ecclesiastes 3 and 4

Read Ecclesiastes 3 and 4 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Ecc 1:12-3:1 {p} The works of man are in vain, for death + an end awaits all men
Ecc 3:2-8 {sx28} A time for every purpose under heaven
Ecc 3:9-12:14 {p} …

The weak paragraph divisions in Ecc 3:2-8, are in this manner:

Ecc 3:2a A time to be born, {s}
Ecc 3:2b And a time to die; {n}{s}

and so on throughout this paragraph.

Ecc 4:4-6 chiastic structure:

1a) Ecc 4:4, For all toil + skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor/ vanity + grasping for the wind;

1b) Ecc 4:5, The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh;

central axis) Ecc 4:6a, Better a handful with quietness;

2b) Ecc 4:6b, Than both hands full;

2a) Ecc 4:6c, Together with toil and grasping for the wind.

Ecc 4:7-12 chiastic structure:

1a) Ecc 4:7-8a, This is vanity: I saw one alone, without companion, son, or brother;

1b) Ecc 4:8b, Yet there is no end to all his labors;

central axis) Ecc 4:8c, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches;

2b) Ecc 4:8d, But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”

2a) Ecc 4:8e-12, It is vanity, for two are better than one/ threefold cord is not quickly broken.

What does Solomon mean, when he says, “The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh?” This statement is in the larger context of a man’s labor, and whether he is content with little, but at least he has peace, or whether he is not satisfied with riches, and is alone. From the beginning of Genesis Scripture has taught us that a man and his wife are one flesh, and this is what I believe the passage is referring to. A fool consumes his own flesh, when he makes decisions and acts in such a way that damages either his wife or his marriage. He is not damaging her or it, but himself, in other words.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. Eph 5:28-29

(And this truth goes for the wives too, when they damage their husbands or their marriage — they are not damaging him or it, but themselves, for a man and his wife are one flesh with one another.)

The wisdom in this brief passage helps us to see that when we encourage and build each other up, we nourish not each other but ourselves, but when we quarrel, criticize, and demoralize each other, we are consuming not each other, but ourselves. But beyond this, when either husband or wife gets involved in something to the exclusion of the other, whether it is work, hobby, ministry, kids, or whatever else it might be, whatever we might gain from that (“with both hands full”) is ultimately foolishness and vanity when it comes at the cost of consuming one another — even if that consumption is passive through neglect, rather than active through negativity. Help me to keep growing as a handmaid of which You are proud, Father! ♥