Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 11:7
Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it is] for the eyes to behold the sun:
7. Truly the light is sweet ] Better, And the light is sweet. The conjunction is simply the usual copulative particle. The word for “sweet” is that used of honey in Jdg 14:14; of the honeycomb in Pro 24:13. The pessimism of the thinker is passing away under the sunshine of the wiser plan of life in which he al last finds guidance. Life may after all, rightly ordered, be pleasant and comely, not without the “sweetness and light” on which the modern preachers of wisdom lay stress. A remarkable parallel to the form of the maxim (quoted by Ginsburg) is found in Euripides:
, .
“Destroy me not before my youth is ripe:
For pleasant sure it is to see the sun;
Compel me not to see what lies below.”
Iphig. in Aul. 1219.
So Theognis contemplating death:
, .
“Then shall I lie, as voiceless as a stone,
And see no more the loved light of the sun.”
The use of the phrase “seeing the sun” for living, may be noted as essentially Hellenic in its tone. So we have again “seeing the light of the sun” for “living” in Eurip. Hippol. 4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The preceding exhortation to a life of labor in the sight of God is now addressed especially to the active and the young; and is enforced by another consideration, namely, the transitory character of all that sustains youth.
Ecc 11:7
The light … the sun – Gifts of God which cheer mans toil, but which he almost ceases to appreciate in his old age.
Ecc 11:8
Days of darkness – The time of old age, and perhaps any time of sorrow or misfortune. Compare Ecc 12:2.
All that cometh – i. e., The future, which must not be reckoned on by the active man, as if his present state of healthy energy were to continue.
Ecc 11:9
Rejoice … cheer … walk – The imperative mood is used to encourage one who possesses certain gifts from God to remember that they come from God and are to be used in accordance with His will.
In the ways … – The words are probably used in an innocent sense Ecc 2:10; Pro 16:9.
Judgment – This includes a judgment beyond the grave; though the writers view of it was dim and indefinite if compared with Christians.
Ecc 11:10
The sense appears to be, Let the timely recollection of Gods judgment, and of the fleeting character of youth, so influence your conduct that you will refrain from acts which entail future remorse and pain.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Ecc 11:7
Truly the light is sweet.
The sweet light of life
The light of the sun is at all times sweet and pleasant. Glorious orb! His beams not only reveal, but create ten thousand forms of beauty, that lift the soul to its highest moods of thought and admiration. But there are other lights in life which are very sweet.
I. There is the light of an amiable temper. A countenance beaming with good nature has often dispelled the gloom of a disheartened man and carried sunshine into his heart. Some are amiable by nature, all can be amiable by cultivation.
II. There is the light of a noble character. Christ said of His disciples, Ye are the lights of the world, and truly he whose motives are disinterested, whose honesty is incorruptible, whose spirit and aims are Christly, is light indeed, a sweet light. A light that animates, cheers, and refreshes the observer.
III. There is the light of good fellowship. As social beings we are wondrously influenced by the character of the circle in which we move. By good fellowship is not meant the fellowship of the wealthy, the fashionable, and the gay; but the society of men, the fountains of whose nature are pure, the thoughts of whose minds are fresh, true, and exhilarating, in whose conversation there flows ideas to enlighten, and humour to charm.
IV. There is the light of redemptive truth. This is the best of all the lights. A light this that not only scatters moral darkness, and makes clear God and His universe, duty, and destiny, but quickens with the highest life all the faculties of the soul, and brings them out in harmony with the Divine will. It is what Paul calls a marvellous light. (Homilist.)
The sweetness of light
Sweetness of almost every kind is an evidence of the Divine goodness. The fragrance of flowers, and of many plants and shrubs, is grateful to the smell; music is sweet to the ear; the whispering of the gentle breeze, and the murmuring of the purling stream, are soft and soothing to the soul; and specially sweet is the prattle of our children, the conversation of our friends, and the voice of the preacher in the house of God. And our sight, which Addison justly described as the most perfect and delightful of all our senses, has a universe of enjoyment peculiar to itself; and as all the pleasures of vision are dependent on light, and to a great extent on solar light, it may be emphatically said, in the language of the text, Truly the light is sweet, etc.
I. Artificial light. Were the world to be henceforth deprived of this, how large a curtailment of human comfort, industry, commerce, study, and even divine worship, would be thereby occasioned through the half of every year! The tiny taper in the widows cottage is not only essential to her toil, but also the companion of her solitude. The floating light in the chamber of the invalid cheers his solitary midnight hours. The sight of the lighthouse is always grateful to the imperilled mariner.
II. Natural light.
1. Light is sweet in itself. It is so admirably adapted, not only to our organs of vision, but also to the whole of our nervous system as to be the source of no small part of the pleasures we enjoy.
2. Light is sweet on account of the manifold and varied beauties, magnificence, and grandeur which it unveils to us.
3. Light is sweet on account of the cheerfulness and confidence which it inspires. Gloom and dread are usually spirits of darkness. Though we are sometimes afraid of things we see, we are far more frequently afraid of what we merely imagine. Hence fear often vanishes at the dawn of day. This is one reason why light is conducive to health and length of life. Inspired penmen frequently associate death with darkness (Job 3:5; Job 10:21-22; Psa 23:4; Psa 49:19; Psa 88:12; Jer 13:16); light with life (Job 33:28; Job 33:30; Psa 56:13; Ecc 7:11).
III. Intellectual light. This light irradiates the chambers of the soul, and thus enables reason to perform her high and important functions. It shines upon the balance-beam of judgment, and thus enables us correctly to decide. By the aid of this light we hourly gather up ideas from without, and store, and arrange, and amplify, and compare, and compound, and contrast them in the laboratory of our souls. It is this light which illumines the closet of memory, and thus enables us to review the bygone, recall the past, and revivify the dead. This light enables us to anticipate the future, and thus originates and sustains hope within our bosoms. To this light, too, we are indebted for the power of being able rationally to love, and thus to partake the sweetness of social converse and domestic joy. In all these, and in numerous other ways, it is a source of blessedness to us.
