● Overview.
○ In Chapter 1, Solomon looked at life in a
philosophical sense. When he looks at
life again in Chapter 4, he looks at how man discovered that life is not
simple. Solomon observes real people in
real situations. Solomon had to deal
with these painful facts: life, death, time eternity, and final judgment.
● Verses.
○ In this Chapter, Solomon records his
observations from 4 different places and watching people go through a variety
of life experiences. Through his
observations, Solomon concludes that life is not monotonous. We will never have any idea to what problems
we may face on any given day. (Proverbs
17:1)
○ Verses 4:
1 - 3 In the Courtroom
■ Politics is defined as “the conduct of
public affairs for private advantages.
■ The nation of Israel had an adequate
Judicial System based upon GOD’s divine law, but the system could be
corrupted. (Exodus 18:13-27).
■ Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalmist
warned officials to judge honestly and fairly; lashing out against social
injustice. (Leviticus 19:15,
Deuteronomy 1:17, Psalm 82, Isaiah 56:1-2, Isaiah 59:1-4
■ Solomon had been a just and wise king,
but it was impossible for him to guarantee the integrity of every official in
his government. (1 Kings 3:16-28).
■ Solomon witnesses 3 tragedies in the
Courtroom: (1) the oppression and exploitation, (2) pain and sorrow in the
lives of the innocent people, and (3) the unconcern on the part of those who
could had brought comfort.
● Based upon his observations, Solomon
concluded it was better to be dead than alive and oppressed. Solomon also states it would had been better
if one had not been born at all. In
this respect, one would never see the evil works of sinful man. (Job 3:1-19, Jeremiah 15:10)
■ Solomon tried to interfere with his
government and reorganize things, after all, he was the king, and he could do
something to stop the injustice he had seen.
By revealing the corruption, he would only create new problems.
● As a Christian Citizen, we should not
despair of the cleaning of our politicians, but we should be in prayer for
them. (1 Timothy 2:1-6)
● Edward Gibbon, author of “The Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire” stated “For where there is freedom to obey, there is
freedom to disobey.”
● Even in Solomon’s time, officials and
politicians decided they were above the law, and the innocent also suffered.
○ Verses 4: 4 - 8 In the Market Place
■ Solomon went into the market place to
watch the laborers at work. His
intention was to see the “honest toil is a gift of GOD”. It was something he did not see in the “Halls
of Justice”. Solomon does notice the
industrious work of a laborer. This man
was not only skillful in his work, he was busy, and he had mastered his
trade. Solomon observes 4 different
types of laborers.
● The Industrious Man (Verse 4).
○ Solomon begins to look at the worker’s heart
and he becomes disappointed. The
laborer was perfecting his skills and working hard for the purpose of competing
with others and to make more money than his neighbors. Their intention was not to produce beautiful
or useful products, or to help people, but to stay ahead and survive in the
battle for bread. This selfishness of
the human labor was a result of sin in the human heart.
○ We covet what others have, we not only
want to have those things, but we want to go above and beyond, even to the
point of wanting more.
○ Covetousness, competition, and envy often
go together. Competition is not sinful
in itself, but when being first is more important than being honest, there will
be trouble. Rivalry can be good as
well, but when it turns into riots, sin has entered the scene.
● The Idle Man (Verses 5 and 6).
○ Solomon then moves from one extreme to
the other: the industrious man to the idle man. Solomon thought he could learn something
from the opposite spectrum of life, similar to the scientist who studies cold
to better understand heat. Solomon had
no sympathy for the Idle Man. (Proverbs
18:9, Proverbs 19:15, Proverbs 24:30-34)
○ Solomon noticed laziness is a slow and
comfortable path to self-destruction.
It may be nice to sleep late every morning and not having to go to work,
but it is unpleasant to not have the money to buy the necessities of life. (2 Thessalonians 3:10, Proverbs 6:9-11)
○ While the industrious man was motivated
by competition and caught in the rat race of life, he had no time for
leisure. The idle man was motivated by pleasure
and he was headed for ruin, he had no productive time. Solomon pondered if there was a middle ground
between the two.
