Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #17 - What is Man…? (Ecclesiastes 6:10-12)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #17: What is Man…?

Ecclesiastes 6:10-12

[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes610-12.]

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. ¹¹ Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? 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?

Introduction:

Psalm 8

Outline:

I. The Contending of Clay (6:10)

II. The Question of Change (6:11)

III. The Questions of Knowledge (6:12)

I. The Contending of Clay (6:10)

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.

1. That which hath been is named already

Gen. 1

2. and it is known that it is man

Reincarnation

Sex change operations and gender reidentification

3. neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he

Prov. 21:30 — There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.

Job 9:32 — For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

Job 40:2 — Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?  he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

Is. 45:9 — Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?  or thy work, He hath no hands?

Jer. 49:19 — Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her?  for who is like me?  and who will appoint me the time?  and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

Rom. 9:17-23 — For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

1 Cor. 10:22 — Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Bridges, cited by John Reisinger, pg. 234

Leupold, pg. 143

II. The Question of Change (6:11)

Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?

1. Seeing there be many things that increase vanity

things = words — contrast Leupold with Keil and Delitzsch

2. what is man the better?

III. The Questions of Knowledge (6:12)

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?

1. For who knoweth what is good for man in this life

Come back to this after points 2 and 3

2. all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?

NKJV note: “Lit., the number of the days

7:15 — All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

8:13 — But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.

Ps. 102:11 — My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

Ps. 39:4-7 — LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.  Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now, Lord, what wait I for?  my hope is in thee.

Job 14:2 — He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

Now ask the question, and answer it!

3. for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Eccl. 2:18 — Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

9:9 — Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

Jas. 4:13-16 — Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

3:22 — Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Now ask the question (point 1), and answer it with an understanding of the reason behind the answer!

[Sermon preached 7 FEB 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. The Contending of Clay (6:10)

II. The Question of Change (6:11)

III. The Questions of Knowledge (6:12)

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979)/

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #16 - Empty Souls Herding the Wind (Ecclesiastes 6:7-9)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #16: Empty Souls[1] Herding the Wind[2]

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9

[There was no audio file for this sermon.]

⁷ All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. ⁸ For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? ⁹ Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

Outline:

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

1. The Physical Purpose of All Labor

All the labour of man is for his mouth,

Bread on the table

our daily bread

a table in the wilderness

manna from heaven

2. The Spiritual Inability of All Labor

and yet the appetite is not filled.

NASB: “All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.”

NASB note on the word translated “appetite”: “Lit., soul”

NASB note on the word translated “satisfied”: “Lit., filled”

This is where the first part of this sermon’s title, Empty Souls Herding the Wind, comes from.

New Geneva Study Bible note: “…earthly labor does not fill the emptiness of the soul…”

MacArthur Study Bible note: “Lack of soul satisfaction comes from working only for what is consumed.”

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Prov. 16:26 — He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

Eccl. 1:8 — All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

1. The First Unanswered Question

For what hath the wise more than the fool?

Eccl. 2:15 — Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise?  Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.

2. The Second Unanswered Question

what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?

New Geneva Study Bible note: “Those, though poor, who know how to live effectively in the world avoid the discontentment of wandering, unsatisfied desires.”

“Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind”[3]

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

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

1. The Recommended Option

Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire

NASB: “What the eyes see is better than what the soul desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.”

NASB note on the word translated “desires”: “Lit., goes after”

materialism and consumerism

Eccl. 11:9 — Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

2. The Final Mention of Vexation of Spirit

this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

 “The reason for this wise advice is that constantly longing for more is futile or meaningless, a chasing after the wind. This is the last of nine occurrences in Ecclesiastes of the phrase “chasing after the wind” (cf. 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16). This phrase fittingly opens and concludes the first half of the book on the futility of human achievement.” [4]

Eccl. 1:14 — I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

“Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.”

— Hosea 12:1

HCSB: Ephraim chases  the wind and pursues the east wind. [5]

NLT: The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. [6]

RSV and NRSV: Ephraim herds the wind, and pursues the east wind all day long; [7] [8]

This is where the second part of this sermon’s title, Empty Souls Herding the Wind, comes from.

“Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Conclusion:

“Catch The Wind

In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty
I want to be in the warm hold of your loving mind

To feel you all around me
And to take your hand along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide a while behind your smile
And everywhere I'd look your eyes I'd find

For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing, it's what'd make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

When rain has hung the leaves with tears
I want you near to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind

For standing in your heart
Is where I want to be and long to be
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind”

Donovan (1965)[9]

[Sermon preached 31 JAN 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. The Unfilled Appetite (6:7)

1. The Physical Purpose of All Labor

2. The Spiritual Inability of All Labor

II. The Unanswered Questions (6:8)

1. The First Unanswered Question

2. The Second Unanswered Question

III. The Uncontrolled Desire (6:9)

1. The Recommended Option

2. The Final Mention of Vexation of Spirit

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979)/

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).

---

Notes:

[1] Compare Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls (Russian title Мёртвые ду́ши; 1842).

[2] Suggested by Hosea 12:1 in the Revised Standard Version (1971), and the New Revised Standard Version (1989.

[3] Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ In The Wind,” (©1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music), on Bob Dylan at http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind [accessed 30 JAN 2016].