IV. Scriptural light. The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. By this light we discern our characters and their shortcomings; our hearts and their desperate wickedness; our sad deserts and our terrific prospects. But it does not leave us thus. It shows us God, too; not merely as the God of holiness and justice, but also as the God of mercy, grace, and love, who is ready to pardon our transgressions, receive us graciously, and love us freely. Moreover, it shows us Christ as the brightness of His Fathers glory, God over all, blessed for ever. It shows us the power and willingness of the Eternal Spirit to enlighten our minds, regenerate our hearts, and sanctify and save our souls. It also shows us the world in its vanity and vexatiousness, its sinfulness and its sorrows; and it shows us heaven in its holiness and love, its glory and its blessedness. Truly this light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is thus to behold the Lord God as our sun and shield. And there are times in the experience of every Christian when this light has special sweetness.
1. When we first derive therefrom a soul-gladdening hope of salvation.
2. When we find its directions specially suited to our circumstances.
3. When we find its promises specially suited to our wants.
4. When we are thereby enabled to obtain soul-reviving views of God, of Christ, of providence, of the future of the Churchs history, and of heaven at last.
V. Spiritual light. The same Divine Spirit who enkindled the lamp of revelation for us by the agency of His inspired servants has imparted to us spiritual light by the operation of His grace. It is sweet–
1. On account of the discoveries it makes to us. It shows us ourselves. It shows what monuments of Divine forbearance we have been. It shows us the way to the throne of grace. It reveals to us the way of acceptance with God.
2. On account of the transforming influence it exerts. By the light of heaven the sick are often restored to health, and the feeble frequently made strong. So by the light of grace the sinners soul is renovated, strengthened, sanctified, and saved.
VI. Eternal light. Heaven is emphatically termed, The inheritance of the saints in light. There shall be no night there. In closing we remark–
1. How abundant, how varied, how precious, how suitable, and how gratuitous are Gods bestowments.
2. We learn why it is that sinners hate Christ and His Gospel, the Bible and its teachings (Joh 3:19-20). But surely this must enhance their guilt, and will aggravate their doom.
3. This subject will enable us to account for much of the darkness and distress of soul in which even true believers are at times involved. We wander from the light, or are too distant from it to derive the full pleasure and advantage which it is designed and adapted to impart.
4. It assures us that personal religion is a truly blessed thing. Our sorrows and our gloom are to a great extent the result of our shortcomings; but the light of grace is truly sweet.
5. It shows the necessity of faith. That which sight is to the body, faith is to the soul, Light may be around us in all its beauty and effulgence, but without the power of vision we can make no discoveries thereby.
6. Be thankful for the light.
7. Pity those who are in darkness. Many such are around you; millions are in other lands. Carry the light to all you can; send it to those to whom you cannot go. Above all, pray God to send out His light and His truth, that the light of His revealed will may be universally diffused, the light of His grace universally enjoyed. (J. Jenkinson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Truly the light is sweet] Life is dear to every man as the light of the sun is to the eye. A man would give all that he has for his life, and it is particularly dear to him when he is in ease and affluence: but let each remember that,
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
It cannot be denied that this present life (which is called light, Job 3:20; 33:30; Psa 56:13, and which is expressed synecdochically, by seeing the sun, Ecc 6:5; 7:11) is in itself a great blessing, and very desirable; but it is not perpetual nor satisfactory; which is here implied and expressed hi the next verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. lightof life (Ecc 7:11;Psa 49:19). Life is enjoyable,especially to the godly.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Truly the light [is] sweet,…. Here begins a new subject, as most think; and some here begin the twelfth and last chapter, and not improperly. This is true of natural light, which is exceeding pleasant, useful, and beneficial; by which men discern objects, behold the things of nature with pleasure, walk in the way without stumbling, and do the work and business of life: and also of civil light or prosperity; for, as afflictions are expressed by darkness, and adversity by night; so the comforts and good things of life by light and day, which are very desirable and delectable: and here “life” itself may be meant, for light is sometimes put for life, which is the light of the living; and what sweeter and more desirable than that, especially a life attended with prosperity and peace? see Job 33:28. The Targum and Jarchi interpret it of the light of the law; and which is indeed a light, and so is the whole word of God, Pr 6:23 2Pe 1:19; but may be better applied unto the Gospel, which is a great and glorious light, Isa 9:2; and a means of enlightening dark minds; not only of showing men their sinfulness, as the law does; but the insufficiency of their righteousness, of all their own goodness and good works to justify; it reveals Christ, and the glories of his person; it sets him forth evidently, as crucified and slain, for the worst of sinners; it makes manifest his fulness, ability, and willingness, as a Saviour; righteousness, peace, pardon, and salvation by him; it makes known things not to be discerned by the light of nature, even things wonderful and marvellous, as well as what is the way a man should walk in: and this light is sweet and pleasant, not to a blind and carnal man, who despises it, and reckons it foolishness, but to those who are enlightened by the Spirit of God; and to these it is very delightful, even to all their senses; it is sweet to their taste, a joyful sound to their ears, and beautiful to their sight are the feet of them that bring its good tidings. The light of grace, which appears in first conversion, and comes from God suddenly, which at first is small, but increases, is exceeding pleasant, strikes the soul with delight and wonder; it is marvellous light, 1Pe 2:9; and so is the light of joy and gladness to believers, when it arises to them after a time of darkness, or the light of God’s countenance, Ps 4:6; and such will be the light of the latter day glory, and more especially the light of the heavenly state;
and a pleasant [thing it is] for the eyes to behold the sun; the natural sun, shining at noon day, which is a luminous and glorious body, communicating light and heat to all the world: which is so glorious and so pleasant to behold, that Anaxagoras, the philosopher, being asked what he was born for, answered,
“to see the heavens, the sun, and the moon t;”
and Eudoxus, another philosopher, said,
“he could be content to perish, could he get so near to the sun as to learn the nature of it u.”
To “see the sun”, in the language of this book, is to live in this world, and to enjoy the light of the sun, and the comforts of life; see Ec 7:11; and now a life, attended with outward prosperity and inward peace, that is spent in doing and enjoying good, is a very desirable and delightful one; though such a man should not think of living always, but of death, and the days of darkness, as in Ec 11:8. This may he applied to Christ, the sun of righteousness, Ps 84:11; the fountain of all spiritual light and heat; the brightness of his Father’s glory; and who is superior to angels and men; and is to be beheld by faith, and in his own light, as the sun is; and whom to look upon with an eye of faith is exceeding pleasant and delightful, and fills with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 1Pe 1:8.
t Laert. in Vita Anaxag. p. 95. Lactant. de Fals. Sap. l. 3. c. 9. u Plutarch, vol. 2. p. 1094.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“And sweet is the light, and pleasant it is for the eyes to see the sun; for if a man live through many years, he ought to rejoice in them all, and remember the days of darkness; that there will be many of them. All that cometh is vain.” Dale translates the copula vav introducing Ecc 11:7 by “yes,” and Bullock by “truly,” both thus giving to it a false colouring. “Light,” Zckler remarks, stands here for “life.” But it means only what the word denotes, viz., the light of life in this world (Ps. 56:14; Job 33:30), to which the sun, as the source of it, is related, as is to . Cf. Eurip. Hippol., . . , and Iphigen. in Aulis, 1218-19, . . : “Destroy not my youth; to see the light is sweet,” etc. The in has the short vowel Pattach, here and at 1Sa 16:7, after the Masora.
