If you aim to please God, you are like a courtier who tries to please his king. Obey the king’s commands, recognizing that you are pledged to serve him. If you displease him, you must accept the fact that there will be a rift between you. He is not accountable to you for what he does. When you know his will, you will be wise to do it at the right time and in the right way, even though you cannot see his full purpose.
8 The analogy of the king illustrates the concept of God’s total plan. Like the king, God has the power of life and death; and, when the time comes for a person to die, he or she cannot insist on retaining the breath of life. Meanwhile, one must press on until the end. There is no escape from the battle by treacherously joining the enemies of the king.
9–13 Powerful oppressors who made a show of religious observances have had magnificent funerals and public orations in their honor. This has had its effect on society by creating an attitude of “If I can get away with it, I will do it.” The only crime is in being found out. Servants of God know that they live in a fallen world, where bad people often escape punishment. Nevertheless, they look for the enduring approval of their Lord, for this is the purpose of living.
Up to the time when Ecclesiastes was written, God had revealed little about the future life. The superficial contradiction between v.12 and v.13 can best be resolved by the Teacher’s realization that living a long time is not necessarily the same as prolonging one’s days—a concept made meaningful by the revelation of eternal life in Christ. Such life is both qualitatively and quantitatively beyond any number of years on earth. The Teacher obviously believes in a future judgment (11:9). The day of the wicked, however long it lasts, will not be the normal day that closes with the lengthening of the evening shadows.
14 Yet the sense of frustration is not wholly removed so long as good and evil do not meet their just reward on earth. The Teacher does not hint again at the thought of the final assessment, because he intends to concentrate on life as it is meant to be lived now. The entire section should be compared with Mal 3:13–4:3.
2. Life to Be Enjoyed (8:15–9:10)
15 Once more the Teacher advocates the joy of life. As in 2:24–25, the gifts that God has given can be properly enjoyed only if they are accepted as God’s gifts for use, not misuse. Both passages speak of the toil, or work, that God has given us to do to provide for our food and drink (cf. Ge 3:19; Ps 104:23). The verses say much the same as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Do not let your life be burdened with anxiety; relaxed enjoyment comes through seeking first the kingdom of God and taking food, drink, and clothing from the hands of your Father (Mt 6:25–34). So the Teacher refers to God-given work, God-given food and drink, and God-given joy. It is the realization of this that he commends.
16–17 The Teacher recognizes the tendency toward worry of people who want to know what lies ahead (cf. Mt 6:34). To some this worry is more acute than it is to others. The more capacity one has for thinking things out, the more one is puzzled by the apparent meaninglessness of life. So we must be content to take the pieces one by one, without being able to fit them into the plan that we know must be there (3:11).
9:1 The Teacher returns to the theme of the inevitability of death. The righteous and the wise try to act according to the plan of God, as far as they can determine it. But they have to accept both the good and the bad. Some things, of course, can and should be changed; others must be taken as they are and made stepping stones to higher things. The vital thing is to realize that there is a purpose beyond happiness and sorrow. In fact, you cannot use good and bad events as criteria to decide whether God loves you or hates you. Your future may be a mixture of the two. When trouble comes, it is easy to ask, “What have I done to deserve this?” It is less easy to ask the same question when happiness comes.
2–4 When people try to estimate the quantity of God’s love by what happens to them, they have to face the final fact of death and its significance. Death is the final “reward” that God gives to good and bad persons alike. It almost seems as though God does not care whether people are good or bad. So why be good? If evil pays in this life, why should they not fling themselves into whatever they want to do? The end is only death, after all, and good people die just as others do. The contrast is between a person who is ready to speak the truth on oath and a guilty person who refuses to be put on oath. The Teacher will not accept this. He is leading up to the way we ought to live in view of the finality of death. Instead of living the rotten life of drifting self-indulgence, we should ask the further question, “What is the real purpose of life?” While there is life, there is hope—but hope for what? Surely, in the light of this book, there is hope for using life to the full. A dog that is alive can respond in a way that is impossible for the king of beasts when he is dead.
5–6 The contrast between the dead lion and the living dog supplies the meaning for v.5. The Teacher believes in a future judgment (12:14); so here he cannot be teaching the nonexistence of the departed. The context concerns the ability to plan and work. The living at least know that death must come, but from a human perspective the dead have not had it revealed to them what future there may be for them. The Teacher is not teaching soul-sleep here. Rather his emphasis is on the contrast between the carnal knowledge of the living and the dead.
