Of our study of Ecclesiastes thus far, chapter 6 is among the shortest and simplest. Yes, there are certainly similar images and word pictures presented here, and certain themes are repeated. But beginning with verse 3, we actually see a New Testament truth which is often overlooked by the majority of people today, especially Christians. We will get to that in just a moment. First, let’s look at the first two verses.
The original Hebrew word translated as “evil” in verse 1 is transliterated as the word “ra’ (pronounced ‘rah’)” and does not indicate that which is an enemy of God. In modern terms, Solomon is saying, “I have seen some things in life that, from a human point of view, are just unfair. It’s a tragedy that people can have it all, then someone else comes along and takes it or enjoys it.” One modern way of looking at it would be the person who works hard and acquires great possessions, popularity and power, yet dies young or loses it in some way, leaving it all behind, someone else getting the benefits. It’s common to see this kind of thing going on all the time.
Boil it down, and it’s true: this life isn’t what we’d interpret as “fair.” Yet the definition of fairness is strictly a human term. There have been many people who have turned away from God because they apply their own definition of fairness or goodness or holiness to God’s ways, and they end up disappointed. They say, “How can a loving God allow the innocent to suffer? How can a fair God allow an evil person to prosper while an honest person struggles for their very survival?” But we don’t think as God thinks; we don’t know as God knows.
As we have mentioned in prior studies, Solomon is a divided man. He has been as close to God as anyone can get, and has drifted away from Him into the far country of life. His story has a very “prodigal”-esque quality to it. For all that he has been given, even Solomon sees that life itself isn’t fair. It takes the entire book of Ecclesiastes for us to see how things turn out, but for now, we need to see a man who is in despair. He is presenting for us an image of a person who realizes that even the best this life has to offer isn’t all that great.
Now I want to address the message of the remaining verses (verses 3-12), because as I stated at the beginning of this entry, this contains a vital New Testament truth. It seems as though this desperation has totally consumed Solomon, because he says something that sounds both harsh and hopeless. Kind of like the “George-Bailey-It’s-A-Wonderful-Life” example I used in a recent post, Solomon says it’s better to have never been born, to be stillborn, rather than live a hundred lifetimes without goodness or peace. This is the message I wish to address.
When Jesus came into the world, He said that He came so that we “…might have life, and have it more abundantly.” That entire message, while it does include eternal life, is stressing the abundant nature of life. In other words, to use both messages from Jesus and Solomon, life is not about length or quantity, but of quality. When we accept Jesus into our life, we cannot just sit back and say, “One day I’ll be dead, I’ll leave this world behind and when my feet press heaven’s shore, I’ll enjoy heaven for all eternity.” Eternal life begins right here, right now, and as long as we are here, we can make a difference in the world.
A life of a thousand years that is consumed with nothing but pleasure and possession and self is an empty life. But even the shortest of lives, if focused on God and His will and goodness is better than a life wasted.
Yet for too many of us, even Christians, we become possessed with the worries and advancement of this life, and as we’ve already plainly established, it’s nothing but vanity. We allow the devil to defeat us time after time, and we just roll up into a ball and take it, mindlessly chanting to ourselves that one day it will all be over and we can be in heaven. But instead of remaining on defense all the time, we need to take an offensive attitude. The Lord promised us not just eternal life, but ABUNDANT life! We need to take advantage of each day and its opportunities, because instead of getting a black eye by Satan, we can be giving him a black eye!
The devil wants nothing more than to keep us from making a difference for the Lord, so he jumps all over us, trying to keep us down and defeated. He shows us the unfair nature of life, and we begin to believe it. Then, we convince ourselves that the only thing we have to look forward to is the end. Or even worse, he convinces us that since life is unfair, we’d better do everything in our power to make it unfair for someone else and fair in our favor. In either case, we’ve allowed Satan to win, and we and everyone around us are the losers. Meanwhile, the devil is laughing at our unfortunate little lives with the Lord nowhere to be found.
Solomon had it all, he had a long life, but he’d misused his possessions and power and gifts. Now, toward the end of life, he realizes that even a poor life filled with goodness and godliness is better than all the world’s riches. We don’t know how long we have to traverse this planet, but whether it’s short or long we can choose to make a difference. As Solomon closes with verse 12, he makes that point. Life is like a shadow, and when we’ve passed from this side, others step up. We can choose to make life about us, who are only temporary here, or we can choose to make it about the Lord. When we make it about God, then life becomes abundant.
We are missing out on so many blessings in this life because we refuse to open our eyes and see with our hearts instead of our brains. Even when life seems unfair, remember that God has a purpose, and abundant purpose, for our lives, and if we will embrace that abundance aspect of life, and not just the eternal part of it, we will find ourselves in the midst of unimaginable blessings. And better than that, we can make a difference.
