Presents
Pamphlet #1736
Ecclesiastes Chapter 6
Did you know that it is not Godly for us not to enjoy the fruits of our labors? That's right! God did not intend for us to miss out on the good things this flesh life has to offer. We must always be prudent and use wisdom, but to waste or hoard our portion that is given to us by our Father is not a good thing. It does not make Him happy for His children to be unhappy. That makes sense, because we are not happy when our children are unhappy.
So let's rejoin Solomon, the Koheleth, who has a few more unhappy ways of man to share with us before telling us about the Chief Good and what it is.
Solomon now considers another very sad story, a tragic scenario that happens to a lot of people.Eccles. 6:1
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
Here's a person who "has it made", has everything materially that a person could want. But he lacks something much more precious than all his wealth - the ability to enjoy it! Someone else will come along and end up with all his property and possessions. So tell me, what good does all his money do him? Is this not vanity and a grave disorder? Yes, it is a sad state of affairs.[2] A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, 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.
You see, you can't buy happiness and peace of mind. They are not something you can "get"! They come as a "result" of choosing to live according to God's ways and by loving Him. Nothing else under the sun will fill the emptiness in the soul.
It doesn't matter if the guy has 200 children and lives to be a 110+. If he doesn't enjoy any of the good things in life, even as little as a proper funeral, it would be better for him to have been "stillborn", which is what "untimely" means.[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 he.
For the stillborn child enters the world with emptiness and departs nameless into obscurity. Only with a stillborn, it happens all at once as opposed to living a 110 years as lifeless and empty.[4] For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
You see, the stillborn never had the opportunity to stop and smell the roses! That's got to be better than living a long life and never stopping even once to savor their sweet aroma. What a waste of 110 years! What a shame! What vanity![5] Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
Even if the guy lived 1000 years twice, it wouldn't make any difference if he never enjoyed the fruits of his labor. He's still going to die and his opportunity to enjoy being human will be gone with the wind. He blew it![6] Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
The flesh man works and works to satisfy his hunger, but his wants are never met. We must always remember that Solomon with all his wisdom, wealth and power, tried it all, to fulfill all wants of the flesh. He demonstrated to us that it can't be done! Once we understand this gem of wisdom about our flesh, call it a fact of life, then we can begin to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And even if we have to buy smaller steaks than our neighbor, we can rejoice that we've even got ourselves a steak, and we can cook it better (like throwing some water-soaked hickory chips on the hot charcoals as we grill it) and we can enjoy each and every bite, while we watch our neighbor "wolf his down" because he's in a hurry to get to an important business meeting.[7] All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
And it doesn't matter if you're wise or foolish, or poor and have a lot of experience. You are going to be hungry tomorrow too![8] For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
How about the person who goes through life never seizing the moment because his eyes are always focused on the other side of the hill where he just knows that the grass is greener? What a waste! There's an old saying that "a bird in hand is better than two in the bush". So enjoy your own bird. (If it's a chicken you can baste it with Italian dressing while it cooks.)[9] Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
I think this verse was stillborn when the King James translators brought it forth into the English language. First, understand that it is written in the context of chapter 1, verse 9:[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 he.
What verse 6:10 is saying is that it was determined from the beginning that man would become flesh and be called Adam, and he obviously cannot argue with the One who created him. But, go ahead, don't listen to your Father. Contend with Him and go try it your way. You could even write a hit song about how you did it your way. Call it "I Did It My Way". There's nothing new under the sun, it's been done before. But soon your #1 hit will not even be on the charts and you will not be on the stage anymore, and you'll be dead and the next generation will come along and say "Frank who?"Eccles. 1:9
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
"Things" means "words" as in advice, oracles, philosophies, etc. So there are many "wind bags" out there, modern day Plato's, with their philosophies and infomercial products that are nothing but "hot air". What good do all those words do!Eccles. 6:11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
Who's going to tell you the secret to your happiness and success for the short time you are going to live in the flesh? Maybe if you could buy properties "with no money down" you could be eternally happy like those people giving their testimonials appear to be. Or how about a "Giga Memory Course"? Personally, that upright chicken roaster from Ronco would make me happy for the rest of my life. Not.[12] For 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?
"For who can tell a man what shall happen after him under the sun?" Ah, ha! No man can! But our Father knows and He has written it down for us in case we haven't yet purchased the memory course. He has foretold us all things including where we came from, why we're here, what happens when we die, what bodies we get next, what fuels to burn in our system, what news events will happen next, and how to be happy while living in flesh machines.
It seems man has a knack for getting something and trying to make it work properly without reading the instruction manual. Invariably he gets in trouble, usually after he breaks it, and as a LAST RESORT he finally reads the directions. This especially holds true when we get our flesh bodies. We rev them right up and say "yipeeee, watch me go!" Clank, clunk, oops! @#$%^&!
Perhaps it's time to read the instruction manual. What do you think?
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