4:1. “So I
returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and
behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on
the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.”
Next he turned to consider
oppression, and found that the oppressed had no comforter, no one to deliver
them out of the hand of their oppressors who were powerful so that none could
stand against them.
4:2. “Wherefore
I praised the dead which are already dead, more than the living which are yet
alive.”
He praised, congratulated,
saluted those who had finished their lives on earth, for from the view point
of the infidel, their troubles were over. By leaving God out of the
reckoning, he refused to believe that man exists for ever, either in the bliss
of heaven, or the eternal torment of the lake of fire, his eternal state
depending on whether he had accepted or rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior.
From his erroneous
perspective the troubles of the dead were over, while the living still had to
contend with the vicissitudes of life, part of their misfortune being to
suffer at the hand of unscrupulous powerful oppressors.
4:3. “Yea,
better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the
evil work that is done under the sun.”
He considered those not yet
born as being better than either the dead or those still living, for such had
no awareness of all the evil that was done on the earth.
4:4. “Again, I
considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of
his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.”
“... right” is also
translated skilful, excellent. Solomon observed that such work, instead of
evoking the admiration of others, only provoked their jealousy, so that
success or achievement of excellence was as worthless as chasing the wind.
4:5. “The fool
foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.”
Clearly the eating of his
own flesh is not to be taken literally. It is the metaphoric announcement of
the truth that the man who sits with folded hands, i.e., who refuses to work,
brings himself to penury by consuming all that he has, instead of meeting his
living expenses out of income earned by toil. By refusing to work he ruins
himself.
4:6. “Better is
a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation
of spirit.”
The truth being expressed
here is that one is better being content with what is sufficient to meet his
daily needs, than to be robbing himself of tranquility of mind by attempting
to accumulate riches, such effort being likened to chasing the wind.
4:7. “Then I
returned, and saw vanity under the sun.”
“... vanity” here means vain
thing, to no purpose, as worthless as chasing the wind.
4:8. “There is
one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother:
yet there is no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with
riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good?
This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.”
What he saw was a man
without child or brother, i.e., without one with whom he might share his
wealth or to whom he might leave it, yet he toiled incessantly to lay up more
and more riches, never reaching the point where he would cease the pursuit of
wealth, and say, I have enough, realizing that since he had no family,
strangers would be the beneficiaries of all his toil. Such activity is also
as worthless as chasing the wind.
4:9. “Two are
better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.”
Two working together are
almost invariably more productive than one working alone.
4:10. “For if
they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when
he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”
A further advantage from
working together is that the one can help the other when difficulties arise,
as the old adage says, “Two heads are better than one” when it comes to
solving problems, or overcoming difficulties.
4:11. “Again, if
two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?”
Even in the matter of sleep
two will generate more heat than one, and thus both will sleep more
comfortably.
4:12. “And if
one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threeford cord is not
quickly broken.”
This is another way of
saying that there is safety in numbers. An assailant may successfully attack
one, but he will be very unlikely to be able to overcome two. The same truth
is declared in the fact that three cords twisted together are much more
difficult to break than a single strand.
The Liberty Bible
Commentary makes
the following observation relative to this verse, “The three threads may
symbolize the man, the friend, and the God who has brought them both together
and given birth in their spirits to the burden for companisonship.”
4:13. “Better is
a poor and wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be
admonished.”
“... admonished” here means
that he refuses to take advice or accept any counsel from others, in spite of
its being written that, “In the multitude of counsellers there is safety,”
Proverbs 11:14.
4:14. “For out
of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom
becometh poor.”
The first part of this verse
is generally taken to mean, not that the poor wise child may sometimes emerge
from a literal prison to become king, but that even though he may have been
born under the tyrannous dominion of an old and foolish king, he may, in spite
of that disadvantage, become king.
4:15. “I
considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that
shall stand up in his stead.”
Solomon had seen all the
people of a country side with, i.e., support such a young man who was destined
to replace the old and foolish king.
4:16. “There is
no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also
that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and
vexation of spirit.”
Even though great multitudes
may have eagerly followed such a young man, it is possible and unfortunate
that many of the next generation may have no cause to rejoice as a result of
his administration, because he may become a foolish or oppressive ruler, so
that his reign proves ultimately to have been as worthless as chasing the
wind.