Ecclesiastes – Semper Reformanda

Ecclesiastes 6:6 | Word Study

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

There is no objective advantage of ‘being alive;’ that is to say, just because you are alive it does not mean you are at a better off position. Qoheleth’s intended meaning is straightforward. “The meaning of the sentence is clear: if one does not enjoy good when one is able, then there is no difference between the living and the dead.” (Seow, 213) The two thousand years that the natural man has over the stillborn adds to no advantage if God does not allow him to enjoy it. “Such a life could last two thousand years and still be futile, if the person never learns to ‘see the good…’ Moreover, it will in any case end in death.” (Provan, 148)

References:

Provan, I. (2001). Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs: The New Application Commentary, Zondervan

Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press

Ecclesiastes 6:5 | Word Study

Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. Ecclesiastes 6:5 (KJV)

‘… not seen the sun,’ means not conscious; i.e., ‘to see the sun is to be alive.’ (Seow, 212) It is a tragic example that Qoheleth takes to highlight the pathetic situation of the natural man. The extreme opposite example: the stillborn goes to the grave without any experiences, and the natural man through all the pain still reaches the grave; all the same. In this respect, the stillborn is better, at least he is at rest. (213)

Reference:

Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press

Ecclesiastes 6:3 | Word Study

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. Ecclesiastes 6:3 (KJV)

The offspring are indicators of God’s blessing, in a general sense. (Provan, 147) Or as Henry writes, the worldly man is ‘supposed’ to have many families. But even when the worldly man has acquired these ‘indicators’ of a blessed life, he still does not have the actual blessings. Usually, as Seow notes, it was customary for the rich to secure their burial sites. (211) But this man, though be rich and presumed to be blessed is bereft of such peace – to have a proper end to his life, a proper burial. The rich man has everything and yet he is not free from constant ridiculous complaints. Bartholomew writes, “this person’s resultant lack of a decent burial indicates what was true of his life as a whole—it was unfulfilled despite his wealth and extended family, and lacking a burial site he will not be remembered.” (201) The presumed emphasis here is that, even though the natural man may labour and acquire all the indicators of a blessed man, he will nonetheless not be able to acquire the peace of a blessed man; which only God can give.

References:

Bartholomew, C. (2009). Ecclesiastes, Baker Academic

Henry, M. (1706). Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete, Eccl. 6:1-6

Provan, I. (2001). Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs: The New Application Commentary, Zondervan

Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press