Isaiah 20

Isaiah 20:1

Wisdom Excels Folly, but Is Also Vanity

The Preacher then turns his attention again “to consider wisdom” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18), but now to compare it with “madness and folly”, the counterparts of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The reason for this comparison is the question that came to him as to what kind of man his successor would be. He has worked his way out to answer the question about the meaning of life. For this he created ‘great things’ for himself (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He can point to all these achievements. From this his successor can learn that the meaning of life is not in beautiful buildings and great wealth. When he takes this lesson to heart he shows that he has wisdom.

The big question, however, is how his successor will proceed. He will be confronted with the same question about the meaning of life. Will he then examine everything again and proceed in the same way as he, the Preacher, did? That will not be true, will it? Perhaps his successor will not find the question interesting at all, with which he was so busy. It may even be so bad that ‘the man after him’ in madness and folly destroys everything the Preacher has built.

The question of what his successor will do with what he has done, does not make him uncertain about the value of wisdom in relation to folly. His successor may be a fool who wants to re-invent the wheel because he does not want to learn anything from the Preacher’s wisdom, but it does not change the wisdom he himself has gained.

Wisdom always excels folly. That wisdom has excellence over foolishness is a fact that every wise man will notice and confirm. In the same way, light excels darkness. Wisdom is preferable to folly because wisdom gives a certain amount of light in life on earth, while folly hides a person in darkness, so that he does not know where he is or where he is going.

Some benefits of wisdom are mentioned later in this book, such as: wisdom gives success (Ecclesiastes 10:10), protects (Ecclesiastes 7:12), gives power (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and illumination (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). One is really a fool if he ignores that, or even despises it, and prefers to walk in darkness.

Wisdom has light (Ecclesiastes 2:13) and sight (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Every person has eyes in his head, but the wise man uses them. Because of this the wise man knows where he is walking and he sees where he is going. The fool “walks in darkness”, he is darkness and loves darkness (Ephesians 5:8; John 3:19). This distinction is useful for life on earth.

Yet this distinction has only a limited meaning. The advantage of the wise man is in the end not great, for he suffers the same fate as the fool. For example, the wise man may as well become ill, have an accident or suffer a loss as the fool. The “fate” is neutral, it has the general meaning of ‘something that happens’. It is an unplanned and unexpected event. This applies especially to death. It ‘befalls’ all people that they die.

The inevitability of death makes wisdom seem meaningless, for death is the great “equalizer” (cf. Psalms 49:10). In Ecclesiastes, death is not the transition to the hereafter, but its separation from the present and all the fruits it has sought to reap from its labor.

When the Preacher realizes that the same fate as the fool befalls him, the question arises to him why he has been so extremely wise (Ecclesiastes 2:15). Why has he made so much effort, why was he so diligently seeking to become wise? After all, it does not matter in the end. It helps you a bit in your life, but worldly wisdom does not prevent you from encountering the same fate that strikes the fool who has lived without sacrificing himself for anything or even taking notice of anything. Then he can only conclude one thing and that is that natural wisdom in earthly life is “vanity”, empty, without any lasting result, too.

In Ecclesiastes 2:16 the Preacher motivates his remark of Ecc 2:15. It is clear that the remembrance of a wise man like that of a fool fades away over time. They do not remain in remembrance forever. Matters that are talked about a lot in one generation are no longer mentioned in the next. They are simply forgotten, it is as if they have never been there. New persons and new things call for attention and suppress the remembrance of the old persons and things. Thus the wise man and the fool disappear from remembrance.

From the point of view of faith, there is a remembrance (Proverbs 10:7; Psalms 112:6; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). For the faith, there is also a difference in the death of the wise and the fool (cf. Genesis 18:23).

Considering all things, he can only hate life and all the work which has been done under the sun because he has not found in it the satisfaction he has expected to find in it. Therefore it seemed to him an evil work. He soon began to get tired of his beautiful houses and courts and waterworks. He has had enough of it. After a while he looks at it like children look at a toy they wanted, but after playing with it for a while they get tired of it and throw it away. The first pleasure is soon gone and then they want something else.

It is a good thing to get to this point. We must first hate life before we find it (John 12:25). Life on this side of death is not a beautiful life, it is not something to love at the expense of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:19; Revelation 12:11). We must take hold of the true life (1 Timothy 6:12). Life only acquires meaning when the Lord Jesus appears in it. He gives life in abundance (John 10:10).

