And I returned and saw vanity under the sun.
The Preacher turns his eye back on the world a second time and finds one more empty thing in it: a man who has piled up wealth and has nobody to share it with. This verse raises three questions: what "vanity" means, why he keeps saying "under the sun," and where such a life ends.
The phrase "under the sun" fixes what the Preacher is looking at. This is not heaven's view. It is what a man can see from ground level.
The second word we notice is "under the sun." This expression is found twenty-nine times in this book. Now what is "under the sun" is on the earth. There is, of course, something above the sun — that is heaven, the heavenly things. So Ecclesiastes deals with earthly things, with what man does apart from God — that is, the natural man. The book is in the Holy Scriptures for one purpose: to show the natural man the hollowness and vanity of everything under the sun, and so to move him to seek and find what is better, what is above the sun.
What does "vanity" mean? It names something real that is gone almost as soon as you hold it. And the man who said it was no bitter failure.
If these were the words of a disappointed man, whose hopes had been cruelly crushed… no one could wonder at such an opening. But these are the words of the most prosperous man, humanly speaking, the world has ever seen. "Vanity of vanities" — a mere breath, a vapour passing over the earth, short-lived in its existence. Such is the recorded experience of the son of David, king in Jerusalem, and that not of some things but of all.
Verse 7 turns the chapter to a new subject.
The vanity of selfishness comes into view from verse 7, and the value of fellowship from verse 9. The king is not exempt from it, especially as he may be foolish and the people fickle (verses 13-16). Vanity and frustration reign everywhere.
The next verse fills in the picture. He has everything except a person, and the wanting never stops.
Here is another vanity. Some are misers, heaping up riches and treasures beyond counting. He has no relations, no children, no brother; even companionship and friendship are unknown to him. He lives his solitary life. His ambition is to labour and gather riches, but his eyes are never satisfied with riches; he wants more and more all the time.
The unsatisfied eye of verse 8 has a name elsewhere in Scripture, and it costs other people something.
In the Scriptures, the evil eye often keeps close company with covetousness, selfishness and envious jealousy. It ignores the sufferings of others whenever ignoring them brings personal gain. The Lord warned the people of Israel about the evil eye. They must not turn it on a poor brother in need, or hold back the help owed to him. Scripture counsels men to avoid a stingy spirit and to cultivate the generous eye that gives freely to the needy.
The verses after verse 8 answer the lonely man. They give him a second — and being someone's second has a cost.
The other side is basically the thought of help, support, fellowship. The key text here is Ecclesiastes 4, where two are better than one. That thought belongs naturally to the number two, for we speak of "seconding" in the sense of "assisting." I may add that it also involves the thought of taking a lower place in doing so.
The chapter names wrongs that no one on earth puts right. Yet it does not end in despair.
Ecclesiastes 4 voices the deep sorrow caused by the crying injustice of a sinful world. Its wrongs are never put right, and they make up the history of our race… Work and idleness alike bring their share of distress. Still, in this quicksand where there is nowhere to stand, we see the thought of God arise, giving a firm foundation to heart and mind.
The full remedy waits on His return.
The state of man and the world will never be a joy to the glory of God until He comes again, and comes in power to reign. He first came to glorify God in obedience and in suffering for sin, and so to lay the foundation for blessing in righteousness for ever.
- Look — "Under the sun" is the book's viewpoint: the earth, and what man does apart from God.
- Vanity — The word means a breath, a vapour, soon gone. This is the verdict of the most prosperous of men, not of a disappointed one.
- Selfishness — From verse 7 the Preacher shows the emptiness of living for self. From verse 9 he sets fellowship against it.
- Eye — The lonely man has no son, no brother, no friend, and riches never fill his eye. The eye that never has enough is the eye that overlooks the poor.
- Second — What he lacks is a second: someone to help and lift him. Being that second means taking the lower place. Only Christ's return sets the whole scene right.
There is one [alone] and without a second; also he hath neither son nor brother yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with riches, and [he saith not], For whom then am I labouring, and depriving my soul of good? This also is vanity and a grievous occupation.
The Preacher describes a quiet tragedy. Here is a man with no family and no companion. He works without pause and never has enough. His own question is left hanging — who is all this for? The rest of the chapter answers it, but not in the direction he was looking.
This verse sits in a short run about selfishness. The answer to it starts one verse later:
Verse 7 onwards shows the vanity of selfishness, and verse 9 onwards shows the value of fellowship. Not even the king escapes this, especially as he may be foolish and the people fickle (verses 13-16). Vanity and frustration reign everywhere.
