Ecclesiastes Chapter 6
Ecclesiastes 6
Wealth Can’t Satisfy
Ecclesiastes 6 continues the theme from Ecclesiastes 5 concerning wealth, labor, dissatisfaction, and the limits of earthly life. Solomon shows that wealth is weak because a man may possess riches, honor, children, long life, and outward success, yet still lack the power to enjoy what he has. The chapter presses the hard truth that abundance cannot satisfy the soul, long life cannot guarantee goodness, and human desire cannot overcome death. The uploaded notes emphasize the weakness of wealth, the tragedy of unsatisfied life, the limits of wisdom, and the futility of trying to contend with the God who is mightier than man.
Ecclesiastes 6:1
“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:”
Solomon begins by identifying an evil that is common among men. He is still speaking from the “under the sun” perspective, looking at life as it is experienced in this fallen world. This evil is not rare. It is common. It appears repeatedly across generations, cultures, classes, and circumstances.
The evil Solomon is about to describe is the tragedy of possessing outward blessings without inward satisfaction. This is a major theme in Ecclesiastes. A man may have what other men envy and still be miserable. He may possess what men chase and still be empty. He may appear blessed from the outside, yet inwardly live under affliction.
This is one of the most practical warnings in the book. Men often assume that dissatisfaction comes from not having enough. Solomon shows that dissatisfaction often remains even after a man receives what he wanted. The problem is deeper than circumstances. The problem is the soul.
Luke 12:15, KJV: “And he said unto them,Take heed,and beware of covetousness:for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
Christ’s words directly answer the error Solomon exposes. A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. If a man builds his hope on what he owns, he will eventually discover that ownership cannot satisfy the eternal hunger of the heart.
Ecclesiastes 6:2
“A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour,so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth,yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof,but a stranger eateth it:this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”
Solomon describes a man who has received riches, wealth, and honor. He lacks nothing of all he desires. From the outside, this man appears to have the ideal life. He has money, status, recognition, and access. He has what many spend their lives pursuing. Yet there is one thing he lacks, God does not give him the power to enjoy it.
This is a hard but necessary truth. Possession and enjoyment are not the same thing. A man may have wealth and no peace. He may have honor and no joy. He may have abundance and no contentment. He may have access to every pleasure and no ability to receive any of it with gratitude. Solomon says this is vanity and an evil disease.
The phrase “a stranger eateth it” shows the bitterness of the situation. The man has riches, but someone else consumes them. This may happen through political loss, family betrayal, theft, foreign invasion, legal corruption, illness, death, or some other providential reversal. The point is that wealth is not secure. A man may gather, but another may enjoy.
Deuteronomy 28:30, KJV: “Thou shalt betroth a wife,and another man shall lie with her:thou shalt build an house,and thou shalt not dwell therein:thou shalt plant a vineyard,and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.”
Deuteronomy 28:33, KJV: “The fruit of thy land,and all thy labours,shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up;and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:”
In Deuteronomy, this kind of loss appears as covenant judgment. A man may build, plant, gather, and labor, yet another consumes the fruit. Ecclesiastes observes the same kind of bitterness under the sun. It is possible to have much and enjoy little.
1 Timothy 6:17, KJV: “Charge them that are rich in this world,that they be not highminded,nor trust in uncertain riches,but in the living God,who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”
Paul gives the proper doctrine. Riches are uncertain, but God is living. The ability to enjoy God’s gifts rightly comes from God Himself. Therefore, wealth must not be trusted, worshiped, or treated as the foundation of life.
Ecclesiastes 6:3
“If a man beget an hundred children,and live many years,so that the days of his years be many,and his soul be not filled with good,and also that he have no burial;I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.”
Solomon now intensifies the argument. Suppose a man has a hundred children and lives many years. In Old Testament thought, many children and long life were considered great blessings. A large household meant strength, inheritance, legacy, help, honor, and continuation of the family line. Long life was also viewed as a sign of blessing.
Yet Solomon adds the decisive issue, “and his soul be not filled with good.” The man has children and years, but his soul is empty. He has quantity of life but not satisfaction in life. He has outward abundance but inward barrenness. Solomon even adds, “and also that he have no burial,” meaning he comes to a dishonored and unmourned end. Such a life, despite its outward appearance, is tragic.
