ECCLESIASTES

Chapter 6:1 – 7:14

Introduction

Solomon asks you two questions in 6:12 -

Ecclesiastes 6:12 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?

The first question is, "Do you know what is good for you?" We’re always ready to answer "Yes" to that question, and we suggest things like health, wealth, success and status as always being good for us. To put it another way, we always think that prosperity is good for us, and that adversity is bad for us.

But his second question is, "Who can tell what will happen?" In other words, "Can you tell what the future holds?" Of course not! But, since you can’t know what the future holds, then how can you know if prosperity is really good for you in the long run? And how can you know that adversity is really bad for you in the long run?

You can’t – and that is why Solomon concludes in 7:14,

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

God, Who not only sees your future but is sovereign over it, knows that both prosperity and adversity can be good for you! I don’t like the sound of that… But it’s true.

To put it another way: Prosperity is not always good, and adversity is not always bad. There are problems with prosperity; and there are advantages to adversity. God, Who sees your future and is sovereign over it, "appoints" both prosperity and adversity according to what is good for you in the long run.

Our text in chapters six and seven tells us to trust God to know what is best – whether prosperity or adversity. We’ll organize our thoughts around these two points: #1 Trust God To Prescribe The Prosperity That Is Good For You, and #2 Trust God To Appoint The Adversity That Is Good For You.

#1 Trust God To Prescribe

The Prosperity That Is Good For You

Solomon begins by declaring,

Ecclesiastes 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:

The evil that is common is that prosperity is not always good for you. It looks good; but upon closer examination you see the problems with prosperity. Solomon presents three men – one in verse two, another in verses three through six, and one in verses seven through nine – whose prosperity is not good.

Let’s take a look at the first man:

Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, 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.

Here is the case of a person who has no lack of material prosperity; he has "all he desires." But his prosperity is not good because "God does not give him power to eat of it." Instead, God allows a "foreigner" to "consume it."

Who or what is the "foreigner"? You’re not told. It could be any of several things you might encounter in your life under the sun: Disease… Disaster… Death… Either of these and many other things can suddenly take priority in your life, making your material prosperity of no consequence.

But not everyone has these "foreigners" to spoil their prosperity. So Solomon presents a second man with no trouble from "foreigners." Still, his prosperity is not necessarily good.

Ecclesiastes 6:3 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;

Here is a man with the prosperity most revered in Solomon’s day – long life and many children. Solomon even exaggerates as to the length of his life and the number of his kids. Still, his prosperity was no guarantee of being "satisfied with goodness," because in his case "he has no burial." In Jewish literature, this means that were he to die his family would not lament him. In fact, they were waiting for him to die so that they could have the inheritance!

I know people – prosperous people – whose children cause them incredible grief. They would give everything just to have their children love them, and express that love. The prosperity of having many children doesn’t satisfy them with goodness; it causes them grief.

It causes so much grief that Solomon says that "a stillborn child is better" than that man. He says,

Ecclesiastes 6:4 for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.

Ecclesiastes 6:5 Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man,

You probably know people, or maybe you are a "people," who feels or has felt this way. The simple point Solomon is making is that not all prosperity is always good.

Long life is the second part of what a Jew considered prosperity. Look at verse six:

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

Long life in and of itself is not necessarily a good thing. The stillborn baby and the two thousand year old man both ended up in the same place. The stillborn baby – a tragedy from our way of thinking – has great advantages over the man who lives a long time with grief.

Our third man is a poor man, in verses seven through nine:

Ecclesiastes 6:7 All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied.

The poor man works to eat; and he eats so he has strength to go on working! There’s nothing wrong with hard work, but that kind of life doesn’t bring satisfaction to your soul.

Ecclesiastes 6:8 For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows how to walk before the living?

What if the poor man betters his situation? That is what Solomon means when he says the poor man "knows how to walk before the living." Suppose he becomes "wise," through education. Is he better off? Not necessarily! We’ve just in the previous verses that prosperity has its problems. You can’t assume he’d be better off.

Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Today Solomon would say, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." In other words, be realistic. The prosperity that looks so satisfying to the "wandering of desire" is "vanity and grasping for the wind."

So, what’s the answer? It is to trust God to prescribe the prosperity that is good for you! Look at verse ten:

Ecclesiastes 6:10 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.

