Ecclesiastes 5-12

Chapter five begins several chapters of proverbs, advice on maintaining a good reputation, being careful with what you say, handling money wisely and avoiding meaningless religious practices.

As I read these passages, I sometimes want to ask Solomon, “Sir, would you please elaborate on what you just said? Let’s explore this idea in greater detail.” “What exactly did you mean by this?” The best we can do is to fill in the blanks with passages elsewhere that deal with the same subjects.

Ecc. 5:2, tells us not to be quick to speak and to let our words be few. The setting of the context is found in verse 1. It says, “when you go to the house of God.” When we go there, we should be there to listen more than to talk. What God has to say to us is more important than what we might have to say to Him. Sometimes I wish a long-winded pastor would “make his words be few,” also.

Ecc. 5:10 cautions us in the way we view money. “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” Most of us are familiar with 1 Tim. 6:10, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money itself isn’t the root of evil, but the love of it can be.

1 Tim. 6:17, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

We are cautioned against striving for ever more wealth as an end in itself.

Jesus condemned the man who had so much wealth in the form of grain that he tore down his silos to build even larger ones. Luke 12:16, And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”

This farmer’s problem was not that he had savings or investments, but he was hoarding, selfishly acquiring for himself when he should have been doing some good with at least some of his excess.

Ecc. 5:12, “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”

I’ve known people who owned a lot of things such as a motor home, hot rod, boat, etc. I think they spent more time taking care of them than they did actually enjoying them. And, they had to work longer to pay for them. Their debt made them indentured servants. Rather than them owning things, things owned them.

Jesus warned us about hoarding and urged us to layup treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:20). Paul tells us that we will be rewarded for our good works, not for our possessions (1 Cor. 3:10). These works that we do, not our possessions, will follow us to heaven (Rev. 14:13).

In chapter seven Solomon returns to the subject of death. Imagine this conversation: “I can’t decide what I’m going to do tomorrow. I can go to a luncheon which includes an amusing guest speaker, or I can attend a visitation and funeral. Which should I do?” “Well, what would Solomon suggest?” His answer is found in Chapter 7:1-2, “A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”

We might prefer to attend a luncheon than a funeral, but why would Solomon think it might be better for us to attend a funeral?

Many people are uncomfortable thinking or talking about dying and death. Some do very little to prepare for it. In the U.S. less than half of the adults have a living will where they let their wishes known with regards to end of life care. One fourth of the adults over 65 don’t even have a will. Fewer still have in writing how they want their personal possessions distributed. Not making their wishes known leaves family members responsible for such decisions which can lead to added stress and conflicts.

When we do go to a “house of mourning” we are confronted with the reality of death. For at least a few hours the subject can’t be ignored. And that can be a good thing.

Centuries ago, there was a widely known Latin phrase, “memento mori”, which means, “remember that you must die.” You might see it engraved on old headstones. It’s as if the dead are reminding us that we too will join them in the grave. This expression reminded people that their lives were short and disappeared like a vapor. I think that Solomon knew that we needed reminders of our mortality that we should live a meaningful life with an eye towards eternity.

Verse 16, “Do not be over righteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself?”

When I read this the images that came to my mind were the things some people do to demonstrate their piety or devotion to God. Some people will walk up hundreds of steps on bloody knees to get to a shrine of some kind. Others will live a life of isolation, away from the world, eating a meager diet and sleeping on cold concrete, all to show their devotion. Well, I’m not impressed by any of this. I don’t think God is, either. We’re not told to do such things. We’re told in Matt. 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” James 1:27 tells us that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Jesus dealt with this issue in Matt. 23:24. Jesus criticized the religious leaders for “straining a gnat but swallowing a camel.” They were majoring in the minor issues, creating more and more rules for people to follow. Verse 18, “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.”

1 Tim 4:1-4, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

Acts of devotion should focus on doing what Jesus commanded. Focusing on manmade rituals can distract us from what is essential. To show our devotion to God, we should be a light to the world, preach, teach and care for those in need. We are commanded to do these things. Jesus said, John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.”

Ecc. 7:21, “Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you.”

Do we worry too much about what others might think or say about us? I think so. Here’s an expression that I like. “When you are young, you worry about what people think of you. When you are middle-aged, you don’t worry so much about what they think of you. And when you are old, you realize that they weren’t thinking about you in the first place.” Why aren’t people thinking about you as much as you think? Because they are thinking more about themselves. You are not as important to others as you might think.

In Chapter eight, Solomon urges his people to obey the king (no surprise there) but even the king has limited power. Verse 8, “No man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the day of his death.” Again, Solomon returns to thoughts of death.

He says in verse 12, “It will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them.” Again, he returns to the idea of living today in light of eternity.

Another common theme in this book is repeated in verse 17, “No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out.” As Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 13:12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Life is a puzzle. We have to take the pieces we have even though we don’t have the complete picture of the plan that must be there.

In Chapter nine there is a passage that some churches use to defend their teaching of soul sleep, the idea that when we die, we are unconscious until the resurrection.

Verse 5, “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing.”

One of the basic rules of interpretation is to read the verse in context. The context includes verse 6 which shows that the dead know nothing “under the sun” or on the earth. Not knowing what is going on here on earth is not the same as being unconscious.

There are numerous passages that suggest or teach consciousness after death.

• Matt. 22:32 says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
• Luke 23:43 Jesus tells the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise.
• Luke 16:19 shows that when Lazarus and the rich man died, they were conscious after death.
• 2 Cor. 5:8 tells us that when we die, our spirit goes home to be with the Lord.
• In Rev. 6:10 those who were martyred during the Tribulation period ask how long will it be until he avenges their deaths.