To fully understand this passage, it is important to realize that our knowledge of the hereafter depends on how much God reveals to us. Attempts to discover the state of the departed through mediums is forbidden in Scripture (e.g., Isa 8:19–20). The OT speaks of the patriarchs being “gathered to [their] people” (Ge 25:8; 49:33). The significance of this expression is shown in Christ’s answer to the Sadducees concerning God as the continuing God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mt 22:32). The spirits in Sheol can be roused to address the king of Babylon when he dies and joins them (Isa 14:9). Yet they clearly do not have the capacities that they once had on earth. There is, for example, nothing corresponding to the temple worship in which they can join in singing the praises of God (Ps 115:17). Occasionally God speaks of a future resurrection, but this is linked to the coming of the Messiah (e.g., Ps 16:9–11; cf. Isa 25:7–8; 26:19; Da 12:2–3; Ac 2:24–35).
So the dead at that time did not know what future they could expect. They had to wait for this until after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are soon forgotten on earth, and memorial inscriptions are obliterated with time. “For them love, hate, ambition, all are now over” (NEB), and they cannot return to this life to do or undo.
7–9 The Teacher is not afraid to speak of God as concerned with our present life. We should start with the assumption that our circumstances have come to us with God’s approval. Let us make the most of life. Let each day be a festal day, such as when we put on our best clothes. Our hair must not be unkempt like that of mourners (cf. Ezr 9:3) but should be neat (cf. Ps 23:5; Am 6:6). God’s approval is not inconsistent with life in a world of frustration. If God has given us the blessings of a wife and, presumably, a family, we are to find happiness in the precious gift of love. This is what Solomon himself failed to find (see 7:23–29).
Food, drink, clothing, and family union form a God-given basis for the good life; and governments today regard them as human rights. But the breadwinner is to be indeed the breadwinner and is to live the good life with an honest day’s work. One knows the degrading feelings that come through continued unemployment and the dangers that surround the son who can become a playboy through his father’s money (2:19). The Bible has a firm doctrine of work, summed up in 2Th 3:6–13.
10 Now comes the climax. Perhaps Jesus was paraphrasing v.10 in Jn 9:4. The Teacher is not saying anything sub-Christian here. The Bible knows nothing of a purgatory where one can pick up the things neglected in this life. The NT agrees that it is deeds done in the body that count (e.g., 2Co 5:10).
3. Uncertainty and Inequity (9:11–18)
11–12 It may seem strange that the Teacher can maintain faith in God’s plan while accepting the factor of “chance” (GK 7004). His theme, however, is that we live in a world where we cannot calculate the future precisely but must share the day-by-day events that come to good and bad alike (cf. Mt 5:45). What we must look for is the plan of God for us today, whatever factors have brought us to this day and will affect us for the future. But the mere possession of speed, strength, wisdom, cleverness, and skill does not in itself guarantee success. We cannot bulldoze our way through life. These capacities must be used against a background of intelligent anticipation and a sense of uncertainty. All of us have to face life as it is; and we cannot foresee the future when it transcends what can reasonably be expected. There is certainly a proper time for each action (3:1–11), and we naturally try now to use our gifts in the light of what we think the future will bring. Yet we cannot foresee every threat or obstacle. We need not give up, but we must continue to ask, In what respect are we to accept God’s plan and go forward from here?
13–15 The Teacher gives an interesting example, perhaps from his own experience. Time and chance struck a peaceful city when a powerful king came against it. Time and chance also ensured that the battle was not won by the strong (v.11) but by a poor man who happened to have a wiser plan than anyone else in the city. But then the poor man encountered something unexpected: the people just forgot him. It was all part of the vanity and frustration of a self-centered world. Moreover, it was undoubtedly humiliating for the people to admit that they had been saved by a nobody.
16 What are we to conclude from this illustration? Certainly not that in view of the changes and chances of life we are better off not to use our gifts. It was right for the poor man to come forward and use his wisdom to thwart the king; it would have been right for him to do so even if he had known that his fellow citizens would not ask his advice in the future.
17–18 The citizens were the real losers. The wise man’s quiet words in their councils would have been worth more than the chairman’s shouting for order in a meeting of people who had nothing to say but insisted on saying it. Yet, though the poor man’s wisdom proved more effective than the king’s armies, some loud-mouthed counselor was after-wards allowed to undo much of the good that had been gained.