The key thought here is that you are "man." Solomon says, "whatever one is, he has been named already." Don’t get too philosophical. When he says that God has "named" you, he means that you are a human being – man – created by God. You are "man," on the earth; God is in heaven and He is "mightier" than you. You cannot "contend with Him."

What he is saying is that you cannot possibly know what is truly, ultimately, eternally good for you. You must leave that to God. Trust Him to prosper you – or to withhold prosperity – for your own good.

To drive home his point Solomon gives you something to think about in verse eleven:

Ecclesiastes 6:11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?

"Vanity" is the summary of your life under the sun. Life is filled with perplexities and pains. You’ve seen that even what looks like prosperity can increase perplexity and pain. You don’t and can’t know how you would be "better," so trust God. Trust Him to prosper you in the ways that are good for you.

#2 Trust God To Appoint

The Adversity That Is Good For You

Solomon turns his attention to the advantages of adversity. He begins by taking you to a funeral:

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one's birth;

Ecclesiastes 7:2 Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Many of you have been to funerals I’ve officiated and recognize these verses as my favorite funeral text. No one likes or looks forward to attending a funeral. It means that someone you know and love has died. But there is a great advantage in going to the "house of mourning." It gives you an opportunity to "take… to heart" your own mortality and eternity – to look at death and face your future. Funerals are God’s advantageous appointments with adversity.

In verses five and six Solomon discusses another kind of adversity that you normally avoid – being rebuked:

Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

Ecclesiastes 7:6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

Everyone knows that honest rebuke from a wise person is better than "the song of fools" - flattery from fools… But we avoid the rebuke and encourage the flattery! Flattery is like "the crackling of thorns under the pot." The "thorns" Solomon was speaking of were plentiful, and they lit easily and burned quickly – but gave off almost no heat. They were useless "under a pot."

Here comes another adversity: You suffer injustice at the hands of the authorities. Look at verse seven:

Ecclesiastes 7:7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, And a bribe debases the heart.

He’s talking about people in authority over you being corrupted and acting unjustly. It’s evil for them to do so; but the adversity can work to your advantage because,

Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

Adversity is an advantage when you learn patience by it! Remember, the Bible promises that "tribulation works patience" (Romans 5:3 KJV).

Tucked away in the middle of this discussion is a piece of advice, in verse ten:

Ecclesiastes 7:10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

Don’t look back on the "good old days" during your current adversity. The "good old days" weren’t always as "good" and prosperous as you remember them! You have a tendency to accentuate the positive and overlook the negative.

Instead of looking back, learn something from your adversity that will help you in the future:

Ecclesiastes 7:11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance, And profitable to those who see the sun.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense, But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

Wisdom is compared to an inheritance. Would you rather gain an inheritance… Or learn wisdom through adversity? You can lose or squander an inheritance. The "wisdom" you gain through adversity is better than any material prosperity. One reason it is better is that "wisdom gives life to those who have it." Material things cannot really add to your life, but wisdom can.

Having seen that prosperity is not always good, and that adversity is not always bad, Solomon gives you the meat of his teaching in verses thirteen and fourteen:

Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

We immediately put adversities in the category of things that are "crooked." We always think that they are wrong for us; we try to straighten them out. But it was God Who "made" them crooked.

Can that really be true? Yes; look at verse fourteen:

Ecclesiastes 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

God "appoints" the "day of adversity." It is from His loving hand. He knows exactly what adversities are ultimately good for you. You do not. And you would not choose any of them. But that is only because you "can find out nothing that will come after" you. You cannot see the growth and glory the adversities will accomplish; you cannot see their advantages. So you must trust God to appoint the adversities that are good for you.

Walter Kaiser captures what I’m saying in his paraphrase of verse fourteen:

"Look with wonder, admire, and silently wait for the result of God's work! The contrasts of life are deliberately allowed by God so that men should ultimately develop a simple trust and dependence in God. For prosperity and the [good] from God's hand, be thankful and rejoice. But in adversity and the crookedness of life, think. Reflect on the goodness of God and the comprehensiveness of His plan for men."

Conclusion

Prosperity is not always good, and adversity is not always bad. There are problems with prosperity; and there are advantages to adversity. God, Who sees your future and is sovereign over it, "appoints" both prosperity and adversity according to what is good for you in the long run.