BLOG

Ecclesiastes, part 18, The Futility of Mortal Life

Ecclesiastes 6:1, 2 says,

¹ There is an evil which I have seen under the sun and it is prevalent among men— ² a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all that he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them, for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.

This signals an escalation. It is not merely “vanity” (temporal), it is a common “evil” when God gives “riches, wealth, and honor,” but does not give the power to enjoy it. The shock of the passage lies in its double attribution to God. Possession and enjoyment are separate divine gifts. Ownership without enjoyment is worse than poverty. It is evil.

The stated reason for not enjoying the fruit of one’s labor is that “a foreigner enjoys them.” This is one of the curses of the law for persistent disobedience. Deuteronomy 28:30 and 33 says,

³⁰ You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit… ³³ A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.

By contrast, the blessings of obedience are seen in Deuteronomy 28:7 and 11,

⁷ The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways… ¹¹ The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

Therefore, the “evil” that Koheleth observed is rooted in national disobedience, which also affects individual people. When a nation breaks its vow to God, all the people suffer. Koheleth does not accuse God of wrongdoing. The apparent injustice is, in the end, the justice of the law. He asserts divine sovereignty in the divine court over enjoyment itself.

The law of God reveals true God-given rights. When a nation forgets that all rights come from God, and when they enact laws giving men the right to sin, they are in danger of judgment from the divine court that limits or removes their God-given rights and puts them into slavery. When withheld, life can become unbearable—even in abundance. It is hard to enjoy life as a slave.

This raises the uncomfortable truth that joy is not a human right; it is a divine gift, based upon their relationship with God Himself.

The Soul’s Satisfaction

Ecclesiastes 6:3-5 says,

³ If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they may be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he, ⁴ for it [the miscarried child] comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity. ⁵ It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he.

In Israel’s worldview, traditional blessings were to have many children, live a long life, and enjoy wealth and honor both in life and in burial. Yet he declares such a life worse than a stillborn child if one thing is missing: “his soul is not satisfied with good things.”

The central issue is satisfaction, not children, longevity, or honor. This continues the theme of Eccl. 5:19 and 6:2. God alone can give satisfaction to the soul. Without that gift, time only multiplies emptiness, children multiply obligation, and honor multiplies disappointment.

Long life without joy can only extend futility. By itself, time does not bring meaning in life.

Ecclesiastes 6:6-8 says,

⁶ Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not enjoy good things—do not all go to one place? ⁷ All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. ⁸ For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living?

One can live for 2,000 years, but if it is lived without ever achieving satisfaction in the soul, the wise man has no advantage over the fool. When men have an insatiable appetite (desire) for things—other than to know God—it is striving after wind. A wise man may reduce the pain of mortal life, but he cannot overpower his mortality.

Ecclesiastes 6:9 says,

⁹ What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.

It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be driven by soulish desires than can never be satisfied.

Unanswered Questions

Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 says,

¹⁰ Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. ¹¹ for there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man? ¹² For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few years of his futile life? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?

The phrase “him who is stronger” (verse 10) points implicitly to God. God judged Adam with mortality, and no one can overturn His ruling. He is stronger than any man. The only way to achieve immortality is by a second begetting and being born a second time (by the Spirit). The old man of flesh must die according to His sentence; only a new man of the spirit has immortality, and we are therefore called to claim a new identity that is inherently immortal.

In verse 11 Koheleth critiques philosophy itself. More words do not give more meaning, nor does more explanation bring resolution. Philosophy in those days was an attempt to achieve immortality through wisdom and much speculation. But mortality was decreed in a courtroom, not a classroom. Hence, it must be dealt with in a court of law.

Koheleth leaves the reader with two unanswerable (and humbling) questions: Who knows what is good? And Who knows what comes after? Human knowledge is limited and short-lived. Christian believers ought to live by divine revelation, rather than human knowledge. This is the meaning of the manna in the wilderness which the Israelites ate during their wilderness sojourn. That “bread” was the flesh of Christ (John 6:49-51). To eat His flesh is “good.” By eating daily of His flesh, we know what comes after—the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23).