12/11/21 Ecclesiastes Study 7. 2 18-26

 

¹⁸ 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, ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹ 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. ²² What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³ 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.

²⁴ 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, ²⁵ for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? ²⁶ 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. (Ecc 2:18-26)

1. In Eccl 2:18-20, Qoheleth explains the vanity of toiling. Why does he feel despair?

Despair is the absence of hope. There is nothing better in the future to look forward to. The quality of his toil is such that it brings no lasting good.

He has to leave the fruit of his labour behind - the achievement and beauty cannot be taken to the grave. This is unfair and yet unavoidable. Labour brings no lasting reward.

The person who inherits is may be unworthy of it. This is also unfair and cannot be assured. Labour's trajectory cannot be sustained because there is no assurance of continuity.

2. Why does he hate his toil? (2:18). What might be a way around this hatred, so that we could actually enjoy our toil and life?

We need to do good succession planning! We should develop relationships with our successors.

We have to see work as a calling, not just a job.

We could take the work not too seriously, and learn to enjoy things along the way.

We find true reward only in working for things that cannot be physically passed on and enjoyed by others. So we must have an eternal perspective for Kingdom work (Mt 6:33)

We must see work and its rewards as not an end in themselves, but a gift and an offering from/to God. 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.(Col 3:23-24) 

 

3. a) Qoheleth, at the end of Chapter 2, expresses that :"there is nothing better for a person that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil" (2:24). How is this enjoyment to be viewed?  How does Qoheleth arrive at this conclusion?

The ability to enjoy physical pleasures and work is a gift from God. All pleasures come from His hands. Satan only distorts and corrupts pleasures. Those that please God will find this joy. Those who do not will never find satisfaction.

b) Compare and contrast this statement with all the pleasures that he experienced in 2:1-11. What makes one unsatisfying and the other satisfying?

• The earlier lack of satisfaction was when he 'tested' the utility of pleasure. His heart did not fully rest in the pleasure. There is a special type of joy in being able to grasp and appreciate the pleasures of friendship, food, drink, scenery instead of looking for the next pleasure or experience.
• The earlier lack of satisfaction was for extreme pleasures, the later pleasures are simpler. Extreme pleasures can overwhelm and distract the spirit more.
• Earlier, Qoheleth had expectations that could not be fulfilled.
  
• He found no meaning in pleasure abstracted from God. Pleasure is not meant to exist for its own sake. Earlier, Qoheleth took pleasure for himself. Here he recognizes that pleasures come as a gift - from God's hands. The pleasure does not terminate in itself. 
• The earlier pleasures are self-made, one is God given. He sought to please Himself, and not God. Gifts require gratitude.

 

c) What would Qoheleth say to workaholics?

Workaholics find their identity, significance and pleasure by focusing on work. They depend on work for these. This attitude can be driven by desire for greater income or authority or approval of others, or even of control. There is an escape from life's complexities. We noted that there is a fine line between compulsion to work and a sense of responsibility.

• Qoheleth would say, "been there done that",  that their effort will never last and their aims will never be satisfying. 
• "You can work all you want but I will be greater than you"
• "Remember to thank God"

The observation of the Sabbath is God's antidote to overwork.