VI. Proverbs (10:1–20)
1. Wise Relationships (10:1–7)
1 The Teacher has returned to the subject of wisdom being superior to folly, even when it fails to gain the recognition it deserves (9:13–18). Since few of us are wholly wise or wholly foolish, we must be careful that such wisdom as we have is not spoiled by apparently insignificant, unwise behavior, just as dead flies in a pot of ointment may turn it into a foul-smelling mass (cf. SS 2:15).
2–3 “Right” is a natural symbol for the strong and good, while “left” signifies the weak and bad. Thus the wise gravitate toward the good, the foolish toward the bad. Even when the foolish try to keep in the middle of the road, their encounters with normal people show them up for what they are. Again, this may be taken as metaphorical.
4 Sometimes our encounters are with authorities. If we clash with them, we should not walk out in a temper. Nor if we are at cross purposes with our supervisor should we resign at once. We should rather take an objective look at ourselves, and maybe we will find that we should apologize.
5–7 Unfortunately, those at the top are not always right. They too may lack wisdom and enjoy manipulating people and situations. They find jobs for their supporters and enjoy humiliating anyone of influence. There are also many little manipulators in the world of business who have undeservedly risen to the top.
2. Wise Planning (10:8–11)
8–11 Despite difficulties and risks, you cannot sit back to avoid facing them in daily life. If you dig a hole in your garden, remember it is there when you go out at night. If you have to pull down an old wall, watch out for snakes. Whenever you decide to do a certain piece of work, your task will be easier if you make proper preparations. Don’t blame the class for not listening if you haven’t sharpened your wits with proper preparation. Finally, you may find yourself having to undertake a really dangerous task involving life or death. Do not keep putting it off. There is nothing for the snake charmer to do once the victim is dead.
3. Wise Speech and Thought (10:12–20)
12–14 Our ignorance of what will happen in the future should not eliminate common sense. Sensible talk meets with approval in a stable society, but destructive talk degrades. Unfortunately, much of the mass media is dominated by those who pull down moral standards rather than build them up. Again, there are clever arguments that try to interpret the significance—or nonsignificance—of human existence, with concepts that can only be uncertain. The multiplication of arguments that ignore the revelation of God in Jesus Christ can end only in foolishness (1Co 1:18–25).
15 In the context “work” may relate to the many arguments of v.14 (cf. 12:12). In a fine note of sarcasm, this proverb says that a person may be so involved in arguing about the universe that he misses what the ordinary person is concerned about, namely, finding the way home (cf. Isa 35:8–10).
16 It is hard to decide what sort of a king is described here. The word translated “servant” (GK 5853) can also mean “child” (cf. NIV note); it certainly designates an inexperienced person. “Servant” suggests that the king is someone who has suddenly come to the top by others and who keeps his power by letting his deputies do what they want.” Child” suggests that the real power is that of the deputies. Those under the influence of such leaders manifest a lack of self-control, shown by feasting at breakfast (cf. Isa 5:11; Ac 2:15); such actions set an example that lesser men and women soon follow.
17 The king here described is born to rule and has been trained for his task since his youth. His close associates have the self-control that gives their lives strength and not dissipation.
18–19 Lazy rulers bring down the great house of the nation, just as a lazy householder lets the beams of his house collapse so that the roof sags and lets in the rain. In v.19 the Teacher apparently returns to the thought of extravagant feasting (cf. v.16). Food and wine occupy the minds of lazy rulers, and they behave as though money can buy everything.
20 When all is said and done, the average citizen must respect authority. The Teacher does not distinguish between good and bad leaders; he has spoken of both, and probably his advice here includes both. Since this verse speaks of wishing someone ill in the privacy of one’s own home, it is a warning that malice toward the powers that be may lead to ultimate confrontation with them. If there is something wrong in your town or in the place where you work, you must either keep totally silent or be prepared for your proper criticisms to come to the ears of those at the top.
VII. Wisdom for the Future and the Present (11:1–10)
1. The Uncertain Future and Present Behavior (11:1–6)
The Teacher is approaching the climax of his book. We must fulfill God’s purpose by accepting our daily lot in life as from him and by pleasing him make each day a good day. This section gives further wise advice in the light of an uncertain future.
1–2 A common interpretation of this passage is that of charity. The Eastern flat bread is light enough to float, and what you give in charitable gifts will be washed back to you as a reward. But this idea of investment in charity does not belong to the Teacher’s thought elsewhere. An alternative view links the meaning with vv.4, 6. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” as a proverb says. Be like the merchant who uses his capital for trade, including trade across the seas. But be sensible, and do not gamble everything on one venture.
