Ecclesiastes 5:16

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...

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....

AND THIS ALSO [IS] A SORE EVIL, [THAT] IN ALL POINTS AS HE CAME, SO SHALL HE GO,.... This seems not to be an evil or vanity, distinct from the former; but the same repeated and confirmed, and expressed, if possible, in stronger terms, that a man is in all respects alike, when he goes out of the world, as when he came in. A man's birth is signified by "coming", that is, out of his mother's womb, and into the world; and which is a description of every man born into it, John 1:9; he is of the earth, earthly; comes forth like a flower, and springs up as grass; he comes not of himself, nor casually, but by means of his parents; and according to the determinate will of God, and to answer some end or other: and his death is signified by "going": a going the way of all flesh; a going out of the world; a going to the grave, the house of all living, a man's long home; it is like going from one hou...

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

PROFIT. advantage. LABOURED. toiled. WIND Hebrew. _ruach_....

_what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?_ The ever-recurring question (ch. Ecclesiastes 1:3; Ecclesiastes 2:22; Ecclesiastes 3:9) rises once again, "What profit?" In "labouring for the wind" we have a phrase almost identical with the "FEEDING ON WIND" or, as some render it, the "striving after the wind" which is the key-note of the whole book. As in Proverbs 11:29; Isaiah 26:18; Job 16:3 the "wind" is the emblem of emptiness and nothing

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

DISHEARTENING OUTLOOK ON LIFE 1-8. Disorders in the religious, in the political world. In the earlier part of this chapter the writer turns from secular to religious matters. H e points out the irreverence which belongs to worship offered without due thought....