The Desire for Riches and Knowledge

 

 

Ecclesiastic 6:7-12

 

All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.   For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?   Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

 

Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he.   The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?  For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow?  For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

 

I’m taking this insight from the HCSB notes on verses 7-9, they tell us this passage contains three proverbs and make the transition from a major discussion of wealth to a major discussion on wisdom and death.  The proverbs teach that appetite is the thing that drives us, but it is never satisfied, that wisdom cannot save us from our appetite or from poverty, and that it is important to be satisfied with what we have.  These proverbs can relate equally well to the desire for riches or knowledge.  Both are important in their place, but neither is the key to life.

 

For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?  Only God has the answer to our prayers that has not been yet answered in regard to and awaking of the Church or a great movement of God’s Spirit in the world.  Yet all who will read the New Testament will find the answer to what is next for all men.  Hebrews 9:27, 28, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice