Ecc 1:3 | KingComments | STEP | The first question the Preacher asks himself and us touches the heart of his research. He will work out this question in all its parts in the course of this book. The answer is that man has no “advantage” or “profit”, in terms of net permanent gain, of all his work “which he does under the sun”. The original word “advantage” is used only in this book ( ). The word comes from the trade and means what is left when all costs have been deducted. The meaning here then is: what is left as a net result of all your hard work? The answer is: nothing. No profit has been made. The expression “under the sun” – which appears almost thirty times in this book – is important and characteristic of this book. In this book we also encounter the expression “under heaven”. This last expression emphasizes that it applies to the earth, the earthly. The expression “under the sun” also determines us with the earth, but places more emphasis on the temporary, transient character of everything that happens. The Preacher looks at everything horizontally, looks around, perceives and experiences. He does not look upward to the origin of everything he sees and experiences. What happens, happens on earth; people do not look to a higher purpose. If the view of life does not go beyond ‘under the sun’, everything we strive for will have an undertone of dissatisfaction. It is all connected with the pursuit of sinful man and therefore temporary and imperfect. Never will a person be able to look back with satisfaction at his work and say “behold, it is very good”, because nothing is perfect, nothing is finished. Others follow him and go on with his work. Nobody delivers something that is unchangingly good. If we look from that point of view at everything man does, the conclusion can only be that everything is for nothing. All activity is work that is wearying; it never results in anything that gives lasting happiness. We see this in business and politics. The next president and the new politician solemnly promise that they will do better than the previous one, but over time they will have to vacate their post because they have failed. The same will happen to them and to all who come after them. All the work without ever finding satisfaction must bring man to Him Who said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” ( ). The Lord Jesus connects to the Preacher’s question when He says: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? ( ; ). You can dedicate yourself and get everything you have worked so hard for, but what is the final result when you die and have to let go of everything and leave it behind? Paul tells us where the real profit is found: “But godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” ( ). Profit is only where the heart is in connection with the eternal God and eternity. To work for the Lord is not in vain ( ). An article in the Reformatorisch Dagblad (a Dutch newspaper) of May 5, 2003, proves the truth of this verse in a practical way: Jip Wijngaarden was barely 17 when in 1982 she was chosen from 3000 candidates to play the leading role in the theater play ‘Anne Frank’. A turbulent career as an actress and film star followed. Hollywood beckoned. For nine years Jip moved into the world of glitter and glamour. But gradually, doubt struck. ‘As an idol you are a community property, you lose yourself. I didn’t know what to do with it and started thinking. Is that all? I had earned honor and fame, but I was not happy. The life I led was superficial and empty. My heart was a big hole through which everything was blowing.’ For Jip, the change to Christendom meant a radical break with the past. ‘I felt that the new life would cost me everything. And that is how it went, because the basis was not right. People around me declared me crazy that I let Hollywood and other offers slip by for something you cannot see’. [End of article]

‏ Ecclesiastes 1:3

What Advantage Does Hard Work Give?

The first question the Preacher asks himself and us touches the heart of his research. He will work out this question in all its parts in the course of this book. The answer is that man has no “advantage” or “profit”, in terms of net permanent gain, of all his work “which he does under the sun”. The original word “advantage” is used only in this book (Ecc 1:3 ; Ecc 2:11 ; Ecc 3:9 ; Ecc 5:11 ; 16 ; Ecc 7:11 ; 12). The word comes from the trade and means what is left when all costs have been deducted. The meaning here then is: what is left as a net result of all your hard work? The answer is: nothing. No profit has been made.

The expression “under the sun” – which appears almost thirty times in this book – is important and characteristic of this book. In this book we also encounter the expression “under heaven”. This last expression emphasizes that it applies to the earth, the earthly. The expression “under the sun” also determines us with the earth, but places more emphasis on the temporary, transient character of everything that happens. The Preacher looks at everything horizontally, looks around, perceives and experiences. He does not look upward to the origin of everything he sees and experiences.

What happens, happens on earth; people do not look to a higher purpose. If the view of life does not go beyond ‘under the sun’, everything we strive for will have an undertone of dissatisfaction. It is all connected with the pursuit of sinful man and therefore temporary and imperfect. Never will a person be able to look back with satisfaction at his work and say “behold, it is very good”, because nothing is perfect, nothing is finished. Others follow him and go on with his work. Nobody delivers something that is unchangingly good.

If we look from that point of view at everything man does, the conclusion can only be that everything is for nothing. All activity is work that is wearying; it never results in anything that gives lasting happiness. We see this in business and politics. The next president and the new politician solemnly promise that they will do better than the previous one, but over time they will have to vacate their post because they have failed. The same will happen to them and to all who come after them. All the work without ever finding satisfaction must bring man to Him Who said: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).

The Lord Jesus connects to the Preacher’s question when He says: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Mt 16:26; Lk 12:15). You can dedicate yourself and get everything you have worked so hard for, but what is the final result when you die and have to let go of everything and leave it behind?

Paul tells us where the real profit is found: “But godliness [actually] is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (1Tim 6:6-7). Profit is only where the heart is in connection with the eternal God and eternity. To work for the Lord is not in vain (1Cor 15:58).

An article in the Reformatorisch Dagblad (a Dutch newspaper) of May 5, 2003, proves the truth of this verse in a practical way:

Jip Wijngaarden was barely 17 when in 1982 she was chosen from 3000 candidates to play the leading role in the theater play ‘Anne Frank’. A turbulent career as an actress and film star followed. Hollywood beckoned. For nine years Jip moved into the world of glitter and glamour.

But gradually, doubt struck. ‘As an idol you are a community property, you lose yourself. I didn’t know what to do with it and started thinking. Is that all? I had earned honor and fame, but I was not happy. The life I led was superficial and empty. My heart was a big hole through which everything was blowing.’

For Jip, the change to Christendom meant a radical break with the past. ‘I felt that the new life would cost me everything. And that is how it went, because the basis was not right. People around me declared me crazy that I let Hollywood and other offers slip by for something you cannot see’. [End of article]