Ecclesiastes Chapter Four, Laboring For Nought

Ecclesiastes 4:7 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 (lit. evil task).

As verse 6 began to touch upon the theme of the workaholic, the preacher focuses on this idea. He states that he returned and witnessed vanity or futility under the sun. Rather than an academic observation, we must assume that the preacher is bearing witness to a man whose lifestyle is summarized in this passage. Perhaps the preacher knows him well, or just in passing; but he knows of him well enough to define his life and pursuit.

First of all, the man has no living familial relations; at least none that qualify as being close to him, in terms of affection or geography. He has no companion, literally “a second.” This precludes the idea of a wife or partner. This is further established when it states that he has no son; something deeply valued in Hebrew society so the son may bear the name of the father and continue the bloodline in perpetuity. Further, it states that he has no brother, either. The man perhaps was an only child and did not grow up in a bustling household where the practical value of a close, full family was experienced from his early days.

Despite that lack of family or companions, he works so much that the preacher relates that his labors have “no end.” This poor man falls into the trap of desiring wealth for wealth’s sake. It is written, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition,” 1 Timothy 6:9. It is the Apostle John’s warning of the lust of the eyes, and the preacher’s own warning about man never being satisfied with all he sees. There is no qualifier for what he amasses, so instead his amassing is now quantified. Rather than working toward a specific end, i.e., caring for his family or raising money for a cause, he earns money to earn more money. He seeks that elusive “more.” This is reinforced when the preacher affirms that his eye is unsatisfied with riches. So, he is rich, the preacher says, but even his wealth does not satisfy. It’s like a man that began to do something long term, and has since been doing it so long that he no longer recalls that motivation that started him on that path. He now just does it by rote.

Despite the mindless accumulation and repetitive angst, he never pauses to consider what he is doing. All of us are guilty of this at some point. We want a certain something that our lust has set us upon, and we work toward it, no matter what. But we must pause to consider, is what we’re doing actually good? Good in a specific, objective sense, not a nebulous one. The preacher sees the end result; that this man will perish and his wealth will go to another. He won’t even have children or friends to bestow it to. This man is living the life of a certain rich man, from Luke 12:16-21. When the rich man sought to increase his own vast wealth even further for the mere pleasure of hoarding it to take his ease, God rebuked him, saying, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” Luke 12:20.

The preacher states that this man’s failure is refusing to ask himself who he is doing this for. And a corollary to that question is, why deprive oneself of good in order to amass something temporal that is briefly enjoyed, even as it causes grief through the sheer effort to amass and retain it? Neither can we retain it, since death will sunder us from all earthly ambitions and ties, and that wealth defaults to some other cause or group that will use it in ways entirely contrary to its initial intention. The wise man who took his handful with peace found good and the purpose for material gain. It is meant to provide comfort and answer to human necessity. The workaholic toils to the point of deprivation, in terms of truly experiencing good from what he gains; he has traded familial affection and marital love for acquisition. Hoarding and material success is a substitute for purpose, in a life bereft of it. Man tries to fill the spiritual vacuum with things, and it is no wonder that it fails. The preacher can only say with finality that such an endeavor is vanity, and a grave misfortune. The KJV translates the phrase, “sore travail.” The Tanakh renders it, “an unhappy business.” In every instance the notion is that both the journey and end result are undesirable upon reflection.