I know this entry has taken a little different form than some we’ve explored, so if you have a question about any verse or verses in particular, don’t hesitate to send an email or comment, and I’ll get back with you. However, in this instance I felt the message itself should be the focus. I hope this has helped you see the potential life has for us if we will only look at it the right way. See you Thursday, Lord willing.
© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
The original Hebrew word translated as “evil” in verse 1 is transliterated as the word “ra’ (pronounced ‘rah’)” and does not indicate that which is an enemy of God. In modern terms, Solomon is saying, “I have seen some things in life that, from a human point of view, are just unfair. It’s a tragedy that people can have it all, then someone else comes along and takes it or enjoys it.” One modern way of looking at it would be the person who works hard and acquires great possessions, popularity and power, yet dies young or loses it in some way, leaving it all behind, someone else getting the benefits. It’s common to see this kind of thing going on all the time.
Boil it down, and it’s true: this life isn’t what we’d interpret as “fair.” Yet the definition of fairness is strictly a human term. There have been many people who have turned away from God because they apply their own definition of fairness or goodness or holiness to God’s ways, and they end up disappointed. They say, “How can a loving God allow the innocent to suffer? How can a fair God allow an evil person to prosper while an honest person struggles for their very survival?” But we don’t think as God thinks; we don’t know as God knows.
As we have mentioned in prior studies, Solomon is a divided man. He has been as close to God as anyone can get, and has drifted away from Him into the far country of life. His story has a very “prodigal”-esque quality to it. For all that he has been given, even Solomon sees that life itself isn’t fair. It takes the entire book of Ecclesiastes for us to see how things turn out, but for now, we need to see a man who is in despair. He is presenting for us an image of a person who realizes that even the best this life has to offer isn’t all that great.
Now I want to address the message of the remaining verses (verses 3-12), because as I stated at the beginning of this entry, this contains a vital New Testament truth. It seems as though this desperation has totally consumed Solomon, because he says something that sounds both harsh and hopeless. Kind of like the “George-Bailey-It’s-A-Wonderful-Life” example I used in a recent post, Solomon says it’s better to have never been born, to be stillborn, rather than live a hundred lifetimes without goodness or peace. This is the message I wish to address.
When Jesus came into the world, He said that He came so that we “…might have life, and have it more abundantly.” That entire message, while it does include eternal life, is stressing the abundant nature of life. In other words, to use both messages from Jesus and Solomon, life is not about length or quantity, but of quality. When we accept Jesus into our life, we cannot just sit back and say, “One day I’ll be dead, I’ll leave this world behind and when my feet press heaven’s shore, I’ll enjoy heaven for all eternity.” Eternal life begins right here, right now, and as long as we are here, we can make a difference in the world.
A life of a thousand years that is consumed with nothing but pleasure and possession and self is an empty life. But even the shortest of lives, if focused on God and His will and goodness is better than a life wasted.
Yet for too many of us, even Christians, we become possessed with the worries and advancement of this life, and as we’ve already plainly established, it’s nothing but vanity. We allow the devil to defeat us time after time, and we just roll up into a ball and take it, mindlessly chanting to ourselves that one day it will all be over and we can be in heaven. But instead of remaining on defense all the time, we need to take an offensive attitude. The Lord promised us not just eternal life, but ABUNDANT life! We need to take advantage of each day and its opportunities, because instead of getting a black eye by Satan, we can be giving him a black eye!
The devil wants nothing more than to keep us from making a difference for the Lord, so he jumps all over us, trying to keep us down and defeated. He shows us the unfair nature of life, and we begin to believe it. Then, we convince ourselves that the only thing we have to look forward to is the end. Or even worse, he convinces us that since life is unfair, we’d better do everything in our power to make it unfair for someone else and fair in our favor. In either case, we’ve allowed Satan to win, and we and everyone around us are the losers. Meanwhile, the devil is laughing at our unfortunate little lives with the Lord nowhere to be found.
Solomon had it all, he had a long life, but he’d misused his possessions and power and gifts. Now, toward the end of life, he realizes that even a poor life filled with goodness and godliness is better than all the world’s riches. We don’t know how long we have to traverse this planet, but whether it’s short or long we can choose to make a difference. As Solomon closes with verse 12, he makes that point. Life is like a shadow, and when we’ve passed from this side, others step up. We can choose to make life about us, who are only temporary here, or we can choose to make it about the Lord. When we make it about God, then life becomes abundant.
We are missing out on so many blessings in this life because we refuse to open our eyes and see with our hearts instead of our brains. Even when life seems unfair, remember that God has a purpose, and abundant purpose, for our lives, and if we will embrace that abundance aspect of life, and not just the eternal part of it, we will find ourselves in the midst of unimaginable blessings. And better than that, we can make a difference.
I know this entry has taken a little different form than some we’ve explored, so if you have a question about any verse or verses in particular, don’t hesitate to send an email or comment, and I’ll get back with you. However, in this instance I felt the message itself should be the focus. I hope this has helped you see the potential life has for us if we will only look at it the right way. See you Thursday, Lord willing.
© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
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