3–4 We are bound to recognize the God-given laws of nature, but we cannot always forecast how they will operate. We often have to act before we can foresee all we would like to know about the future. The farmer who waits until he is completely certain of perfect weather conditions will never reap anything.
5 Life begins in mystery with the baby’s conception and prenatal growth and continues with the mystery of the working of God’s total plan. Few parents understand precisely how a baby is formed, but most follow the rules of common sense for the welfare of the mother and the unborn child. This is exactly the whole theme of the book. We cannot understand all the ways God works to fulfill his plan, but we can follow God’s rules for daily living and thus help bring God’s purpose to birth.
6 Because the future is unknown, we must accept calculated risks and believe that though some of our ventures may fail, a sufficient number of them will succeed. The Teacher has been drawing his illustrations from trade and agriculture. They are intended to be practical. One thinks of making an unwise investment in a single project that promises large profits or of the restlessness that risks the family’s welfare by moving to some distant field that looks greener.
2. The Certain Future and Present Behavior (11:7–10)
The Teacher has discussed how we should act in view of the uncertainties of life. Now he speaks of the certainty of growing up and growing old.
7–8 First there is the happiness of life when vitality is high, when all things seem possible and the sun shines all the time (cf. 12:2). Yet one must face the inevitable restrictions (ch. 12) that old age brings just as one sees the sun going down toward evening and eventually setting. Life is lived in a world of vanity, and part of the vanity is the process of aging. On the day Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their bodies began to die (Ge 2:17; 3:19).
9 So youth have vitality at its fullest; and if they cannot feel the sense of fulfillment in it, something is wrong. To older people it may seem risky to advise a young person to walk in the ways of one’s heart and the sight of one’s eyes. Yet the advice is coupled with a reminder of responsibility before God, who is the Supreme Assessor. Taken by themselves, the words could present a picture of God as a grim, condemning judge, but this would be out of keeping with what the Teacher says elsewhere of God’s approval of our enjoyment (e.g., 9:7).
10 Obviously, young people face strong temptations, and anxiety and frustration are as much a part of adolescence as vitality is. So youth must say no as well as yes and must discard whatever damages mind or body (cf. Col 3:8–14). The context and the general purport of the book suggest that the Teacher is referring to indulgences that bring guilt to the mind and damage to the body; he is not advocating hedonism here.
VIII. The Frustration of Old Age (12:1–8)
Remembering one’s Creator in the time of one’s youth, the theme at the end of the previous chapter, is especially important in view of the gradual loss of vitality as age takes its toll of the body and brain. Old age and death are the supreme frustration and meaninglessness that we experience.
1 The passage begins with a general, non-metaphorical statement. Some today suffer from blindness, deafness, and other physical disabilities described in this chapter. However, as we grow older, we all have some traces of these marks of age, even if they do not develop to the extremes that this chapter describes. So the Teacher is justified in reminding young people that they cannot afford to put off faith in God their Creator until they are older. God wants the best of their lives.
2 The rhythm of life is like the rhythm of the year. Spring and summer give place to the clouds of autumn and winter. The showers that so quickly come and go in youth are succeeded by rain and clouds and then more rain. It becomes progressively harder to throw off troubles and anxieties.
3 The arms and hands that minister to the body begin to tremble, and the legs that once carried the body so strongly weaken and sag at the knee. The loss of teeth makes it hard to grind solid food, and the eyes are dimmed.
4 The organs of hearing gradually close, marooning the owner within the cramped house of the human body. The next picture is difficult to interpret; but, since the grinders must be the teeth (cf. v.3), “grinding” here is likely the voice that comes out softly and often indistinguishably through the toothless gums.
The next phrase is also variously rendered. “Men rise up at the sound of birds” possibly means that in spite of deafness the old person sleeps badly and wakes at the first bird call. An alternative is “he shall rise up to the voice of a bird”; i.e., the voice rises in pitch and grows thin like the twitter of a bird.
The final clause also refers to sounds. It may be a straightforward statement that singing women no longer move him, since their voices do not come to him with any clarity. Or just as he wakes early at the first song of the birds, so he dozes off in the evening as the voices of the singers fade in his ears. But if the whole verse is symbolic, the meaning could be that while the old man’s voice is squeaky in conversation, when he tries to sing he can make only a dreary, low, moaning noise.
5 This verse mentions two concrete experiences that frighten old people: the fear of heights and of the traffic in the streets. The latter is specially applicable today; but the narrow streets of an Eastern town, with camels, donkeys, and bustling traders, were doubtless almost as terrifying to a slow-moving pedestrian.