The details pile up: no other person, no son, no brother. He is cut off from everyone, and he keeps good things from himself while he gathers more:
Here is another vanity. Some are misers, piling up untold riches and treasures. He has no relations, no children, no brother, even companionship and friendship are unknown to him. He lives his solitary life. His ambition is to labor and gather riches, but his eyes are never satisfied with riches; he wants more and more all the time. This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
The verse puts the problem in the eye, not in the size of the fortune. So more riches never close the gap, and the answer must come from outside what the eye can see:
Elsewhere we read, "the eye is not satisfied with seeing." Covetousness seems to be woken again and again by what the eye sees. It takes stern self-judgment to hold back this natural impulse of our hearts. It is a disease of all mankind... man's eyes feed on all they can see, with never a satisfying, living, vital result. All is transient and vain. How far above and beyond all this is the blessed revelation of God in the Person of His Son! About this revelation the child of God can say with a full heart: "As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness."
Scripture has a name for such an eye. This verse stands beside passages that show what it costs a needy person nearby:
In the Scriptures, the evil eye is often seen as a close companion of covetousness, selfishness and envious jealousy. The evil eye ignores the sufferings of others if it can secure personal gain that way. The Lord warned the people of Israel against having an evil eye towards a poor brother in need, and against holding back the help they owed him (Deut. 15:7-9; Deut. 28:54-55). Men were told to avoid a stingy spirit and to grow the generous eye that gives freely to the needy (Prov. 22:9). The eye is never satisfied with riches. The man who rushes to be rich and has an evil eye is warned that poverty will come upon him (Prov. 28:22; Ecc. 4:8).
The man is one person with no other beside him. The next verses show what a second person would have been to him:
The other side is the thought of help, confirmation, fellowship. The basic text here is Ecclesiastes 4 — "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil..." That thought belongs to the number itself. We speak of "seconding" someone, meaning "assisting" them. I may add that it also carries the thought of taking a lower place in order to do so.
His question — "For whom am I toiling?" — has no answer inside his own world. The book leaves one door open, and behind it is a Person:
In this book I see one way, and one only, open to us as an escape from a universal vanity and from the sense of it. We have no other option... Faith in Jesus, says the apostle, is the one and only way out of a state of condemnation. Living to Jesus, says the Book of Ecclesiastes, is the one and only way out of a state of vanity. And we may well rejoice in the simplicity of such relief from such heavy and grievous conditions.
- No second. His poverty is not money but company — no son, no brother, no one beside him. The verse names his isolation before it mentions his toil.
- No limit. He is a miser. His ambition is to gather, and he wants more and more all the time.
- No satisfaction. What the eye sees wakes covetousness, and the eye is never satisfied. Only the sight of God's face gives the satisfaction the eye keeps chasing.
- No neighbour. Scripture calls this an evil eye. It ignores the suffering of others when personal gain is at stake, and it ends in poverty.
- A second given. Two are better than one: help, confirmation, fellowship. Behind that, living to Jesus is the one way out of a life of vanity.
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 follows a portrait of a man with no one — no son, no brother, working without rest and never satisfied. Against that picture the writer sets two people who share the work, and promises them a good reward for it.
The verse is the turn in an argument. One commentator maps the chapter's movement in a single line:
Then the vanity of selfishness is described from verse 7, and the value of fellowship from verse 9… Vanity and frustration reign everywhere.
The man in verses 7-8 has no family and no friends. Greed keeps him there:
Another vanity is observed. Some are misers, heaping up riches and treasures beyond counting. He has no relations, no children, no brother. He knows nothing of companionship or friendship. He lives his solitary life. His ambition is to labour and gather riches. But his eyes are never satisfied with riches. He wants more and more all the time.
One writer draws the meaning out of the number two itself:
The other side is essentially the thought of help, confirmation, fellowship… This thought clearly belongs to the number two. We speak of "seconding" in the sense of "assisting." I may add that it also carries the thought of taking a lower place in doing so.
The next verse spells out the "good reward": one lifts the other up. One writer applies this to the Christian's fight:
Some of us have learned these lessons far more bitterly than God intended. We went to the war single-handed. We went down at every point, and when we fell we had to get up unhelped, alone. Suppose we had stood together in one band, as God commanded us, instead of riding out as lone knights. Our experience would have cost us less, and often brought less dishonour to our Captain… Union is strength. It increases our joys and eases our sorrows, through contact and love. We weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.
The same help works in everyday Christian life:
Fellowship and companionship with other Christians are vital for feeding and developing the divine life. Association with fellow Christians draws out the new nature and strengthens the divine desires. "Two are better than one… For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Someone weak in the faith may be likely to fall. Companionship with stronger Christians will lift him up and strengthen him.