● The Integrated Man (Verse 6).
○ This is the balanced man, a man who is
productive in his work but also taking the time for quietness. He did not run the rat race in life, neither
did he run away from his responsibilities in life.
○ A 1989 Harris Poll showed a 37% decrease
from 1973 in the amount of leisure time spent by the Average American.
○ Why have both hands full of profit if
that profit costs you your peace of mind and possibly your health. Better to have gain in one hand and
quietness in the other.
○ When a heart is controlled by envy and
rivalry, life becomes one battle after another. (James 3:13 - 4:4, Proverbs 15:16, I Timothy
6:6-10)
○ The industrious man thinks money will
bring him peace, but he has no time to enjoy it. The idle man thinks that doing nothing will
bring him peace, but his lifestyle destroys him. The integrated man enjoys both the fruit of
his labor and he balances toil with rest.
● The Independent Man (Verses 7 and 8).
○ Solomon notices a man who is alone and
works very hard, so he goes and questions him.
This man has no friends or relatives to help him in his business; this
man also wanted no help. He wanted the
profit for himself. This man was so
busy, he had no time to enjoy his profits.
If this man died, he had no family to inherit his wealth, thus all his
labor was in vain.
○ The independent man never stopped long
enough to question himself, “For who am I working so hard? Why am I robbing myself of the enjoyments of
life just to amass more and more money?”
The industrious man was providing employment for others, the idle man
was enjoying his leisure, but the independent man was not helping the economy
nor himself.
○ Solomon concludes this to be also
meaningless. GOD wants us to labor, but
to labor in the right spirit for the right reasons.
■ Some people are lazy while others are
workaholics. The lazy person not only
hurts himself, but others who depend upon him.
The lazy person folds his hands while he sees himself dashing around for
success but not reaching it. The
workaholic is often driven by envy, greed, and a constant desire to stay ahead
of the “Jones’s”. Both extremes are
foolish and irresponsible. The answer
is to work hard but with moderation.
This includes taking time to enjoy the other gifts GOD has given and to
realize that it is GOD who gives out assignments and rewards, it is not our own
doing. (Proverbs 15:16-17, Proverbs
16:8, Proverbs 27:20)
○ Verses 4: 9 - 12 On the Highway
■ Solomon’s experience with the independent
man caused him to look at the importance of friendship and the value of people
doing things together.
● Old Jewish Proverb - “A friendless man is
like a left had bereft of the right.”
● Warren Wiersbe in his book “Be Satisfied”
suggests Solomon watched 2 pilgrims on the highway as they helped one another.
■ Solomon concludes that 2 are better than
1 when it comes to working in verse 9.
● 2 workers can get more done
together. Even when they divide the
profits, they get a better return for their efforts than if they had worked
alone. It is easier to do difficult
jobs together because one can be an encouragement for the other.
■ Solomon found 2 were better at walking as
explained in verse 10. The roads in
Palestine were not paved or leveled.
There were also many hidden rocks in the field. It was not uncommon for even the most
experienced traveler to stumble and fall.
How nice it would be to have a companion to help you when you
stumbled. If this applies to our
physical falls, how much can this apply to the times when we fall spiritually
in our walk and we need restoration.
(Galatians 6:1-2) We should be
grateful for our Christian friends who help us to walk straight.
■ Solomon concludes 2 are better than 1
when it comes to warmth as seen in verse 11.
2 travelers camping out or staying in the Public Courtyards of an Inn
would feel the cold of a Palestinian night, they could use one another to stay
warm for comfort. The only way to stay
warm when traveling alone is to carry extra blankets which added to the weight
of your load.
