Book of Ecclesiastes, or Preacher, Chapter 3, verses 1-8

Interpretation of the Bible, Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3

Old Testament

New Testament

Book of Ecclesiastes

Books of the Bible:

• Book of Genesis
• Book of Exodus
• Book of Leviticus
• Book of Numbers
• Book of Deuteronomy
• Book of Joshua
• Judges
• Book of Ruth
• 1st Book of Samuel
• 2 Samuel

• 1st Book of Kings
• 2nd Book of Kings
• 1 Chronicles
• 2 Chronicles
• Book of Ezra
• Book of Nehemiah
• Book of Esther
• Book of Job
• Psalter
• Book of Proverbs of Solomon

• Book of Ecclesiastes
• Book of Song of Songs
• Book of the Prophet Isaiah
• Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
• Book of Lamentations
• Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
• Book of the Prophet Daniel
• Book of the Prophet Hosea
• Book of the Prophet Joel
• Book of the Prophet Amos

• Book of the Prophet Obadiah
• Book of the Prophet Jonah
• Book of the Prophet Micah
• Book of the Prophet Nahum
• Book of the Prophet Habakkuk
• Book of the Prophet Zephaniah
• Book of the Prophet Haggai
• Book of the Prophet Zechariah
• Book of the Prophet Malachi

Chapter 3
Introduction

3

2. PEOPLE ARE POWERFUL TO INFLUENCE THEIR WORK ON THE IMMEDIATE AND INCOMPATIBLE COURSE OF THINGS IN THE WORLD DIRECTED BY GOD (3:1 - 4:3)

Key to this section are the repeated word “time” (3:1-8,11,17) and several repeated phrases such as “I saw”, “Again I saw” (3:10,16; 4:1), “ I knew” (3:12, 14) and “I said in my heart” (3:17-18). They determine the nature of the division, since the author claims that God has appointed a time for everything that exists and happens on earth, even for the injustices committed on it (3:16-17) and oppression (4:1-3). For all this is part of His eternal activity, which does not need “neither addition nor subtraction” (3:14), an activity incomprehensible (3:11) for man, all whose work thus becomes “useless” (3:9).

A. Thesis: There is a season for everything (3:1-8)

1) Thesis.

Eccl. 3:1

. There is a time for everything...for every thing under heaven. As “thing” is rendered in Russian a Hebrew word meaning “inclination”, “intention”, “realization of a goal”. This refers to “things” that happen in a person’s life, human activity. Ecclesiastes here develops the “position” formulated in the previous chapter: if the bread received by a person at the price, it would seem, of his labors, is, in essence, given to him (or taken away from him) by God, then this “law” undoubtedly applies to all sphere of human life; Between a person’s desire for anything and its implementation stands God, the dependence He established on everything that happens on earth on time and circumstances.

2) Confirmation of the thesis (3:2-8)

. Ecclesiastes illustrates the thesis, or “general position,” by contrasting each other in a subtle lyrical key—14 “opposites,” each of which occurs “in its own time.” It is no coincidence that he uses a number that is a multiple of seven (seven is an expression of completeness), as well as the fact that he begins the “enumeration” with birth and death. The idea here is that any human activity - both creative and destructive - and any “response” from above - whether to it or to the events caused by it, as well as the “reaction” to people carrying out all types of earthly activity, occurs in my time.

Eccl. 3:2-7

. These verses, like the final section, verse 8, are philosophical and at the same time deeply lyrical; they really “contain” all types of human activity, private and public. The phrase A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones in verse 5 can mean the same thing as destroying... and building in verse 3, i.e., have a “specific meaning,” but it can also imply that general philosophical position, which is formulated in verse 6 as a time to save, and a time to throw away.

The time to rend and the time to sew in verse 7 can be understood as a phrase about the time of tribulation (as a sign of which it was customary to tear one’s clothes; Job 2:12-13) and the time of its end, i.e. correspond in meaning to verse 4.

Eccl. 3:8

. Ecclesiastes completes the “enumeration” by naming two basic, opposing feelings that guide all events on earth: love and hatred, and two extreme manifestations of them that determine the well-being of the human community or its disastrous state: war and peace; and they have their own time, and in essence their onset and cessation depend little on the person.

b. Conclusion: There is no benefit to the one who works (3:9)

Eccl. 3:9

. Having illustrated his thesis that everything on earth happens in its time, Ecclesiastes, in the form of a rhetorical question that assumes a negative answer, reiterates that in the light of what has been said (verses 1-8) there is no point in working for a worker.

f. Rationale: the incomprehensibility of the works of God (3:10-11)

Eccl. 3:10-11

. The justification is, according to Ecclesiastes, four of his observations related to his reflections on the “works of men.” 1) Since God Himself has implanted in man a thirst for activity and “comprehension of the incomprehensible,” man cannot stop in these eternal “exercises” or throw off this concern that God gave him (verse 10).

In other words: senseless (from the point of view of the incomprehensibility and unattainability of the final goal - the complete happiness of the “solution” to the works of God) human labors will continue forever. 2) God made everything beautiful (verse 11), that is, in the general system of the universe, everything created by God is beautiful (justified, harmonious, perfect) in its time and in its place. 3) God put eternity in the hearts of people. The Hebrew olam, translated into Russian as “peace,” has several meanings, but most often means eternity, and in this context it is more correct to understand it that way.

Ecclesiastes implies the godlikeness of man, bearing the imprint of eternity, which is expressed in the unquenchable desire of people to know themselves and the meaning of their “works” beyond the limits of time. 4) The fourth observation of Ecclesiastes (echoing the first) sums up, however, the sad result of the previous two: man cannot comprehend the works that God does from beginning to end. That is, God's original (and final) plan is hidden from people.

They do not understand what guides the Creator when he sets “a time for every thing,” and, therefore, they do not understand the ultimate meaning of their own activity. It is this ignorance that gives rise to people (Ecclesiastes implies) a feeling of uncertainty, the apparent transience of all their affairs, depriving them of value in their eyes.

d. Advice: Enjoy life as God provides (3:12-13)

Eccl. 3:12-13

. So, the reason for man’s eternal dissatisfaction and his constant disappointments lies in the contradiction between his inherent desire for eternity and the limits of his capabilities. Hence, Ecclesiastes concludes, people have no choice but to come to terms with the possibility for them of only relative everyday happiness (tov, opposed to itron - “perfect happiness”). The concept of tov is deciphered by the author: let people have fun (in the sense of “enjoy all the blessings of earthly life available to them”) and do good, not forgetting to thank God - in the consciousness that the very opportunity to eat and drink and see something good in all their work is God's gift.

Eccl. 3:14-15

. So that people who do not understand God’s plans and deeds would not be tempted to think of the Creator as a despot who acts only according to His will, Ecclesiastes speaks of these plans and deeds as not subject to change in eternity because they are perfect: there is nothing to them add, and nothing can be taken away from them (compare with 7:13).

That is why what was, is now, and what will be, has already been, notes Ecclesiastes in verse 15 (compare with 1:9, where he expresses the same thought). And he adds: and God will call back the past. Here is what the famous theologian of the past, Franz Delitzsch, wrote about this phrase in his interpretations of the book of Ecclesiastes:

“God's guidance... does not change. His government of the world - whether it is expressed in the ongoing processes of creation, or in the control of the moral state of the world - occurs according to the same laws, giving rise to the same phenomena... It remains unchanged and calls again and again (end of verse 15 ) what has already happened"

In relation to people, this order of things pursues a very specific goal: to show them their complete dependence on the Creator, so that they would reverence before His face (end Verse 14).

d. Every matter is judged by God (3:16 - 4:3)

The most obvious exception to the “general rule” that proclaims the “appropriateness” and timeliness of every God’s work and the perfection of His plans is the seemingly reigning injustice and oppression in the world.

Eccl. 3:16-17

. Note that Ecclesiastes returns to the problem of injustice more than once (4:1; 8:14). I also saw, he proclaims, that the place of judgment, which should be a “place of righteousness,” is “a place of lawlessness and unrighteousness” (this idea is reinforced by the poetic repetition in verse 16). But this “exception to the rule” (above) is eliminated precisely by the consciousness of God’s presence in the world of His judgment, by which He will judge... the righteous and the wicked.