When the Lord first sent out His twelve disciples, He sent them in pairs. One writer explains why:
The sending out of the twelve was the start of an extension of the Lord's ministry and service. Until then everything had been in His own hands, with the disciples as onlookers; now they are to act on His behalf. He was entirely sufficient in Himself. They are not, and so they are to go out two by two. There is help and courage in companionship. Just where one is weak, another may be strong, and He who sent them knew exactly how to pair them together… Service is an individual matter, it is true, but even today we do well to value fellowship in serving.
One writer praises companionship, then sets a limit on it:
No doubt the fellowship of a brother is most valuable — "Two are better than one" — whether in work, rest, or conflict. The Lord Jesus, in sending out His disciples, "sent them two by two," for unity is always better than isolation. Still, we need to know God personally and to know His presence well enough to walk alone if we must. Without that, we shall find the presence of a brother of very little use.
Commentators differ in emphasis. One writes to comfort a man serving alone:
But you must not be discouraged, dear brother, if you are alone for a time. No one ever knew what it was to be alone as the blessed Lord did… I have the habit of working alone, always have, though warmly united with other Christians. Sometimes I am almost afraid there is fault in me. But I am cast on the Lord, and am more with Him. I fully recognise that the Lord Himself sent them out two by two, and I see in a measure the wisdom of it.
- Alone. The verse answers the man of verses 7-8. He has no son and no brother. His eyes never have enough, and his solitary life is vanity.
- A second. The strength of "two" is the idea of seconding — assisting. It carries the thought of taking the lower place to do it.
- Lifted. Fight single-handed and you fall alone. Stand together and joys grow, sorrows ease, and the strong lift the one who is weak in faith.
- Sent. The Lord acted on this principle. He was sufficient in Himself; His servants were not. So He paired them, knowing where one was weak and another strong.
- Grounded. A companion is valuable, but he never replaces knowing God yourself. Without that, the brother beside us is of little use.
For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and who hath not another to lift him up!
Ecclesiastes 4 looks hard at life "under the sun" — envy, endless work, and a man piling up riches with no one to share them. Then comes a plain picture: someone falls, and everything depends on whether a second person is there to help.
The verse is the second half of a contrast the chapter has been building.
From verse 7 he shows the emptiness of selfishness, and from verse 9 the value of fellowship... Emptiness and frustration reign everywhere.
One writer draws out the sense of an English word for this kind of help.
The thought of relationship only begins with two. Our language shows the other side of it in the word "seconding." To "second" someone is to "confirm, support, help" — and to take even a lower place to do it.
Note the last clause. Lifting a fallen man means going lower than he is.
Some have learned the "woe" of this verse by experience, not by study.
Some of us have learned these lessons the hard way — far harder than God intended, because we went to war alone. At every point we were knocked to the ground, and when we fell we had to get up unhelped, alone... Union is strength, for it increases our joys and eases our sorrows, through fellowship and love. We weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice.
The verse says the fallen man "has not another to lift him up." So the responsibility sits with someone else, not with the man on the ground.
It does not say, let the one who fell set himself right and climb back to the road. No, the responsibility for the fallen brother lies with those who are spiritual. And let us remember that those who fall turn their faces away from their brothers and sisters out of sheer shame. Let us remember that their hearts will soon grow used to the distance.
The same writer presses further: there is only one position from which you can lift someone.
That is the only way to deal with a fallen brother. You cannot pick him up from the other side of the road. You cannot help him while you stand beside him. You have to come where he is. You have to get down on your knees in the dust beside him, and then there is some hope that you may be able to put him right.
The principle shows up in real lives. God gave one prophet more than he went looking for.
Elijah journeyed to Abel-Meholah to find a successor, and there, in the goodness of God, he found a companion. For the fiery prophet's trials were not yet ended, and from then on the fellowship of a kindred heart would comfort him. "Two are better than one... For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). 2 Kings 3:11 shows how truly that companion, Elisha, refreshed his master's spirit: it describes him as the one "who poured water on the hands of Elijah."
Fellowship has a limit. One writer warns that a companion cannot make up for what you lack in your own walk with God.
No doubt, the fellowship of a brother is most valuable — "Two are better than one" — whether in labour, rest, or conflict. The Lord Jesus, in sending out His disciples, "sent them out two by two," for unity is always better than isolation. Still, if our personal knowledge of God and our experience of His presence do not enable us to walk alone when needed, we will find the presence of a brother of very little use. It is striking that Aaron, the companion who seemed to satisfy Moses, was the man who later made the golden calf. So it often happens that the very person we think essential to our progress afterwards proves a source of deepest sorrow to our hearts.