■ 2 are also better than 1 when it comes to
watch care, especially at night as shown in verse 12. One can be easily overpowered, where 2 can
defend themselves. During Jewish times,
it was dangerous for people to travel alone, day or night. Most people traveled in groups for
fellowship and safety. (2 Samuel
21:15-17)
■ Solomon starts with a single man in verse
8, then moves to 2 men in verse 9, and finally to 3 men in verse 12. One chord can be easily be broken, 2 chords
would require more strength, but 3 chords woven together could not be easily
broken. If 2 travelers are better than
1, then 3 would be even better. With 3
chords woven together, Solomon was thinking of the unity involved, what a
beautiful picture for a friendship.
■ There are advantages to cooperating with
others. Life is designed for
companionship and not isolation, for intimacy and not loneliness. When a person cannot trust others, they seek
isolation. We were not put on this
Earth by GOD to serve ourselves, but to serves others and GOD. We need to not try to live life alone, but
to seek companionship with others, to be team members.
○ Verses 4: 13 - 16 In the Palace
■ Solomon teaches about 2 truths he
discovered in the palace: the instability of political power and the
unfaithfulness caused by popularity.
■ In Solomon’s early years of king, he
heeded his counselor’s advice and he ruled wisely. As Solomon grew older, he refused to listen
to them. His problem was more than
pride and senility, he was probably surrounded by a collection of “parasites”
who flattered him, isolated him from reality, and they took from him all they
could get. This often happens to weak
leaders who are concerned about themselves than about the people.
■ The hero in these verses are a wise youth
who was in prison, similar to the story of Joseph. It is possible someone in the King’s Court
lied about the youth or the youth had helped the King and the King resented
it. Regardless, the youth is released
from prison and he becomes king.
Everyone cheered for the underdog and the people rejoiced that the
nation at last had a wise ruler.
● Consider this story, the young man was
born poor, but he became rich. The old
King was rich, but it didn’t make him any wiser, so the old King might just as
well been poor. The young man was taken
out of prison and placed upon the throne.
The old King was imprisoned in his lack of wisdom and lost his throne.
● The moral of the story is wealth and
position are no guarantee for success.
Poverty and seeming failure are no barriers to achievement. The key to both is wisdom.
● The story does continue on. The young man takes the throne after coming
out of prison because of his popularity in verse 15. It looked like the youth had it made, but
his popularity did not last as shown in verse 16. The new crowd deposed the king and appointed
someone else.
■ Oliver Cromwell, who took the British
throne from Charles I and who also established the Commonwealth, said to a
friend, “Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if
you and I were going to be hanged.”
● Solomon draws the same conclusion of
life. It is all “vanity and vexation
(frustration) of the spirit”.
■ Position, popularity, and prestige are
poor goals for life. Advancement or
getting to the top to impress others is meaningless in GOD’s eyes. Although many may seek them, they are
shadows without substance. Many people
seek recognition for their accomplishments, but some people change loyalties,
interests, and affections easily and quickly.
GOD’s love never changes, how much better than to seek GOD’s approval
instead.
● Conclusion.
○ No matter where Solomon went, no matter
what aspect of life he studied; he learned an important lesson from the
LORD. When he looked up, he saw that
GOD was in control of life and GOD balanced the varied experiences. When Solomon looked within, he saw that man
was made for eternity and that GOD would make all things beautiful in their
times. When Solomon looked ahead, he
saw man’s last enemy: death. Then he
looked around, he understood that life is complex, difficult, and not easy to
explain. One things is for certain: No
matter where you look, you will see trials and problems, and people who need
your encouragement.
○ Solomon is not being cynical about
life. He does not tell us to get out of
the race and to retreat to a safe haven or a comfortable corner of the world,
where nothing can bother us. Life does
not stand still, life comes at us full speed and without warning. We must stand up and take it, and with GOD’s
help, make the most of life.
■ You can take from life what you want, but
you must pay for it.
○ If this chapter teaches us anything, it
is that we need one another. There may
be advantages to life alone, but there are also disadvantages. We discover this as we get older.
○ This chapter also emphasizes a balance in
life. It is good to have the things in
life that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things money cannot
buy. What is it really costing in terms
of life to get the things that are important to you? How much of the permanent are you
sacrificing to get your hands on something that is only temporary in this life?
■ Blessed are the balanced.
