We return to our expository series on the Book of Ecclesiastes, with a discussion of Ecclesiastes 5:8–12 — one of the more difficult passages in Ecclesiastes. Pastor Sonny explains how Solomon here discusses how the wealthy often get rich off the poor, how this also relates to modern “Prosperity Gospel” preaching, and how we are to go about being good stewards of the resources that God has given us.
If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields. He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.