7 All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the [g]appetite is not [h]satisfied. 8 For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living? 9 What the eyes see is better than what the soul [i]desires. This too is futility and a striving after wind.
10 Whatever exists has already been named, and it is known what man is; for he cannot dispute with him who is stronger than he is. 11 For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime, during the few [j]years of his futile life? He will [k]spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?
Solomon continues to play “devil’s advocate” as he asks more hard questions. He asks, “What good is it to be wise?” And also, “Does wisdom help the poor man?” He’s still poor, even if his soul is right with God. In v. 11, we can talk until we’re blue in the face, but does it accomplish anything. After all, in v. 12 we see how short life really is, it is but a “shadow”.
In the middle of all this, we have v. 10. Though I’m not sure of Solomon’s intent here, he asks a great question. Can a man dispute who he is with one who is stronger than him? Oh, but we try! If we could just figure out this, and that, then we’d really know where life came from. We’re surely just one more dig away from connecting the dots in the evolution of man…
We will stop at nothing, even outright fraud, to explain away the One who is stronger than us. All so we don’t have to be accountable for anything, so we can serve ourselves instead of anyone else. And for what? If we are all there is, what is the point. Solomon puts the futility of material gain on full display. He had it all, money, palaces, power and authority, women like none other at his beck and call.
Yet his end was the same as the poorest in Israel, they would both die and go to the grave. Solomon’s earthly accomplishments are long gone, his palaces mere rubble buried under newer buildings, his wealth squandered by his descendants. So indeed, “who knows what is good for a man during his lifetime…” and who knows “what will be after him?”
There is only One, who is stronger, and wiser, who created the sun and everything underneath. If you want to live a life of futility, go ahead and keep arguing with the “one who is stronger”. But if we want something better, something enduring, something that gives meaning and purpose, God’s got it. He has it all, everything we need, He knows what is good for us, and He is not willing that we should perish. Put your hand in His, today and every day, and walk in His steps.