Bible Commentaries

THIRD DISCOURSE

of true practical Wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 6:1 to Ecclesiastes 8:15.

A. It cannot consist in striving after earthly sources of happiness

Ecclesiastes 6:1-12.

1. Even those most richly blessed with earthly possessions do not attain to a true and lasting enjoyment of them

( Ecclesiastes 6:1-6.)

1There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 2A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease 3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial;. I say, that an untimely birth is better than Hebrews 4For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness 5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other 6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good:, do not, all go to one place?

2. He who strives most zealously after earthly happiness, never gets beyond the feeling of the vanity of all earthly things, and the hope of a totally obscure future

( Ecclesiastes 6:7-12.)

7All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled 8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before-the living? 9Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit 10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than Hebrews 11Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 12For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

[ Ecclesiastes 6:3. הַֹנָּפֶּל (נֶפֶל) this peculiar word occurs Job 3:16, Psalm 58:9, as well as here; in all which places it has the same meaning of premature birth, or abortion. It comes from the Hiphil sense of the verb as used in such places as Isaiah 26:29, where it is applied to the earth as giving birth. For a similar use of the Greek πίπτω, compare Homer, Iliad, xix110.—T.L.]

[ Ecclesiastes 6:4. כִּי; See Remarks in Introduction to Metrical Version, p177.—T.L.]

[ Ecclesiastes 6:6. אִלִּוּ said to be a particle Sequioris Hebraismi (See Gesenius) but it is only a matter of pronunciation. It is only what אִם לוּ would be in sound if written in full—the מ in such cases, where the words are pronounced rapidly together, being elided in sound. This belongs to the Hebrew, as well as the Syriac and Arabic, and its appearance or non-appearance in writing is only a peculiarity of orthography which is not determinative of date, any more than the abbreviations of אֲשֶׁר which are found in the ancient as well as in the later Hebrew writings. It would easily come from a copyist following the sound.—T.L.]

[ Ecclesiastes 6:10. אָדָם, the point intended here requires that this should be rendered as the proper name. The reference is to the naming, Genesis 2:7.—T.L.]

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

This section contains firstly the negative of the illustration relative to the nature of true Wisdom of Solomon, which forms the contents of the third discourse, or a censure of the vain and perverse efforts of those who seek that wisdom in the way of external and earthly happiness. In two clearly marked sections or strophes of equal length, the author first shows that all worldly blessings are of no avail to him who is not able to enjoy them ( Ecclesiastes 6:1-6) and then that this very incapability of enjoyment depends partly on the perception of the vanity of earthly things, and partly on the necessity, affecting all men, of depending on a totally dark and uncertain future, while dissatisfied with the present ( Ecclesiastes 6:7-12). The latter of these two sections (especially in its second half, Ecclesiastes 6:10-12) reminds us of previous reflections, as Ecclesiastes 1:2-11; Ecclesiastes 3:1-9; and partially also of Ecclesiastes 5:12-16. But that the last named passage reappears in its principal thoughts in the present place, is an unjustified assertion of some commentators (also of Vaihinger, p34). For, as Hitzig properly observes, there the rich man loses his blessings without having enjoyed them; here, on the contrary, he retains them.— Ewald, Elster, Hahn, and some others, begin a new leading section with Ecclesiastes 6:10 of this chapter (Ewald, indeed, a new discourse, which he extends from Ecclesiastes 6:10; Ecclesiastes 8:16). But since Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 clearly belong to the description of the vanity of earthly happiness commenced in Ecclesiastes 6:1, whilst the admonition to walk in. the ways of true wisdom does not commence until Ecclesiastes 7:1, etc., our division, which corresponds with the division of the chapters, is to be preferred.

2. First strophe. Ecclesiastes 6:1-6. The unhappiness of not being able to enjoy present earthly blessings. There is an evil which I have seen under the sun. In words similar to Ecclesiastes 10:5; and in like manner to chap513.—And is common among men. (Zöckler’s translation, and it bears heavily on man). Literally: “And is a great thing on man.” רַבָּה cannot here have been intended to show the frequency of the evil (Luther, “and is common among men;” Vulg. “malum frequens”), but only its extent and weight, as is shown by the expression רָעָה רַבָּה in the parallel passages Ecclesiastes 2:21; and

