Ecclesiastes Chapter Five, Possessing Joy

Ecclesiastes 5:18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. [19] As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor–this is the gift of God. [20] For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Twice we have seen iterations of this concept in Ecclesiastes. It first appeared in 2:24, and again in 3:13. Moreover, it is of note to add that when we first encounter this notion the NASB renders verse 2:24 as, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.” In a footnote we find that the Hebrew actually says, “cause his soul to see good in his labor.” So to paraphrase, the verse would read, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and cause his soul to see good in his labor.” 

There is the old saying that a man sees what he wants to see. We are all biased, and see what we want to see when presented with given scenarios. For instance, the cultist such as Charles Taze Russell looks in the Bible and sees botched translations that force a heretical Trinity doctrine where there is none. Neither is there Hell, and the cross was not Christ paying the ransom for mankind’s sins, though the Bible clearly refutes his erroneous and dangerous heresies. The Atheist looks into the natural world and sees Darwinian Evolution at work, though the mechanisms for its processes are so nebulous and untested, unproven, unverifiable, etc., that it is evident a certain modicum of religious faith is necessary to bolster its tenets. Likewise is the Theist or believer (myself included) biased in our sundry assertions about God, purpose, and creation. What does one make of all of this? Well, one must divorce himself from his biases as best as he is able and endeavour to go where evidence leads, no matter its outcome. I had many reservations about my faith when I returned to Christ in my latter twenties. I read copiously, consulted earnestly, and thought and prayed often. I doubted my prayers and was critical of evidence. At length I was soundly convinced that the living God, expressed most wonderfully in the person of Jesus Christ, best suited the explanation for existence.

And what of our current man, who sees good in his labor where there is none? For one, the preacher is looking deeper than many dare to look. He looks beneath the rug one just cleaned to the filthy, blackened underside. We see a job well done; he sees a task that will never be done, and the doing of it repeatedly declares its futility. Work for work’s sake is not a solution or explanation; it is a fall back when we don’t have answers to offer. It is not unlike the religious person that goes to his family church and is called by his religion’s name because his parents did, and his grandparents did, etc. There is no critical thinking involved that gets between what is said and unsaid, what is explained or left vague, to consider the validity or relevance of what they are doing. Doing something because of tradition, or doing something because it has always been done is what is given in the absence of a qualified answer. But for life under the sun, and for people who blot out God from having any active role in the human experience, this is the only answer left. Some turn to Evolution as though it provides a solution to existence and daily life, but it’s very mention negates purpose, because everything that defines the process of Darwin’s monster is purposeless and accidental. One may invoke some mystical universal spiritual answer, hiding behind feelings and experiences. But feelings and experiences don’t define reality; they are part of daily life, but cannot explain daily life. They are part of the equation, not the solution, therefore they are disqualified from possessing any legitimacy.

The preacher suggests that every man actually having power to eat and drink and use one’s wealth for something substantive provides what is good and fitting. The Hebrew word for “fitting” in verse 18 is literally, “beautiful.” The preacher finds the man that can enjoy his daily life, working for his wages, spending them prudently, and eating and drinking as a satisfied man, enjoying the work he does is something beautiful. He further expresses that he has seen such a man, and when man finds himself in this enviable situation it is the gift of God. God provides the power, or ability, for a person to not only engage life, but find genuine contentment doing so. As the preacher words it, this person not only receives his heritage (unlike the son of the rich man from verse 14) but rejoices in what he does. Further, such a man does not dwell unduly on his finite life. There is a subtle word added that should be stressed here, and that of course is “unduly.” Referencing the NASB once more, it renders the verse, “For he will not often consider (lit. remember) the years of his life.” It is not about reflection on where we have been and where we are going; rather it is whether or not we obsess over the fact. This man’s blessing seems to derive from the fact that he is immersed in his work, and both its outcome and reward. He does not reflect unduly. We are not to never consider the finiteness of our life. In fact, Moses wrote, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom,” Psalm 90:12. Earlier, Moses mentions the lifespan of man, and how the boast of our life is filled with labor and sorrow and then we perish, Psalm 90:10. Yet the man the preacher is examining is busy with the joy of his heart, the very thing we are told God gives to him. To work, eat, earn, and spend, and have genuine pleasure in doing so come from a mindset God gifts to us. We know that the gifts of wisdom, knowledge and joy are bestowed upon the man who is good in God’s sight, Ecclesiastes 2:26. While the preacher himself seems to be the subject in chapter 2, it appears possible that this other fellow, like the preacher, was good in God’s sight. The word “good” is the Hebrew “towb,” and in this instance means, “an evaluation of one’s well being or the well being of a situation or thing.” This seems to be God’s valuation of the man, therefore God grants him joy. But how does one reach this vaunted state? We must read on.