Ecc 6:7 | KingComments | STEP | The very first and great goal of all man’s labor is that his mouth gets something to eat, because only then he stays alive ( ). Over and over again, man has to eat. He never reaches the point of final fullness, so that he has eaten enough once and for all. He gets hungry again and again, so he has to eat again and again. That is what he works for. This applies to the rich industrialist and the prime minister as well as to the worker. It is working to eat and eating to be able to work: “A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him [on]” ( ). His stomach is in control of him. At the same time, there is a deeper hunger, a spiritual hunger. The desire for what is truly satisfying is not fulfilled by filling the stomach. This is the deeper lesson of this verse. When a person realizes that healthy food for his soul is more important than it is for his body, he has learned the lesson. To say it with the words of the Lord Jesus the lesson is that “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” ( ). In filling the stomach the wise has no advantage over the fool; there is no distinction between them in this ( ). They both have the same need to eat and drink in order to stay alive. Both of them also experience the brevity of the satisfaction of needs. In the New Testament we learn that the relationship between the stomach and the food is a temporary one. God will at some point destroy both the stomach and the food ( ). This happens as soon as a person dies. In the afterlife, there is no need to eat in order to stay alive. It makes it clear that for whom filling the stomach is the highest goal, is a very poor person and that his soul is in a disastrous state. The same principle applies to the poor who understands the art of cautiously maneuvering through life. He may know how to deal with “the living”, but with all his skills to be befriended with everyone, he cannot fill his stomach. The living may be the rich, or the prominent people, who look down on the poor. If the poor man is able to deal with them dexterously, he will not gain any additional advantage over those rich or prominent people. They, like him, have the same necessities of life. The restless desiring of things one does not possess causes torment, while there is so much to enjoy at the moment because of what the eyes see ( ). Desire stirs up to a restless pursuit of something that never becomes a possession. The first – what the eyes see – is better than the second – what the soul desires – because the first one you have. The enjoyment of today’s good, makes you content and happy. Life is full of little surprises, if we want to see them. However, even this does not give any final rest and does not fill the deepest desires for inner satisfaction. Only seeing God's great gift in Christ gives the greatest joy and rest. This also applies to the pursuit of getting to know Him. These activities are neither futile nor striving after wind, but they prove the reality of a faith which is in a living relationship with Christ.

‏ Ecclesiastes 6:7

Food Does Not Fill Spiritual Emptiness

The very first and great goal of all man’s labor is that his mouth gets something to eat, because only then he stays alive (Ecc 6:7). Over and over again, man has to eat. He never reaches the point of final fullness, so that he has eaten enough once and for all. He gets hungry again and again, so he has to eat again and again. That is what he works for. This applies to the rich industrialist and the prime minister as well as to the worker.

It is working to eat and eating to be able to work: “A worker’s appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him [on]” (Pro 16:26). His stomach is in control of him. At the same time, there is a deeper hunger, a spiritual hunger. The desire for what is truly satisfying is not fulfilled by filling the stomach. This is the deeper lesson of this verse.

When a person realizes that healthy food for his soul is more important than it is for his body, he has learned the lesson. To say it with the words of the Lord Jesus the lesson is that “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).

In filling the stomach the wise has no advantage over the fool; there is no distinction between them in this (Ecc 6:8). They both have the same need to eat and drink in order to stay alive. Both of them also experience the brevity of the satisfaction of needs.

In the New Testament we learn that the relationship between the stomach and the food is a temporary one. God will at some point destroy both the stomach and the food (1Cor 6:13). This happens as soon as a person dies. In the afterlife, there is no need to eat in order to stay alive. It makes it clear that for whom filling the stomach is the highest goal, is a very poor person and that his soul is in a disastrous state.

The same principle applies to the poor who understands the art of cautiously maneuvering through life. He may know how to deal with “the living”, but with all his skills to be befriended with everyone, he cannot fill his stomach. The living may be the rich, or the prominent people, who look down on the poor. If the poor man is able to deal with them dexterously, he will not gain any additional advantage over those rich or prominent people. They, like him, have the same necessities of life.

The restless desiring of things one does not possess causes torment, while there is so much to enjoy at the moment because of what the eyes see (Ecc 6:9). Desire stirs up to a restless pursuit of something that never becomes a possession. The first – what the eyes see – is better than the second – what the soul desires – because the first one you have. The enjoyment of today’s good, makes you content and happy. Life is full of little surprises, if we want to see them. However, even this does not give any final rest and does not fill the deepest desires for inner satisfaction.

Only seeing God's great gift in Christ gives the greatest joy and rest. This also applies to the pursuit of getting to know Him. These activities are neither futile nor striving after wind, but they prove the reality of a faith which is in a living relationship with Christ.