Ecclesiastes 6 Two problems

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Ecclesiastes 6:1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind:2 God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. 5 Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man— 6 even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?
7 Everyone’s toil is for their mouth,
yet their appetite is never satisfied.
8 What advantage have the wise over fools?
What do the poor gain
by knowing how to conduct themselves before others?
9 Better what the eye sees
than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.
10 Whatever exists has already been named,
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?

The Universal Live Church has a long thread going on right now about the existence of God. There is a "person" who calls himself "Lionheart" who claims to believe there is no God. There is another "person" who calls herself "Kim". "Kim" apparently knows the Bible but isn't very good at explaining God... IMHO. So of course.... this big mouthed old woman with an online Bible and online commentary decided to chime in. I said something like... "I'm studying the book of Ecclesiastes..... it's a book written by Solomon.... about life with no God. " Well that blew up in my face.... "Kim" replied by saying "Ecclesiastes is saying 'man is not God'..... " Well shut my mouth... that's a theory I'll have to look at.... the sermon I heard says it's a "what if". I'm not so sure about that. So..... with that in mind.....

This is from the easy English site.

A person may be famous and wealthy. But, for some reason, he cannot enjoy his life. He may become tired of his possessions. Or maybe he has to leave them. It is sad if a stranger will enjoy those possessions.​
People thought that it was good to have many children in a family. They thought that God was *blessing that family especially. In this passage, 100 children sounds like too many children for one man. But a man who had many wives could have a great number of children. (Read, for example, about Gideon in Judges 8:30.) And people thought that a long life was good. Old people thought that God was blessing them especially. But it was very bad to die without a proper grave. This showed that the dead person had no value. Jeremiah spoke about the wicked king who was called Jehoiakim. Nobody will be sad about his death. And his body will have no grave (Jeremiah 22:18-19).​
Someone might have many children and he might live for a long time. But if he is not happy, then it is a sad situation. So it would be better for him if he had died before his birth. Sometimes, sadly, a child is born dead. Such a child never knows what happens here on the earth. Our lives are a gift from God. God wants us to think about him while we are alive. And God wants us to think about other people. Nobody knows what a dead baby’s character might have become. But this child does not have to live with difficulties and troubles. So the dead baby’s rest is more peaceful than the rich man’s rest. The rich man might live twice as long as Methuselah. He was the oldest man who ever lived (Genesis 5:27). But everyone dies in the end. Then they are all like the child who died at birth. These verses imagine that no part of us lives after death. Then people may think in the way that the Teacher describes. However, a Christian thinks in a different way.
A person works in order to live. ‘We never get enough’ may mean this: We must always continue to work in order to stay alive. And we always think that we need more things. Instead, people should enjoy the things that they have.
A person cannot change the way that things are. He should be humble. The first man’s name was ‘Adam’. And it means that he came from the earth. God created us from dust (Genesis 3:19, 20). Nobody can win an argument with God. But Job tried to demand an answer from God. Job could not understand why he was suffering. But finally he realised that God is greater than any person. It is impossible for a person to understand God’s ways (Job 42:2-3).​
The Teacher is thinking about two problems. He will try to answer his own questions in the next chapters. It is a mystery why we are alive. He thinks about whether anything can have permanent value. A person’s life ends so soon. It passes as quickly as a shadow. Also, after a person dies he cannot know anything. He does not know his own future. And he cannot know what will happen in the world after his death. So a person who does not believe God has nothing certain in his life. He does not know what to do about his future. He does not expect to live after his body has died.
So if man was god.... I doubt man would let himself die. There's no value in death for a man who thinks he is god. After all, how would the world continue if there was no man to run it?

Back to the original thought.... life in a world without God..... Man tends to get bored with life. Man gets bored with sunrises and sunsets. Man gets bored with daily routine. Once he's tasted battle.... some men can never go back to peace. Even sex has no thrill after a while... without God in his life he has no reason to procreate.... and lots of children mean more mouths to feed.... which means more work.... so without God in a man's life... there is only toil. Death doesn't even bring relief.... without God controlling time and space.... a man might die and come right back to do it over again.... who knows... without God regulating time and space... anything could happen.

If man is not god.... does that explain why man gets bored so quickly? Now if man is "not god" then the discussion must be "who is god".... and "kim" is saying God is God..... and that still leaves "Lionheart" claiming there is no god.

Look.... here's the way I see it.... Man can't be God.... Man was created for God to have a conversation with. God wanted man to worship Him. Man is pretty good at worshiping himself, but he's also pretty good at worshiping any tiny shiny thing that comes along. Man loves to worship stuff.... God created him Man to worship Him. Without God... man would just run around worshiping everything.... God keeps man centered......

Even if "Lionheart" doesn't believe in God.... "Lionheart" is centered on that belief.... and I bet he worships something else.... like money or fame. If "kim" believes that Solomon was writing about man being god.... well.... the man had 700 wives and 300 concubines.... and only 4 children.... what man who claimed to be God wouldn't want to spread godlings around the world?

I don't know what this book is about.... I know there is one God. I know that without God... right and wrong would have no value. I know that if man was god.... arrogance would know no bounds. Man gets bored.... and wanders off..... and looses thoughts..... it's obvious that man isn't god... why would a "wise" man such as "Wise King Solomon" write such a thing?


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