(Note: Cf. on the contrary, at Gen 3:6 and Pro 10:26, where it has the Kametz; cf. also Michlol 53 b.)
The ki beginning Ecc 11:8 is translated by Knobel, Hitz., Ewald, and others by “ ja ” (yes); by Heiligstedt, as if a negative preceded by immo; but as the vav of Ecc 11:7 is copulative “and,” so here the ki is causal “for.” If it had been said: man must enjoy himself as long as he lives, for the light is sweet, etc., then the joy would have its reason in the opportunity given for it. Instead of this, the occasion given for joy has its reason in this, that a man ought to rejoice, viz., according to God’s arrangement and ordinance: the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun; for it ought thus to be, that a man, however long he may live, should continue to enjoy his fair life, especially in view of the night which awaits him. Ki im are not here, as at Ecc 3:12; Ecc 8:15, where a negative precedes, to be taken together; but ki assigns the reason, and im begins a hypothetical protasis, as at Exo 8:17, and frequently. Im, with the conclusion following, presents something impossible, as e.g., Psa 50:12, si esurirem , or also the extreme of that which is possible as actual, e.g., Isa 7:18, si peccata vestra sint instar coccini . In the latter case, the clause with the concessive particle may be changed into a sentence with a concessive conjunctive, as at Isa 10:22: “for though thy people, O Israel, be as numerous as the sand of the sea;” and here: “though a man may live ever so many years.” The second ki after is the explicat. quod , as at Ecc 2:24; Ecc 4:4; Ecc 8:17, etc.: he must remember the days of darkness, that there shall be many of them, and, at all events, not fewer than the many years available for the happy enjoyment of life. In this connection kol – shebba’ denotes all that will come after this life. If Hitz. remarks that the sentence: “All that is future is vanity,” is a false thought, this may now also be said of his own sentence extracted from the words: “All that is, is transitory.” For all that is done, in time may pass away; but it is not actually transitory ( ). But the sentence also respects not all that is future, but all that comes after this life, which must appear as vain ( hevel ) to him for whom, as for Koheleth, the future is not less veiled in the dark night of Hades, as it was for Horace, i. 4. 16 s.:
“Jam te premet nox fabulaeque
Manes Et domus exilis Plutonia.”
Also, for Koheleth as for Horace, iv. 7. 16, man at last becomes pulvis et umbra , and that which thus awaits him is hevel. Tyler is right, that “the shadowy and unsubstantial condition of the dead and the darkness of Sheol” is thus referred to. signifies not that which is nascens , but futurum , e.g., Sanhedrin 27 a, “from the present and for the future” (for which, elsewhere, the expression is used). The Venet. construes falsely: All (the days) in which vanity will overtake (him); and Luther, referring as the 3rd pers. to the past, follows the misleading of Jerome. Rightly the lxx and Theod.: .
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| A Caution to the Young; Exhortation to Early Piety. | |
7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: 8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Here is an admonition both to old people and to young people, to think of dying, and get ready for it. Having by many excellent precepts taught us how to live well, the preacher comes now, towards the close of his discourse, to teach us how to die well and to put us in mind of our latter end.
I. He applies himself to the aged, writes to them as fathers, to awaken them to think of death, Ecc 11:7; Ecc 11:8. Here is, 1. A rational concession of the sweetness of life, which old people find by experience: Truly the light is sweet; the light of the sun is so; it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold it. Light was the first thing made in the formation of the great world, as the eye is one of the first in the formation of the body, the little world. It is pleasant to see the light; the heathen were so charmed with the pleasure of it that they worshipped the sun. It is pleasant by it to see other things, the many agreeable prospects this world gives us. The light of life is so. Light is put for life, Job 3:20; Job 3:23. It cannot be denied that life is sweet. It is sweet to bad men because they have their portion in this life; it is sweet to good men because they have this life as the time of their preparation for a better life; it is sweet to all men; nature says it is so, and there is no disputing against it; nor can death be desired for its own sake, but dreaded, unless as a period to present evils or a passage to future good. Life is sweet, and therefore we have need to double a guard upon ourselves, lest we love it too well. 2. A caution to think of death, even in the midst of life, and of life when it is most sweet and we are most apt to forget death: If a man live many years, yet let him remember the days of darkness are coming. Here is, (1.) A summer’s day supposed to be enjoyed–that life may continue long, even many years, and that, by the goodness of God, it may be made comfortable and a man may rejoice in them all. There are those that live many years in this world, escape many dangers, receive many mercies, and therefore are secure that they shall want no good, and that no evil shall befal them, that the pitcher which has come so often from the well safe and sound shall never come home broken. But who are those that live many years and rejoice in them all? Alas! none; we have but hours of joy for months of sorrow. However, some rejoice in their years, their many years, more than others; if these two things meet, a prosperous state and a cheerful spirit, these two indeed may do much towards enabling a man to rejoice in them all, and yet the most prosperous state has its alloys and the most cheerful spirit has its damps; jovial sinners have their melancholy qualms, and cheerful saints have their gracious sorrows; so that it is but a supposition, not a case in fact, that a man should live many years and rejoice in them all. But, (2.) Here is a winter’s night proposed to be expected after this summer’s day: Yet let this hearty old man remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. Note, [1.] There are days of darkness coming, the days of our lying in the grave; there the body will lie in the dark; there the eyes see not, the sun shines not. The darkness of death is opposed to the light of life; the grave is a land of darkness, Job x. 21. [2.] Those days of darkness will be many; the days of our lying under ground will be more than the days of our living above ground. They are many, but they are not infinite; many as they are, they will be numbered and finished when the heavens are no more, Job xiv. 12. As the longest day will have its night, so the longest night will have its morning. [3.] It is good for us often to remember those days of darkness, that we may not be lifted up with pride, nor lulled asleep in carnal security, nor even transported into indecencies by vain mirth. [4.] Notwithstanding the long continuance of life, and the many comforts of it, yet we must remember the days of darkness, because those will certainly come, and they will come with much the less terror if we have thought of them before.