[4] Glenn, D. R. (1985). Ecclesiastes. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 990–991). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ho 12:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

[6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ho 12:1). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[7] The Revised Standard Version. (1971). (Ho 12:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[8] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Ho 12:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

[9] AZ Lyrics at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/donovan/catchthewind.html [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. See also “Catch the Wind” on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_the_Wind [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. Donovan may be heard performing his song on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hjEYTpwE8 [accessed 30 JAN 2016], and with the lyrics at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls60hHYyYE [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. See also especially The Blues Project cover of this song on their albums Live at the Café Au Go Go (1966), Reunion in Central Park (1973), and The Blues Project Anthology (1997); on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHnSNlz62gg [accessed 30 JAN 2016], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBvLkLJ9_P4 [accessed 30 JAN 2016], and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMjxf_jxnro [accessed 30 JAN 2016]. 

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #15 - No Good! (Ecclesiastes 6:1-6)

Series: Ecclesiastes

Sermon #15: No Good!

Ecclesiastes 6:1-6

[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes61-6.]

¹ There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 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. 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. ⁴ For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. ⁵ Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. ⁶ Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

Outline:

I. No Good - No Power (6:1-2)

II. No Good - No Burial (6:3)

III. No Good - No Light (6:4-6)

I. No Good - No Power (6:1-2)

¹ There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: 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.

1. An evil that is common (6:1)

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men

Notice the repetition of the word “evil” in these two verses.

Other usages of the same Hebrew word here translated “evil” in the two previous sections of Ecclesiastes:

2:21 — For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion.  This also is vanity and a great evil.

4:3 — Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

5:1 — Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

5:13-14 — 13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

5:16 — And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?

Other usages of the same Hebrew word here translated “evil” in this third section of Ecclesiastes:

8:3 — Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

8:5 — Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.

8:11-12 — 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Other usages of the same Hebrew word here translated “evil” in the fourth and final section of Ecclesiastes:

9:3 — This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

9:12 — For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

10:5 — There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:

11:2 — Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

11:10 — Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

12:1 — Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

12:14 — For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

2. A man who has everything…except one (6:2)

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.

As mentioned previously, notice should be made of the repetition of the word “evil” in these two verses. In this “sandwich” there are three other pairings of words or phrases: “…God hath given….God giveth him not…,” “…wanteth…desireth…,” and “…power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it…”

As we begin this chapter which opens the third major section of Ecclesiastes (6:1-8:15), we are once again confronted with where we are, i.e. “under the sun,” and the evaluation of what life is like for so many East of Eden and West of Glory, i.e. “vanity.”

The first two sections of Ecclesiastes repeatedly reference the gifts of God, including one in the conclusion of the first section (2:26), and two in the conclusion of the second section (5:18-19):

1:13 — And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

2:26 — 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.

3:10 — I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

5:18-19 — 18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

This third section of Ecclesiastes also concludes with a reference to the gift of God:

8:15 — Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.

The fourth and final section of Ecclesiastes contains two references to the gifts of God, the second of which is in the conclusion of the section and the book:

9:9 — Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

12:11 — The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

II. No Good - No Burial (6:3)

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.

Let’s take the last clause first to understand this verse. In other words, let’s work it back to front so that we get the force of what is being emphasized here.

This verse is a conditional sentence framed with “If….then….”

“A full conditional sentence (one which expresses the condition as well as its consequences) therefore contains two clauses: the dependent clause expressing the condition, called the protasis; and the main clause expressing the consequence, called the apodosis. An example of such a sentence (in English) is the following:

If it rains, the picnic will be cancelled.

Here the condition is expressed by the clause "If it rains", this being the protasis, while the consequence is expressed by "the picnic will be cancelled", this being the apodosis. (The protasis may either precede or follow the apodosis; it is equally possible to say "The picnic will be cancelled if it rains".) In terms of logic, the protasis corresponds to the antecedent, and the apodosis to the consequent.”

— Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conditional_sentence [accessed 23 JAN 2016].

1. What could be worse than dying by miscarriage?

I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.

Job 3:16 — Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

Psalms 58:8 — As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

2. Doing the Math on Meaning: A large family, plus a long life, minus an empty soul, minus a burial =

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;

1) Positive Emphasis: 100 children, many years, restated as many “days of his years”

2) Negative Reality: Soul not filled with good, and no burial(?)

III. No Good - No Light (6:4-6)

⁴ For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. ⁵ Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. ⁶ Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

1. Beginning, End, and Legacy (6:4)

For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.

2. Blind, Ignorant, and Restless (6:5)

Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.

3. Quantity, Quality, and Question (6:6)

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

[Sermon preached 24 JAN 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. No Good - No Power (6:1-2)

1. An evil that is common (6:1)

2. A man who has everything…except one (6:2)

II. No Good - No Burial (6:3)

1. What could be worse than dying by miscarriage?

2. Doing the Math on Meaning: A large family, plus a long life, minus an empty soul, minus a burial =

III. No Good - No Light (6:4-6)

1. Beginning, End, and Legacy (6:4)

2. Blind, Ignorant, and Restless (6:5)

3. Quantity, Quality, and Question (6:6)

Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:

J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).

William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).

C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979)/

Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).

F. Delitzsch, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, trans. M. G. Easton, Vol. VI in C. F. Kiel and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, n.d., 1975 reprint).

Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).

Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).

William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).

H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).

Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).

Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).

J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zo