Title: Two Life Together / Ecclesiastes 4
1. "This too is vain and useless" (1-8)
Solomon confessed his penitence above, "All things are vanity." This confession continues here. Everything that happens "under the sun" is vain, useless, lamentable. Here Solomon describes three vain and lamentable aspects of the world.
The first was the form of abuse and exploitation. "Weep in tears" They cry because the abuse they receive is so painful and unfair. There is no one to help or comfort them. They are only trampled by the powerful. They hate to live and want to die. Solomon did not recommend suicide here, he was merely describing that the painful life of oppression was worse than death.
The second was the appearance of envy and contention. "Because of all the toil and all the craftsmanship" Some people succeed because of diligence and talent. But the person is not recognized and respected, but rather envied and opposed. Cain was jealous of Abel, Esau was jealous of Jacob, and King Saul was jealous of David. Envy and quarrels eventually lead to "eating one's flesh" ruin.
Third, it was the appearance of a selfish handicap. "Some people are… alone." There are people who live alone without anyone taking care of them. There is a gangster who lives alone, holding tight to his pockets of money, without giving money to his wife or children, and without taking care of his brothers or relatives. He spares no effort to earn money. No matter how much you earn, you are never satisfied with your wealth. There is neither joy nor happiness in the soul for such a wretch. In the end, only sighing. A chaebol once made such a confession. “How great would it be if I could live happily for just one day?”
There are three common characteristics of a lamentable life. Its root is selfishness, and the result is loneliness and loneliness. Not only the abused, but the abuser is lonely. Even those who envy and quarrel are lonely. Even Susanno, who only knows money, is lonely. Selfishness and loneliness are loss of happiness, loss of life itself. How to live a happy life in a lamentable wrong world? This was the question Solomon had, and it is the question of modern people living in a contradictory world.
2. "It is warm when two people lie down together" (9-12)
Solomon's answer to this question is "Two lives together, two lives." It also refers to a life of marriage, but it also means a life of unity and cooperation living helping each other. It is a life of east and west and north and south. The "life of two" is the blessed life that God intended (Genesis 2:24, Luke 10:1, Matthew 18:19). In the Bible, there are stories of people who lived a beautiful life because the two were united. The story of Elijah and Elisha, Naomi and Ruth, David and Jonathan, Paul and Barnabas. There are four blessings in "the life of two". 1) God rejoices and blesses the lives of both of them. 2) When you make a mistake and fall, you can get up again. 3) You can receive warm comfort. 4) You can defeat the enemy's attack powerfully. By human nature, the two cannot become one. The two become one in front of the altar of the cross. Only under the cross can the problems of abuse and exploitation, envy and quarrels, and the problems of selfish anger be solved.
Finally, Solomon confesses (13-16) that it is better to be humble and humble than to hold power and be proud. Those who are poor and afflicted may be exalted, but this is also in vain, as they will later be rejected.