8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them. 9 The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.

10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile. 11 When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, 14 or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. 16 This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.

18 Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

19 Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God. 20 For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

REFLECTIONS

Written by James Davidson

Despite the harsh realities of life in this world which is under God’s curse, there is a route to satisfaction and joy. Verses 8-17 mention some of those harsh realities:

• The powerful take from the poor.

• If we love money, it never satisfies.

• More wealth brings more worries and less sleep.

• If we hoard wealth, it harms us.

• Wealth is easily lost.

• No matter how hard we work, we leave this world with absolutely nothing.

We need to accept these harsh realities if we are going to find the route to satisfaction and joy in verses 18-20. But how do we find that route? The Teacher says in verse 19, ‘Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man.’ This is more than material riches and wealth, for not everyone has those. This is the wealth of knowing God and his love and his Word. This is the wealth of his creation. We can all enjoy a cool breeze, a sunset and a tasty meal.

The Teacher goes on to say that God has enabled us to enjoy these riches and wealth he has given us. God wants us to enjoy his creation. But he also says we need to accept our lot. We need to accept that we serve God in a world under his curse so life will be difficult. But we can still rejoice in our labour. We can rejoice that in our labour we are looking after God’s creation and serving those God has given us to love.

And as New Covenant believers we can rejoice that none of our work done in serving the gospel will be in vain, as we have seen in our key verse from the Apostle Paul: ‘Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58). So let’s thank God for today. Thank him for our work, no matter how frustrating it is, and thank him that our efforts in the gospel are never in vain.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James is one of our Assisant Ministers.