Solomon says an untimely birth, a stillborn child, is better than he. This is one of the most severe statements in Ecclesiastes. He is not minimizing the tragedy of a stillbirth. He is showing the horror of a life that has outward blessing but no inward goodness, no satisfaction, no honor, and no eternal meaning.
Job 3:11, KJV: “Why died I not from the womb?why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?”
Job 3:16, KJV: “Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been;as infants which never saw light.”
Job spoke this way out of deep anguish. Solomon, though blessed with wealth and honor, recognizes the same despair when life is viewed without the full light of eternity. Ecclesiastes is stripping away every false confidence. Children, years, honor, and wealth are good gifts, but they cannot fill the soul apart from God.
Psalm 127:3, KJV: “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
Children are a blessing, but even the blessing of children cannot substitute for God. Long life is a gift, but long life without the fear of God becomes only extended vanity.
Ecclesiastes 6:4
“For he cometh in with vanity,and departeth in darkness,and his name shall be covered with darkness.”
Solomon continues describing the stillborn child. The child comes in vanity, departs in darkness, and the name is covered with darkness. The language is heavy and sorrowful. The child enters and leaves without experiencing the sun, without forming earthly identity, without laboring, suffering, striving, or witnessing the evil under the sun.
Solomon’s point is comparative. The stillborn child’s life is tragic, but it does not endure the long misery of an unsatisfied soul. The child does not spend decades chasing what cannot satisfy. The child does not experience the grief of wealth without enjoyment, life without goodness, and honor without rest.
This is not the full doctrine of life, death, and children. It is Solomon’s poetic and painful comparison from the under the sun perspective. Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture, and the broader biblical truth is that life is sacred because man is made in the image of God.
Genesis 1:27, KJV: “So God created man in his own image,in the image of God created he him;male and female created he them.”
Psalm 139:13, KJV: “For thou hast possessed my reins:thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.”
Psalm 139:14, KJV: “I will praise thee;for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:marvellous are thy works;and that my soul knoweth right well.”
Human life is sacred from the womb. Solomon’s statement is not a denial of that truth. It is a lament over the misery of a life lived long but empty.
Ecclesiastes 6:5
“Moreover he hath not seen the sun,nor known any thing:this hath more rest than the other.”
The stillborn child has not seen the sun or known anything, yet Solomon says this one has more rest than the man who lives long without satisfaction. Again, this is an under the sun comparison. The child has not experienced the toil, sorrow, injustice, oppression, dissatisfaction, and bitter disappointment that mark fallen life.
The word “rest” is important. The unsatisfied man has no rest. He may have riches, children, years, and honor, but his soul is restless. The child, though tragically never entering earthly experience, is spared the turmoil of vanity under the sun.
This verse points to one of the great themes of Scripture, man needs rest that earthly things cannot provide. Wealth cannot give it. Long life cannot give it. Children cannot give it. Honor cannot give it. Only God can give rest to the soul.
Matthew 11:28, KJV: “Come unto me,all ye that labour and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:29, KJV: “Take my yoke upon you,and learn of me;for I am meek and lowly in heart:and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Matthew 11:30, KJV: “For my yoke is easy,and my burden is light.”
Christ gives the rest that Solomon’s restless man lacks. The answer to vanity is not merely fewer troubles, more children, longer life, or greater wealth. The answer is coming to Christ.
Ecclesiastes 6:6
“Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told,yet hath he seen no good:do not all go to one place?”
Solomon imagines a man living two thousand years. Even if he had twice the lifespan men could only dream of, if he has not seen good, what has he gained? Length of life does not equal fullness of life. Time alone does not satisfy. A long life without God is simply extended emptiness.
The question, “do not all go to one place?” returns to death. Whether stillborn, short lived, long lived, poor, rich, wise, foolish, honored, or forgotten, all go to the grave. From the under the sun perspective, death levels all earthly distinctions. This is why Solomon keeps pressing the reader to see that earthly advantages cannot provide ultimate profit.
Psalm 90:10, KJV: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten;and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,yet is their strength labour and sorrow;for it is soon cut off,and we fly away.”
Psalm 90:12, KJV: “So teach us to number our days,that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
The issue is not merely how long a man lives, but whether he lives wisely before God. A short life lived in the fear of the Lord is better than a long life wasted in vanity.
Hebrews 9:27, KJV: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die,but after this the judgment:”
Death is not the final word. Judgment follows. Ecclesiastes shows the certainty of death. The rest of Scripture gives the fuller light of accountability before God.