Isaiah 20:2

Wisdom Excels Folly, but Is Also Vanity

The Preacher then turns his attention again “to consider wisdom” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18), but now to compare it with “madness and folly”, the counterparts of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The reason for this comparison is the question that came to him as to what kind of man his successor would be. He has worked his way out to answer the question about the meaning of life. For this he created ‘great things’ for himself (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He can point to all these achievements. From this his successor can learn that the meaning of life is not in beautiful buildings and great wealth. When he takes this lesson to heart he shows that he has wisdom.

The big question, however, is how his successor will proceed. He will be confronted with the same question about the meaning of life. Will he then examine everything again and proceed in the same way as he, the Preacher, did? That will not be true, will it? Perhaps his successor will not find the question interesting at all, with which he was so busy. It may even be so bad that ‘the man after him’ in madness and folly destroys everything the Preacher has built.

The question of what his successor will do with what he has done, does not make him uncertain about the value of wisdom in relation to folly. His successor may be a fool who wants to re-invent the wheel because he does not want to learn anything from the Preacher’s wisdom, but it does not change the wisdom he himself has gained.

Wisdom always excels folly. That wisdom has excellence over foolishness is a fact that every wise man will notice and confirm. In the same way, light excels darkness. Wisdom is preferable to folly because wisdom gives a certain amount of light in life on earth, while folly hides a person in darkness, so that he does not know where he is or where he is going.

Some benefits of wisdom are mentioned later in this book, such as: wisdom gives success (Ecclesiastes 10:10), protects (Ecclesiastes 7:12), gives power (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and illumination (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). One is really a fool if he ignores that, or even despises it, and prefers to walk in darkness.

Wisdom has light (Ecclesiastes 2:13) and sight (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Every person has eyes in his head, but the wise man uses them. Because of this the wise man knows where he is walking and he sees where he is going. The fool “walks in darkness”, he is darkness and loves darkness (Ephesians 5:8; John 3:19). This distinction is useful for life on earth.

Yet this distinction has only a limited meaning. The advantage of the wise man is in the end not great, for he suffers the same fate as the fool. For example, the wise man may as well become ill, have an accident or suffer a loss as the fool. The “fate” is neutral, it has the general meaning of ‘something that happens’. It is an unplanned and unexpected event. This applies especially to death. It ‘befalls’ all people that they die.

The inevitability of death makes wisdom seem meaningless, for death is the great “equalizer” (cf. Psalms 49:10). In Ecclesiastes, death is not the transition to the hereafter, but its separation from the present and all the fruits it has sought to reap from its labor.

When the Preacher realizes that the same fate as the fool befalls him, the question arises to him why he has been so extremely wise (Ecclesiastes 2:15). Why has he made so much effort, why was he so diligently seeking to become wise? After all, it does not matter in the end. It helps you a bit in your life, but worldly wisdom does not prevent you from encountering the same fate that strikes the fool who has lived without sacrificing himself for anything or even taking notice of anything. Then he can only conclude one thing and that is that natural wisdom in earthly life is “vanity”, empty, without any lasting result, too.

In Ecclesiastes 2:16 the Preacher motivates his remark of Ecc 2:15. It is clear that the remembrance of a wise man like that of a fool fades away over time. They do not remain in remembrance forever. Matters that are talked about a lot in one generation are no longer mentioned in the next. They are simply forgotten, it is as if they have never been there. New persons and new things call for attention and suppress the remembrance of the old persons and things. Thus the wise man and the fool disappear from remembrance.

From the point of view of faith, there is a remembrance (Proverbs 10:7; Psalms 112:6; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). For the faith, there is also a difference in the death of the wise and the fool (cf. Genesis 18:23).

Considering all things, he can only hate life and all the work which has been done under the sun because he has not found in it the satisfaction he has expected to find in it. Therefore it seemed to him an evil work. He soon began to get tired of his beautiful houses and courts and waterworks. He has had enough of it. After a while he looks at it like children look at a toy they wanted, but after playing with it for a while they get tired of it and throw it away. The first pleasure is soon gone and then they want something else.