II. He applies himself to the young, and writes to them as children, to awaken them to think of death (Ecc 11:9; Ecc 11:10); here we have,
1. An ironical concession to the vanities and pleasures of youth: Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth. Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now. “Rejoice, O young man! in thy youth, live a merry life, follow thy sports, and take thy pleasures; let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, cheer thee with its fancies and foolish hopes; entertain thyself with thy pleasing dreams; walk in the ways of thy heart; do whatever thou hast a mind to do, and stick at nothing that may gratify the sensual appetite. Quicquid libet, licet—Make thy will thy law. Walk in the ways of thy heart, and let thy heart walk after thy eyes, a rambling heart after a roving eye; what is pleasing in thy own eyes do it, whether it be pleasing in the eyes of God or no.” Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man to intimate, (1.) That this is that which he would do, and which he would fain have leave to do, in which he places his happiness and on which he sets his heart. (2.) That he wishes all about him would give him this counsel, would prophesy to him such smooth things as these, and cannot brook any advice to the contrary, but reckons those his enemies that bid him be sober and serious. (3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. The very description of it, if men would see things entirely, and judge of them impartially, is enough to show how contrary to reason those act that live such a life. The very opening of the cause is enough to determine it, without any argument. (4.) To show that if men give themselves to such a course of life as this it is just with God to give them up to it, to abandon them to their own heart’s lusts, that they may walk in their own counsels, Hos. iv. 7.
2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: “Know thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if thou darest.” This is a kolasterion—a corrective to the foregoing concession, and plucks in the reins he had laid on the neck of the young man’s lust. “Know then, for a certainty, that, if thou dost take such a liberty as this, it will be thy everlasting ruin; thou hast to do with a God who will not let it go unpunished.” Note, (1.) There is a judgment to come. (2.) We must every one of us be brought into judgment, however we may now put far from us that evil day. (3.) We shall be reckoned with for all our carnal mirth and sensual pleasures in that day. (4.) It is good for all, but especially for young people, to know and consider this, that they may not, by the indulgence of their youthful lusts, treasure up unto themselves wrath against that day of wrath, the wrath of the Lamb.
3. A word of caution and exhortation inferred from all this, v. 10. Let young people look to themselves and manage well both their souls and their bodies, their heart and their flesh. (1.) Let them take care that their minds be not lifted up with pride, nor disturbed with anger, or any sinful passion: Remove sorrow, or anger, from thy heart; the word signifies any disorder or perturbation of the mind. Young people are apt to be impatient of check and control, to vex and fret at any thing that is humbling and mortifying to them, and their proud hearts rise against every thing that crosses and contradicts them. They are so set upon that which is pleasing to sense that they cannot bear any thing that is displeasing, but it goes with sorrow to their heart. Their pride often disquiets them, and makes them uneasy. “Put that away, and the love of the world, and lay thy expectations low from the creature, and then disappointments will not be occasions of sorrow and anger to thee.” Some by sorrow here understand that carnal mirth described v. 9, the end of which will be bitterness and sorrow. Let them keep at a distance from every thing which will be sorrow in the reflection. (2.) Let them take care that their bodies be not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts: “Put away evil from the flesh, and let not the members of thy body be instruments of unrighteousness. The evil of sin will be the evil of punishment, and that which thou art fond of, as good for the flesh, because it gratifies the appetites of it, will prove evil, and hurtful to it, and therefore put it far from thee, the further the better.”
III. The preacher, to enforce his admonition both to old and young, urges, as an effectual argument, that which is the great argument of his discourse, the vanity of all present things, their uncertainty and insufficiency. 1. He reminds old people of this (v. 8): All that comes is vanity; yea, though a man live many years and rejoice in them all, All that has come already, and all that is yet to come, how much soever men promise themselves from the concluding scenes, it is all vanity. What will be will do no more to make men happy than what has been. All that come into the world are vanity; they are altogether so, at their best estate. 2. He reminds young people of this: Childhood and youth are vanity. The dispositions and actions of childhood and youth have in them a great deal of impertinence and iniquity, sinful vanity, which young people have need to watch against and get cured. The pleasures and advantages of childhood and youth have in them no certainty, satisfaction, nor continuance. They are passing away; these flowers will soon wither, and these blossoms fall; let them therefore be knit into good fruit, which will continue and abound to a good account.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
THE GOOD AND ILL OF LIFE
Verse 7 reminds the living of the blessedness of light and the oft-repeated privilege of beholding the shining sun, Gen 1:16-18.
Verse 8 continues the previous thought, with the sobering reminder, that one who has lived many joyous years should be mindful that continuous darkness and sorrow awaits those unprepared for death. The Preacher does not mention death here, but he implies such as the destiny of man in 6:4 and recognizes life beyond death in Ecc 3:21; Pro 14:32; Pro 11:7. The utter futility of the unprepared, beyond death, is described in Luk 16:22-31.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Ecc. 11:7. Truly the light is sweet.] Light as the symbol of life. (Psa. 36:9, Job. 3:20.)
Ecc. 11:8. Yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many.] Days of misfortune and gloom in this world, and a yet longer season in the dark sojourn of the dead. In the imperfect revelation of the time, the state of the departed was considered as dark and cheerless. All that cometh is vanity.] Everything that happens in the course of the worlds history and in daily life; more especially every man, since men are the prime movers and chief figures in all these things.
Ecc. 11:9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth.] These words need not be understood as ironical. There is a sober and healthy joy which is consistent with the remembrance of the judgment. And walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.] There are lawful pleasures both for the heart and eyes; yet in all these things the solemn reckoning of the future must be kept in view.
Ecc. 11:10. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart.] The word signifies sorrow, dissatisfaction, not as in the LXX. and Vulgate, anger. The command to rejoice, in Ecc. 11:9, is here followed by a warning against the opposite state of feeling. Put away evil from thy flesh.] Evil in the sense of misfortunesome evil condition of life.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Ecc. 11:7-10
THE COUNSELS OF WISDOM TO THE CHILDREN OF PLEASURE
Wisdom commends the rational and sober use of pleasure. But when pleasure is pursued for its own sake, leads to forgetfulness of God, or weakens the power of moral control, it becomes an evil. But even those who are most careful herein have need constantly to keep before them certain solemn truths.