Ecc 8:6

Ecclesiastes 6:2. A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor. The same tuiad of sensual goods: 2 Chronicles 1:11; comp. similar combinations in Proverbs 3:16; Proverbs 8:18; Proverbs 22:4. Hengstenberg is arbitrary in (he assertion, that by the rich man is meant the Persian, and by the “stranger,” named immediately afterwards, the successor of the Persian in the dominion of the world. This discourse is much too general in its character to permit us to seek in it such special historical and political allusions. For the doubtful propriety of affirming such political allusions in this book, see Introduction, § 4, Obs. 3.—So that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he„desireth. (Zöckler, “of any thing”). This is clearly the meaning of וְאֵינֶנּוּ חָסֵר לְנַפְשׁוֹ מִכֹּל as is shown partly by the suffix in אֵינֶנּוּ, and partly also by the construction of חָסֵר with מִן occurring in Ecclesiastes 4:8. Therefore not: “he wanteth for his soul nothing of all” ( Vulg., Drusius, Bauer, etc.), but “of any thing.” The Septuagint is more correct, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστερῶν τῇ ψυχῆ αυτοῦ, also Luther and nearly all the modern commentators.—Yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof. This incapacity of enjoyment can proceed from the sickness of the wealthy possessor, or from the’ burden of heavy cares which rob him of his sleep (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:12), or from a soul made gloomy by melancholy or dejection (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:17). The author can only mean such an inability to enjoy blessings as is connected with a steady continuance of their possession, as more clearly appears in Ecclesiastes 6:3; Ecclesiastes 6:6; consequently not an inability caused by the deprivation of them, by some other misfortune, or by early death, as Ewald and Vaihinger suppose. For הִשְׁלִיט, to empower, to enable, i.e., “to allow or grant,” comp. Ecclesiastes 5:19. God’ must grant us the possession of goods, and also the power to enjoy them—the same God who in an ethical sphere provides all in all, the Posse, the Velle, and the Perficere.—But a stranger eateth it—i.e., not some robber of his goods, (Ewald, Vaihinger) or the successor of the Persian in the rule of the world (Hengstenberg), but the reckless heir¹ of the rich man, who, during the lifetime of the latter, and when he is tortured by disease, sorrow, or foolish avarice, already begins to riot and revel with his goods, and after his death will exhaust them in feasting and merry-making. (Comp. Ecclesiastes 2:18).—This is vanity, and it is an evil disease. “Evil disease” is an expression originating perhaps in Deuteronomy 28:59, which here signifies an evil resembling a very malignant disease. The word חֳלִי however, has no sort of etymological connection with cholera (χολέρα from χολή, gall). Ecclesiastes 6:3. If a man beget a hundred children. For the high appreciation, in the old covenant, of the blessing of many children, comp. Genesis 24:60; Psalm 127:3-5; Job 27:14; and for the value attached to long life, Exodus 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:9; Deuteronomy 11:21; Psalm 49:9.—And live many years, so that the days of his years be many. Herein is meant the sum of all the days of which all his years consist ( Psalm 90:10.) To the first clause, “and live many years,” is added the latter equivalent one, as explanatory and emphatic, without producing an absolute tautology.—And also that he have no burial, that is, an honorable burial, that testifies of the real love of his posterity, and therefore truly deserves the name of “burial.” The opposite of such an honorable burial is that found in Isaiah 53:9.—“He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;” or in Jeremiah 22:19.—“He shall be buried with the burial of an ass;” or in the neglect of burial and the lying on the face of the earth like dung ( Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 9:21; Jeremiah 25:33; Isaiah 14:19-20; Psalm 79:3). The cause of such dishonorable קְבוּרה, which is not truly קְבוּרָה we are clearly to find in the absence of filial piety and esteem on the part of the posterity of the avaricious rich man, and not in the sordid meanness of the latter himself, who “ex turpi tenacitate non audeat aliquid honestie sepullurse destinare” (Schmidt, Ramb, and Vaihinger). Hengstenberg unnecessarily assumes for קְבוּרָח the signification of “grave, tomb,” a meaning elsewhere quite common. As in this passage, so also does the context in Jeremiah 22:19 rather demand the sense of exeqüise, funus. Hitzig’s position that the words: “and also that he have no burial‚” is simply a note originally written on the margin of verse5, is pure caprice.—I say that an untimely birth is better than he;—because such a birth has enjoyed no pleasure in this life, but has also experienced no suffering; comp. Ecclesiastes 4:2 f, and especially Job 3:16. Verses4,5 continue the comparison of the untimely birth.—For² he cometh in with vanity, i.e., falls into nothingness from his mother’s womb. And his name shall be covered with darkness, i.e., he receives no name, “but is given over to absolute oblivion.” (Elster). Moreover he hath not seen the sun;—this sun which shines brightly and lovingly, but also shines on a great deal of vanity and vexation, of woe and misery; wherefore it may be considered a good fortune not to have seen it. This hath more rest than the other. “Rest,” i.e., freedom from the annoyances, toils, and troubles of this life. We are certainly not to think with Hitzig of that passive, dreamy rest so desired by the Orientals.³ For the use of the comparative מִן here, comp. Psalm 52:3; Habakkuk 2:16. Ecclesiastes 6:6. Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told; therefore twice as long as the life of the oldest patriarchs from Adam to Noah. Hieronymus is correct in saying: “et non tit Adam prope mille, sed duobus millibus vixerit annis,” “Not lived, as Adam, near a thousand, but two thousand years,”—Yet hath he seen no good. Comp. Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 3:12, etc. Do not all go to one place? namely, to Scheol, in which all arrive equally poor, and where we cannot regain what we have failed to enjoy on earth; comp. Ecclesiastes 9:10; Ecclesiastes 11:8. As an extension to the principal clause, this question might be introduced with the expression: “I ask then.”

