Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

John Burnett:  ⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.  Here, we have to see that working harder to earn more money does not bring happiness, in fact it really guarantees that we will never be happy.  We have to be content with what God has given us because he knows exactly what we need.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.  Having a business partner to share burdens and returns with is a good thing according to Solomon but the person who does not have a friend or partner should be pitied.  We must keep our commitments to our partners so they will be encouraged to keep theirs.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone? Man was not meant to be alone.  This is why God created woman, so man would have a helper and keep warm.

¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

¹³ It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. ¹⁴ Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison. ¹⁵ But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth^[a] who replaces him. ¹⁶ Endless crowds stand around him,^[b] but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind