In the previous chapter we were left with the idea that wickedness prevailed in positions of power (Ecclesiastes 3:16). Yet, the Teacher concluded that there was nothing better for man than to enjoy the moment and take pleasure in his labor, because this was his portion (Ecclesiastes 3:22) or gift from God (Ecclesiastes 3:13). However, the Teacher also claimed that the Lord is the final Judge in the end, and nothing done in wickedness would go unpunished (Ecclesiastes 3:17). In other words, God is the ultimate comforter of the oppressed (Ecclesiastes 4:1), but how this transpires is the subject of the current study in chapter four.
The Teacher tells us that he returned, no doubt, to the idea that there was wickedness in seats of authority (Ecclesiastes 3:16). He says he would consider this matter once more in order to investigate all the works of oppression that occurred under the sun (Ecclesiastes 4:1). Moreover, not only would he examine those things, but he would also examine the judgment of God (Ecclesiastes 3:17) that befalls mankind because of them.
The problem seems to stem from the fact that, whether we consider the things done in government or in the business world, folks in authority had all the power and were thereby open to corruption in the exercise of the power they possessed. However, as for those who were oppressed by them, they had no advocate, no one to stand between them and their oppressors. In fact, the conclusion the Teacher drew, because the oppression was so great, was that it was often better to be dead than to be among the living (Ecclesiastes 4:2). Better still, it would have been good to never have been born, because that one was never oppressed by anyone, and he had never experienced any of the evil done under the sun. Therefore, the hypothetical “he” was better off than either the living or the dead (Ecclesiastes 4:3; cp. Job 10:18-19).
Next, the Teacher began to consider all the labor or travail (H5999) that was done, especially the skillful labor. He tells us that, because of the peculiar skill a man has in his labor, he is envied and exploited by those who are powerful enough to take advantage of him (Ecclesiastes 4:4). Many have deduced Solomon was merely speaking of a neighbor who envied a man’s skill, but this doesn’t fit the context of what had just been said. Rather, it was those in authority who envied and exploited the skills of those who had no power to avoid the abuse of authority. The end of it all is vexation of spirit. That is to say, one feeds upon his own spirit, viz. his jealousy, his anger etc. becoming more and more addicted to that type of behavior. All joy in life is lost at the expense of one’s addiction.
For example, Laban sought to rule over and exploit the skills of Jacob. He saw that employing Jacob had increased his wealth (Genesis 30:27). Therefore, he sought to exploit Jacob’s skills and make them work for him. He even changed his wages several times in the process (Genesis 31:1-2, 7), and would have slain Jacob had it not been for the Lord being Jacob’s Advocate and Protector (Genesis 31:22-24). Laban’s efforts failed, but the underhanded efforts on his part to exploit Jacob’s skill shows what is ordinarily done in government and the business world. Jacob was enabled to separate himself from his oppressor. However, the rule of thumb is: most folks aren’t able to do that. They must remain under the heavy hand of those who have all the power to take away the joy the laborer has in the work he does.
The Teacher mentions the fool who folds his hands together, as though he did no wrong. He oppresses his neighbor, because his neighbor has a skill the oppressor doesn’t possess. Nevertheless, the oppressor’s punishment is that he eats his own flesh (Ecclesiastes 4:5). That is to say, he won’t be satisfied in what he acquires through oppression (Isaiah 9:20). The oppressor consumes his own life in his effort to take advantage of others, and the reward of joy in one’s own labor escapes him. Oppressors consume their own flesh, i.e., their lives, and that of their own children (Leviticus 26:26-29; Isaiah 49:26, Jeremiah 19:9; Lamentations 4:10). They consume the flesh/lives of their children by taking the joy of one’s labor from them (Ecclesiastes 3:13), in that they use them in the labor of oppressing others. Everything is done in an effort to increase the oppressor’s wealth at the expense of the skillful laborer (Ecclesiastes 4:1, 4).
Therefore, Solomon concludes that, all things considered, the oppressed were better off than the oppressor, because there is more joy in a handful of quietness, i.e., in the good the oppressed were still able to enjoy, than in all the labor the foolish oppressor did to accumulate his wealth (Ecclesiastes 4:6). This is so, because oppressing others removes one’s own joy one has in his own life. Remember, this kind of joy is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3:13), and why would the Lord bless the efforts of those, whose behavior he intends to judge (Ecclesiastes 3:16-17).
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