3. Second strophe. Ecclesiastes 6:7—12. The cause of this inability to enjoy earthly blessings, consists in the vanity of the present and the uncertainty of the future conditions of the happiness of men. All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.—(Zöckler, “the soul.”) That is, all human life is a grasping after enjoyment, but after an enjoyment vain in itself, and affording no true satisfaction. “Mouth and soul” stand in contrast to each other as representatives of the purely sensual and therefore transitory enjoyment (comp. Job 12:1; Proverbs 16:26) as compared with the deeper, more spiritual, and, therefore, more lasting kind of joy. The clear sense of this verse, in essential harmony with Ecclesiastes 1:8, is, that the necessity of the inner man for a more substantial and lasting enjoyment is not satisfied by pleasures of that kind, namely, by eating and drinking ( Ecclesiastes 2:21; Ecclesiastes 3:13; Ecclesiastes 5:18; Ecclesiastes 8:15); and therefore נֶפֶשׁ here cannot be translated by “desire, sensual desire;” and this same remark applies to Ecclesiastes 6:2, or Ecclesiastes 6:9, notwithstanding the opposite view of Hitzig, Vaihinger, Elster, etc. Luther’s translation is also unfitting; he gives “heart,” but his entire conception of the verse is grammatically inaccurate: “Labor is appointed to every man according to his strength, but the heart cannot abide by it.” Ecclesiastes 6:8. For what hath the wise more than the fool? That is, one may strive after the more earnest and real, instead of the mere sensual pleasure, and thus, by a desire for food for his soul, show himself a wise man in contrast with the fool who seeks only to satisfy his mouth: but the former has no real advantage over the latter, since neither attains to the desired “satisfaction of the soul.” This sentence clearly holds a confirming relation to the preceding, and not an opposing one, as Elster holds; he translates כִּי by “nevertheless,” as does Hitzig, who regards this verse as opposing the contents of the verse preceding. Hengstenberg affirms an extravagant comparison between the wise man and the fool, when he supposes that both are here equally accused of avarice. On the contrary, a distinction is here clearly drawn between the desire of the fool, aiming at possession and enjoyment, and the more thoughtful, more self possessed, more honorable and worthy conduct of the wise man.⁴ The latter is indicated in the second clause by the words: The poor that knoweth to walk before the living. Here the word poor (עָנִי humble) shows the moral condition and demeanor of the wise man, by virtue of which, with a more just conception of himself as an humble “quiet one in the land,” he leads a modest and retired life (comp. Psalm 10:2; Psalm 34:6; Psalm 37:2; Zechariah 9:9, etc.); but “knowing to walk before the living,” is understanding the correct rule of life, and the true and godly intercourse with one’s fellow—men, and is, therefore a circumlocution to express the idea of “wise” in the solemn Old Testament sense. Ewald, following the masoretic accentuation (which is here not authoritative), separates יוֹדֵע (knowing) from the following infinitive clause, and regards this as the subject: “What profits it to the patient man, to the understanding man to walk before the living (i.e., to live)?” But the adjective conception of יוֹדֵע “knowing, intelligent,” is neither sustained by Proverbs 27:27, nor Ecclesiastes 9:11, and the parallel passages Proverbs 4:13; Proverbs 4:17, and many others, support the direct connection with the following word לַהֲלֹךּ The explanations of Luther are ungrammatical. “Why does the poor man dare to be among the living?” and the Vulg. “Et quid pauper, nisi ut pergat iliac, ubi est vita?” Ecclesiastes 6:9. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire, (Zöckler, “of the soul”). That is, because the wise man with his strivings after higher aims, has nothing better than the pleasure-seeking fool, therefore a contented enjoyment of the present is the most desirable, more to be desired than a restless striving without satisfaction, or than the wearying one’s self with manifold designs with no hope of their success. The “sight of the eyes” is here, as in Ecclesiastes 6:11; Ecclesiastes 6:7, the pleasant enjoyment of that which is before the eyes, or of the good and the beautiful which are present. (See Luther on this passage, in the Homiletical Hints). The wandering of the soul (not of the desire, see Ecclesiastes 6:7), is the uneasy scheming of the man dissatisfied with his modest lot, the passionate ζεσθαι ( Luke 12:29) or the φρόνειν τὰ ὑψηλά ( Romans 12:16), consequently the same as the expression: “His soul shall not be filled” in Ecclesiastes 6:3; Ecclesiastes 6:7, only marking more clearly than this the self-caused guilt of the want of spiritual contentment. This sentence has many parallels among the classic authors; e.g., Horace, 4Ep. I:18, 96 ss:

Inter cuncta leges, et percontabere doctos,

Qua ratione queas traducere leniter ævum,

Ne te semper inops agitet vexetque cupido,

Ne pauor et rerum mediocriter ulilium spes.

Comp. Marcus Aurelius 3:16; 4:26; Juvenal, Sat14:178; Lucian, Necromant. I, 194 etc.—This is also vanity and vexation o spirit; namely this maxim: “Better is the sight of the eyes,” etc., and a life and conduct in accordance with it. A partial reference of גַּם־זֶה to the “wandering of the soul” (Luther and Hengstenberg) corresponds quite as little to the sense as the extension of the thought to everything from Ecclesiastes 6:7 onward [Vaihinger and Elster]. Comp. the case precisely similar t this in Ecclesiastes 2:26. Ecclesiastes 6:10. That which hath been is named already. This remark reminding us of Ecclesiastes 1:9 f, proves the author’s way for the description of the total uncertainty and obscurity of the future of man, in so far a it points to his banishment, into the fixed circle of all creature life and action. “That which hath been is named already,” i.e., it has already been, in the past, something in its nature manifest and well-known. The exclusive reference of the clause to man, by means of which Genesis 5:2; Psalm 139:16, etc., would become parallels of this passage, is forbidden by the neuter מָה. The discourse does not make special reference to man until we reach the following clause. And it is known that it is man, [Zöckler, “the man”]. Here Ewald and Elster are correct; it is not “that he is a man” (Knobel, Vaihinger, Hengstenberg) or, “what the man is” (Rosenmueller), or, “who the man is” (Hahn), or finally, “that if one is a man he cannot contend,” etc., (Hitzig),—these are all conceptions that militate against the connection, and do not correspond to the simple expression אֲשֶׁר־הוּא אָדָם.⁵ Neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. That is with God, namely, with Him who is הַּקִּיף or שַׁדַּי [ Job 5:17; Ruth 1:20-21, etc.], who is superior to man just because He is mightier than man [ממנו הַתַּקִּיף] or because He has ordained the whole circle of human existence with absolute creative power, so that man may neither contend with Him nor break through the limit to which he is assigned. For the word דין, “to contend with anyone,” compare נָדוֹן 2 Samuel 19:10, which there, as elsewhere, has this sense. For the sentence compare also the question (originating perhaps in this very passage): μὴ ἰσχυρότεροι αυτοῦ ἐσμέν? 1 Corinthians 10:22

Ecclesiastes 6:11. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity. That is, human life abounds in possessions, chances, vicissitudes of fortune, trials and dangers which strengthen in us the feeling of the vanity and weakness of this earthly existence, and show us that we are absolutely dependent on a higher power against which we cannot contend. The context decides against the ordinary rendering: “for there are many words which,” etc., [Sept, Vulg,. and also Ewald, Hitzig, Elster and Hahn], for the reference to useless talk, etc., is foreign to it.⁶—What is man the better? Namely, that he possesses, experiences, or enjoys these many things that simply increase vanity.