The almond tree pictures the white hair of age. In Palestine, the tree begins to blossom in midwinter; and although the petals are pink at their base, they are white towards the tip. The general impression of the tree in flower is of a white mass. But the old man has no spring to follow so as to enjoy the fruit.
Now the lively, leaping grasshopper can only drag itself along, as happens when the days grow cold, an obvious picture of old age. “Desire” (GK 37) is literally the “caperberry” plant, which apparently was used as a sexual stimulant. One would expect some reference to declining sexual potency in these descriptions.
The Teacher has exhausted his description of the failing faculties, omitting little. It only remains to speak of the inevitable grave, inaugurated with the wailing of the professional mourners.
6 The young person must remember his Creator before the end draws near. The pictures in this verse describe total collapse. The silver chain from which the lamp hangs is snapped. The golden lamp bowl is crushed. The clay pitcher is broken to pieces so that no water can be brought from the well. The wooden wheel that lowers the bucket into the well has itself been broken. Another interpretation links the pictures here with parts of the body. The silver cord could be the spine, the golden bowl the head, the pitcher the heart, and the wheel the organs of digestion.
7 Whatever the interpretation of the details, the fixed fact is death. The body returns to its component parts (cf. Ge 2:7; 3:19). The OT consistently teaches that at death the life principle in humans and animals alike (3:19 21; Ps 104:29–30) returns to God, the Giver of life, to whom we must give account (11:9).
8 So having warned youth to make the most of life while they have the faculties to enjoy it, remembering that they must give account to God for the use of God’s gifts, the Teacher reminds them that these gifts and life itself are fleeting. At the moment their faculties are flexible, but as old age sets in, they will harden and decay. One day all will cease in death, the supreme frustration and apparent meaningless end to life.
IX. Epilogue (12:9–14)
1. The Credibility of the Author (12:9–12)
Although it is usual to treat these words as the comment of a disciple, they could be by the Teacher himself, even by Solomon, who, in spite of personal failings, must have retained the gift of wisdom, which he had asked for and obtained (2:9; cf. 1Ki 3:9–12; 4:29–34). The claim here is no more boastful than are the words of the prophets who claim to be speaking the words of the Lord. So, whether written by the Teacher or by a disciple, these verses show that the book is not to be read as the chronicles of skepticism or advocating hedonism.
9–10 The Teacher taught others with full regard for his responsibility as one in a position of authority. He took great care in sifting wise sayings (cf. Lk 1:1–4). He did not confuse truth with dullness. On the other hand, he did not let his brilliance run away with him so as to cause him to write less than the truth—the danger of all popular speakers and writers.
11 Verse 11 claims God’s inspiration for the Wisdom writers and hence is very important. It is their equivalent of “This is what the LORD says.” The wise draw their wisdom from the Shepherd of Israel, the one true God (Ge 49:24; Pss 23:1; 80:1). Their wise teachings are to goad their readers to action and are to be seen as wholly dependable and worthy to be collected as Scripture.
12 Next comes a warning against the vast amount of literature that is a waste of time for the reader who is really concerned to find the truth. If we take the first sentence of v.12 as warning the disciple against going beyond the inspired words of the wise, this incorporates the theme of the book. In this world there will always be mystery, and human beings can fall into all sorts of error if they try to prove what cannot be proved (e.g., 3:11, 14; 7:14). There will always be books pouring off the presses. Students who have to study them for examinations, and those mature Christians who need to understand modern trends, know how wearisome they can be—and yet at times how attractive. This verse is certainly not intended to discourage Christian writers if they can write constructively and expound in modern terms those truths of life that are there in the Scriptures. Nor should we forget the great Christian classics that expounded the same truths.
2. The Conclusion of the Matter (12:13–14)
13–14 A good author usually summarizes the main points of his book when he comes to the end. The summary here is especially important.
Obviously, the Teacher is sometimes skeptical; but God is real to him, and he believes that God has revealed his will to humankind. If God had not done so, we could not be held accountable for our actions. Thus, although we may like to know more of the total plan of God, we know enough to be held responsible for what we do or fail to do. Our lives day by day must be lived as in the sight of God, who has given us the opportunity to fulfill his purpose for that day. Our actions, as well as the secret intentions of our hearts, are open to God, and one day they will be rewarded or punished (cf. 3:17; 11:9b).
The Old Testament in the New
| OT Text | NT Text | Subject |
| Ecc 7:20 | Ro 3:10 | Sin of humanity |