For there (at the judgment of God, as opposed to the judgment of man; compare with “there” in verse 16) the time will come for every thing and every work. This time is unknown to the author of Ecclesiastes and he does not attribute it to the afterlife. There is hardly any doubt that the historical Solomon, like all, in general, the creators of the ancient Eastern “wisdom literature,” believed that God’s judgment was carried out on earth (for example, Job 27:13-23; Ps. 36:2, 6,9,11,13,15,17-40; 72:18-20,27; Proverbs 22:22-23).

Eccl. 3:18-21

. The beginning of verse 18 is inaccurately rendered in Russian. It should be read as follows: I said in my heart that this is for the sons of men... From this reading of this phrase and the text that follows it, it is clear that God allows injustices to be committed in the community of people for the same purpose that was previously formulated in the verse 14: so that they would be in awe of His face, seeing and realizing that... by themselves, outside of God, they are like animals. It is not stated here that people are identical to animals and, like them, do not have an immortal soul.

Rather, this passage should be understood as follows: if people live in isolation from God, then what can they know about themselves, except for the natural processes taking place before their eyes, in particular, that they and animals have the same fate: how They die, so these die too. In any case, those who do not know God have nowhere to draw knowledge about the immortality of their soul.

As well as whether the spirit of the sons of men ascends upward after death, while the spirit of animals descends down into the earth or not? (verse 21) in verses 19-20 the similarities between people and cattle are “summed up”: together with breathing, both of them lose life; both “came” from dust... and to dust they will return (compare Job 34:14-15; Ps. 103:29). The vanity in verse 19 does not imply meaninglessness and “chasing after the wind,” but the transitoriness (of life) - both of animals and of humans. One place in verse 20 means dust, the earth, and not Sheol, as some Bible scholars believed.

So, despite the fact that people are endowed with reason and a sense of eternity (3:11), the injustice that reigns in their community testifies to their frailty and lack of understanding of God's plans; but it also makes them aware of their inability to “live without God.”

Eccl. 3:22

. Based on all that has been said, the thought expressed before is repeated (verses 12-13): there is nothing better for people than to enjoy their small deeds by the grace of God, the deeds of today; for who will bring a man to see... what will happen after him?

You can learn more about God and the Bible on the website The Bible about God

For everything there is a time, and a time for every thing under heaven: It seems to many that Solomon is here warning humanity about predestination: times and seasons for everything that is listed below are appointed by God (under heaven) and established from above (Geneva, for example) However, if this it was so, then it turns out that it was God who predestined for man wars, murders, hatred, destruction and other troubles from the list that follows. What cannot happen from a loving God.

Therefore, we are not talking about predestination here, but about the fact that all the variety of deeds, feelings and events that happen on earth with human society and in human society in principle (under heaven) - happens at a certain time, with a certain change of times for this, and everything that happens is limited by its time limits and does not last indefinitely in this century. Everything that exists once appeared by the will of God and exists exactly as long as God wants.

Tanakh translated by Yosiphon: For everything there is (its) time, and (its) term for every thing under heaven: For some things God has determined eternity, for others - a fraction of a second. And the order of their appearance or disappearance, or quantitative presence is also established by God. The time has come and it became so. The time will come - it will be different.

Such a cyclical “charter” of times and events in the life of a person of this century was established by God for the earth in order to encourage him to reflect on the meaning of what is happening and when in life is the time for him to do and expect this or that, so that a person does not do anything inappropriately and out of place, and had the opportunity to at least somehow plan his life for the benefit of himself and his neighbors.

What does understanding this “charter” give a person for his life? Solomon pointed further.

3:2

a time to be born, and a time to die; Anyone who is born once in this century can die at any moment. Understanding this charter, a person is able to adequately perceive the path of the entire earth from the birth of God to the departure into oblivion. Each person observing this “charter” has a chance to think about the meaning of short-term life, to begin to look for this meaning and find it.

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; This “rule” helps a person understand that every effect must have a cause and for every result there must be a condition: IF….THEN…. And if you don’t plant, then there will be nothing to pull out. But even when planting, you may not expect results, because for any reason, not every time is suitable: if you plant at the wrong time, carelessly at the wrong time of the planting season, what you planted will be lost, and the result will be zero.

