Ecclesiastes Chapter Six, Lacking Goodness

Ecclesiastes 6:3 If a man begets a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better than he–[4] for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness. [5] Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, [6] even if he lives a thousand years twice–but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place?

The preacher has already made an argument concerning the difference between having something and enjoying it. Or possessing verses having power to utilize it. This disparity between wealth’s accumulation and prosperity despite having it is something that is a thorn in the preacher’s side, seeing as how he revisits it numerous times.

In chapter 2 the preacher states his case about his own massive wealth and accomplishments. At first he seemed to find genuine enjoyment in and of itself, Ecclesiastes 2:10. Then he cursed his works as vanity, declaring that all he had done was unprofitable. Profit, or the lack thereof, is a recurring theme in Ecclesiastes, and for obvious reasons. The preacher is a watcher and observer of humanity, collectively and individually. He is dissecting human intent and purpose, searching for legitimate profit in what man does during his time on earth. The preacher makes it clear that his perspective is that something should be done for profit; that is, something should be done that genuinely benefits the doer. Human works, which are fleeting no matter how well intentioned, do not appear to fit the bill.

In Ecclesiastes 2:17 he bemoans the work done under the sun, calling it distressing. A verse later he proclaims that he hates his labor because it will not endure. At least for him it will not, because death will take him and his works will mutate in the hands of another man with a different mindset and different intentions. He opines more in Ecclesiastes 2:21, how a man may work  with wisdom, knowledge and skill, yet leave his heritage (his legacy) to another man that did not earn it. In verse 24 he states that men should enjoy good in their labor, and that finding and entering into this state of goodness is from God. It is a common blessing, it would seem, given to men who take pleasure not in the wealth they accumulate from working, but devoting one’s power and skill to the job and to striving for excellence in it. He reiterates this in Ecclesiastes 3:13 and 22. See also Ecclesiastes 4:4.

The trend continues until we find the hypothetical man that is not satisfied with a hundred children and a thousand years lived twice. He is not satisfied with goodness. The Tanakh renders the passage, “if his gullet is not satisfied through his wealth.” Again we find the man whose wealth, which is his god, turns against him. It poisons him so that he, while being rich and enjoying the luxuries wealth accords, never experiences genuine good. James writes, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you,” James 5:1, 3. The preacher commends the man with a handful and quietness, Ecclesiastes 4:6. He commends the laboring man whose sleep is sweet, regardless of monetary increase, Ecclesiastes 5:12. The man who has only a handful has an open hand to freely use; the working man’s sleep is a blessing that refreshes his body and mind, making him capable of facing a new day’s challenges with vigor.

Wealth’s snare seems to have once more deprived this man of satisfactory goodness, or enduring goodness that transcends wealth. Furthermore, the preacher adds that he has no burial. The LXX supports this rendering, as does the NASB. A lack of a proper burial could suggest that this man was wicked. This type of death was witnessed in Joshua’s time when Israel struck Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem and his coalition of kings, casting their bodies into a cave after hanging them upon trees, Joshua 10:26, 27. Jezebel, the pagan queen of Samaria, suffered the fate of not having a burial by divine judgment, 2 Kings 9:35. A proper burial is a sign of honor, and those that do not receive it may well have lived a profligate lifestyle, whose actions while alive are reflected in the manner of their interment. For instance, Ahaz, because of his rampant idolatry, was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the tombs of the kings, 2 Chronicles 28:27.

Such a man, by the preacher’s estimate, is worse than a stillborn child. He goes on to list the “benefits” a stillborn has over such a man, shedding more light on the nature of the man this is being contrasted with. He writes that a stillborn arrives in vanity, or futility and departs in darkness, with its name being covered in darkness. Had the expecting parents chosen a name for their child prior to birth, it is buried with them; their eyes never open to see the light of day or the faces of those who conceived them. Despite all of this, the preacher attests that the stillborn child has more rest than that man. 

Why? It circles back around to the simple and profound fact that he has not seen goodness. First he was not satisfied by goodness, seeming to imply that he could have been but chose not to be. Then he goes a step further that he has not so much as seen goodness, which may explain why he did not receive an honorable or proper burial. If this is the same man from verses 1 and 2, then we know he was wealthy and heaped with the honors wealth accords. His lack was absent, he could pursue and attain all he desired. But then a foreigner took from him all that he possessed. Perhaps he is looked upon as a consummate fool and disowned by family, dying a pauper like poor Lazarus who sat at the rich man’s gate, Luke 16:20. This is of course speculation as we consider the details given and the preacher’s observations about wealth and how it deprives men of genuine good. Clearly having 100 heirs and living 2,000 years is a hyperbole to stress the point that long life and many children don’t necessarily produce good in one’s life. Many who beget children neglect and mistreat them, or look at them as burdens or material assets. Some abandon them or give them up for adoption. Others murder their own children and sanitize the act, calling it abortion. Goodness, as the preacher defines it (even as he searches for it) is not through generations of accumulation. Where does one find goodness? Where is satisfaction, relevance, and purpose? To learn this, we must press on.

The preacher concludes that both the man whose legacy is in ruins, and the stillborn, who does not have a legacy to pass on, go to one place. Since the preacher is considering life under the sun, we know that this is not Heaven or Hell he refers to. It is of course the grave, the final destination of humanity regardless of how long or well one has lived, Ecclesiastes 3:20. Better to have never experienced life at all, says the preacher, than having experienced it, never learning its purpose or deriving any good from it. Length of life only adds cruel insult to the futility of one’s efforts, and the grave, where effort and futility end, welcomes both the long lived and the stillborn.