Ecc 4:1 | KingComments | STEP | From this chapter onward, it is all about the coexistence of people, while the previous chapters focus more on people’s personal experiences. The section of Ecclesiastes 4:1-10:20 resembles the book of Proverbs with regular sayings or sections about different aspects of life. Ecclesiastes 4 deals with various relationships in which a person stands, forced or voluntary, or from which a person consciously refrains. The subject of relates to Ecclesiastes 3:16 ( ). The Preacher looks “again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun”, to which he now adds an aspect. Not only is there much injustice, but there is also much sorrow due to that much injustice. In addition, there cannot be made or expected improvement in that situation. This also causes frustration, a feeling of total powerlessness. If you could congratulate yourself if you managed liberating even one person out of the hand of his oppressors, then there are still countless situations in which this is not possible. The power always lies with the oppressors. Power is a breeding ground of oppression. Power corrupts. This appears to be the case when reformers take over power. They turn into tyrants. Exploitation also takes place in the business world. All over the world countless poor people, children and helpless people work from early in the morning until late in the evening in factories for a pittance and under inhumane conditions. They have to, otherwise they have nothing at all. Sometimes a factory is discovered and people are freed, but how many are still where this happens? And what about families where the father rages like a tyrant and nobody has the courage to tell anything about it to others, so that no comfort can be sought? Just think of the refugees who are hunted by terrorist groups. How many tears have been and are being shed in all of those conditions. That is the world we live in. The Preacher gives an eyewitness report of a kind of injustice that dominates life as a whole. He sees it in his days and anyone who looks with the eyes of the Preacher sees the same thing today. This iniquity is not borne stoically, but makes tears flow ( ; ; ). Normally, tears arouse pity and comfort, but this is not the case with oppressors. They lack any sense of humanity and mercy. The Preacher speaks twice about the lack of comforters. The absence of comforters greatly increases the suffering. You are completely left to yourself and dependent on yourself. There is no one who looks after you, no one who cares about you at all ( ). The Lord Jesus complains: “And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none” ( ). The dead are better off than the living ( ). This is said without thinking about the afterlife, but only from an earthly perspective. The dead have nothing to do with oppressors anymore ( ). The living are the people who are oppressed. For them it looks gloomy. They are without hope and without comfort. Wicked sorrow, often as a result of disappointment in enjoyment as a life goal (hedonism), leads to the desire to commit suicide. The idea is that it is all over with death. However, man is not a beast. A beast ceases to exist when it dies. Once a human has been born, there will be no situation of ‘not being there anymore’. He will exist forever, either in hell or in heaven, depending on faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. He who knows Him can say: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me” ( ). The stillborn and aborted children are better off than those who have experienced anything of the life under the sun ( ). They do not know the evil activity of the oppressors, nor the grief of the oppressed. This kind of desire to be like them, can arise at the sight of the great misery in which men find themselves. In the case of the believer, seeing this misery arouses at the same time the desire to be with God. The injustice we see will make us abhor the world and that God will draw us to Himself. In this way God can become for us what He really is: the resting place for our heart. With Him we see no injustice, for with Him “there is no unrighteousness, no partiality, and the taking of bribes” ( ), and with Him, in His presence, we are not afraid of the unrighteousness that we perceive everywhere.

‏ Ecclesiastes 4:1

Introduction

From this chapter onward, it is all about the coexistence of people, while the previous chapters focus more on people’s personal experiences. The section of Ecclesiastes 4:1-10:20 resembles the book of Proverbs with regular sayings or sections about different aspects of life. Ecclesiastes 4 deals with various relationships in which a person stands, forced or voluntary, or from which a person consciously refrains.

Oppression Without a Comforter

The subject of Ecc 4:1 relates to Ecclesiastes 3:16 (Ecc 3:16). The Preacher looks “again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun”, to which he now adds an aspect. Not only is there much injustice, but there is also much sorrow due to that much injustice. In addition, there cannot be made or expected improvement in that situation. This also causes frustration, a feeling of total powerlessness.

If you could congratulate yourself if you managed liberating even one person out of the hand of his oppressors, then there are still countless situations in which this is not possible. The power always lies with the oppressors. Power is a breeding ground of oppression. Power corrupts. This appears to be the case when reformers take over power. They turn into tyrants.

Exploitation also takes place in the business world. All over the world countless poor people, children and helpless people work from early in the morning until late in the evening in factories for a pittance and under inhumane conditions. They have to, otherwise they have nothing at all. Sometimes a factory is discovered and people are freed, but how many are still where this happens? And what about families where the father rages like a tyrant and nobody has the courage to tell anything about it to others, so that no comfort can be sought? Just think of the refugees who are hunted by terrorist groups. How many tears have been and are being shed in all of those conditions.

That is the world we live in. The Preacher gives an eyewitness report of a kind of injustice that dominates life as a whole. He sees it in his days and anyone who looks with the eyes of the Preacher sees the same thing today. This iniquity is not borne stoically, but makes tears flow (Psa 119:136; Jn 11:35; Acts 8:2). Normally, tears arouse pity and comfort, but this is not the case with oppressors. They lack any sense of humanity and mercy.

The Preacher speaks twice about the lack of comforters. The absence of comforters greatly increases the suffering. You are completely left to yourself and dependent on yourself. There is no one who looks after you, no one who cares about you at all (Psa 142:4). The Lord Jesus complains: “And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none” (Psa 69:20b).

The dead are better off than the living (Ecc 4:2). This is said without thinking about the afterlife, but only from an earthly perspective. The dead have nothing to do with oppressors anymore (Job 3:17-18). The living are the people who are oppressed. For them it looks gloomy. They are without hope and without comfort.

Wicked sorrow, often as a result of disappointment in enjoyment as a life goal (hedonism), leads to the desire to commit suicide. The idea is that it is all over with death. However, man is not a beast. A beast ceases to exist when it dies. Once a human has been born, there will be no situation of ‘not being there anymore’. He will exist forever, either in hell or in heaven, depending on faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. He who knows Him can say: “This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me” (Psa 119:50).

The stillborn and aborted children are better off than those who have experienced anything of the life under the sun (Ecc 4:3). They do not know the evil activity of the oppressors, nor the grief of the oppressed. This kind of desire to be like them, can arise at the sight of the great misery in which men find themselves. In the case of the believer, seeing this misery arouses at the same time the desire to be with God.

The injustice we see will make us abhor the world and that God will draw us to Himself. In this way God can become for us what He really is: the resting place for our heart. With Him we see no injustice, for with Him “there is no unrighteousness, no partiality, and the taking of bribes” (2Chr 19:7), and with Him, in His presence, we are not afraid of the unrighteousness that we perceive everywhere.