It is a good thing to get to this point. We must first hate life before we find it (John 12:25). Life on this side of death is not a beautiful life, it is not something to love at the expense of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:19; Revelation 12:11). We must take hold of the true life (1 Timothy 6:12). Life only acquires meaning when the Lord Jesus appears in it. He gives life in abundance (John 10:10).

Isaiah 20:3

Wisdom Excels Folly, but Is Also Vanity

The Preacher then turns his attention again “to consider wisdom” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18), but now to compare it with “madness and folly”, the counterparts of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The reason for this comparison is the question that came to him as to what kind of man his successor would be. He has worked his way out to answer the question about the meaning of life. For this he created ‘great things’ for himself (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He can point to all these achievements. From this his successor can learn that the meaning of life is not in beautiful buildings and great wealth. When he takes this lesson to heart he shows that he has wisdom.

The big question, however, is how his successor will proceed. He will be confronted with the same question about the meaning of life. Will he then examine everything again and proceed in the same way as he, the Preacher, did? That will not be true, will it? Perhaps his successor will not find the question interesting at all, with which he was so busy. It may even be so bad that ‘the man after him’ in madness and folly destroys everything the Preacher has built.

The question of what his successor will do with what he has done, does not make him uncertain about the value of wisdom in relation to folly. His successor may be a fool who wants to re-invent the wheel because he does not want to learn anything from the Preacher’s wisdom, but it does not change the wisdom he himself has gained.

Wisdom always excels folly. That wisdom has excellence over foolishness is a fact that every wise man will notice and confirm. In the same way, light excels darkness. Wisdom is preferable to folly because wisdom gives a certain amount of light in life on earth, while folly hides a person in darkness, so that he does not know where he is or where he is going.

Some benefits of wisdom are mentioned later in this book, such as: wisdom gives success (Ecclesiastes 10:10), protects (Ecclesiastes 7:12), gives power (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and illumination (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). One is really a fool if he ignores that, or even despises it, and prefers to walk in darkness.

Wisdom has light (Ecclesiastes 2:13) and sight (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Every person has eyes in his head, but the wise man uses them. Because of this the wise man knows where he is walking and he sees where he is going. The fool “walks in darkness”, he is darkness and loves darkness (Ephesians 5:8; John 3:19). This distinction is useful for life on earth.

Yet this distinction has only a limited meaning. The advantage of the wise man is in the end not great, for he suffers the same fate as the fool. For example, the wise man may as well become ill, have an accident or suffer a loss as the fool. The “fate” is neutral, it has the general meaning of ‘something that happens’. It is an unplanned and unexpected event. This applies especially to death. It ‘befalls’ all people that they die.

The inevitability of death makes wisdom seem meaningless, for death is the great “equalizer” (cf. Psalms 49:10). In Ecclesiastes, death is not the transition to the hereafter, but its separation from the present and all the fruits it has sought to reap from its labor.

When the Preacher realizes that the same fate as the fool befalls him, the question arises to him why he has been so extremely wise (Ecclesiastes 2:15). Why has he made so much effort, why was he so diligently seeking to become wise? After all, it does not matter in the end. It helps you a bit in your life, but worldly wisdom does not prevent you from encountering the same fate that strikes the fool who has lived without sacrificing himself for anything or even taking notice of anything. Then he can only conclude one thing and that is that natural wisdom in earthly life is “vanity”, empty, without any lasting result, too.

In Ecclesiastes 2:16 the Preacher motivates his remark of Ecc 2:15. It is clear that the remembrance of a wise man like that of a fool fades away over time. They do not remain in remembrance forever. Matters that are talked about a lot in one generation are no longer mentioned in the next. They are simply forgotten, it is as if they have never been there. New persons and new things call for attention and suppress the remembrance of the old persons and things. Thus the wise man and the fool disappear from remembrance.

From the point of view of faith, there is a remembrance (Proverbs 10:7; Psalms 112:6; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). For the faith, there is also a difference in the death of the wise and the fool (cf. Genesis 18:23).

Considering all things, he can only hate life and all the work which has been done under the sun because he has not found in it the satisfaction he has expected to find in it. Therefore it seemed to him an evil work. He soon began to get tired of his beautiful houses and courts and waterworks. He has had enough of it. After a while he looks at it like children look at a toy they wanted, but after playing with it for a while they get tired of it and throw it away. The first pleasure is soon gone and then they want something else.

