Ecclesiastes 3:9-10 (ESV)
What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.
This is one of the 22 questions Solomon asks in the book of Ecclesiastes. It might just be the theme of all the other questions. Solomon is probing the meaning of life. He is attempting to live in a way that test all the elements on this earth to find meaning. As always, it is important to read or consider anything written in this book through the lens of Solomon’s conclusion:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV)
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
His initial quest for the above question comes from his observation that God has given man much to be busy with. That was apparently true then and, obviously, very true now. The book is written to answer that question. What gain is it to toil over all this business? His conclusion is that we are to, by faith, keep His commandments. That is the entire duty of mankind. We are to read His word and obey it. We are not to be in judgment of it. We are not the ones who validate it. No, we are the ones it was written for and we are to simply, by faith and the Spirit’s power, obey it. That is our entire duty. There number one command written was this one:
Acts 16:31 (ESV)
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
We are not saved by doing anything. We are saved by believing everything about Jesus. He saves us. Our salvation is based upon faith in Him. That is a command to believe by faith. There is MUCH in this life to see and engage in with our day-to-day energy. We are not to waste our energy on things that don’t align to God’s word. That is the answer to the above question as to what is to be gained by all the toil of man?
Here is a link to see the other 21 questions in the book. They all ask a similar thought and are all answered by the last two verses of the book:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/188V9BbtIiIIXe-oC74UNqZWvLVNjZ8rphvjv4jS8JMQ/edit?usp=drivesdk
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