Ecclesiastes 4:1-16

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Summary

  • This passage examines the causes behind oppression (and by implication, injustice - both described in chapter 3). These causes don't influence just oppressors, but everyone! In this respect, we all are guilty. The main difference is that the oppressors have the power to attain what they want; and the rest (the oppressed) don't succeed.


Details and/or Comments

  • Where does oppression (and by implication, injustice) come from? It comes from attitudes in the heart - attitudes that all people can have: envy and greed. These two are related. Perhaps we can contrast them (as used here) this way:
  1. Envy: "If someone else has it (or if they might get it), I want it." This is the opposite of Contentment.
  2. Greed: "I want it for me." This is the opposite of Sharing.
  • Contentment and sharing are the lifestyle of the wise.
  • We must remember that, even if we do attain all we desire to have, it still won't have lasting meaning.


Scripture

Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 – Human misery and oppression at its root: envy and greed.

Scripture Passage Comments and Links
Ecc 4:1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Ecc 4:2 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive.

Ecc 4:3 Yes, better than them both is him who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

The horribleness of oppression - the oppressed have no power or comfort... just tears.

How horrible is it? The dead (i.e., corpses) and the unborn (probably "un-conceived") are "happier," in the sense that they are experiencing less pain and sorrow!

(Don't take this passage out of context. The word "dead" refers to a corpse, something that is as unconscious as a rock! The focus is not on eternal destinies.)

Ecc 4:4 Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man's neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Ecc 4:5 The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself.

Ecc 4:6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.

What is the root cause of this horrible oppression? Competition, envy and rivalry - attitudes that anyone can have, not just oppressors. (It's just that oppressors have more opportunity to attain what they are after.)

So what attitude should we have?

  1. "No handful"? No! This is laziness. It is self-destructive.
  2. "One handful"? Yes! This is contentment, and is compatible with the joy and satisfaction described in previous chapters.
  3. "Two handfuls"? No! Though it is quite common (v. 4), this is the envy and rivalry that was already described as being the source of oppression and sorrow.
Ecc 4:7 Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun.

Ecc 4:8 There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. For whom then, do I labor, and deprive my soul of enjoyment? This also is vanity, yes, it is a miserable business.

This passage looks at the related issue, greed. The example given is of a person who is so preoccupied with getting everything he can, that he doesn't even have time to enjoy it! What a meaningless life!
Ecc 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

Ecc 4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn't have another to lift him up.

Ecc 4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone?

Ecc 4:12 If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

The better (and godly) alternative? Cooperation, working together, sharing!
  • Work Ethic (which has to do with all the issues stated above)
Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn't know how to receive admonition any more.

Ecc 4:14 For out of prison he came forth to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor.

Ecc 4:15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the other, who succeeded him.

Ecc 4:16 There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was--yet those who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.

A warning: Even if you do succeed at gaining all that you might want, it won't have any lasting meaning - even if you get it by legitimate means!

The example is similar (not identical) to some things King David experienced in his lifetime:

  1. King Saul (David's predecessor) was quite foolish in his old age.
  2. David started out in humble circumstances, and was eventually followed by the entire nation.
  3. In David's later years, there were at least two uprisings against him - once led by his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15+) and another time led by a Benjaminite named Sheba (2 Samuel 20).



1:1-18  •  2:1-26  •  3:1-22  •  4:1-16  •  5:1-7  •  5:8-20  •  6:7-9  •  7:10  •  8:1-8  •  9:1-2  •  9:7 - 10:1  •  12:7  •  12:13-14

Scripture Passages
(Only books that have relevance to this study have active links. The others are in italics.)

Genesis  •  Exodus  •  Leviticus  •  Numbers  •  Deuteronomy  •  Joshua  •  Judges  •  Ruth  •  1 Samuel  •  2 Samuel  •  1 Kings  •  2 Kings  •  1 Chronicles  •  2 Chronicles  •  Ezra  •  Nehemiah  •  Esther  •  Job  •  Psalms  •  Proverbs  •  Ecclesiastes  •  Song of Solomon  •  Isaiah  •  Jeremiah  •  Lamentations  •  Ezekiel  •  Daniel  •  Hosea  •  Joel  •  Amos  •  Obadiah  •  Jonah  •  Micah  •  Nahum  •  Habakkuk  •  Zephaniah  •  Haggai  •  Zechariah  •  Malachi


Matthew  •  Mark  •  Luke  •  John  •  Acts  •  Romans  •  1 Corinthians  •  2 Corinthians  •  Galatians  •  Ephesians  •  Philippians  •  Colossians  •  1 Thessalonians  •  2 Thessalonians  •  1 Timothy  •  2 Timothy  •  Titus  •  Philemon  •  Hebrews  •  James  •  1 Peter  •  2 Peter  •  1 John  •  2 John  •  3 John  •  Jude  •  Revelation

—— To avoid any copyright issues, all Scripture is either from a public domain translation (such as the World English Bible), my own translation, or a combination of these. ——
The name "Yahweh," when present in an Old Testament passage, represents the Hebrew name for the God of the Bible.
Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.