Ecclesiastes · chapter 6 of 12
Updated on
Ecclesiastes 6 describes a common evil under the sun: God gives a man riches and honor but does not give him the power to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. It says a stillborn child is better off than one who lives many years without joy or burial. It observes that appetite is never satisfied, that no one can dispute with one stronger, and ends by asking who knows what is good for a person in life.
After warning about the love of money in chapter 5, the Preacher now describes the extreme case of someone who has everything and can enjoy nothing. The chapter closes the first half of the book with a series of unanswered questions about the good of a person, questions the rest of the book will answer little by little.
The Preacher says there is an evil he has seen under the sun that weighs heavily on people: someone to whom God gives riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity and a grievous evil.
He then imagines a man who fathers a hundred children and lives many years, yet whose soul is not satisfied with good things and who does not even have a burial. He says a stillborn child is better off than he: it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, its name is covered in darkness, it never saw the sun or knew anything, and it has more rest than that man. Even if he lived two thousand years without seeing good, all go to the same place.
Next he observes that all human toil is for the mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied. He asks what advantage the wise have over the fool, and what advantage the poor man has who knows how to conduct himself. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire, and that too is vanity.
Finally he says that whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what humanity is: no one can contend with one stronger. Many words increase vanity. He asks who knows what is good for a person in this brief life, which passes like a shadow, and who can tell him what will come after him under the sun.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
God gives a man riches, wealth and honor so that he lacks nothing he desires, but does not give him power to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them. The Preacher stresses that joy does not depend on what is owned but is itself a gift.
All human toil is for the mouth, and yet the appetite is not satisfied. It describes the cycle of effort and desire that never reaches rest, and it points to the fact that what we need cannot be obtained by more work alone.
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. The verse recommends being content with what is in view rather than endlessly chasing what is desired, and it reminds us that this pursuit too is vanity and a chasing after wind.
He asks who knows what is good for a person in life, in the days of his vain life that pass like a shadow, and who can tell him what will be after him under the sun. The question leaves the reader needing an answer that does not come from observation.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: A man to whom God gives riches and honor but not the power to enjoy them, so that a stranger enjoys them. — Ecclesiastes 6:1-2
Answer: A stillborn child, who he says is better off. — Ecclesiastes 6:3
Answer: It is for his mouth, and yet his appetite is not satisfied. — Ecclesiastes 6:7
Answer: The sight of the eyes. — Ecclesiastes 6:9
Answer: With one who is stronger than he. — Ecclesiastes 6:10
Answer: A passing shadow. — Ecclesiastes 6:12
Ecclesiastes 6 reminds us that having and enjoying are not the same, and that the ability to enjoy what we have is also a gift of God. In a small group we can ask when we have had much and have not been able to rest, and what keeps us from receiving with joy what God has already given.
It also invites us not to be dragged along by the appetite that is never satisfied. Gratitude for what is in view is a form of wisdom. And the final question, who knows what is good for a person, prepares us to receive the answer Scripture gives elsewhere: to trust the Lord and live in the fear of him.
Ecclesiastes 6 leaves the reader with unanswered questions about the good of a person and the future under the sun. In chapter 7 the Preacher will begin to offer practical wisdom, with a series of proverbs about a good name, mourning, patience and humility.
It is a strong comparison meant to make us feel the weight of a long life without joy or a proper burial. The Preacher is not making a statement about the value of life or of children but using an extreme case to show the frustration of someone who cannot enjoy anything.
No. The text says God himself gives riches and honor. The evil is that someone has them and cannot enjoy them, because enjoyment also depends on God. That is why the book calls us to receive gifts with gratitude and not to set our hearts on them.
In the ancient world, naming something was a sign that its nature was known and had been determined by another. The Preacher says that humanity is what it is and cannot argue with one stronger, that is, with God, who has set the limits of human existence.