I. To Remember how Empty the Most Favoured Life is of any Solid Good. The wise man is ready to admit all the good that life contains. He does not, in the spirit of a gloomy philosophy, condemn all enjoyment,
1. The consciousness of existence is itself a pleasure. (Ecc. 11:7.) Light speaks to us of all that is glad, joyous, and free; and light is the symbol of life. Existence is an inheritance, and we fondly cling to it, even when bereft of all else. To enjoy the light of the sun and the comfort of the elements is, in itself, pure delight.
2. Some lives may have a large capacity for pleasure. This may be favoured by the length of life. A man may live many years, and rejoice in them all. Time is, at least, one dimension of the capacity of life; and if it be extended in other dimensions by the ability to enjoy and improve it, life may be filled with much good. Or, take life in the season of its greatest power of enjoyment. (Ecc. 11:9.) Youth is the time of the greatest vigour, when the sense of enjoyment is keenest. Care has not yet begun to corrode the mind, nor faith in man to lessen, nor hope to lose her charms. The young man may well rejoice in his youth.
3. A life devoted entirely to pleasure, however favoured, has no solid worth. He who lives to satisfy his appetites, unmindful of the claims of duty and of his solemn reckoning with God, will find at the close of life that he has been grasping a shadow. The pleasing forms die in his embrace, like those of a dream when one awaketh. If a man has anything to dread from the judgment, life, however blessed by outward favours, must be but a sad portion after all. But, taking man at his best estate here, and comparing it with the sublimer destinies awaiting him in future worlds, it will be found that the successive stages of life are vanity. The rosy dawn and the bright morning of life may be beautiful, but they hold their perfection only for a little moment. The day, meanwhile, hastens on to its close, and a night of uncertain duration shuts up the scene. The contemplation of life must produce a despairing sadness, unless a man has the hope of immortality. This hope shifts the centre of the soul from the region where all is unsubstantial and vain, and places it where all is real and abiding. This idea raises and transforms life. Without it, life will be found to be empty of any enduring worth.
II. To Consider the Dread Abode to which They are Hastening. (Ecc. 11:8.) The Old Testament speaks in very gloomy language of that dark house where souls are detained after death. The darkness that rested upon life and immortality could not be cleared away until His coming who was the life and light of men. Yet even the advanced light of the Gospel does not completely relieve the gloom with which this dread subject afflicts and oppresses the human mind. Departed saints have still, in some form, to submit to the long reign of death. Still, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body, they groan for perfection and full investiture. With all the superior light and hope of the Gospel, the subject is yet sufficiently solemn. There are views of the state of the dead upon which it is salutary that we should dwell, even while we cherish the brightest hope of reward. This tends to preserve that humility which is proper to our present condition, and to set the pleasures of the world in their true light. The following thoughts arise whenever we contemplate the state of the dead:
1. There is the sense of obscurity and neglect. A man is removed from the eyes of the living, and though his memory is preserved awhile, he is, at length, forgotten. There is an idea of utter neglect. It seems as if the invisible thread of love and memory, which connects the two worlds, becomes at last severed. With all the dear human hopes and feelings that now fill us, we cannot contemplate such a fate without due solemnity.
2. There is the sense of uncertainty. Whenever we think of what is beyond our knowledge, and especially of that in which we ourselves must play an important part, vague fears arise in the mind. With our present experience, we are not able to conceive of the manner in which they live who have put off this vesture of mortality. And this very uncertainty becomes an oppression. This is, indeed, relieved by faith; yet despite of all, it will now and then suggest itself to contemplation.
3. There is the sense of privation. There must be such, as far as this life is concerned. When we have passed the bounds of time and space, the pleasures of this world exist for us no more. We seem half afraid that even there we shall lack many enjoyments. Thus, in certain moods of mind, must we think of that long night which succeeds our mortal day. Though such thoughts should not be the governing ideas of our spiritual life, yet they are valuable for several purposes of discipline. They impart that soberness to the mind, by which we learn to taste the pleasures of life as those who have shortly to enter upon a scene of unknown and untried things. To every one, the wise man says, let him remember the days of darkness: for they shall be many.
III. To be Mindful of the Solemn Judgment Awaiting Mankind. (Ecc. 11:9.) This does not refer to any penalties of sin in the present life, though these are Divine Judgments, but rather to that solemn reckoning which God will make with all mankind. The fact of human responsibility makes a future Judgment necessary. Mankind will not be judged in masses, but each one by himself. God will bring thee into judgment.
1. The moral worth or worthlessness of each human life will be estimated. The true character of each man will be revealed. The Judgment is spoken of as that which shall make manifest what we really are. (2Co. 5:10.)
2. The judgment will be against all lives in which there has been a non-recognition of God. The youth is reminded that for the joy which is so natural to his season of life, for walking in the ways of his heart and in the sight of his eyes, God will bring him into judgment. This does not necessarily mean condemnation. He who in lifes work or pleasures recognises God, and is governed by spiritual ideas, though he may feel solemn as he thinks of the test to which he shall be brought, has yet nothing to fear. It will be a test discovering what he is, not one which destroys. Like gold which is proved in the fire, the Judgment will, indeed, be a trial for all the righteous, but it will not be destruction. But he who in his pleasures and works has forgotten God, has lived without a due sense of responsibility, and of the awful future, has all to fear from the Holy One, who is determined to put all sin out of His sight. Nothing that is evil can live in the light of His countenance, and all is sad and unprofitable upon which that light does not shine. Human life in all its duties, joys, and sorrows, is sanctified and raised by the continual desire to please God. Without this the whole of life comes under condemnation.
IV. To Allow these Facts Practically to Influence the Conduct. (Ecc. 11:10.) In this section the wise man dwells upon the chief facts of probation and destiny. No stage of life is permanent, but all is fleeting. All are hastening to that long dark night in which no man can work. All alike await the Judgment, even the best and holiest needing to find mercy of the Lord in that day. What course of conduct is the wisest in the face of these solemn truths? How, especially, is the youth, to whom the world offers the strongest temptations, so to order his life, lest he should come into the condemnation of the Judgment?