- Alone is the danger. The chapter weighs selfish, solitary toil against fellowship — and calls the first one empty.
- Falling is assumed. The verse does not ask whether you will go down; it asks who will be there when you do.
- Lifting is the word. To "second" someone means to confirm, support and help — and to take the lower place to do it.
- Stooping is the method. You cannot lift anyone from across the road. Kneel in the dust beside him, before shame makes the distance feel normal.
- God supplies the second. Elijah looked for a successor and God gave him a companion. But a companion strengthens the one who already knows God; he cannot replace Him.
Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one alone be warm?
Solomon has been watching a man with no one — no child, no brother — piling up wealth he cannot enjoy, and he calls it emptiness. Then comes a picture from an ordinary cold night: two under one covering keep each other warm, and one alone cannot.
The verse belongs to a portrait sketched a few lines earlier: a man with everything except anyone to share it with.
Another vanity is observed. Some are misers, heaping up riches and treasures untold. He has no relations, no children, no brother, even companionship and friendship are unknown to him. He lives his solitary life. His ambition is to labour and gather riches, but his eyes are never satisfied with riches; he wants more and more all the time. This too is vanity, and a heavy, painful burden.
Verse 9 turns the argument. The chapter stops describing what is empty and starts describing what is worth having.
From verse 7 the vanity of selfishness comes into view, and from verse 9 the value of fellowship.
One writer builds the meaning of "two" in Scripture on this passage, and finds a trace of it in our own language.
In essence, the other side is the thought of help, confirmation, fellowship. The key text here is Ecclesiastes 4... That thought again belongs naturally to the number two. We speak of "seconding" in the sense of "assisting." I may add that it also carries the thought of taking a lower place in order to help.
The three pictures in verses 10-12 — falling, freezing, being overpowered — are not theory. One writer counts what going it alone cost him and others.
Some of us have learned these lessons bitterly — far more bitterly than God intended. We went to the war single-handed. At every point we were knocked to the ground, and when we fell we had to get up alone, with no one to help. God commanded us to stand together in one band. If we had done that, instead of acting as lone adventurers, we would have gained our experience at less cost to ourselves, and often with less dishonour to our Captain... Union is strength: through fellowship and love it increases our joys and eases our sorrows.
The question "how can one keep warm alone?" has a second edge. Pulling away from others is not the cause of coldness but the sign of it.
Even in the heart of those who know Christ there is a tendency, if they grow cold, to separate and remain apart. We see this in Thomas. He was not with the disciples at first. Only when they told him Christ had really risen did his heart catch fire. Then he came back, still in his doubt, and the Lord Himself removed his doubts... Let us take it as a gauge of the state of our soul. Suppose we do not love to meet with the people of God. Suppose we do not love to come together for prayer, for encouragement, and above all for remembering our blessed Lord. It shows He does not have the supreme place in our souls.
Another writer names the same drift and adds who profits from it.
To shun the company of Christians is an early symptom of spiritual disease... Beware, then, of sulking alone. It is the stragglers who fall an easy prey to the crafty enemy.
There is a plausible reason to withdraw: the coldness of everyone else. One writer names that reasoning and refuses it.
But for the believer there is another danger, more subtle because it sounds more reasonable. It is to isolate himself more and more as he sees indifference and worldliness spreading among the children of God. This tendency is the exact opposite of God's thought for His own... The great falling away does not isolate those who fear the Lord; it drives them together.
One writer adds a caution. A companion is a gift, not a substitute.
No doubt the fellowship of a brother is most valuable — "Two are better than one" — whether in work, rest, or conflict. The Lord Jesus, in sending out His disciples, "sent them two by two," for unity is always better than isolation. Still, our own acquaintance with God and our experience of His presence must be enough to let us walk alone if we have to. Otherwise we shall find the presence of a brother of very little use.
- Alone — The man in this chapter has wealth and work but no one. Solomon files that under emptiness, not achievement.
- Second — In Scripture "two" means help, confirmation and fellowship. Our word "seconding" holds it: you assist, and you take the lower place.
- Fall — Fight alone and you go down with no one to lift you. Stand together and joys grow while sorrows ease.
- Cold — Staying apart is the symptom, not the cure. The straggler is easy prey; Thomas came back and his heart caught fire.
- Christ — A companion never replaces knowing God yourself. Without that, another's presence is of very little use.
And if a [man] overpower the one, the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.