Useful Bible Studies > Ecclesiastes Commentary > chapter 5

Things that lose their value

Ecclesiastes 5:13-17

A person can work for his whole life but gain nothing. That is a very sad fact, but it is not unusual.

In fact, we could say that it happens to everyone. There is nothing in this world that we can take with us at death. We must leave behind everything that we earned in this world. Even as we were born without possessions, we must die without our possessions.

Money, wealth and possessions are things that belong only in this world. So in both heaven and hell, they have no value. In fact, even in this world, money, wealth and possessions sometimes lose their value.

A man may work hard for his whole life to provide for his son. That man may save his money very carefully. But his son may still receive nothing. That, too, often happens.

Jesus spoke about this matter in Matthew 6:19-21. He said that people must not merely think about the value of things in this world. Many things destroy the possessions that people have in this world. And there are thieves who steal our possessions. So we should realise that our wealth in this world cannot last.

It matters much more whether something is valuable in heaven. That is, whether God considers it valuable. So, nothing is more valuable to a person than that person’s relationship with God (see Matthew 13:44-46). Nothing can destroy the things that are valuable in heaven. And they never lose their value.

Next part: Wrong reactions to God’s kindness (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20)

Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. If you find these articles useful, you will like our book, available from Amazon.

You can download our articles on several Bible books, free, from our download page (including our free 1000+ page course book).

© 2019, Keith Simons.