1. He should remove the causes of inward trouble. Remove sorrow from thy heart. Sin, in its many forms, is the cause of all trouble and sorrow. All disorders in the universe arise from this one bitter root. If sin is put away, though a man may have outward trouble, yet the depths of him will be lightened up with the presence of God; and in a rich hope, and an approving conscience, he will have the comfort of an unearthly joy. The youth who follows his desires, without any moral restraint, must sooner or later know sad grief heavy at his heart. Conscience will one day awake and afflict his soul.
2. He should avoid the physical penalties of sin. There are spiritual sins for which the flesh is not chastised. There are carnal sins whose penalties man is made to bear in his body. Some vices injure health, exhaust physical vigour, and bring acute misery. Put away evil from thy flesh is the counsel of wisdom to those who are tempted to try dangerous pleasures. A man may well reflect whether he does not pay too high a price for the sinful indulgence of the flesh. These natural chastisements foredate the Last Judgment, and full retribution for all sin. Their lessons should be early learned, lest youth should transmit to age the inheritance of suffering and shame. To put away evil from the heart, and sorrow from the flesh, is to garnish and prepare the soul, that heavenly influences there may take up their abode. The joy of opening life is a hollow vanity, unless a man has learned to cherish those joys which time can never fade.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc. 11:7 : All light is pleasant; tis the very smile of nature, the gloss of the world, the varnish of the creation, a bright paraphrase upon bodies. Whether it discover itself in the modesty of a morning blush, and open its fair and virgin eyelids in the dawning of the day; or whether it dart out more vigorous and sprightful beams, shining out in its noonday glory; whether it sport and twinkle in a star; or blaze and glare out in a comet; or frisk and dance in a jewel; or dissemble and play the hypocrite in a glow-worm; or epitomize and abbreviate itself in a spark, and show its zeal in the ruddiness of its complexion in the yolk of the fire; or grow more pale, pining, or consuming away in a candle. However it is pleased to manifest itself, it carries a commanding lustre in its face. Is it not a pleasant thing to behold a sun? nay, to behold but a candle, a deputed light, a vicarious lightthe ape of a sunbeam? [Culverwell.]
Light is the emblem of all that is joyous in life. Sorrow and melancholy seek the shade and the darkness.
It is only the brightest passages, the best moments of life, that can be aptly and truly represented by the light. Sin has disturbed the harmony between the natural and the spiritual worlds.
Ecc. 11:8. If a mans life is not approved of God, prosperity, however long continued, will end in the darkening of all that is hopeful and bright in life. This is but the prelude of a sadder privation beyond life.
The most favourable instances of the worldly prosperity of godless men do not affect the truth, that all that cometh of such a life is vanity.
In the years of thy life, therefore, remember these days. In thy days of delight, remember these days of trouble, and let the remembrance of them make thee to provide against them by well ordering thy life [Jermin].
As long as life is coming, or to come, its vanity does not appear. On the contrary, there is nothing thought of then but content and satisfaction; nothing but Elysian prospects, dreams of happiness, and landscapes of Paradise. For there is a strange fallacy in Hereafter; and distance, which lessens objects to the eye, magnifies them to the mind. We are big with the hopes of that part of life which is coming on, and live day after day upon the fancy of what to-morrow will produce, like the spectators of a play still in expectation of the next scene; but yet, when to-morrow comes, we find it just like yesterday, vain and without content; and so will every to-morrow be when it comes to be to-day [Norris].
There are days of darkness which will come to the just, in this world; but it is not a darkness which hides God. Rather is it like that of night, which uncovers the celestial globe, and reveals bright glories in the heavens which were never seen by day.
Ecc. 11:9. When the heart is in a right state no joy will harm, provided only it be true joy, and not merely a corrupting mirth. Enjoy it, then, if there is anything pleasant for the sight or hearing provided you sin not against God [Luther].
To walk in the ways of the heart and in the sight of the eyes may be taken in a bad sense, as representing that wilfulness in conduct which does not acknowledge God. But there is a proper use both of the heart and of the eye. God denies no lawful pleasures to that faculty which loves, or to that which appreciates the forms of beauty in the world. The principle by which life is governed is the chief thing. To the pure, all these things are pure.
The stronger the temptations to unlawful pleasures, the stronger should be felt the restraints of religion.
In the enjoyments of pleasure, a man should have the thought ever present with him that he is living under the shadow of the Day of Judgmenta shadow which is deepening fast. This will prevent him from abusing that which was intended for his training and improvement.
To be brought face to face, at last, with God will of itself be terrible distress to all who have not learned in life to find their chief delight in Him.
Ecc. 11:10. There are inward and outward troublessources of pain to the body and to the mind. From some of these our goodness cannot deliver us; but from the worst forms of them we can be saved by obedience to the will of God.
That heart which Gods Spirit has renewed and occupies, however oppressed with the troubles of life, can have no essential and crushing sorrow.
He who is saved from sin is saved from the cause of the deepest troubles. He possesses the true life, and therefore enjoys the gladness which it brings. He becomes a partaker of the Divine nature, and is blessed.
Godliness, while it raises and purifies the spirit of man, does also redeem the flesh from many evils. Herein is a prophecy of a more complete redemption for the body. The tree of life in Paradise heals all the ills of man.
Let, therefore, the youthful worldling pause. Let him not suffer his fond hopes, and dazzling visions of the future, to deceive him, for childhood and youth are vanity. The promises they make to the thoughtless, carnal mind, are false. The halo which they throw around the world is a deceitful glare. The joyous anticipations in which they indulge are continually liable to disappointment; and every day, every hour, events may arrive that will sweep them utterly away, or bury them in darkness and death [Buchanan].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
7. Light is sweet A cheerful and happy temper is the unfailing reward of a life given to doing good. This verse should not be separated from the preceding. To none is the light of life so sweet as to those who, being delivered from selfishness and misanthropy, spend life in diligence and benevolence. Many beautiful instances will occur to every mind of men skilful and unremitting in business, yet liberal and kind in using their fortunes; and of those, too, who, having neither silver nor gold, have given such as they had to bless their race. Such are always cheerful, joyous people.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A Reminder of the Vanities of Life In between the Preacher’s proclamation of things man must do to overcome the vanities of life he interjects a sober reminder of why we must head his advice. Ecc 11:7-8 tells us again that everything in this life is vanity.