And if you look beyond the garden, then this “charter” teaches you to calmly perceive any current events in which a result is expected: it makes no sense to accelerate the “growth” of what is planted and try to “improve” those processes, the course of which a person is not able to influence for his own benefit. For example, the seed of God's word planted in someone's heart should not be impatiently fiddled with by one's personal time frame, trying to accelerate someone's spiritual growth and expecting from him something for which the person is not yet ready.

3:3
A time to kill, and a time to heal
; Here Solomon encourages a person, explaining that periods of wounds, which in a spiritual or literal sense every person inevitably receives in the process of life, are always replaced by periods of their healing, and if not for this, not a single person would remain on earth. And this state of affairs inspires optimism because of the hope that everything passes, even the most “high-quality” bloody wars will one day end, and a period of calm will begin. You just need to learn to wait and always wait for a lull in order to rest a little and continue to win your place under the sun of God

a time to destroy, and a time to build; sometimes there is benefit from destruction, especially if the “building” was built on sand or without a foundation at all: the wind will blow, it will destroy, and the owner of the destroyed thing will be forced to admit that it is impossible to build anything durable on a bad foundation. He will be taught NOT to build on a bad foundation next time.

Understanding this helps a person to recognize the truth that sometimes the construction of a new life (not just buildings) has to be started anew because the old and familiar one is destroyed for various reasons, often even beyond our control. For example, if you were fired from your job, you need to “build” a new one; became seriously ill - you need to “build” a new life - in conditions of illness; lost a friend - you need to “build” another life - without him, etc. If a person understands that he just needs to come to terms with this state of affairs and not sit on the ruins, but build something new, then he will be good. And whoever sits on the ruins, sorting through the remains of the “ruins” and sprinkling ashes on his head, without building anything new, is in trouble: he has neither the old nor the new - there is nothing, life is empty. But, alas, even if you don’t like life, it still passes. Therefore, those who build something new have a chance to at least make their life in the present more or less interesting, spending it with faith in a happy future.

3:4
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance ; Everyone cries sometime, either from happiness or from the lack of it. But the good news is that crying and lamenting, no matter how sad they may be for us, will one day end: God designed man so that the state of eternal crying is not typical for him, and if someone is ready to cry and suffer forever, this is a pathology of the psyche. And for a healthy person, crying always alternates with joy, so that a person can know the value of sorrow and happiness, crying and laughter - and voluntarily choose for himself joy with happiness, the life that God offers to man.

3:5

a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones; Here we are talking about the principle of frequency of collection and spending, no matter what a person collects or spends: information, spiritual knowledge, strength, time, stones, money, etc. Sometimes there is not enough information to make important decisions (the necessary “stones” have not been collected). Understanding this principle will help a person learn not to make hasty decisions, but first to accumulate enough data to solve his problem, and then use it (scatter the “stones”), making the right decision based on the collected “stones.” Or in order for “rivers of living water to flow from the belly” - first you need to gather into the belly to the brim - these very “rivers” of the word of God: if you don’t collect it, nothing will spill over the edge, nothing will be scattered.

Well, it is clear that if a person has not collected anything in his life, then there will be nothing to scatter when the time comes for this: a person who has not accumulated life experience, who has not learned lessons from the multitude of collected material in his life, will not be able to to share his wisdom, he will go empty on the path of the whole earth, empty and will wake up THERE at the resurrection.

In the spiritual sense, Christians can also be stones: God assembles a team of helpers for Christ from people-stones (2 Peter 2:5), and the devil keeps trying to scatter them and separate them. And there is time for this, as we see.

a time to hug, and a time to avoid hugs; Such realities of life help all lovers to understand the reasons for avoiding obvious manifestations of love: you just need to take into account that if the one you want to hug avoids hugging, this does not necessarily mean that that’s it, the end of love and complete oblivion. But it just means that the time has come to hold off on the hugs, to give them a break. Well, it is clear that a person must learn to distinguish between where and when hugs are appropriate, and where and when they are completely inappropriate.

