Oppressive Emptiness, Envy, and Dissatisfaction

Ecclesiastes 4:1-8

1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun:

And look! The tears of the oppressed,
But they have no comforter—
On the side of their oppressors there is power,
But they have no comforter.

2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead,
More than the living who are still alive.

3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed,
Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.

5 The fool folds his hands
And consumes his own flesh.

6 Better a handful with quietness
Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.

7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

8 There is one alone, without companion:
He has neither son nor brother.
Yet there is no end to all his labors,
Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.

But he never asks,
"For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?"
This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

The preacher goes on to point out the vanity of life by asking himself (and us) about the emptiness, envy, and dissatisfaction with life among us.  It is oppressive and leaves many without any comfort because the ones oppressing them have all the power and they feel there is no recourse to relieve their suffering.  It is the reverse of the golden rule where the ones with the gold rule instead of meeting the needs of the less fortunate and needy.  Therefore the king wrote how he thought that those who die have it better than the living.  We know now of course that a godless eternity is no compensation for suffering in life, for that is only more suffering.  This is the reason the gospel is truly good news for the meek and suffering (1 Peter 4:19), for we shall find unending comfort in Christ after death, as well as in life no matter the circumstances.  These who have trusted God’s work find praise more than the dead who are not in Christ, no matter the amount or severity of life’s suffering circumstances.  Even though we see all the evil work done in this world, all the atrocities and unfair oppression in wars and vile governments, still we hold to life’s existence in our Redeemer who saves us to from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).  We also find that if we do well in our work given to do by God that there will be those who envy us.  Many of these likely do not do well and are looking for a reason to hate or subjugate those who do work well and conscientiously to eat.  It seems pointless for them to envy instead of simply doing their own best in life to develop skills and apply them, much like learning from God’s word to skillfully apply knowledge and understanding as godly wisdom.  The foolish instead wring their hands in worried frustration and the hatred and envy eats them from the inside as they refuse to learn wisdom and apply it in their own situations.  It is far better to begin with quiet contentment in godliness (1 Timothy 6:6) in place of grasping everything to hold onto and finding only wind blowing through clutching fists and white knuckles vainly clinging to what does not last from now past death.  The final vanity that Solomon the wise wrote of is the person who is truly alone in life because of these circumstances, the one who has no parent or child, who works endlessly to accumulate wealth but is poor in his dissatisfaction in life and labor.  If only such a miser would ask himself why he holds back good for himself instead!  Yes, this isolation is a grace misfortune instead of an eternal fortune invested in God and others.  May we who are in Christ not make this mistake of bad investment of our lives and rather put our riches in the kingdom for what endures forever, God’s glory and the deliverance of sinful fallen people who need meaning and purpose in their salvation from God’s justice of wrath and their vain living through the telling of the good news.  Only through and in our Redeemer can we walk through oppressive emptiness, envy, and dissatisfaction.