Ecclesiastes 4:1 Then I returned and saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who have been long dead more than the living who are yet alive. 3 Yes, better than them both is him who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Without an eternal perspective, if there is no God, there is no ultimate comfort for the oppressed. There is no final judgment where justice is meted out. In fact, if there is no accounting and no justice, it is better to have never been born. Without justice, evil men would oppress the innocent, get away with their deeds, and then be swallowed up in the meaninglessness of annihilation in death. No harm, no foul.
But God is the great comforter to those that have returned to him: The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Ecclesiastes 4:4 Then I saw all the labor and achievement that is the envy of a man’s neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 5 The fool folds his hands together and ruins himself. 6 Better is a handful, with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and chasing after wind.
And even if you work hard and achieve wealth in this life someone will come along demanding that the rich pay their fair share: The envy of a man’s neighbor. Call it envy, social justice, socialism, communism, or equity, by whatever name it has always been the same. When people are taught to believe that they are victims and therefore entitled to the fruits of someone else’s labor, their society becomes destabilized and unravels. Which, by the way, is why God codified in his Law commandments against both theft and covetousness. You shall not steal… You shall not covet… Exodus 20:15,17
But for those who acknowledge God, You shall eat of the fruit of your labor. Blessings and prosperity shall be yours. Psalm 128:2
Ecclesiastes 4:7 Then I returned and saw vanity under the sun. 8 There is one who is alone, and he has neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his labor, neither are his eyes satisfied with wealth. “For whom then, do I labor and deprive my soul of enjoyment?” This also is vanity. Yes, it is a miserable business.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone? 12 If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
As we saw in Genesis 3, one of the results of our rebellion was social alienation. And as Solomon observes, it is a miserable business. Why? Because God made us to live in community. As God said: It is not good that the man be alone. Genesis 2:18 In Christ we are brought into his family, the community of the saints. In Christ, God not only pardoned our guilt but he is regenerating us, restoring us to his divine image through the process called sanctification. For example, in God’s community we are taught to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together… Hebrews 10:24-25 We are also taught to never keep account of wrongs suffered. 1 Corinthians 13:5 In other words, as God has freely forgiven us in Christ, not holding our sins against us, we are to freely forgive others.
How is this possible?
They who are effectually called and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them, are farther sanctified really and personally, through the virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, by his word and Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts therefore are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord… although the remaining corruption for a time may much prevail, yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome: and so the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 13, Of Sanctification
Regeneration restores to us what we, in keeping with the design of our being, should have been but lost as a result of sin. In principle it restores us to the likeness and image of God. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics
Those who have fled to Christ have been given the Spirit and are now being remade, renewed, or as Christ said, born again. John 3:3
Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who doesn’t know how to receive admonition any more. 14 For out of prison he came out to be king; yes, even in his kingdom he was born poor. 15 I saw all the living who walk under the sun, that they were with the youth, the other, who succeeded him. 16 There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was—yet those who come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
It is better to be poor and have wisdom than be a foolish ruler who rejects wisdom. In other words, people often become set in their ways refusing to receive admonition and eventually a younger person will replace them. But the cycle continues and those who come after him shall not rejoice. They too will be disappointed. Fame and power are as fleeting as chasing after the wind..
But God’s children will never be rejected. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of him that called us out of the darkness and into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
To summarize this section Solomon has explained that those who deny God have no basis for justice: they are alone in an indifferent universe: they believe that they are nothing more than highly evolved animals: they believe that they are oppressed victims: and ultimately they will die and be forgotten. Reflecting on this depressing nihilistic worldview, author, Julian Barnes remarked:
I don’t believe in God but I miss him… I believe that we’re all – our life, our consciousness – eliminated in perpetuity when we die. I think that’s extremely hard to take in and hard to bear but I think that’s the case… I remember once waking up in the middle of the night in a sort of a screaming panic about the thought of inevitable and eternal annihilation of the self… cbc.ca, CBC Radio, Writers & Company
By contrast, for those who acknowledge their Creator, there will be final justice, their spirits will return to God, their comforter, and while on earth they will be enabled to live lives of joy, awe, and wonder, within the community of fellow believers.
There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice. John Calvin, Sermon Number 10, I Corinthians