Ecclesiastes 4

Today’s Passage: Ecclesiastes 4

Ecclesiastes is a wonderful book that reminds us of the” necessity of fearing God in a fallen, and therefore confusing and frustrating, world.” (ESV Study Bible) The word that this book uses a lot is vanity which literally means vapor and is talking about the brevity of life and the need to stare at God.

I love chapter 4. It talks about something that is relevant to all of our lives… work.

Let me ask you… what are you working for? What are you building with your life? Is it worth it?

This chapter talks about the vanity of toil or the pointlessness of working apart from God. In the end, we can take nothing with us. We can, however, invest in eternity. When I was reading this this week I thought of Psalm 127:1-2…

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

This Psalm is saying something similar to this chapter of Ecclesiastes… Working for work… building our life without God… is anxious toil - it is pointless.

I love the line of that Psalm… unless the Lord builds the house…

Let me ask you again… what are you working for? What are you building with your life? Is it worth it?

Ecclesiastes 4:8 reminds us - we are never satisfied with riches. It is not bad to have money. But it is not worth devoting our lives to. How can you bring God to the center and find your satisfaction in Him?

Written By: Nick Parsons