3:6

time to seek, and time to lose; a person should not live with the mindset of only finding and acquiring, otherwise disappointments in life are inevitable: it happens that times come when you lose what you have found and acquired. Sometimes it is better to lose with a smart person than to find with a fool. Christ lost his life - this loss turned out to be a blessing for people. But Adam and Eve found for themselves the “charms” of devilish knowledge, and this acquisition turned into a disaster for them and all of humanity. Ideally, it would be good if this wicked world were lost to us, and that we would all seek things above, trying to gain for ourselves the heavenly Father. This is the wisest of all possible human acquisitions.

a time to save, and a time to throw away; there is also time for thrift and wastefulness: Lot’s wife, for example, did not see her time to throw away what she had accumulated in order to save her life. Or: take care of your heart, the source of life - there is always and will be a time for this throughout all eternity. And the time to give up your sinful inclinations is relevant for this passing century. If a person does not learn to distinguish what is important from what is not important, what is useful to save and when, and what needs to be neglected and what to give up without regret, he will have a hard time in life. Yes, and he may lose his life itself if he saved it - not so, and threw it away - not so. For example, one who preserves his relationship with the world and neglects his relationship with God is on a dangerous path.

3:7

a time to rend, and a time to sew together; The destruction of the whole is not always harmful, sometimes if you don’t tear it, you won’t be saved, and sometimes if you sew it up, you’ll suffer. And it won’t hurt to learn to distinguish where and when it’s time to tear, and where and when it’s time to sew it together. For example, God tore the veil in the temple, but did good for the Jews. The Jews “darned” the torn curtain in the temple - they did evil. They never understood that what was torn by God cannot be restored, so they suffered for their efforts to “sew up” - for trying to do good in their own understanding and on the wrong basis.

It’s the same in life, not only with the veil: we need to “patch” our Christian “holes” day and night and diligently, and we need to break strong ties with worldly ideas about life all our lives without regret.

a time to be silent and a time to speak; One of the most important determinants of benefit: if you speak out at the wrong time or at the wrong time or remain silent, you can harm yourself and your neighbors. And to determine when to remain silent and when to speak - a person must learn for the sake of his well-being.

Sometimes if you don't say anything, they might think you're stupid. But it’s better than speaking out and dispelling all doubts about it.

It is not difficult for a Christian to determine the time to be silent and speak: if what he is going to say will glorify God, or encourage someone to become a Christian, or will improve someone's mood, or will help solve someone's problem in a beneficial way - then in these cases it is ALWAYS the time speak, because his words benefit the listener. In all other cases, it is time for a Christian to remain silent.

3:8

a time to love and a time to hate; From love to hate - one step, and vice versa. For example, the Apostle Paul persecuted Christians and hated the “enemies of the people” of God, and then loved them so much that he devoted the rest of his life to walking the Christian path. Clearly, this does not mean that one should expect from a lover that he will certainly hate, just as from a tearer that he will certainly sew. Here we are talking about the fact that there is a place under the sun of God for these two strongest internal engines of human “progress”: both love and hatred, which can force a person to “move mountains.” And you shouldn’t be surprised if someone who was a friend will one day become an enemy, and someone who was an enemy will become a best friend.

a time for war, and a time for peace. Hatred is the companion of wars, love is the companion of peace. God gives both of these to a person to experience so that he can decide what he likes, love or hate, war or peace. In conditions of permissiveness, each person reveals his inner essence in all its glory before God; God enters everyone who chooses love and peace into a memorial book that he keeps from the beginning of the world. And those who like to quarrel, fight and hate - He simply won’t include them there, he won’t even have to cross them out.

3:9

What benefit does the worker get from what he works on? Solomon asks himself the question, because he himself answers it. This form of presenting information helps to focus attention on the main thing: after such a question, the reader will look for an answer about the meaning of work in a person’s life - from the point of view of the wisest.

3:10

I saw this care that God gave to the sons of men, so that they would exercise themselves in this. God Himself works hard and for a long time, and He created people with the same need. Therefore, the ability to work is a person’s destiny from God so that his life is not boring and resembles a gym. Different types of work are like different exercises for the body: they build endurance, bring satisfaction, strengthen strength, increase resistance to difficulties and help to taste the sweetness of relaxation after a hard day.

