Pr Ko Lingkang

The Way Out of a Vain Life (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26)

Introduction

Earlier in Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon had recounted his earlier life of vanity. He had pursued after the things of this world and tried to find satisfaction and fulfilment in carnal things. While he lived a seemingly enviable life and did have great success in the eyes of the world, all was not well with him. The second half of Ecclesiastes 2 recounted how he descended into a depressed state, where after being confronted with his mortality, he came to hate life and hate all the work that he had toiled hard in. He was in despair, to the point where he found it hard to sleep at night (Ecc 2:22).

How then did he find his way out? How did he go from having sorrowful days and restless nights to becoming the wise preacher dispensing godly advice in the book of Ecclesiastes? The simple answer is that he remembered God. 

At the end of these two chapters, Solomon makes his first positive mention of God, and directs the readers towards Him. After being vexed by the vanities that he observed in his pursuit of human wisdom and prideful endeavours, he came to his senses, and realized that happiness and joy can only be found in true contentment and submission to the Lord.

Seeking Contentment in God (v. 24a)

(24)  There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul good in his labor. 

He exhorts man to eat, drink, and enjoy the fruits of his labour, for he realized that all things are from God. Do note that what he encourages us to do here is not to live a wanton hedonistic lifestyle that seeks to gratify the desires of the flesh. Rather he is showing us how to be content and satisfied with the blessings that God has given to man. He calls us to labour hard, and then to enjoy the fruits of our labour, to eat and drink acknowledging that it is all the hand of God that provides. Rather than the blind and foolish pursuit of wealth and carnal luxuries that he used to have, Solomon speaks of a life that seeks after what is good for the soul. It is a good that cannot come from the physical things in this life, but from a spiritual satisfaction that comes from honest work and the contentment that follows. 

Note also that the phrase ‘nothing better’ doesn’t speak of the absolute best thing that a man can do in this life. Instead, it is advice given within the context of his experience of hatred and despair and how he came to a solution to his current sorrow. He saw that instead of lamenting and complaining, the best one can do in such a situation is to be content with what God has blessed us with. In so doing, we are bringing God into the picture, and understanding more of our purpose in life. He has understood how in whatsoever we do, even in our eating and drinking, we can do so to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).  

Anyone who finds himself trapped in this vain pursuit after the things of the world must learn to seek after contentment. He must understand that unless he can find satisfaction in the Lord, he will never truly be happy in this life. Chasing after the pleasures of this life can only bring about a short-term and very unsatisfying enjoyment. Without Christ, our souls will continue to be restless, while our flesh continues to attempt to be gratified by sinful things. 

Seeing the Hand of God (v. 24b-25)

This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.  (25)  For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?  

The key, therefore, is to be able to see the hand of God in every aspect of our lives. We must know that the things that we have in this life – the food and drink we can enjoy, even the ability to labour, all comes from God. He asks the reader to accept it as coming from him, the one who had wealth in abundance, and was able to eat anything at all that his heart desired. He now recognised that all these things came from the sovereign hand of God. In his pride he had assumed that his wealth, power and success was because of his own ability and hard work. But then he realised that it was God’s hand guiding him every step of the way, granting him the exceptional wisdom that he had, and prospering the work of his hands. 

Yet despite all that he had, there was a period of time in his life that he was not content. He had spiralled down the self-destructive path of carnality, full of self-confidence and pride. It was only when he could see things with God as the centre of his life, was he then able to truly have joy in his life. Likewise, for us, it is only when we know that all you have comes from God, that we would be able to be content and enjoy life. 

Furthermore, when we remember that all the gifts we have are from God, we would then naturally know to enjoy them only within the bounds that he has set for us and do them in a manner pleasing and honouring to Him. We would not take the gift and despise the giver, but instead honour the giver and in grateful praise, worship him with what you have. The same hand that so abundantly provides for our every need, is also the hand that would chastise us when we disobey Him. Seeing the hand of God in our lives would therefore guide us to be content, and then to enjoy what we have in a manner that is pleasing in God’s sight. 

Submitting to the Goodness of God (v. 26)

(26)  For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.  

Following on from the thought that he had with regards to being content and enjoying the life that God has given us, Solomon then exhorts man to trust in the wisdom of God. He guides us to acknowledge God as the one who sovereignly directs all things that happen in this life. He alone knows how to dispense wisdom, knowledge and joy to those who are good in his sight. It is all according to His good will and pleasure, and it is never for man to question.

For the sinner, God would also know how to deal with him, and give travail to him, such that he will live his life in vain pursuit of all things under the sun and gather and heap up worldly possessions just like Solomon did. Yet, there will be times where God can also take all the possessions that the sinner has gathered up, and then give it to one whom God decides is more deserving of such wealth. It is all up to God, and He alone is the one who decides what is good in His sight. 

Does this seem like vanity? Does it seem unfair? Are we but pawns in the hands of a fickle God? To the unbeliever, yes it will seem so unpredictable, and appear to be ‘vanity and vexation’, for to him all he seeks after are the things of this world. When it is suddenly stripped away from him and he is left with nothing, there is a great cause for despair and grief. All that the world seeks ‘to gather and heap up’ will only lead to vanity and vexation, for they are but temporal, physical things that will never fully satisfy. 

However, for us, we know that it is God’s divine prerogative to do as He wills, and will be done according to His infinite wisdom. He will never give unjustly, deal with man unjustly, or make wrong choices. On our part, we are simply to submit to His will, and be content with what we are given. There is no need to fear death, to hate life, or to despair of our labour. If we acknowledge that God is the sole giver of everything that we have in this life, then we would know that the life that we live, and the labours that we perform, are all guided and controlled by Him. We would then realize that anything done under the sun, apart from God, is vanity. True meaning and happiness can never be found there. Rather, we remember the maxim, ‘only one life to live, t'will soon be past. Only what is done for Christ will last.’