Ecclesiastes 5:15

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. NOTHING OF (NOT WITHSTANDING) HIS LABOUR ... THIS ALSO (IS) A SORE EVIL ... - as in the uncertainty of wealth was dwelt on, and its vicissitudes; so here the certainty of its being lost at death is put forward as "a sore evil." Even supposing that he loses not his wealth before death, then at least he must go striped of it all (). LABOURED FOR ... WIND? - (; .)...

9-17 The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less will worldly abundance satisfy spiritual desires. The more men have, the better house they must keep, the more servants they must employ, the more guests they must entertain, and the more they will have hanging on them. The sleep of the labourer is sweet, not only because he is tired, but because he has little care to break his sleep. The sleep of the diligent Christian, and his long sleep, are sweet; having spent himself and his time in the service of God, he can cheerfully repose in God as his Rest. But those who have every thing else, often fail to secure a good night's sleep; their abundance...

Verse 15. _AS HE CAME FORTH_] However it may be, he himself shall carry nothing with him into the eternal world. If he die worth millions, those millions are dead to him for ever; so he has had no real profit from all his labours, cares, anxieties, and vast property!...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 5:1 Section 6. Man's outward and secular life being unable to secure happiness and satisfaction, can these be found in _popular religion?_ Religious exercises need the observation of strict rules, which are far from meeting with general attention. Koheleth proceeds to give instruction, in the form of maxims, concerning public worship, prayer, and vows. ECCLESIASTES 5:1 This verse, in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, forms the conclusion of Ecclesiastes 4:1; and is taken independently; but the division in our version is more natural, and the connection of this with the following verses is obvious....

AS HE CAME FORTH OF HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, NAKED SHALL HE RETURN TO GO AS HE CAME,.... This may be understood either of the covetous rich man, or of his son; and that supposing what is before said should not be the case of either of them, but they should possess their substance as long as they live; yet, when they come to die, they will be stripped of them all; of their gold and silver, their plate and jewels, and rich household furniture; of their cattle and possessions, farms and estates, which are no longer theirs; and even of their very clothes, and be as naked as they were when they came into the world; and which is indeed the case of every man, Job 1:21; and is used as an argument, and a very forcible one, against covetousness; AND SHALL TAKE NOTHING OF HIS LABOUR, WHICH HE MAY CARRY AWAY IN HIS HAND; nothing of his substance, which he has got by his labour, and hoarded up with

3. EXHORTATIONS ON DIFFERENT VANITIES CHAPTER 5 _ 1. Concerning worship and vows (Ecclesiastes 5:1)_ 2. Concerning extortions (Ecclesiastes 5:8) 3. The vanities of wealth (Ecclesiastes 5:10) 4. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 5:18) Ecclesiastes 5:1. The writer, King Solomon, seems to have been exhausted in his descriptions as to the things under the sun. He pauseth and turns to something different. He meditates on worship, that man aims to get in touch with the unsee

CONCERNING DESPOTISM AND WEALTH. Ecclesiastes 5:8 f. The oppression and injustice that one sees (_in_ an Oriental satrapy) are not to be wondered at when we remember the graded hierarchy of officials who are all eager simply to enrich themselves. There is no reference to God; read, One high official is watching over another, and there are higher ones (perhaps the king) over them. Yet on the whole a king, especially if he take an interest in agriculture, is an advantage to a country. So we may interpret the extremely difficult Ecclesiastes 5:9 (_cf. mg.)._ Ecclesiastes 5:10 ff. The avaricious man is always poor; though his wealth increases he lacks satisfaction, enlarged inc

AS. According as. Compare Job 1:21.Psalms 49:17; Psalms 49:1....

_As he came forth of his mother's womb_ The words so closely resemble those of Job 1:21 that it is natural to infer that the writer had that history in his mind as an example of a sudden reverse of fortune. In both, earth, as the mother of all living, is thought of as the womb out of which each man comes (Psalms 139:15) and to which he must return at last, carrying none of his earthly possessions with him. Comp. a striking parallel in Sir 40:1....

b. They may be harmful. Ecclesiastes 5:13-17 TEXT 5:13-17 13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to their hurt. 14 When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. 15 As he had come naked from his mother's womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 And this also is a grievous evilexactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So, what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind? 17 Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger. THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:13-17 135. Identify the two activities of life Solomon considers as a grievous evil. 136. How were the