Ecclesiastes 6:7
“All the labour of man is for his mouth,and yet the appetite is not filled.”
Solomon now turns from the weakness of wealth to the suffering of dissatisfaction. All the labor of man is for his mouth. Man works to eat. He labors to survive. He earns bread, provides food, sustains the body, and keeps life moving. Yet the appetite is not filled.
The body eats and becomes hungry again. The mouth is fed, but the soul remains unsatisfied. This is one of the great frustrations of life under the sun. Man’s labor keeps him alive, but it does not automatically give him meaning. Food sustains the body, but it cannot satisfy the eternal hunger of the heart.
Deuteronomy 8:3, KJV: “And he humbled thee,and suffered thee to hunger,and fed thee with manna,which thou knewest not,neither did thy fathers know;that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only,but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”
Matthew 4:4, KJV: “But he answered and said,It is written,Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Moses said it, and Christ repeated it. Man does not live by bread alone. Bread is necessary, but not sufficient. The soul requires the Word of God. A man may feed his mouth and starve his spirit.
Ecclesiastes 6:8
“For what hath the wise more than the fool?what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?”
Solomon now asks what advantage the wise man has over the fool, and what advantage the poor man has if he knows how to walk before the living. His point is not that wisdom has no value at all. Elsewhere Scripture clearly teaches that wisdom is better than folly. Solomon has already said wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. But here he is pressing the limits of wisdom under the sun.
The wise man and the fool both get hungry. Both age. Both suffer. Both die. Wisdom may help a man live better, avoid certain traps, and walk prudently before others, but wisdom alone cannot satisfy the soul or overcome death. The poor man may know how to conduct himself wisely among the living, but he still faces the same mortal limits.
Ecclesiastes 2:13, KJV: “Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly,as far as light excelleth darkness.”
Ecclesiastes 2:14, KJV: “The wise man's eyes are in his head;but the fool walketh in darkness:and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.”
Solomon is consistent. Wisdom is better than folly, but wisdom cannot save. The wise man still needs God. Intelligence, discipline, education, and prudence are useful, but they are not redemption.
1 Corinthians 1:20, KJV: “Where is the wise?where is the scribe?where is the disputer of this world?hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”
Worldly wisdom cannot answer man’s deepest need. The gospel does what human wisdom cannot do.
Ecclesiastes 6:9
“Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire:this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Solomon gives a proverb of contentment and realism. “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire.” It is better to receive what is actually before you than to live enslaved to restless craving. The sight of the eyes refers to what one has and can rightly enjoy. The wandering of desire refers to endless longing for what one does not have.
This verse does not condemn godly ambition, prayerful goals, or wise planning. It condemns restless dissatisfaction. The human heart can wander endlessly through imagined futures, desired possessions, better circumstances, and “if only” scenarios. This wandering can rob a man of gratitude for what God has actually given.
Proverbs 27:20, KJV: “Hell and destruction are never full;so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
Hebrews 13:5, KJV: “Let your conversation be without covetousness;and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said,I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.”
Contentment is grounded not in the size of one’s portion, but in the presence and promise of God. The man who knows the Lord can receive what is before his eyes without being ruled by wandering desire.
Ecclesiastes 6:10
“That which hath been is named already,and it is known that it is man:neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.”
Solomon now turns to the futility of man’s attempt to master reality. “That which hath been is named already.” Man is man. He is not God. He lives within limits he did not create. His condition is already known. He is mortal, dependent, weak, accountable, and unable to overturn the sovereign rule of God.
The phrase “neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he” is central. Man cannot successfully contend with God. He may argue, complain, resist, deny, or rage, but he cannot defeat the Almighty. The creature cannot overrule the Creator. Clay cannot command the Potter.
Isaiah 45:9, KJV: “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it,What makest thou?or thy work,He hath no hands?”
Romans 9:20, KJV: “Nay but,O man,who art thou that repliest against God?Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it,Why hast thou made me thus?”
This is not fatalism in the biblical sense. It is creaturely humility. Man is responsible before God, but he is not sovereign over God. Many men imagine they will one day confront God and correct Him. That is delusion. When man stands before God, every mouth will be stopped.
Romans 3:19, KJV: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith,it saith to them who are under the law:that every mouth may be stopped,and all the world may become guilty before God.”
The wise response is not to contend with God, but to fear Him, trust Him, and obey Him.
Ecclesiastes 6:11
“Seeing there be many things that increase vanity,what is man the better?”