Ecc 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Ecc 11:8
Rejoicing with Trembling
v. 7. Truly, the light is sweet, v. 8. but if a man live many years and rejoice in them all, v. 9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, v. 10. Therefore remove sorrow, Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: (8) But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
If to the eye of the body, as most evidently it is, this truth holds good, what must it be to the eye of the soul? Oh! thou Sun of righteousness, what blessedness is there in thee who art the fountain, and source of all light, and life, and joy, in thy church, to angels and men! Let what will of clouds and darkness intervene below, thou shinest with unceasing, undiminished lustre; neither can sin, nor sorrow, nor all the unworthiness of creatures, induce a momentary darkness in thy sphere! Shine, blessed Lord; in my heart, in a fulness of grace here, until that day when the moon shall be confounded, and the sun of this lower world ashamed, when thou shalt shine and reign as the Lord of Hosts in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem above, before thine ancients gloriously, Isa 24:23 .
Ecc 11:7 Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it is] for the eyes to behold the sun:
Ver. 7. Truly the light is sweet. ] The light of life, of a lightsome life especially. Any life is sweet; which made the Gibeonites make such a hard shift to live, though it were but to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. “I pray thee let me live,” live upon any terms, said Benhadad, in his submissive message to that merciful nonsuch. 1Ki 20:32 “If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition,” said that , that paragon of her time, Queen Esther. Ecc 7:3 a Ebedmelech is promised “his life for a prey”; Jer 39:18 and so is Barak, as a sufficient reward of that good service he had done in reading the roll, for the which he expected some great preferment. Jer 45:5 ; Jer 36:1-2 The prophet chides him, and tells him he might be glad of his life in those dear years of time, when the arrows of death had so oft come whisking by him, and he had so oft straddled over the grave, as it were, and yet was not fallen into it. To maintain our radical humour, that feeds the lamp of life, is as great a miracle, saith one, as the oil in the widow’s cruse, that failed her not. To deliver us from so many deaths and dangers as we are daily and hourly subject unto, is a mercy that calls for continual praises to the Preserver of mankind. But more, when men do not only live, but live prosperously, as Nabal did. 1Sa 25:6 “Thus,” said David to his messengers, “shall ye say to him that liveth,” viz., in prosperity; which such a man as Nabal reckons the only life. The Irish use to ask what such a man meant to die? And some good interpreters are of the opinion, that the Preacher in this verse brings in the carnal churl objecting, or replying for himself against the former persuasions to acts of charity. Ah! saith he; but, for all that, to live at the full; to have a goodly inheritance in a fertile soil, in a wholesome air, near to the river, not far from the town; to be free from all troubles and cares that poverty bringeth; to live in a constant sunshine of prosperity, abundance, honour, and delight; to have all that heart can wish or need require – what a heavenly life is this! what a lovely and desirable condition! &c. “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days that he may see good?” saith David. Psa 34:12 I do, saith one; and I, saith another; and I, a third, &c., as St Augustine frames the answer. It is that which all worldlings covet, and hold it no policy to part with what they have to the poor for uncertainties in another world. In answer to whom, and for a cooler to their inordinate love of life, the Preacher subjoins –
a Sic de Aspasia Milesia, Cyri concubina. – Aelian, Var. Hist. lib. xii. cap. 1.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ecc 11:7-8
7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.
Ecc 11:7 light is pleasant This is metaphorical for the enjoyment of life (cf. Ecc 2:24-26; Ecc 3:12-13; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18; Ecc 8:15).
Ecc 11:8 This verse seems to relate to Ecc 11:1-6. Share your wealth and influence while you can because dark days come into every life, and in those days others will share with you.
Live life fully every day. One does not know how many of them will be good and bright!
Ecc 11:7-9
Ecc 11:7-9
THE SECOND REMEDY
“Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold the sun. Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
Deane defined this second remedy for the perplexities of life as, “Cheerfulness, a spirit that enjoys the present time, with a chastened regard to the future. Solomon was in the right key here. The Christ himself said, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Mat 5:11). Furthermore, that admonition came as the proper response even to bitter persecution. Nothing enhances and glorifies life on earth any more than an invariably cheerful disposition, not only for him that is fortunate enough to possess it, but also for all of them whom his life may touch.
From a dungeon in Rome, Paul wrote Philippians with its quadruple exclamation: “Rejoice …rejoice … rejoice … and again I say, Rejoice.” As saved sinners, made clean by the blood of Christ, endowed with the hope of eternal glory, assured that nothing, absolutely nothing, past, present or future, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that passeth all understanding – regardless of disease, or poverty, or persecution, whatever the evil world may have given us, let the child of God rejoice all the days of life and go down to the grave rejoicing in the hope of glory! As Our Lord said, “Your joy no man taketh from you.” (Joh 16:22).
The happiness, joy, and rejoicing which are admonished here are envisioned as taking place, even in the contemplation of death itself (the days of darkness), and in the full consciousness of the Eternal Judgment to come (Ecc 11:9). In fact, joy is impossible apart from the rational and enlightened knowledge and considerations of those future realities. “The rejoicing admonished here is made possible only by a true regard for the future,” the certainty that, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death … thou art with me … and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalms 23).
“Walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes” (Ecc 11:9). This must be viewed as a license for sensuality and debauchery. A better translation of this is that in the Septuagint: “Walk in the ways of thy heart blameless! but not in the sight of thine eyes.” Even in our own version, the mention of the Eternal Judgment stands (and the command in Ecc 11:10) as an effective terminator of any alleged license that may be claimed on the basis of what is written here.
Ecc 11:7 To see the sun may communicate no other meaning than to be alive. (Cf. Ecc 6:5; Ecc 7:11) The basic joy of living is the tenor of Solomons emphasis now, but it is conveyed through this verse by the words pleasant and good, and not necessarily by to see. Solomons quest is clearly set forth in Ecc 2:3; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:12-22; Ecc 5:18 and Ecc 8:15. Light is a metaphor and represents life. No matter how difficult tasks may become, or how sad the circumstances surrounding life, it is still a good thing to be alive. Especially is this true when one is yet in his youth with health and vigor on his side. Oppression or misfortune could temporarily cause one to despair, but the energy of youth will assist one in rising above such adversity. The day will come when one edges toward the darkness. (Cf. Ecc 12:2; Ecc 12:6-7) At that time, all opportunities for joyful activities will be lost.
Ecc 11:8 Here Solomon is careful to note that throughout life, from youth to old age, it is possible to find good and pleasant activities. How can one rejoice in all his days? The answer has been labored by the Preacher. It is best summarized by his own words, Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life, and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun (Ecc 9:8-9).
