Day 27: Ecclesiastes 6:10-12

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“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” (v.10). We know so much about man and his tendencies. Virtually nothing man does is really a surprise anymore, neither to God or man. Nor can man argue or fight against God or “show Him up.” God is so much greater than man, and although man is predictable and unsurprising, God is unpredictable and surprising.

“Since there are many things that increase vanity, how is man the better?” (v.11) So many extra things in life that are unnecessary. Information, material possessions, fame, power…in the end, it increases vanity and does man no good.

“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?” (v.12) What really has value in life? Does life just pass away into nothingness with no meaning at all?

Sounds like a depressing passage, but it’s encouraging to be reminded of God’s sovereignty and preeminence over all of life. Man “cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.”

Look at pitiful lowly man,
All that’s good for him is vain.
To contend with God he never can,
So from worldly things he should refrain.

Day 26: Ecclesiastes 6:7-9

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I can’t quite seem to figure out this passage: “All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied. For what more has the wise man than the fool? What does the poor man have, who knows how to walk before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.”

Here’s my best shot at what seems to be another complaint of Solomon’s. Some people work hard, but they don’t receive a sufficient return on their labor or they are simply not satisfied with the return.

Therefore, the wise, hard-working person has no advantage over the foolish, lazy person who doesn’t have anything because he doesn’t work at all.

Thus, sight is better than desire. Actually having something is obviously preferable over not having what you need or want. To Solomon, this is vanity.

He has good points, but they are obviously from a human standpoint. Perhaps you could even say that this is a selfish human standpoint.

So am I satisfied with what I have even though it may sometimes be nothing more than the lazy person has? Am I satisfied with what I have or do I wish I had something I don’t and complain that I don’t have it? What is my perspective on my life?

A man may work hard to earn his wages,
And yet his soul is not satisfied.
Another may sleep as sluggishness rages,
But yet he has as much as the man who tried.

To work and not have may sometimes seem vain
When others don’t work and have just as much.
But life does not always provide us fair gain,
What’s more is that we still do work for as such.