Solomon says there are many things that increase vanity. Wealth can increase vanity. Honor can increase vanity. Long life can increase vanity. Children, possessions, knowledge, desire, and ambition can all increase vanity if they are detached from God. The more a man accumulates under the sun, the more he may become aware of emptiness if he lacks eternal meaning.
The question follows, “what is man the better?” If more things only increase dissatisfaction, what has truly improved? This is devastating to the assumption that more automatically means better. More money, more options, more fame, more pleasure, more information, and more possessions do not necessarily make a man better. Sometimes they merely give his vanity more room to operate.
Mark 8:36, KJV: “For what shall it profit a man,if he shall gain the whole world,and lose his own soul?”
Mark 8:37, KJV: “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Christ puts the question in final form. If a man gains the whole world but loses his soul, he is not better. He is ruined. Ecclesiastes keeps asking what profit man has under the sun. Christ answers by placing the soul above the world.
Ecclesiastes 6:12
“For who knoweth what is good for man in this life,all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”
Solomon ends the chapter with two hard questions. First, who knows what is good for man in this life? Men often think they know what would be best for them. They assume wealth is better than poverty, health better than sickness, fame better than obscurity, ease better than hardship, and long life better than short life. In a general sense, some of these things may be preferable. But Solomon knows the matter is not simple.
Many men have been destroyed by wealth. Some have been humbled and saved through affliction. Some have gained fame and lost their souls. Some have lived obscure lives of faithfulness that mattered greatly to God. Man does not have the wisdom to know all outcomes. He lives his vain life as a shadow, brief, passing, and insubstantial.
James 4:14, KJV: “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.For what is your life?It is even a vapour,that appeareth for a little time,and then vanisheth away.”
Second, Solomon asks, who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun? Man cannot see the future after his death by earthly observation. He cannot control what others will do with his possessions, reputation, family, work, or legacy. Under the sun, the future is hidden.
This is where the fuller revelation of Scripture is necessary. Solomon’s under the sun reasoning ends in uncertainty, but Christ brings life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:10, KJV: “But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ,who hath abolished death,and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”
The Old Testament often sees the afterlife with less clarity than the New Testament. Ecclesiastes honestly presents the uncertainty of life under the sun. The gospel reveals more fully what Solomon could not see clearly. Christ has abolished death, brought immortality to light, warned of judgment, promised resurrection, and secured eternal life for those who believe.
John 11:25, KJV: “Jesus said unto her,I am the resurrection,and the life:he that believeth in me,though he were dead,yet shall he live:”
John 11:26, KJV: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.Believest thou this?”
Ecclesiastes 6 ends in uncertainty under the sun. Christ answers with resurrection and life.
Theological Summary of Ecclesiastes 6
Ecclesiastes 6 teaches that wealth cannot satisfy. A man may receive riches, wealth, and honor from God and lack nothing outwardly, yet still not have the power to enjoy what he possesses. This is vanity and an evil affliction. Possession is not the same as satisfaction. Wealth is not the same as joy. Honor is not the same as peace.
Solomon also shows that outward signs of blessing cannot fill the soul. A man may have a hundred children and live many years, yet if his soul is not filled with good, his life remains tragic. Long life without satisfaction is not true blessing. Children, honor, and years are good gifts, but they cannot replace God.
The chapter also confronts the emptiness of labor when it is reduced merely to bodily survival. Man labors for his mouth, yet the appetite is not filled. Bread sustains the body, but it cannot satisfy the soul. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Solomon then exposes restless desire. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. A man should receive what God has placed before him rather than be ruled by endless craving. Discontentment turns life into vexation of spirit.
Finally, Solomon shows that man cannot contend with God. Man is man. God is God. The creature cannot defeat the Creator. Many things increase vanity, and man does not always know what is truly good for him in this brief life. He also cannot know or control what will happen after him under the sun.
The chapter ends in uncertainty when viewed only from below, but the fuller revelation of Scripture gives the answer. Jesus Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. He is the resurrection and the life. Wealth cannot satisfy, long life cannot save, desire cannot rest, and man cannot master the future. Therefore, man must fear God, receive His gifts with gratitude, submit to His sovereignty, and find eternal life in Christ.
Ecclesiastes 12:13, KJV: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:Fear God, and keep his commandments:for this is the whole duty of man.”
Ecclesiastes 12:14, KJV: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing,whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