It is a good thing to get to this point. We must first hate life before we find it (John 12:25). Life on this side of death is not a beautiful life, it is not something to love at the expense of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:19; Revelation 12:11). We must take hold of the true life (1 Timothy 6:12). Life only acquires meaning when the Lord Jesus appears in it. He gives life in abundance (John 10:10).

Isaiah 20:4

Wisdom Excels Folly, but Is Also Vanity

The Preacher then turns his attention again “to consider wisdom” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18), but now to compare it with “madness and folly”, the counterparts of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The reason for this comparison is the question that came to him as to what kind of man his successor would be. He has worked his way out to answer the question about the meaning of life. For this he created ‘great things’ for himself (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He can point to all these achievements. From this his successor can learn that the meaning of life is not in beautiful buildings and great wealth. When he takes this lesson to heart he shows that he has wisdom.

The big question, however, is how his successor will proceed. He will be confronted with the same question about the meaning of life. Will he then examine everything again and proceed in the same way as he, the Preacher, did? That will not be true, will it? Perhaps his successor will not find the question interesting at all, with which he was so busy. It may even be so bad that ‘the man after him’ in madness and folly destroys everything the Preacher has built.

The question of what his successor will do with what he has done, does not make him uncertain about the value of wisdom in relation to folly. His successor may be a fool who wants to re-invent the wheel because he does not want to learn anything from the Preacher’s wisdom, but it does not change the wisdom he himself has gained.

Wisdom always excels folly. That wisdom has excellence over foolishness is a fact that every wise man will notice and confirm. In the same way, light excels darkness. Wisdom is preferable to folly because wisdom gives a certain amount of light in life on earth, while folly hides a person in darkness, so that he does not know where he is or where he is going.

Some benefits of wisdom are mentioned later in this book, such as: wisdom gives success (Ecclesiastes 10:10), protects (Ecclesiastes 7:12), gives power (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and illumination (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). One is really a fool if he ignores that, or even despises it, and prefers to walk in darkness.

Wisdom has light (Ecclesiastes 2:13) and sight (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Every person has eyes in his head, but the wise man uses them. Because of this the wise man knows where he is walking and he sees where he is going. The fool “walks in darkness”, he is darkness and loves darkness (Ephesians 5:8; John 3:19). This distinction is useful for life on earth.

Yet this distinction has only a limited meaning. The advantage of the wise man is in the end not great, for he suffers the same fate as the fool. For example, the wise man may as well become ill, have an accident or suffer a loss as the fool. The “fate” is neutral, it has the general meaning of ‘something that happens’. It is an unplanned and unexpected event. This applies especially to death. It ‘befalls’ all people that they die.

The inevitability of death makes wisdom seem meaningless, for death is the great “equalizer” (cf. Psalms 49:10). In Ecclesiastes, death is not the transition to the hereafter, but its separation from the present and all the fruits it has sought to reap from its labor.

When the Preacher realizes that the same fate as the fool befalls him, the question arises to him why he has been so extremely wise (Ecclesiastes 2:15). Why has he made so much effort, why was he so diligently seeking to become wise? After all, it does not matter in the end. It helps you a bit in your life, but worldly wisdom does not prevent you from encountering the same fate that strikes the fool who has lived without sacrificing himself for anything or even taking notice of anything. Then he can only conclude one thing and that is that natural wisdom in earthly life is “vanity”, empty, without any lasting result, too.

In Ecclesiastes 2:16 the Preacher motivates his remark of Ecc 2:15. It is clear that the remembrance of a wise man like that of a fool fades away over time. They do not remain in remembrance forever. Matters that are talked about a lot in one generation are no longer mentioned in the next. They are simply forgotten, it is as if they have never been there. New persons and new things call for attention and suppress the remembrance of the old persons and things. Thus the wise man and the fool disappear from remembrance.

From the point of view of faith, there is a remembrance (Proverbs 10:7; Psalms 112:6; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). For the faith, there is also a difference in the death of the wise and the fool (cf. Genesis 18:23).

Considering all things, he can only hate life and all the work which has been done under the sun because he has not found in it the satisfaction he has expected to find in it. Therefore it seemed to him an evil work. He soon began to get tired of his beautiful houses and courts and waterworks. He has had enough of it. After a while he looks at it like children look at a toy they wanted, but after playing with it for a while they get tired of it and throw it away. The first pleasure is soon gone and then they want something else.