3:11

He made everything beautiful in his time. Everything that a person needs for life - God gave him at creation, and this “everything” that a person uses in his life - according to the Creator’s plan, should give him considerable pleasure and bring only benefits for development in life. a rational human being created in the image of God.

and put peace 05789 in their hearts. The word peace - here NOT in the meaning of “peacefulness”, but in the meaning of “the whole world, the universe, eternity” God put in man. M/lFwe 1. long time, long; 2. eternity, forever, forever;

Tanakh (translation by Rabbi David Yosifon) He created everything beautiful in its time, even placed eternity in their hearts, but in such a way that the works done by God could not be comprehended by man from beginning to end. That is, it is difficult for a person to come to terms with the fact that he is not eternal and is forced to go to death.. God did not plan death for man, and therefore sent Christ to Earth to correct the situation with the imperfection of humanity due to Adam’s sin and return everything to him what was originally planned for Adam and all his descendants: eternity

although man cannot comprehend the works that God does from beginning to end. And although man himself cannot understand much of what God has done for man unless God explains it to him, this does not mean that God did not make everything beautiful in his time.

3:12

I learned that there is nothing better for them than to have fun and do good in their lives. Of all the many wonderful things that God has done for man, Solomon singled out God’s special gifts to people: the ability to do good, to benefit oneself and one’s surroundings, and to rejoice in it. By doing good and benefiting God's plans, a person receives true satisfaction: this is how God made a person

3:13

And if a person eats and drinks and sees good in all his work, then this is a gift from God.
But it turns out that not all inhabitants of this century know that being satisfied with one’s life is a gift from God to man. Not everyone in this century even has the blessing of simply eating, drinking and working, receiving pleasure and satisfaction from it : usually they want more than just eating, drinking and working, so they cannot enjoy little.
But if someone is still content with little and experiences joy from the simplest human needs and processes, then we can say that such a person is generously gifted by God 3:14

I learned that everything that God does lasts forever: there is nothing to add to it and nothing to take away from it. As we see, God did not do anything temporary or decaying: His plan includes the eternal harmony of all things in His universe. All his creations are the crown of perfection, there is nothing superfluous in them, and there is no lack: everything is just right so that God’s universe has the opportunity to flourish in the interaction of animate and inanimate creations (that man has ruined all this creative balance with harmony - Solomon has remained silent for now)

and God makes them stand in awe before Him. Why doesn't God create ugly or defective products of his hands? Why does he bring everything to perfection and its logical conclusion, not just as quickly as he creates, but with all responsibility before His universe? Because it shows an example of the attitude towards one’s work: a person, looking at HOW God creates and comparing it with how and what he himself creates (hurriedly, carelessly, without delving into the chains of interconnections of his own creations, because he does not even understand, what it is and that it must be taken into account) - naturally, one comes into delight and reverence before the true Creator of all things. Only about a person can such an absurd but true pun be said: a person is a creative person, he wants to create, and he wants to create. But even when he creates, he still creates.

3:15

What was, is now, and what will be, has already happened. The scenery on the stage of life on earth changes, but the essence of the meaning of human existence in God’s universe is unchanged throughout all eternity: man was created with the needs to eat, drink and be satisfied, to work, to rest , enjoy life and be happy. It is precisely the desire to obtain these components that is subject to all activities of any generation on earth at all times.

- and God will call upon the past. Nothing from God’s past will sink into oblivion and disappear forever: everything that He needs for eternity, He will call even from the farthest corners of the Earth’s past. In these words lies hope for the resurrection of those who lived in the past, and for a return to the heavenly promise of God.

3:16

I also saw under the sun: a place of judgment, and there was lawlessness; there is a place of truth, but there is untruth. If we have to face such injustice as Solomon wrote about, we should not be surprised: such a state of affairs is very typical for this wicked age. But what is the king talking about here? Where is the place of judgment? Where is the place of truth? We are talking about God's people, the custodians of God's judgment and God's righteousness. But, alas, it has periodically happened among God’s people in all times of this century that God’s principles were violated during the trial, the judges took bribes and acquitted the guilty, and the truth of God - His word - was distorted and replaced with human truth. So, if today we observe such a picture among the people of God, we should not be surprised; Solomon noticed such vanity.