Ecclesiastes 6:12. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life?—Namely, what of earthly things, whether happiness or unhappiness, wealth or poverty, the fulfilment of his desires or their disappointment. The concealed nature of man’s own future is expressed by this question.—All the days of his vain life. Literally: “the number of the days,” etc. מִסְפָר (Com. Ecclesiastes 5:18) is the accusative of measure or duration.—Which he spendeth as a shadow. Literal: “and he passeth them,” etc. Because ימי (days of) is separated from יַעֲשֵׂם כַּצֵּל by a compound genitive, the copula is placed before this clause which is to be considered as relative (Hitzig). With עָשָׂה יְמֵי חַיִּים compare χρόνον ποιεῖν Acts 15:33, dies facere, Cicero ad Attic. v20.—For who can tell a man?, אֲשֶׁר‚ here, is not equivalent to “so that,” but is substantially synonymous with כִּי “for,” (comp. Deuteronomy 3:24; Daniel 1:10), expressing an affirmative and intensified sense. Comp. Psalm 10:6; Job 5:5; Job 9:15; Job 19:27. In the present clause the effort is certainly to intensify the truth that man is not permitted to look into the future of his earthly existence.—What shall be after him under the sun. “After him,” i.e., after his present condition, not after his death; comp. Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 8:14; and see the exegetical illustrations to the former passage.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

(With Homiletical Hints.)

The theme of this section is too narrowly drawn, if, with Starke, we find only therein depicted “the extremely unhappy nature of the miser,” or, with Hengstenberg, “the vanity of wealth,” [and indeed, as Hengstenberg supposes, illustrated by the example of the rich Persians⁷ and the poor Israelites]. That which in the present chapter is discountenanced, and presented as incompatible with true Wisdom of Solomon, is not merely the striving after money and possessions, but also the desire for honor, long life, many children ( Ecclesiastes 6:2-3; Ecclesiastes 6:6), and, in short, the struggle for earthly happiness in general. And firstly, in Ecclesiastes 6:1-6, wealth without a cheerful and contented feeling in the heart, then in Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 sensual enjoyment without satisfaction of soul, and finally in Ecclesiastes 6:10-12, a happy present with an obscure and uncertain future, are named as those things which must bring men to the consciousness of the vanity of all earthly goods and pleasures, and forbid them to strive after them. All the conditions and circumstances named, belong to those “many things that increase vanity,” as found in Ecclesiastes 6:11, and which, according to Ecclesiastes 6:3-6, permit the longest life, and the one most richly blessed with posterity, to seem scarcely any better than the lot of an untimely birth that has not even seen the light of this world. It is a bitter and cutting thought, which, like the similar one in Ecclesiastes 4:2, f, is only softened and, as it were, excused by the admonition to a contented, resigned and grateful enjoyment and use of life, which clearly forms its background [distinctly visible in Ecclesiastes 6:9], and again practically takes away the one-sided character of the apparent accusation of the Creator and Ruler of the world. Only the insatiable, ever-dissatisfied chasing after earthly means of happiness is thereby forbidden, as in opposition to the divinely-appointed task of human life. A temperate and modest striving after a cheerful and useful course of life, (which verse8 expressly praises as the characteristic of the wise man) is emphatically recommended, not only in the preceding Ecclesiastes 5:18-20, but in those immediately following [especially in Ecclesiastes 7:11 ff.] It is the cheerful and noble form of σωφροσύνη, that cardinal virtue, not merely of the ancient classical but also of biblical ethics, which forms the framework of this mainly gloomy and admonishing picture, and presents a corrective to contents so apparently dubious, and easily misunderstood.

The principal thought of this chapter might be well represented by the following quotations: “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth;” or, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth,” etc.; or, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abidelh forever.” ( Colossians 3:2; Matthew 6:19; 1 John 2:17).

Homiletical hints on separate passages

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2. Brenz: The scheming and striving of our old Adam is of such a nature, that it measures the happiness of this life solely according to the abundance of treasures and riches. Let this old Adam go, for it is of no use! Dost thou think that nothing would be wanting to a happy life if thou only hadst an abundance of riches and honors ? The matter is very different, as daily experience teaches.—Weimar Bible: The lamentations of the miser are not removed by excess of riches, by the number of children, or by long life; they are rather increased by these things ( 1 Timothy 6:10).—Lange: The desire for temporal things clings to us all, and when we cease to watch and pray, we can soon be put to sleep, and charmed to our ruin, by such earthly love.

