It’s pretty clear. It’s better to not take a vow than to take one, and not fulfill it. God desires you that you fulfill the vows you make. Be careful with many words.
And then there’s the issue of wealth.
Don’t be surprised by oppression of the poor. Why? Because officials cover each other’s back and ultimately someone profits.
But know this. The one who loves money is never satisfied. And what good is it acquire things? Except to gaze at them. And bring greater stress.
“The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep” (v. 13). There is much worry over possessions.
And then there is wealth that is lost in a bad deal.
“What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much sorry, sickness and anger” (v. 17). He ruins his life consumed by what he lost because he loved his wealth. It’s a sad thing.
And then Solomon again says something that appears contradictory:
“Here is what I have seen to be good: it is appropriate to eat, drink and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward. Furthermore, every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart” (v. 18-20).
It would almost sound like here that wealth=joy when he has spent several chapters and occasions speaking of the futility of wealth. Although actually it is not wealth that makes one’s life chaotic, but the love of wealth. For the man who can enjoy the wealth he has been given, this is a gift of God.
What he is doing is as he has said before. It is good to take joy in the labor and the fruit of it. This is a gift. Whether one has little or much.
For those who are comfortably wealthy, they do not consider the days of their lives because they are enjoying their wealth. This isn’t all bad in that he is enjoying life and isn’t stressed or worried about it. But the poor man also has an advantage. The poor man dwells on the realities of his life before God.
But there is a reality that it will be contrasted to in the next chapter.
