What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his [good labor]–this is God’s gift to man. I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. – Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
Preacher Solomon doesn’t just jump to the conclusion. He allows you to grow and build toward it through the book. Wisdom isn’t something you get simply by reading propositional truth claims. It is a process of maturation. Part of this process involves some repetition. In the passage above we hear again of “the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.” When we saw this previously (1:13), it became clear that Adam’s sin and the resulting curse (“children of man” is literally “sons of Adam” in Hebrew) means that our work often doesn’t “work.” This is because God has twisted it (Gen. 3), and we can’t straighten it completely out no matter how hard we toil.
This theme is repeated in chapter 3, except with some extra comments. One of those is that God “has made everything beautiful in its time.” The common meaning of “beautiful,” which is an aesthetic description, is not how we should understand this statement. In this case, the meaning is “suitable” or “fitting.” The poem (vv. 2-8) in this chapter is where Solomon says everything fits into God’s plan, whether birth and death, war and peace. He now tells us that what God does is fitting for its time. God has a plan, and everything He has done is suitable or fitting with that plan.
People seem to be hardwired to look for meaning in everything. This is good and right, but it also leads to frustration because we can’t see the end from the beginning and sometimes make foolish decisions as a result. “He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” That’s where this frustration comes from. It seems ironic that God has put a yearning to understand that which transcends the present moment. There are not just a few people trying to forget this with numbing behaviors, but God doesn’t let us forget. We are stuck without being able to see where we are going or if the destination is near or far. We are stuck between time and eternity. It is wisdom to know that.
In spite of the irony of being wired with eternity in our hearts, and the frustration that causes in a crooked world, Preacher Solomon is clear that it is still a gift of God. He offers two reasons that are indicated by “I perceived.” 1. “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his [good labor]–this is God’s gift to man.” And 2. “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.”
On the first, men and women should learn to accept the good gifts that God is pleased to give them. Eternity in our hearts means that we know our good labor and food and drink and all are from God. We should enjoy these gifts with thankful hearts, which excludes pouting, sulking, and cursing because we’re not getting what we want. On the second, we see that man is bound to the present, unable to discover the activity of God from beginning to end. God, by contrast, transcends creaturely work. All of the past and the present are exposed to God and subject to His sovereignty. Nothing escapes His dominion, and eternity in our hearts means that we should fear Him in light of His sovereign dominion. It is wisdom to know that.
And here we find wise and Divine comfort. Our toil is a vapor, a mist, and like shepherding wind. The wise know this and escape the futility of it. But hear the good news: God’s labor is not a vapor and He shepherds the wind effortlessly. In our union with Christ we know that His labor is always good, and we can rest in His sovereign control of it all. That’s the gospel.
Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
– Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
From pop culture, you might get the idea that this poem was written for anyone to use for any sentimentalized and romanticized idea they can imagine. You’ll even find preachers who turn, turn, turn here for guru-like advice, and try to show that there are appropriate moments for people to act. That is not what this poem is about. Studying how it fits within Preacher Solomon’s overall context and purpose is a safeguard against these errors.
This poem is not about people’s determination of events or even people’s discernment of times and seasons. On the contrary, it is about God’s activity, not man’s. Unpopular as this may feel, the purpose of this poem is about God’s comprehensive determination of all of the “times” of man. God has an all-encompassing plan, and we are neither the master of our fate nor the captain of our soul.
Now, that’s quite a claim in light of statements that appear to be in the hands of men: “a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” It’s interesting how gaining some age and wisdom helps us see that things really were in God’s hands, which our experience suggested to us were in our hands earlier in life. God is even the one who appoints our emotions: “a time to weep, and a time to laugh.” We don’t get to plan how long grief will last any more than we could determine when our loved ones will die. That is for God’s timing.
The Hebrew word for “season” in the opening line (“For everything there is a season”) means “appointed time” or “predetermined season.” If you are often frustrated that you haven’t found enough success, or you are alarmed by your lack of control over your life, then Ecclesiastes is suggesting that you reconsider. Controlling the times and seasons, or even understanding why God sends them when He does, is too great and marvelous a thing for anyone but God.
Solomon’s poem calls for humble wisdom. It is not an exhaustive list in its detail, but it covers “everything” and “every matter.” This means every season. The list itself doesn’t seem to have an order or pattern. That may well be on purpose because life can seem exactly like that. We have no sovereign determination over these things. They come upon us. If we hope in the Lord, we must not pretend that our toil or striving, or even our wisdom and knowledge, will deliver us. That’s the Lord’s doing. Like Jesus exemplified, submitting to God’s timetable is wisdom and exercises faith that the Father’s plan for us is not only inscrutable, but superior to our own. That’s the gospel.
Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. – Ecclesiastes 2:18-26
You won’t have to look hard to find someone who says disparaging things about Preacher Solomon concerning this passage. He’s called everything from “impious” to “a sociopath.” There are books with long discussions about his “depression” and “mental health” as he is psychoanalyzed by, incidentally, the most overweight, medicated, addicted, and depressed society in, perhaps, the history of the world. He says, “So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it.” And he adds that the man who toils and whose heart strives, “…all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation.” That does sound pretty bad. Is there something seriously wrong with him?
On the contrary, I would argue that what he has written in the first paragraph above is evidence of his piety. We can understand this when considering the context of what has come before. His argument since the beginning of the book has been that wisdom has special regard for “toil,” which is trying to leverage a surplus or special advantage in life under the sun. This regard is the refrain that such toil is nothing but a vapor and an attempt at shepherding wind. Now we find that Preacher Solomon “hated all [his] toil in which [he] toiled under the sun.” It is good to hate foolish things. To do so is to trample on the idols that threaten to corrupt our worship and trust of God.
Nonetheless, he doesn’t leave it there. The second paragraph ends the chapter on a surprisingly upbeat note. He’s given a clear reason for the hatred of this toil: “I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun.” What is this? You guessed it: “This also is [vapor].” In light of this reason for his hatred of the toil, he offers an alternative: “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.”
He even says that this is “from the hand of God” since “apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” If control under the sun is not an option, is there anything left? Yes! God has, from His hand, given us eating, drinking, and enjoyment in work (Solomon’s use of “toil” here is not the same as the previous uses of “striving for a surplus”). I will argue in the sermon this Sunday that this eating and drinking is Solomon’s way of talking about the ritual covenant meals that the Israelites enjoyed as fellowship with God. For now, though, allow such wisdom to sink in a bit.
Human life in all its mystery is a gift from God. What can we do with the good things God has given us? Give thanks for them and glorify God by enjoying them. That’s a wise alternative to trying to leverage them for power and a surplus that will last long after we do. As always, we see that Jesus exemplifies this wisdom. He never neglects to give overt and bold thanks to the Father, He enjoys the good things as He eats and drinks with sinners, and He promises us life everlasting under, not the sun, but under the Light of the World, which never goes dark.
Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine–my heart still guiding me with wisdom–and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the children of man.
So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. -Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
If you come from a strict background of “don’t drink, don’t chew, don’t go with girls who do,” then this passage can be a bit uncomfortable. Solomon communes with his heart and decides to pursue wine (“I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine”), women (“many concubines, the delight of the children of man”), and song (“I got singers”). Wine, women, and song apparently have been an issue for a long time! Preacher Solomon would have had a tough time passing muster with most pastor search committees today!
No doubt, this first-glance interpretation looks questionable. But if we stop and consider carefully, we’ll find that there’s a caveat to it. He makes clear that through it all, “my heart [was] still guiding me with wisdom.” He had a purpose in it. No one had the resources he did. He had riches, people, refined tastes, creativity, and favor. He put all this, which is more than the reader will likely ever have, to the test to see if it would bring meaning and joy. His verdict is that it did not and cannot.
The court musicians were probably the best in the world, but when they finished their last note, the room was silent and empty again. He built amazing houses and buildings. Only a fool does not see their emptiness, though. All those buildings are long gone, as are the vineyards, gardens, parks, and orchards. Perhaps someone might protest that all those things are more temporal than silver and gold. Silver and gold are not like agriculture because they last and people are very keen to keep up with them. Solomon “gathered silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces.” So, where is it? Where is even a little bit of it? We don’t know. It’s every bit as missing as the vineyards and parks.
It was all a bunch of nothing. “I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was [vapor] and [shepherding] wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. If we pursue the same things, we will end up on this road that has been traveled before. The road is a dead end, sometimes without enough room to turn the car around. The verses above are about the search for joy. “I said of laughter, ‘It is mad,’ and of pleasure, ‘What use is it?’”
He repeats in the second paragraph what he said in the first: “my wisdom remained with me.” In other words, he didn’t become a fool temporarily to learn all this. That’s how we can appreciate Ecclesiastes. There’s no place for jealousy in the reader for all he had and did, because it led to suffering, even madness. We should partake of his wisdom. Wisdom literature tells us what life is like even before we choose to experience it. The Lord has made good things for us, things that are meant to be enjoyed. Jesus even turned water into an enormous amount of wine so that the guests could enjoy the party. But the Lord has also cursed these things because every created thing is potentially an idol for someone. These things cannot fulfill us, and that is good, lest we make idols of them.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see simplicity, non-indulgence, and modesty. Why? Because He is the wisdom of God, knowing the truth about pursing vapors and trying to shepherd the wind under the sun.
Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.