It is a good thing to get to this point. We must first hate life before we find it (John 12:25). Life on this side of death is not a beautiful life, it is not something to love at the expense of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:19; Revelation 12:11). We must take hold of the true life (1 Timothy 6:12). Life only acquires meaning when the Lord Jesus appears in it. He gives life in abundance (John 10:10).

Isaiah 20:5

Wisdom Excels Folly, but Is Also Vanity

The Preacher then turns his attention again “to consider wisdom” (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18), but now to compare it with “madness and folly”, the counterparts of wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:12). The reason for this comparison is the question that came to him as to what kind of man his successor would be. He has worked his way out to answer the question about the meaning of life. For this he created ‘great things’ for himself (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He can point to all these achievements. From this his successor can learn that the meaning of life is not in beautiful buildings and great wealth. When he takes this lesson to heart he shows that he has wisdom.

The big question, however, is how his successor will proceed. He will be confronted with the same question about the meaning of life. Will he then examine everything again and proceed in the same way as he, the Preacher, did? That will not be true, will it? Perhaps his successor will not find the question interesting at all, with which he was so busy. It may even be so bad that ‘the man after him’ in madness and folly destroys everything the Preacher has built.

The question of what his successor will do with what he has done, does not make him uncertain about the value of wisdom in relation to folly. His successor may be a fool who wants to re-invent the wheel because he does not want to learn anything from the Preacher’s wisdom, but it does not change the wisdom he himself has gained.

Wisdom always excels folly. That wisdom has excellence over foolishness is a fact that every wise man will notice and confirm. In the same way, light excels darkness. Wisdom is preferable to folly because wisdom gives a certain amount of light in life on earth, while folly hides a person in darkness, so that he does not know where he is or where he is going.

Some benefits of wisdom are mentioned later in this book, such as: wisdom gives success (Ecclesiastes 10:10), protects (Ecclesiastes 7:12), gives power (Ecclesiastes 7:19) and illumination (Ecclesiastes 8:1) and is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). One is really a fool if he ignores that, or even despises it, and prefers to walk in darkness.

Wisdom has light (Ecclesiastes 2:13) and sight (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Every person has eyes in his head, but the wise man uses them. Because of this the wise man knows where he is walking and he sees where he is going. The fool “walks in darkness”, he is darkness and loves darkness (Ephesians 5:8; John 3:19). This distinction is useful for life on earth.

Yet this distinction has only a limited meaning. The advantage of the wise man is in the end not great, for he suffers the same fate as the fool. For example, the wise man may as well become ill, have an accident or suffer a loss as the fool. The “fate” is neutral, it has the general meaning of ‘something that happens’. It is an unplanned and unexpected event. This applies especially to death. It ‘befalls’ all people that they die.

The inevitability of death makes wisdom seem meaningless, for death is the great “equalizer” (cf. Psalms 49:10). In Ecclesiastes, death is not the transition to the hereafter, but its separation from the present and all the fruits it has sought to reap from its labor.

When the Preacher realizes that the same fate as the fool befalls him, the question arises to him why he has been so extremely wise (Ecclesiastes 2:15). Why has he made so much effort, why was he so diligently seeking to become wise? After all, it does not matter in the end. It helps you a bit in your life, but worldly wisdom does not prevent you from encountering the same fate that strikes the fool who has lived without sacrificing himself for anything or even taking notice of anything. Then he can only conclude one thing and that is that natural wisdom in earthly life is “vanity”, empty, without any lasting result, too.

In Ecclesiastes 2:16 the Preacher motivates his remark of Ecc 2:15. It is clear that the remembrance of a wise man like that of a fool fades away over time. They do not remain in remembrance forever. Matters that are talked about a lot in one generation are no longer mentioned in the next. They are simply forgotten, it is as if they have never been there. New persons and new things call for attention and suppress the remembrance of the old persons and things. Thus the wise man and the fool disappear from remembrance.

From the point of view of faith, there is a remembrance (Proverbs 10:7; Psalms 112:6; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). For the faith, there is also a difference in the death of the wise and the fool (cf. Genesis 18:23).