The days of darkness do not refer to the misfortunes which may occur on the earth. Neither do they refer to the end years of ones life. The reference is to the abiding place of the soul when it is no longer in the light or under the sun. In other words it is the period of time one must spend in the grave or Sheol. (Cf. Ecc 9:10; Gen 37:35; Job 21:13; Job 17:13; Isaiah 38; Isaiah 10) Solomon also uses the term eternal home (Ecc 12:5) in describing Sheol. Such pensive meditation on the certainty of this truth has a sobering effect on the wise (Ecc 7:2-4). He does not despair but becomes more determined that he will make the most of his opportunities. In the grave, when the soul abides in Sheol, everything will be futility. There is nothing that promises any kind of positive experience in the grave. How appropriate to this comment are the words of Jesus in Joh 9:4 when He said, We must work the works of Him who sent me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.
Ecc 11:9 Note the Preachers admonition is directed to young men. The youth have the pathway of life before them. Their hopes, dreams and ambitions will be shaped by attitudes formed while still young. Parker remarks: Coheleth thus does not fear to enforce religious considerations upon the young mind. How noble a spectacle is a young life of joy consecrated to the service of truth, eager in upholding the claims of all pureness and wisdom! There is no nobler sight in all the earth than consecrated youth, sanctified enthusiasm, exuberant joy, used as a stimulus in sacred service.”
There is a unit relationship that exists in the admonitions in Ecc 11:9-10 and Ecc 12:1. The unity of the section is somewhat minimized by the chapter break. However, Leupold wisely points out that in verse nine, youth are to rejoice in all good things that give the heart true cheer; in verse ten he is told to put aside all that might interfere with such legitimate joy; and in chapter twelve verse one, provision is made for the youth to see that his roots are to run deep in remembering God which alone assures joy.
Solomon is encouraging the pursuit of pleasure tempered with the awareness that God will bring all activities into judgment. Some view the pleasures as sinful and thus the verse is taken as a prohibition or warning. The argument states that Solomon is using stern irony with a charge that one is free to enjoy all the sinful pleasures that youth finds exciting, but one must not forget that God will inevitably bring all deeds to judgment. Such an interpretation, however, is totally foreign to the spirit of the passage. What is evident is the fact that in the prime of life all that is wholesome activity, and thus approved of God, should be pursued.
Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Job speaks of the heart following after the eyes (Job 31:7). This type of wholesome pleasure has previously been approved. (Cf. Ecc 2:10; Ecc 2:24; Ecc 3:12-13; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18; Ecc 8:15) Much of what the Preacher identifies as both wise and foolish, he has observed with his eyes. The eyes stimulate impulses and desires. The caution expressed here is toward the innocent use of sight and that which is pleasing to God. The caution comes in the stern form of a reminder that God will bring you into judgment. One does not know many of the activities of God (verses five-six), but what he must know is that God will one day judge him. What is the nature of this judgment? Various views are offered: (1) The judgment is the pain and debility that comes to one in old age, but is increased because of the sowing of wild oats in ones youth. The more one corrupts his youth, the more he suffers in old age. (2) the calamities that befall one are the direct result of sins and should be interpreted as an outpouring of Gods wrath. This kind of temporal judgment is in harmony with the principle of retribution previously discussed. (3) The interpretation which appears the most defensible in the light of Ecc 3:17; Ecc 12:1; Ecc 12:7; Ecc 12:14 is that there will be a final time of judgment. The Preachers view of the final judgment is not clear or detailed, but he appeals to proper behavior on the premise that such a judgment is coming. Existence beyond the grave was hinted at in Ecc 9:5-6; Ecc 9:10 and confirmed in Ecc 12:7.
the light: Job 33:28, Job 33:30, Psa 56:13, Pro 15:30, Pro 29:13
a pleasant: Ecc 7:11, Psa 84:11, Mat 5:45
Reciprocal: Gen 1:4 – that Ecc 2:13 – light Ecc 12:2 – the sun
Ecc 11:7-8. Truly, the light is sweet It cannot be denied, that this present life is in itself a great blessing, and desirable; but it is not perpetual nor satisfactory: for, if a man live many years Which is a privilege granted but to few persons comparatively; and rejoice in them all Enjoy all the comforts, and escape all the imbitterness of human life all his days; yet let him remember the days of darkness Of death, or the state of the dead, often expressed by darkness, as Job 10:21; Psa 88:12; and here opposed to the foregoing light: for they shall be many Far more than the days of this short life, especially if, to the days of the bodys lying in the dark grave, be added that greater and utter darkness reserved for impenitent sinners, which is everlasting. And this is added, for the caution of mankind, that they may not rejoice excessively in, nor content themselves with, the happiness of the present life, but may seek a life more durable and satisfactory. All that cometh is vanity All things which befall any man belonging only to this life, whether they be comfortable or vexatious, are but vain and inconsiderable, because they are short and transitory.
IV. THE WAY OF Wisdom 11:7-12:14
In Ecc 1:12 to Ecc 6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun, and we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we die. In Ecc 6:10 to Ecc 11:6, he pointed out that we can never be sure which of our efforts will succeed, because we do not know God’s plans or what the future holds. In Ecc 11:7 to Ecc 12:14, he emphasized how to live acceptably before God in view of these realities.
"The Teacher has discussed how we should act in view of the uncertainties of life. We must recognize the certainties but must plan in such a way as not to be thrown off balance when the unexpected happens. Now the Teacher goes on to speak of the certainty of growing up and growing old." [Note: J. S. Wright, "Ecclesiastes," p. 1190.]
1. Joyful living 11:7-10
The first reason we should enjoy life now is that we cannot do so after we die. As Christians we realize that life beyond the grave will be much better for believers than life on this earth. Solomon would not have disputed this had he known what we do as a result of revelation given after his lifetime. For Solomon, the future after death was unclear, enigmatic, and therefore vaporous (Heb. hebel, "futility" in Ecc 11:8) in this sense (cf. Ecc 8:10; Ecc 8:14). Solomon’s advice to enjoy life is still good for today, since our earthly experience is indeed short, and we will never return this way again. Even though the future is bright for the believer, the relative futility of our work and the uncertainty of our future on the earth still make joyful living a wise choice.
A. Joyous and Responsible Living 11:7-12:7
Solomon had already advocated the enjoyment of life and responsible living in several of the preceding sections (Ecc 2:24-26; Ecc 3:12-13; Ecc 3:22; Ecc 5:18-19; Ecc 8:15; Ecc 9:7-10). Now he stressed these points.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)