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6. Geier: A long life without rest and peace in God, is nothing but a long martyrdom.—Starke: To have many children is a special blessing of God ( Psalm 127:3; Psalm 128:3, f.); but apart from the enjoyment of divine favor, this also is vanity.—Lange: What the untimely birth loses of natural life without any fault of its own, that the miser wantonly robs himself of in spiritual life. … Because his soul has no firm foundation in communion with the good God, it goes to ruin, ( Galatians 6:8).

Ecclesiastes 6:7-8. Tubingen Bible: Above all things let us strive that our immortal spirit be filled with heavenly treasures, which alone can truly satisfy it.—Lange: He who cares not to appease and satisfy his soul, finds his proper place among fools, Luke 12:19 f.—Hengstenberg: That the soul of man is never satisfied, notwithstanding his narrow capacity for enjoyment, is very strange, and a mighty proof of the degree to which our race, since Genesis 1:3, has yielded to sin and folly, producing “many foolish and hurtful lusts,” ( 1 Timothy 6:9).

Ecclesiastes 6:9. Luther: It is better that we use what is before our eyes, than that the soul should thus wander to and fro. Solomon means that we use the present and thank God for it, and not think of other things, like the dog in the fable that seizes the shadow and drops the meat. And he therefore says: what God has placed before thine eyes (the present) that use contentedly, and follow not thy soul which does not become filled.—Therefore let every Christian and believer rest with what he has, and be satisfied with what God has given him in the present! But the ungodly are not thus; all that they see is a torture to them; for they use not the present, their soul is never filled, and it wanders hither and thither. He who has immense sums of money has not enough; he does not use it but desires more; if he has one wife he is not satisfied but wants another; if he has a whole realm, he is not contented; as Alexander the Great could not be satisfied with one world.—Cramer: Be contented with what thou hast; this is better than in greed to be ever desiring other things.—Berleb. Bible: This is the wandering of the soul, that rung about among creatures, and, like Esau, on the field of this world, chases after a palatable food, which wisdom finds only at home, and in the repose of contentment.—Hengstenberg: is better to rejoice in that which is before our eyes, however humble it may be, since man really needs so little, than to yield to the caprices of one’s lusts, and to torture one’s self with plans and hopes that so easily deceive us, or, if they are fulfilled, afford so little happiness.

Ecclesiastes 6:10-11. Cramer: That man should leave a pleasant name and memory behind is not unchristian; but the highest good does not consist therein. For as time discovereth all things, so it covereth all things up. ( Psalm 31:13; Exodus 1:8).—Hansen: All human things are subjected to God. He often deposes the highest from the throne of their glory where they least expect it, Daniel 4:27-30.—Hengstenberg: If man is in a state of unconditional dependence on God, he should not permit to himself many vagaries, and should not torture himself with schemes and stratagems; because he cannot protect what he has acquired, and is not for a moment certain that he may not hear the cry: “thou fool, this night thy soul will be demanded of thee;” therefore it is foolish to envy the heathen because of their wealth, which can so soon wither away, like the flower of the field, James 1:10-11.—The rich man has, in truth, no more than the poor one; what the former seems to have over the latter, proves, on closer inspection, to be but show and vanity. It disappears as soon as the judgments of God pass over the world.

Ecclesiastes 6:12. Luther: Men’s hearts strive after all sorts of things: one seeks power, another wealth, and they know not that they will acquire them; thus they use not their present blessings, and their hearts ever aspire to that which they have not yet, and see not yet.—Why do we thus annoy and torture ourselves with our thoughts, when future things are not for a moment in our power? Therefore we should be contented with the present that God gives us now, and should commit all to God, who alone knows and rules both the present and the future.—Rambach: From all which it appears, that there is nothing better than to proscribe base avarice, be content with the present, and enjoy it with a pious cheerfulness.—Zeyss: Although a Christian may not know how it may be with the things of this world after his death, yet he can be assured by faith that Hebrews, after death, will be with Christ in heaven.—Hengstenberg: One would only be justified in esteeming wealth in case he knew the future, and had it in his power. The merest chance can suddenly rob one of all that has been gathered with pain and toil. A great catastrophe may come and sweep everything away as a flood. The practical result therefore is that one should strive after the true riches. As P. Gerard says; “Earthly treasures dissolve and disappear, but the treasures of the soul never vanish.”

Footnotes