Ecclesiastes Chapter Six, Possession Verses Power

Ecclesiastes 6:1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: [2] A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

Reaching back to the conclusion of chapter 5, we recall that the preacher differentiates between the man God gives both wealth and the ability to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 5:19, 20) with the present man who has wealth but not the power to utilize it. Rather, like the rich man who made a poor business venture in Ecclesiastes 5:13 and 14, this man amasses wealth so that another may eat of it.

Earlier in his letter the preacher did forewarn that the sinner is given the work of collecting on behalf of the man God finds good in His sight, Ecclesiastes 2:26. From his own frame of rationale, then, we may deduce that the man currently being examined may fall into the category of being a sinner and putting his trust in money rather than God. Of course one must be careful with this line of thinking. The general tenor of Job, until God interrupted, had to do with the wicked failing to prosper while the righteous excelled. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (his supposed comforters) were taught by a seducing spirit that visited Eliphaz in his sleep that if Job were truly righteous then he would not suffer loss. Since he suffered catastrophic loss, then it stood to reason (humanly speaking) that Job sinned exceedingly. Since the reader is made privy to the contest between God and Satan in chapters 1 and 2, the ensuing conversation plays out differently since we are in the know. The righteous sometimes suffer, while the wicked sometimes prosper.

Psalm 73 addresses this inconsistency in human experience, with the Psalmist envying the wicked, because they “get away with murder,” and feel no pangs of guilt. They go to the grave in peace and old age. The prophet Habakkuk likewise brought up the disparity between the power of wicked men and the righteous caught in their snare, Habakkuk 1:13-17. Of course, the prophet knew the Lord, therefore he knew better than to think that God is blind or oblivious to the evil men do, and waited to hear how his God will correct him, Habakkuk 2:1. The apostles in Jesus’ time held a similar belief. When they encountered a man blind from birth, they immediately wondered if his parents had sinned, or the man himself had to be born in such a state, John 9:2.

What we may take away from this could be something entirely general. God plants nations as well as people, and He raises up rulers to do His will, even when they are unaware of it, Exodus 9:16, Isaiah 44:28, 45:1, 4. God is the ultimate bestower of all things, even life and breath. He blesses humanity with fruitful seasons, Acts 14:17, Matthew 5:45. Sometimes Christians refer to such things as common blessings, or blessings that all people partake in, regardless of whether one is saved or not. Moreover, our Lord told us, “For He is kind to the unthankful and evil,” Luke 6:35. 

The fact that the preacher perceives this as an evil common among men implies its frequency. The idea of the foreigner suggests perhaps a debtor, or even a conqueror; a man who could not be persuaded to desist by wealth. Whatever the medium, the man fell from affluence into poverty, not having the power to eat of his great wealth, but a foreigner swoops in and devours it. Like Assyria did with northern Samaria, and Babylon did with southern Judah, their wealth was taken by foreign powers, while the people were taken into exile and slavery. 

One might wonder about the fate of the man who lost everything. In Israel he could sell himself into servitude to a fellow Jew. “If one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave,” Leviticus 25:39. Such men would be treated as employees, so to speak. If a Jew sold himself to a foreigner, then one of his near kin was allowed to redeem him from slavery, Leviticus 25:47-49. While such a fate was not the end of the man, the preacher did assert that it was an evil affliction. The NASB states that it is a, “severe affliction.” Rendering the verse with more flourish, the HCSB says it is a, “sickening tragedy.” Why? The preacher, speaking from the view of universal right and wrong, perceives that a man who has earned his wealth should keep and enjoy it, for that would be right; right in a fair sense. But this instance, like so many in this book, reveals the incongruity of human experience, and it galls the preacher.