3:17

And I said in my heart: “God will judge the righteous and the wicked;
for there is a time for every thing, and [judgment] for every thing is there.” Solomon understands that no matter how well things go for the wicked among God's people, this does not mean that God does not see or approve of his actions, but because He Himself sets the times and dates when to intervene and bring judgment on the wicked. Solomon knows that not a single wicked person and not a single iniquity will slip past the attention of God. The time will come - and every inhabitant of the earth will give an account to God for himself personally, not for a neighbor and not for a fellow believer, but only for his own sins. 3:18.19
I spoke in my heart about the sons of men, that God might test them, and that they might see that they are animals in themselves;

Solomon admits that God acts wisely, offering “to try” different types of activities, different types of meanings and tests to a living person: over the period of life, thanks to observations and passing through various “simulators”, a reasonable person must come to the conclusion that his life is nothing different from the life of an animal, which without God's guidance is on its own

a person is the same as an animal. He has the same earthly needs (eat, drink, sleep, have offspring, arrange a home, work in search of food, etc.), the same earthly problems (illness, old age, decrepitude, the need to get basic goods for himself) and the same outcome - death: 19 because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same fate: as they die, so these die

Therefore, if a person is BY HIMSELF, without God in his head and heart, then he, in essence, is an animal. And even if someone wants to imagine himself as a god, you cannot move against the realities of Solomon: man is an animal, only even more dangerous for God’s universe, because he is capable of doing evil beyond the program of instincts. And the fact that man is the king and god of nature with the crown of creation on his head is all an illusion of his ambition.

and everyone has one breath 07307, and man has no advantage over cattle, because everything is vanity!

The word 07307 in Strong's interlinear means: x+wr
1. spirit;
2. wind, blow; 3. air ;
4. breathing
A complete analogy of the essence of the breathing of animals and humans, which provides them with the process of life, also equalizes humans and animals on the scales of existence in this century. Man comes to his end no better than an animal. But perhaps it can be the worst, if you don’t turn to God.

3:20

Everything goes to one place: everything came from dust and everything will return to dust. The realities of the end of human and animal existence, described by Solomon, bring to life everyone who dreams of continuing life after death. The meaning of death has not changed since the time of Adam, as God explained to Adam that he would become dust of the earth and return to his original state of non-existence, Solomon described death in the same way, and could not speak about it differently, for he instructed the congregation not with his own, but with God’s wisdom listening to him. So, the realities are as follows: animals and humans are created from the dust of the earth, after death, both return to their original state of non-existence and dust under the feet of the living. Neither animals nor humans expect life after death, therefore, talk about the afterlife is nothing more than human fairy tales.

3:21

Who knows whether the spirit 07307 of the sons of men ascends upward, and whether the spirit of animals descends down to the earth? The version about the movement of the human spirit as a certain immortal substance - up to heaven - is also, as we see, human fables: Solomon, in the words of God, showed that none of the people, firstly, knows where the spirit of animals or humans goes, when they give it off when they die.

Secondly, the word 07307, as we found out, in this case means the “breath” of a person or animal.

We are talking here about the last exhalation of a person or animal, ending the life of an individual, since no one dies while inhaling. The process of life activity ends with exhalation or the emission of the last portion of breath - air from the lungs leaving the deceased due to the relaxation of all muscles. Since a person and an animal have even the same essence of breathing (3:19), it turns out that both an animal and a person, giving out their last exhalation, cease to live - THE SAME, and the last exhalation of both a person and an animal is not “intelligent substance “(not supposedly a “soul” leaving the body of the deceased), but just a portion of exhaust air converted into carbon dioxide, the same chemical composition in both humans and animals. The relaxed lungs can no longer hold this portion of gas inside, which is why it leaves the lungs at the moment of death of the individual.

We can say that during the death of a person or animal, the remnants of the spirit of life (vital force), which God gives at the moment of the birth of all flesh, leave from them as they exhale (as we remember, it was the spirit of life that God gave to the body of Adam created by Him, after which Adam became living “individual”, a living soul, Gen. 2:7)

3:22

So I saw that there is nothing better than for a man to enjoy his deeds: because this is his lot; It is sad that man becomes like an animal in almost everything. However, there is something that distinguishes him from the beast: intelligence. Man, unlike animals, is endowed with the gift of receiving conscious pleasure from the results of his deeds. It is this gift that Solomon offers to use by a reasonable person during his lifetime.

for who will bring him to see what will happen after him? While a person is alive, it makes sense to enjoy the benefits of his labors, because after death a person will not have such an opportunity.