Thus far Solomon had reflected on the futility of all human endeavor generally (1:3-11) and the futility of human achievement (1:12-15) and his own achievements in particular (2:1-17). Next he turned to an evaluation of labor, his own (2:18-20) as well as that of all other people (2:21-6:9).
In 2:18-26 the emphasis is on what happens to the fruits of labor that one accumulates over a lifetime of toil. These fruits include money and all it can buy, fame, and happiness.
2:18-21 Solomon viewed all his labor during his lifetime ("under the sun,"v. 18) with despair because there was no real permanence to its fruits. He would have no control over what he had accumulated or accomplished after he died (v. 19). The idea so common today that a good job is more desirable than a bad job because it yields benefits the worker can enjoy is a very short-sighted, selfish view. It seems to contradict Solomon's conclusion, but it does not. Solomon's perspective was much more altruistic. He was thinking about what long-range changes for good could come out of all his toil?
2:22-23 In view of what comes of it all, Solomon concluded that human labor costs more pain and restlessness than it is worth.
2:24-26 Since we cannot expect really significant changes to come out of our work, the best we can do is to enjoy its fruits and find some satisfaction in the work itself (cf. 3:12, 13, 22; 5:18, 19; 8:15; 9:7, 9). However this is possible only with God's help (vv. 24-25). Sometimes God channels the fruits of a wicked person's work into a righteous person's hands (v. 26).32
". . . in themselves, and rightly used, the basic things of life are sweet and good. Food, drink and work are samples of them, and Qoheleth will remind us of others [cf. 9:7-10; 11:7-10]. What spoils them is our hunger to get out of them more than they can give; a symptom of the longing which differentiates us from the beasts, but whose misdirection is the underlying theme of this book."33
In these verses Solomon implied that God's rewarding or punishing a person for his trust in God and his ethical behavior would take place before death. This is normally what happens (cf. Proverbs). Therefore Solomon's counsel is good advice. However from later revelation we learn that final judgment will take place after this life and that God's rewards are not just temporal but eternal (cf. Job's problem). Therefore as believers we can find greater satisfaction in our work itself than Solomon could. In short, later revelation has not invalidated Solomon's views but enriched them.
In this section Solomon expressed his conviction that in view of God's incomprehensible workings all human toil is without permanent profit.
3:1-8 As is customary in Ecclesiastes the writer began this section by stating a thesis (v. 1). He then proceeded to illustrate and to prove it true (vv. 2-8). "Event"(v. 1) means human activity that one engages in by deliberate choice. Each of these events has its proper time and duration.
Verses 2-8 are a poem in which the preacher listed 14 opposites.
"The fact that Solomon utilized polar opposites in a multiple of seven and began his list with birth and death is highly significant. The number seven suggests the idea of completeness and the use of polar opposites--a well-known poetic device called merism--suggests totality (cf. Ps. 139:2-3)."34
The casting of stones (v. 5) probably refers to the ancient custom of destroying a farmer's field by throwing stones on it. The gathering of stones describes the clearing of stones from a field.35The fact that there are proper times for expressing love and other times for refraining from love reminds us that there are standards for sex, though this is not the only application.
"Verses 1-8 have an important connection with the theme of the book and relate closely to what precedes and to what follows. Man is to take his life day by day from the hand of God (2:24-26; 3:12-13), realizing that God has a fitting time for each thing to be done (v. 1). The significance of this section is that man is responsible to discern the right times for the right actions; and when he does the right action according to God's time, the result is beautiful' (v. 11)."36
3:9 Another rhetorical question expects another negative response (cf. 1:3; 2:11). There is no net gain in one's toil given Solomon's perspective.
". . . one thing that elevates us above the animal world, in addition to the God-given sense of eternity [v. 11], is the desire to understand the whole. This accounts for all science, philosophy, and human knowledge, as well as theology."37
3:10-11 God's plan is unfathomable. Nevertheless, God has an appropriate time for every activity (v. 11). The meaning is not, "beautiful in its own way,"as the song goes. God has also placed within the heart of every person a sense of eternity and a desire to know the eternal significance of what we do (v. 11, "set eternity in their heart").
"This quest is a deep-seated desire, a compulsive drive, because man is made in the image of God to appreciate the beauty of creation (on an aesthetic level); to know the character, composition, and meaning of the world (on an academic and philosophical level); and to discern its purpose and destiny (on a theological level). . . . Man has an inborn inquisitiveness and capacity to learn how everything in his experience can be integrated to make a whole."38
"Eternity' to Old Testament people was not timelessness or absenceof time. They knew no such realm. It was, rather, extensionof time--as far back and as far forward as one could imagine--'time in its wholeness' (JB), sense of time past and future' (NEB)."39
We cannot grasp fully all of God's plans. Consequently because we cannot see the full consequences of our works beyond the grave our labor lacks ultimate gratification.
Verse 11 "summarizes the teacher's whole argument, and in context (3:10-15) it serves equally well as a summary for the entire wisdom corpus."40
3:12-13 Solomon repeated his former counsel in view of this limited perspective (cf. 2:24). "Do good"(v. 12) should read "enjoy themselves."We could translate verse 13, "If any man eats and drinks and finds satisfaction in all his toil, it is a gift of God."41
3:14-15 Solomon described God's plans and our proper response in view of our inability to comprehend them fully. We should fear God.
3:16-4:3 A phenomenon that makes it most difficult for us to understand God's ways and respond to them properly is the problem of injustice in this life. Solomon believed God would eventually balance the scales of justice (v. 17) and that He uses injustice for His own purposes (v. 18). Probably Solomon believed judgment would take place on earth (Prov. 22:22-23), though he did not teach this explicitly. God uses injustice to remind us of our finite bestiality, among other things. We behave as beasts and die like them (vv. 18-20). "The same place"(v. 20) is the grave, not that man's future is identical to an animal's. No one can observe any differences between the future of man and animals, but God has revealed these differences. In view of these things Solomon repeated his counsel (v. 22).
God has, of course, enabled us to see what will occur after we die by giving us additional revelation after Solomon's time. The alternative response to the one Solomon advocated is despair, which reflecting on unjust oppression causes (4:1-3).
This section emphasizes the folly of trying to find ultimate satisfaction in one's work. Solomon focused on a variety of situations that involve the fruits of labor: money and what it can buy, fame, and pleasure.
