In this chapter, Solomon deals with five (5) areas of life every individual must deal with.
- Religious life.
- Government in life.
- Money in life.
- Investments in life.
- The good life.
Unfortunately, there was an expectation in the Jewish system that people would make promises to God. Sometimes those promises were made based on emotions. For example, maybe someone in the family was sick and near death or maybe the person would be expecting God to bless him financially as a result. Sometimes it could even be for show so others would think he was more spiritual. I remember hearing a preacher add to the sinner’s prayer for a new believer, “and I promise to follow You faithfully for the rest of my life”. No Christian could ever live up to that promise; we often fall away from the church because of guilt. Solomon ends with this message, “Dreaming instead of doing is foolishness, and there is ruin in a flood of empty words; fear God instead.” (Verses 1-7).
In government if you see a miscarriage of justice, don’t be surprised. Government bureaucracy and red tape can barely make things right especially if there is corruption. Solomon, maybe wishing he had done a better job, wrote, “Oh for a king who is devoted to his country! Only he can bring order from this chaos.” (Verses 8-9).
Verses 10-12 deal with the love of money. “The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness. . .The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.”
Solomon next describes a man who has money but puts it in risky investments that go bad. Now he is poor again and has nothing to leave his children. “All the rest of his life he is under a cloud – gloomy, discouraged, frustrated, and angry.” (Verses 13-17).
Solomon finishes this chapter with, “To enjoy your work and to accept your lot in life – that is indeed a gift from God. The person who does that will not need to look back with sorrow on his past, for God gives him joy.” (Verses 18-20). But still he has no real purpose to live.