Considering all things, he can only hate life and all the work which has been done under the sun because he has not found in it the satisfaction he has expected to find in it. Therefore it seemed to him an evil work. He soon began to get tired of his beautiful houses and courts and waterworks. He has had enough of it. After a while he looks at it like children look at a toy they wanted, but after playing with it for a while they get tired of it and throw it away. The first pleasure is soon gone and then they want something else.

It is a good thing to get to this point. We must first hate life before we find it (John 12:25). Life on this side of death is not a beautiful life, it is not something to love at the expense of eternity (1 Corinthians 15:19; Revelation 12:11). We must take hold of the true life (1 Timothy 6:12). Life only acquires meaning when the Lord Jesus appears in it. He gives life in abundance (John 10:10).

Isaiah 20:6

Labor Too Does Not Give Lasting Happiness

Hating life (Ecclesiastes 2:17) is followed by hating work. Working is as pointless as life, because you have to leave all your work behind, so what are you working for (Ecclesiastes 2:18; cf. Luke 12:13-21)? Solomon has created great buildings, such as houses, gardens, orchards. He can enjoy it for some time, but with his death it is over. There comes a moment when man loses control of his work and has to leave everything he has done to others.

Letting go is no fun indeed, but even worse is the tormenting question of who will continue with his legacy and especially how that person will deal with it (Ecclesiastes 2:19). One would wish to know for sure that he is leaving everything to someone who deals as wisely with it as he has done. Then that knowledge can at least give some satisfaction to his work. But there is no such knowledge.

What the wise man has acquired with his wise labor under the sun, can simply end up in the hands of a fool. Then the latter will have access to it. This thought shows that everything he has done to be “vanity”, which means that there is no guarantee of a good continuation. The Preacher’s fear has become reality. His son Rehoboam was a fool (1 Kings 11:41-43; 1 Kings 12:1-24).

The thought of the possible uselessness of his work caused despair in his heart (Ecclesiastes 2:20). You cannot protect the results of your work from the abuse that others make of it. That is to become desperate of when you think of everything you have accomplished with hard work.

This (understandable) despair is quite different from the joy of the satisfaction he has sought in it. It is also quite different from the certainty that we may have that our work is not in vain if it is done for the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). Our work for the Lord is safe in His hands (2 Timothy 1:12). The same applies to those who will die in the great tribulation for the Lord’s sake. It is written of them: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from now on. “Yes”, says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors; for their deeds follow with them”” (Revelation 14:13).

In Ecclesiastes 2:21, his heart regains some rest, that is to say, to resign to the inevitable. He becomes aware of the fact that it is the ordinary course of the life of a wise man under the sun. A wise man, as he is himself, works hard. He does not run like a madman through life, but works with wisdom. He considers every choice he has to make and makes the right choice. And then it turns out that he has expertise. He knows what his choice means. And that is not all. He also has the ability to put his wise choice and his knowledge into practice.

All in all, it has become clear that when you die you have to let go of everything and that someone else will take the advantages of the results of your work. This is a fact that you have to accept, but it is impossible for you to accept it as a righteous case. It makes your own work to be “vanity”, it has been for nothing. There is no lasting result for yourself, and the certainty that someone else will make wise use of it, is not granted to you. You can only call it “a great evil”.

So, “what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 2:22). The answer is: nothing, nothing at all. The Preacher can only repeat the conclusion he started with in Ecclesiastes 1 (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

In Ecclesiastes 2:23 follows the reason for his conclusion. We see this in the word “because” with which the verse begins. All the days of his efforts, however successful they may have been, he has felt suffering and sorrow. The uneasy feeling of a ‘mission impossible’ is always present underneath the skin in a hardworking person.

And, says the Preacher, when a man goes to bed tired after a hard day’s work, he cannot sleep well. His activities keep haunting his mind. The uncertainty of whether he will reach the goal he has set, gnaws at him. That is why his heart does not come to rest. The restlessness of life under the sun teases him even at night.

For those who are busy with the things of the Lord and go the way He shows, it is different. First of all, we see it in the Lord Jesus Himself. He has always done the Father’s will and has always gone the way that the Father has shown Him. That is why He was able to sleep, even in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:38). We also see this total rest with Peter when he is in prison, facing death (Acts 12:6).