Chapter Text
The Frustration of Wealth
Summary
The Preacher warns against rash vows before God. When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for He has no pleasure in fools. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
He observes the vanity of the love of money: he that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver. When goods increase, they are increased that eat them. The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
Meaning
The warning against rash vows before God emphasizes the seriousness of words spoken in His presence. A vow creates a binding obligation, and failure to fulfill it is not merely forgetfulness but an offence against the Almighty.
The observation that the love of money never satisfies is among the most psychologically accurate statements in Scripture. Wealth creates its own anxieties, attracts dependents, and generates restless pursuit of more. The labouring man's sweet sleep contrasts sharply with the rich man's insomnia.
Background
Vows in ancient Israel were solemn commitments, often made at the temple during worship or in times of crisis. The Mosaic law permitted voluntary vows but demanded their fulfillment once spoken.
The observation about the rich man's inability to sleep reflects a timeless truth that Solomon knew personally, having accumulated wealth beyond any of his contemporaries.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-2Wealth without the power to enjoy
- vv. 3-6Long life without satisfaction
- vv. 7-9The unfilled appetite of the soul
- vv. 10-12Man's limits before the Almighty
Key Verses
“A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”— 6:2
A piercing observation that prosperity without the God-given capacity to enjoy it is no blessing at all. The verse confronts the illusion that accumulation guarantees satisfaction.
“All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.”— 6:7
A proverb-like distillation of human restlessness: ceaseless toil never silences inner hunger. Often cited to illustrate the insufficiency of material gain to fill the soul.
“Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.”— 6:9
A wisdom maxim commending contentment with what is present over the endless chase of what is craved. It anticipates New Testament calls to godliness with contentment.
“For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?”— 6:12
The chapter's closing question frames human life as fleeting shadow and confesses the limits of human foresight, setting up the proverbs of chapter 7.
Devotional
Ecclesiastes 6 asks an uncomfortable question: what good is having everything if you cannot actually enjoy any of it? The Preacher names a quiet tragedy — full hands, empty soul. Wealth, family, and long years are gifts, but the capacity to receive them as gifts is itself a gift from God.
This chapter invites a sober inventory. Where is desire wandering past what is already in front of you? Contentment is not resignation; it is the trained eye that sees today's bread, today's people, today's mercies — and calls them enough.
Literary Style
Wisdom literature in the skeptical, reflective voice of Qoheleth. The chapter blends first-person observation, hyperbolic illustration (a thousand years twice told), proverbial sayings, and rhetorical questions, closing with the recurring 'shadow' and 'under the sun' motifs characteristic of Ecclesiastes.