Eclesiastes 6
William MacDonald · Citado em PreceptAustin
Eclesiastes 6
William MacDonald - It is far better to be content with the meals that are set before one than to be always craving for something additional. This business of always lusting for more is as foolish as grasping for the wind. As Leupold said, it’s like “lustful straying about from one thing to another in quest of true satisfaction.” This too is futility (hebel; Lxx - mataiotes - emptiness, nothingness, purposelessness) and a striving (reuth) after wind (ruah; Lxx- pneuma) - This is the chase that never ends! Even though contentment with what we see is better than constant longing, the human heart still chases dreams, imagining fulfillment always lies just beyond reach. Solomon warns us that this too ends up empty. It is better to be content with what is present than to constantly crave what you don't have—but even this pursuit of contentment, apart from God, is ultimately futile. Striving (reuth) after wind (ruah; Lxx- pneuma) is an image of futile pursuit as in the picture above of a man chasing something that he can never catch! 🙏 THOUGHT- This verse speaks of a modern "plague" known as restlessness or discontentment. It is so easy to look at what others have or to dream about what might be and despise the blessings we already possess! Have you ever been there? Solomon reminds us that what is present is better than what is imagined. But human nature doesn’t easily accept that. We often believe the next job, the next relationship, the next possession will finally satisfy. We need to ask ourselves am I constantly longing for what I don’t have, while ignoring what God has already provided? You might consider writing down what your soul is “desiring” and then ask "Would getting this truly satisfy me? Or am I chasing wind?" Desire, without direction toward Jesus, becomes a restless wind which is always moving, never landing. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. William Barrick - The third proverb (Eccl 6:9a) presents an equivalent to “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Dreaming about something does not bring it to pass or bring it into one’s possession. Take what you have—what you can see—and do not count on your desires being fulfilled. In other words, better to be content with what I have than to waste my life desiring what I do not have. “This too is futility [hebel] and a striving after wind” (Eccl 6:9b) wraps up the three case histories with the same summation to which Solomon appeals again and again throughout the book of Ecclesiastes 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 5:16. In fact, the author does not employ the phrase again in the rest of the book. The very next verse marks the middle of the Hebrew text of Ecclesiastes. Therefore, the first half of the book comes to a close with this phrase. The next three verses set up the remainder of the book and introduce the theme for the second half. (Ecclesiastes 6 Commentary) Striving (07469) reuth means longing, striving, vexation. Baker says it is "It refers to a person's efforts to attain something, to achieve or master something, to find out all about the world and its purposes. In Ecclesiastes, these efforts are considered vain (Eccl. 1:14; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6; 6:9). All striving ends up being a striving after nothing, the wind." REUTH - Eccl. 1:14; Eccl. 2:11; Eccl. 2:17; Eccl. 2:26; Eccl. 4:4; Eccl. 4:6; Eccl. 6:9 Wind (07307) ruah/ruach (click for in depth discussion) means breath, wind, spirit (76x to the Spirit), air; breeze; ; courage; temper; Ruah/ruach refers to the Spirit of God or Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11; Ps 106:33; Isa. 63:10, 11), who inspired the prophets (Nu 11:17, 25; 1Sa 10:6; 19:20), moved the prophets in time and space (Elijah (1 Ki. 18:12 cf Ezekiel in Ezek. 2:2). Ruah/ruach can refer to an evil spirit from the Lord (1Sa. 16:15, 16; 1Ki. 22:22, 23). David was inspired to speak as a prophet by the Spirit (2Sa 23:2). The Spirit was present among the returned exiles in Jerusalem (Hag. 2:5; Zech. 4:6); and will be poured out in the latter days on all flesh, imparting prophecy, dreams, and visions (Joel 2:28). The Spirit of God was grieved by the rebellion of God's people (Isa. 63:10). RUAH IN ECCLESIASTES - Eccl. 1:6; Eccl. 1:14; Eccl. 1:17; Eccl. 2:11; Eccl. 2:17; Eccl. 2:26; Eccl. 3:19; Eccl. 3:21; Eccl. 4:4; Eccl. 4:6; Eccl. 4:16; Eccl. 5:16; Eccl. 6:9; Eccl. 7:8; Eccl. 7:9; Eccl. 8:8; Eccl. 10:4; Eccl. 11:4; Eccl. 11:5; Eccl. 12:7 Ray Pritchard - Something New Under the Sun TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD Ecclesiastes 6:9-10 "Your arms are too short to box with God." Solomon reminds us that God is sovereign and no one can argue with Him. Or as James Weldon
Eclesiastes 6
