Here,
Solomon once again stresses that there is nothing really new in life,
since every natural thing has existed since Creation and the
name thereof was given long ago, by Adam in the Garden
of Eden, for example. Likewise every desire, every pleasure, every kind
of achievement that is possible has already been identified and experienced
– so let us retain this perspective, and bear in mind the ultimate
futility of all human achievement. We are no different to those who
went before.
We
know what man is, says Solomon – i.e.
a mortal being who has to breathe and eat to stay alive. We also know
what he is capable of – that he can learn, reason, solve problems,
invent, design and build, beautify, reproduce and enjoy all manner of
God-given pleasures, but also that he can be foolish, deceived, obsessed,
evil and misdirected. Many people, however, fail to make proper use
of their abilities and do not achieve the things they are gifted by
God to do.
No
matter how wealthy a businessman, talented an artist, clever a scientist,
or powerful a politician, he simply cannot change these fundamental
facts of life, or the nature of man – because God, who is mightier
than he, has made it so.
An
alternative message may be that we all have our limitations and have
been shaped by heredity and experiences, with the result that our hopes
of success are limited. There will always be somebody stronger
-- more cunning, capable and clever than we are. It is important, therefore,
to be realistic in setting our goals.
Solomon
reminds his readers here that the more the words, the less
the meaning, an important principle of effective communication
-- the simple truth that adding more and more words tends to create
information overload and actually impede understanding. In other words,
by stating, repeating and reinforcing his message several times, he
has already said more than enough to make the human condition clearly
understandable to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Perhaps
Solomon is also saying that more is not always better when it comes
to pleasures and possessions – because the more we have, the less,
automatically, we appreciate and savour them.
However,
the more important message may be that some people just talk and talk
but never reach a conclusion, never make up their minds and so can never
make a serious commitment to any project or purpose. Perhaps James is
also speaking of such individuals when he says, Quote: “The double-minded
man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
Perhaps
that thought also flows on to the next verse when Solomon asks: who
knows what is good for man in his life? – possibly
implying that although perfect certainty of purpose is not always possible
before making a final decision, resolute action usually gets good and
often totally unexpected results, which is why it has famously been
said: “Whatever you can do, or think you can, begin it –
for boldness has magic and genius within it!”
In
the final verse, Solomon then stresses again that all human achievement
is vain, or futile, and that life is transient,
like a shadow cast by the sun – and
by implication from what has already been said, that what really matters
is HOW we live that life rather than WHAT we achieve. Perhaps the old
adage about the journey being more important than the destination applies
here – and we are not the first to make that journey, and are
en route for the same destination.
An
alternative translation of the first verse of this section says that
everything that happens was determined long ago –
and perhaps it is significant in light of that fact that Paul says to
the Christians at Ephesus, Quote: “In him we were also chosen,
having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything
in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were
the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory”
(Ephesians 1:11-12).
Just
a few verses earlier, Paul explains when this choosing or predestination
took place, saying, Quote: “For he chose us in him before
the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight”
(Ephesians 1:4).
Notice
that Paul does not say that other people are lost – and the parallel
seems to be that just as God called out the people of Israel, trapped
as slaves in Egypt, to do his work in Old Testament times, so now he
calls Christians, for the most part the weak and foolish of the world,
to do his work of preparation for the coming of his Kingdom?
In
the remainder of the book of Ephesians, Paul exhorts Christians to live
lives worthy of that incredible calling (Ephesians 4:1), to do good
(2:10), to rely on the power of God (3:16), to become a new creation
(4:22), and to join in the spiritual battle against evil (6:10) –
all themes that seem to resonate with those of Ecclesiastes.
Perhaps
the answer to Solomon’s earlier question is that it is God who
knows what is good for a man in this life – and
that he has called those willing to fulfill that purpose and take part
in his work. Perhaps that is why Paul says in words that echo those
of Solomon in the earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes, Quote: “Give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your
labour in the Lord is not in vain” (1
Corinthians 15:58).
It
is interesting that the King James translation has Paul urging Christians
to walk worthy of their vocation (Ephesians 4:1)-- the word “vocation”
being derived from the same root word as “vocal” or “vopice”,
which implies, even in secular sense, that each of us should listen
to the quiet voice of our heart calling us to do the kind of work we
were born and gifted by God to carry out as our contribution to mankind.