Ecclesiastes 6:7

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. ALL THE LABOUR OF MAN (IS) FOR HIS MOUTH - rather, 'of the man,' namely, the miser (Ecclesiastes 6:3). For not all men labour for the mouth, i:e., for selfish gratification. So the Hebrew, haa'aadaam (H120). THE APPETITE - Hebrew, the soul. The insatiability of the desire prevents that which is the only end proposed in toils, namely, self- gratification. The "man" thus gets no "good" out of his wealth (Ecclesiastes 6:3). The marvel is that we should 'so much harass ourselves for so small a thing, and one so easily procured. Since all that one gains by ceaseless toil has...

7-12 A little will serve to sustain us comfortably, and a great deal can do no more. The desires of the soul find nothing in the wealth of the world to give satisfaction. The poor man has comfort as well as the richest, and is under no real disadvantage. We cannot say, Better is the sight of the eyes than the resting of the soul in God; for it is better to live by faith in things to come, than to live by sense, which dwells only upon present things. Our lot is appointed. We have what pleases God, and let that please us. The greatest possessions and honours cannot set us above the common events of human life. Seeing that the things men pursue on earth increase vanities, what is man the better for his worldly devices? Our life upon earth is to be reckoned by days. It is fleeting and uncertain, and with little in it to be fond of, or to be depended on. Let us return to God, trust in his me...

Verse Ecclesiastes 6:7. _ALL THE LABOUR OF MAN_] This is the grand primary object of all human labour; merely to provide for the support of life by procuring things _necessary_. And life only exists for the sake of the soul; because man puts these things in place of _spiritual_ _good_, the _appetite_ - the intense desire after the _supreme good_ - is not _satisfied_. When man learns to provide as distinctly for his _soul_ as he does for his _body_, then he will begin to be happy, and may soon attain his end....

Connect these verses with Ecclesiastes 6:2 : “All labor is undertaken with a view to some profit, but as a rule the people who labor are never satisfied. What advantage then has he who labors if (being rich) he is wise, or if being poor he knows how to conduct himself properly; what advantage have such laborers above a fool? (None, so far as they are without contentment, for) a thing present before the eyes is preferable to a future which exists only in the desire.” Ecclesiastes 6:8 WHAT - literally, what profit (as in Ecclesiastes 1:3). KNOWETH ... LIVING - i. e., “Knows how to conduct

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 6:1 Section 9. Koheleth proceeds to illustrate the fact which he stated at the end of the last chapter, viz. that the possession and enjoyment of wealth are alike the free gift of God. We may see men possessed of all the gifts of fortune, yet denied the faculty of enjoying them. Hence we again conclude that _wealth cannot secure happiness_. ECCLESIASTES 6:1 THERE IS AN EVIL WHICH I HAVE SEEN UNDER THE SUN. The writer presents his personal experience, that which has fallen under his own observation (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:13;...

ALL THE LABOUR OF MAN [IS] FOR HIS MOUTH,.... For the food of his mouth, as the Targum; for the sustenance of his body, for food and clothing, part being put for the whole: all that a man labours for is to get this; and if he does not enjoy it, his labour is in vain; meats are for the belly, which are taken in by the mouth, and for these a man labours; and if he does not eat them, when he has got them, he labours to no purpose; AND YET THE APPETITE IS NOT FILLED; even the bodily or sensual appetite; no, not even by those who eat the fruit of their labour; for though their hunger is allayed for the present, and the appetite is satisfied for a while, yet it returns again, and requires more food, and so continually: or, "the soul is not filled", or "satisfied" c; it is the body only that is filled or satisfied with such things, at best; the mind of man grasps after greater things, and can...

CHAPTER 6 DISHEARTENING CONTRADICTIONS _ 1. Riches--Inability to enjoy them (Ecclesiastes 6:1)_ 2. Having All--Yet no fill of the soul (Ecclesiastes 6:3) 3. The sad ending wail (Ecclesiastes 6:10) Ecclesiastes 6:1. The first evil the wise searcher sees as a discouraging contradiction is, that God giveth a man riches, wealth, and honor so that he does not lack in anything whatever. But God does not give him the power to enjoy it, a stranger instead eats thereof. This makes impossible what he stated in the closing verses of the preceding chapter. The cherished desires of man

ECCLESIASTES 6. FURTHER REFLECTIONS ON WEALTH AND FATE. Parallel with the bitter experience of the avaricious man who loses his wealth is that of the rich and successful man whose cherished desires are unfulfilled. Having no keen satisfaction himself he yet hopes to see his son enjoy his acquisitions, but he is childless, or if he has the blessings of a large family (a hundred is just a round number) and a long life both highly prized by the Jews the children may disappoint him by their conduct and so fill his soul with sorrow instead of satisfying it with good, and he may even yet undergo the supreme dishonour of lacking interment. _Cf._ Jezebel (2 Kings 9:35) and Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:19), and many other references both in biblical and classical literature, especially the Greek legend of Antigone

LABOUR. toil. THE APPETITE. the soul. Hebrew. _nephesh._...

_All the labour of man is for his mouth i.e._for self-preservation and enjoyment. That is assumed to be the universal aim, and yet even that is not satisfied. The "appetite," literally _soul_(not the higher, but the sensuous, element in man's nature), still craves for more. Desire is progressive, and insatiable....