Ecclesiastes 6:6 – Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good:  do not all go to one place?

 

Thought:  Solomon continues to speak of the man whose life was filled with no good.  Even if such a life were extended to one or two thousand years, there would still be nothing good about it.  The length of one’s life does not determine the quality of life.  When all is said and done, this man will die.  His life will be one that was vain and empty.  My friend, enjoy life.  Live life to the fullest.  Even if it is short, make it memorable.

 

Job 30:23

 

Commentary:

 

A.     Solomon turns his attention back to the man who lives long but has nothing good in it.

 

B.      Some might think that if his life were extended it could then be thought of as a good life.  Solomon says:  “Not so.” 

1.       If the man lived two thousand years but sees no good, what benefit is that to him?

2.       The additional years do not lessen the misery.  They only increase the unhappiness.

3.       LESSON:  The length of one’s life does not determine the quality of his life.

a..  John Coltrane was a jazz saxophonist who produced a wealth of music before dying at

      the age of 40 years old.

b..  Methuselah lived to be 969 years old.  The flood happened in the year of his death.  If he

      perished in the flood, what did his long life amount to?

 

C.     Eventually, he will have to meet the end of all men.  He will go to that “one place” to which all humans go, the grave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 6:7 – All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

 

Thought:  We think we just have to have it.  If we have it, it will satisfy our longing.  If we have it, it will be all we need.  If we have it, there will be nothing more we could possibly want.  So, we labor to obtain the thing for which we hunger.  We get it.  We enjoy it for a brief time.  Then, there is something else for which we long.  Man desires.  Man works to fulfill his desire.  Man desires again.  True contentment is not something that comes to very many individuals.

 

I Timothy 6:6-8

 

Commentary:

 

A.     There are two ways to approach this verse:  literally and figuratively.

 

B.      Literally:

 

1.       Man is supposed to labor in order to eat (2 Thess. 3:10).

 

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

 

2.       We labor.  We eat.  Soon, however, we are hungry again.  Thus, we must labor in order to eat again.  The reality is that “the appetite is not filled” (Prov. 16:26).

 

He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

 

C.     Figuratively:

1.       We labor in order to satisfy our appetites, that is, our longing for material things.

2.       We want something.  We work hard to obtain it.  We get it.  It satisfies for a short time.  Then we are longing for something else.

 

D.     LESSON:  True contentment is not something that individuals easily acquire. 

1.       It requires honesty.  I do not really need this or that.

2.       It requires sacrifice.  I will not purchase that item.

3.       It requires the rejection of jealousy.  Others will possess these items when we do not.

4.       It requires a spiritual mind.  Temporal things are not important.

5.       It requires a vision of the future.  I will die and leave all of this behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 6:8 – For what hath the wise more than the fool?  What hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living.

 

Thought:  Man has a tendency to judge between various groups of people.  We believe one to be better than another.  If all are looked upon as humans who are racing toward the same end, death, “what hath the wise more than the fool?”  Even the poor who knows how to properly conduct himself in life is on the same level as others.  My friends, our desire to divide men into classes needs to be tempered by the reality that all men are the same on several levels.

 

Proverbs 19:1

 

Commentary:

 

A.     We have a tendency to divide men into various categories:  wise and fools, rich and poor.  We do this because we see the ends of the spectrum very clearly.

 

B.      There are many things that are common between all humans.  Regarding our present study:

1.       The yearning of desires is common among them.  Their appetites are not satisfied.

2.       The lack of contentment is common among them.  They are not happy with what they have.

 

C.     There are senses in which the wise is no different than the fool, and the poor are no different than the rich.

 

D.     LESSON:  When mankind starts seeing their likeness and focuses on those things, there will be a healing that takes place among them.  Differences divide.  Likenesses bring individuals together.

 

E.      Note that last statement made by Solomon:  “…what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living.”

1.       Those who have much in this world wonder how the poor survive.  They do not see how the poor live from day to day.  They do not believe they could do it.

2.       Yet, the poor “walk before the living.” 

a.  They adjust.

b.  They survive.

c.  They are “at their place” day by day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 6:9 – Better is the sight of the eyes than wandering desire:  this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

 

Thought:  We all long for more.  We all like to think into the future.  We all like to contemplate what could be.  However, as we focus on these desires and longings, we fail to see the blessings of the present.  We miss the happiness of what we have right now.  Solomon says:  “Better is the sight of the eyes than wandering desire.”  Wandering desire may never come.  Those who focus exclusively on those things are filling their lives with vanity and vexation of spirit.  Thank God for your daily bread.

 

Matthew 6:11

 

Commentary:

 

A.     Wandering desires.  All of us have them.

1.       A nicer car

2.       A bigger house

3.       A better paying job

4.       An expansion of one’s business

5.       A few more vacations

 

B.      Solomon, however, tells us that “the sight of the eyes” is better than wandering desire.

1.       It is better to focus on the things that you do have.

2.       There might be a host of things that could occupy your time and bring happiness.

a.  Books that have not been read

b.  Clothes that can be matched and rematched

c.  Hobbies that can be done around the home:  playing an instrument, veggie garden

d.  Second jobs:  writing, dog sitting, landscaping, cleaning for others

e.  Volunteer work

 

C.     There are drawbacks to wandering desires.

1.       They never come.

2.       They cost a lot of money.

3.       They are not as enjoyable as expected.

4.       They do not satisfy our lust for more.

5.       They cause us to lose our happiness at the moment.

 

D.     Thus Solomon says:  “This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”