William MacDonald - Man here represents the Hebrew word adam and means “red clay.” How can red clay dispute with the Creator? Michael Eaton - To “give something a name” is to study or (as here) to appoint its character. Both the world (what is) and man have settled characters. One Who is stronger than he is God. Thus the Preacher is underlining the impossibility of changing the basic character of life. Man cannot escape his limitations, nor can he completely unravel the world’s anomalies (cf. 1:15). He may, like Job, wish to debate the matter with God, but God is altogether greater (Borrow Ecclesiastes page 107). Donald Glenn - Solomon introduced his discussion on the limitations of human wisdom by reverting to two themes he had used earlier to demonstrate the futility of human toil, namely, the immutability (1:15; 3:14; cf. 1:9) and inscrutability (3:11, 22) of divine providence. Solomon said that the nature and essence of everything that exists, including people, was foreordained long ago....“calling by name” parallels “creating,” Isa. 40:26 (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary Wisdom - Page 272) For he cannot dispute with him (GOD) who is stronger than he is - NET = "It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is." What man is refers to man's nature as mortal, limited, and earthbound (from adamah, earth). Solomon says man cannot argue, resist, or change what God has ordained. his is an acknowledgement of God’s supreme authority and man’s humble position. He (man- Adam) cannot dispute means man cannot bring a case against (legal/judicial term) God. Man cannot argue or litigate against God’s sovereign will. Glenn adds "Solomon said it was useless for a person to argue (no man can contend) about what is foreordained because God who had done it is too powerful for man." (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary Wisdom - Page 272) ESV Study Bible - The Preacher thus confesses that God rules over all things, and he points out that it would be foolish for mankind to dispute with God’s sovereign ordering of the world; to do so would only produce more words and more vanity. In a culture obsessed with self-definition, autonomy, and control, Ecclesiastes 6:10 speaks a countercultural truth: You are not your own creator, and your destiny is not entirely yours to script. Your limitations are known. Your identity is established. Your final authority is God. This isn't meant to crush us—but to liberate us from illusions. When we embrace our smallness and rest in God’s wisdom, we stop fighting and start trusting. As Paul says in Romans 9:20: “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?” William Barrick - A Sovereign Lord (Eccl 6:10–12) In effect, Eccl 6:10–12 comprise Solomon’s reflection upon the Fall. (Borrow Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, page 317) The passive “been named” (Eccl 6:10) infers that God is the actual agent. Ancient Near Eastern peoples considered the giving of a name to something or to someone as appointing its, his, or her character. Naming displays authority (cp. Gen 2:19–20). The Creator established His authority over creation by naming the day, night, expanse, waters, land, seas, and man (Gen 1). He revealed His authority over the stars by naming them (cf. Isa 40:26). God named the first human being “man” (’adam), a word that comes from the word for earth (’adamah, Gen 2:7; 3:19; Eccl 3:20; 12:7). Thus, he has been properly named. He is earthly—made of earth and tied to the earth. That name puts all mankind in their proper place (cp. Eccl 5:1). (Ecclesiastes 6 Commentary) G Campbell Morgan —Ec 6.10 After the paragraph on religion in the previous chapter, the Debater went on to look out upon political matters, those of poverty resulting from the maladministration of justice, and of the uselessness and futility of wealth, and even of knowledge, in the midst of such conditions. In these words we have the expression of fatalism. A man finds himself in the midst of these things, and is himself the creature of a destiny from which he cannot escape. He has no freedom in life, and no certainty of what may lie hidden in the great beyond This is a hard and crushing view of God, and of the order of life; but it is logical. To this view men invariably come whose outlook is only that of the earth and of circumstances. It is only when man begins with a knowledge of God, coming by revelation rather than investigation, that he escapes from this crushing sense of a destiny which leaves him no room for action. It is impossible to read all this without realizing how great is the contrast between this outlook upon life, and that which inspired the poetry and prophesying of those men of the same nation who were familiar with the revelation of God as Jehovah; and yet how much greater is the contrast between it, and the outlook on life which is found in the New Testament as the result of the revelation of God in Christ! The value of these inspired confessions of one who lived under the sun is that they reveal this contrast. Warren