Learning to be Content.

Ecclesiastes 5: 8 – 6:12.

8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?
12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labour Which he may carry away in his hand. 
16 And this also is a severe evil—Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has laboured for the wind?
17 All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.
18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 
19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God. 
20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Ecc 6 
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 
2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honour, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.
3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he— 
4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
10 Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?
12 For who knows what is good for man in life,  all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?

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8 If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.

The Preacher was under no illusions when it comes to government and justice. It is quite obvious to anyone who has a discerning eye. Even the unlearned can see what goes on in high places.
Injustice goes on everywhere, even officials have higher officials keeping an eye on them. So it goes on, right to the top.

9 Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field.

The wise Solomon sees that although the masters dominate and often oppress the workers, they themselves need them. Without the worker and without the field, no one would eat or be clothed.
All are dependent. The worker to the hirer, the hirer to the worker and all are dependent on the field.

10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity

We hear people misquote the scripture, “money is the root of all evil”. No, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.
There is nothing wrong with money, silver or gold, just in the same way that there is nothing wrong with food, drink, sex or anything else in its right place and usage, even drugs in the proper place can be good but the love of it. It is not the use of but the abuse of that causes the problem. For he who loves it is never satisfied.
People are at the mercy of that which they crave.

11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes?

Solomon above anyone knows the cost of increase. The more houses one has, the more cost one has.
The more servants, the more they need feeding and clothing and paying. Possessions cost money, to acquire in the first instance and then to maintain them.

It has been said, the more money you have, the more begging letters you receive.
Wealth attracts burglars and thieves.
I was reading recently that Nearly 1,200 kidnappings occurred in Mexico in 2018.
It is dangerous to be rich.

12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, Whether he eats little, or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

Solomon recognises that an ordinary poor working man can lay down his head at night and sleep. He has nothing to steal. Whereas the rich man lays awake and worries that the thief may come and steal.
If it is not the fear of loss that keeps him awake, it will be something else and he certainly will not get sympathy from the poor man.

Solomon repeats his observations.
13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labour Which he may carry away in his hand. 
16 And this also is a severe evil—Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has laboured for the wind?

Riches mean nothing, possessions mean nothing. We came into the world naked and we shall leave as naked as we were born.
Whether we lose our wealth by misfortune or we lose it when we die. The end is just the same.

Praise God that the knowledge we gain from the New Testament gospel of Jesus Christ, is that we can lay up treasure in heaven.
We can’t take any material thing with us when we die but we can use it for the glory of God and store up treasure in heaven.

When all men live for is on this earth, whether poor or wealthy, whether king or pauper, he suffers just like everybody else. This is life under the sun.
 

17 All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.

Again we see Solomon coming to the same conclusion. What can man do, only eat, drink and enjoy the fruit of his work, this side of eternity, (under the sun).
Whether he appreciates they are from God or not, it is all that he has.

18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 

It is God that gives and it is God that takes away.

19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labour—this is the gift of God. 

Solomon in the mode of “under the sun” is not unaware that even in this life, it is better to be rich than poor.
If man is going to experience calamity, worry and sickness. It is better to have money to throw at it.
If you are a man that cannot find any meaning to life, well then, better just to do your best.
If you are blessed with wealth, you may as well enjoy it where you can, for it will soon pass from you.

20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

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Ecc 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 
2. A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honour, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.
3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he— 
4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,
 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.
8 For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
10 Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?
12 For who knows what is good for man in life,  all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
 

Koeleth continues in his “under the sun” mode. He turns his attention to those who have been given much but for whatever reason are not able to enjoy them.
Earlier Solomon talked about all things being gifts from God whether men appreciate the fact or not.
He went on to say that if a man has been blessed with wealth, health or good environment, the best thing he can do is enjoy it whilst he can, for it does not last.

In this section he puts forward a different scenario. He considers those that are given good gifts but are not able to get the benefit. He sees this as being worse.
Fancy, being in the situation, of having all that you ever wanted, or needed and can’t appreciate it.

Examples could be wealth with sickness or disability.

Ecc 6:2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honour, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

He may have beautiful cars but can’t drive because of disability. He may have many homes but is stuck in a hospital ward.
He may have a great family and a long life but if he can’t find any satisfaction in any of it, it is all meaningless.

3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he.

I say that a stillborn child is better than he. (Whatever does this mean?)

Well, Ecclesiastes 6:4-5 gives the answer.

4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.
 5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, 

 For though the stillborn child comes in and sees no light and his birth makes no sense, and he departs in darkness,   And though he never saw the sun, nor known any thing: this stillborn child has more rest than the  man in question.
So, that’s what it comes down to. The still born at least had rest – whereas this man who had everything, but couldn’t enjoy it is just miserable.

 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?

No matter how long his life lasts on this earth, it has been misery, vanity and meaningless and at the end of it all, he still dies.
 

7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.

All the labour of man is, for his mouth.
This is speaking of everything that a man does is, for himself, selfish actions, in other words, greed and lust.
Yet, he can never satisfy his lusts.

8 For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Whether a man is wise or a fool, both have to navigate this life under the sun. A poor man may learn to be ingenious with his time and efforts, to get by, after all necessity is the mother of invention.
Better to be satisfied with what you have rather than constantly striving, restlessly for more and never being satisfied. All it does is end with vexation.

The Preacher is trying to get the reader to see, that God is the potter and we are the clay.

10 Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.
11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?
 

Whatever one is, he has been named already. God has a predetermined plan, we do not choose our own destiny. God chose the time of our birth, where we were to be born and to who we would be born to.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

It is God who is sovereign, not us. It is better if we submit to God than strive continually thinking that we will prevail and find only vexation.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t talk with God and ask Him to intervene in our situations. Of course we can God can work in our lives. God is not the Theistic God, who is out somewhere in heaven, having no interaction with men.
God can and does providentially, act in our circumstances according to His will. But it is no use entering into bitter contention with God.
It is no good grumbling and arguing with God about what he’s doing in your life.
He has a plan for you, that he determined before you were born.

Solomon is saying, don’t feel like you’re going to change things by arguing with God about his plans. Rather, submit to Him who is mightier than you.

12 For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
 

If only we could learn to be content in whatever state we find ourselves in.

Phil 4:11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:

Isn’t this fatalism? One may ask. The answer is No, for God is providentially involved in a believers life. He has included in his plan your relationship with Him, including your prayers.
He knows what you need before you ask and He answers according to His eternal decree.
 

The Westminster Confession adequately summarises the Bible’s teaching.

“God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”

It is important to realise that God ordains prayer. He commands and prescribes it.
I read somewhere once that God’s phone number is 33.3. Of course in jest.
For in Jeremiah 33:3 it says,
 

Jer 33:3  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 

The sovereign God of the universe wants us, no, commands us to communicate with Him.
Does this mean that we can change God’s mind? No, but what it does mean is that God has already heard us and has included it in His Eternal decree.

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