Enjoying (v. 2). If verse 1 warns against overconfidence (“We can do it without God’s help!”), verse 2 warns against overwork and anxious toil (“I have to do it all right now!”). This verse does not say it is wrong for people to get up early, work hard, and make sacrifices (see 2 Thess. 3:6-15). It only warns us that our work must be a blessing we enjoy and not a burden we endure. Yes, both physical and mental toil are a part of this fallen world (Gen. 3:17), but doing God’s will is nourishment, not punishment. Work suited to our gifts and personalities is food for our souls (John 4:34), but the anxious laborer eats “the bread of sorrows”–sorrow while working and sorrow while trying to rest at night as he worries about the next day. God gives us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17), and this includes earning our daily bread. Note in Ecclesiastes how much Solomon had to say about enjoying life and labor (2:24; 3:12-15, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7-10; 11:9-10).

God’s special name for Solomon was “Jedidiah–beloved” (2 Sam. 12:25). But all of God’s people are “God’s beloved” (Rom. 1:7; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13) because they are accepted and blessed in the Beloved One, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:6 nasb; Matt. 3:17; 17:5). The last line of verse 2 is translated and interpreted several different ways, but the thrust of it seems clear. We get tired in God’s work, but we do not get tired of God’s work, because the Lord who gives us the strength to work also gives us the rest we need. “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet” (Eccl. 5:12 nkjv). But even as we sleep, God works for us in different ways, for He never slumbers or sleeps (see Mark 4:26-29). As we go to bed at night, we may look back at the day and wish we had worked better and harder, accomplished more and had fewer interruptions, but we can commit the day’s work to the Lord and not fret. After a hard day’s ministry, Jesus was able to go to sleep in a boat on the sea in a terrible storm (Matt. 8:23-27)!

Conserving (vv. 3-5). It does no good to build and guard our houses and cities if there are no future generations to inherit them and keep the family, city, and nation going. There were few people living in Jerusalem in the postexilic age (Neh. 7:4), and it was important that the young people marry and have families. Among the Jews, it was unheard of that a husband and wife not want children or that a child be aborted. “Children are the blessing for the Jew,” writes Rabbi Leo Trepp. “Each child brings a blessing all his own, our ancestors would say. We rejoice in children because we are a people, a historical people.” Children are precious–a heritage–and make the home a treasury. But they are also useful–like fruit and arrows–and make the home a garden and an armory. If we do not raise our children to know and love the truth, who will plant the seeds of truth and fight the battles against lies and evil in the years to come? (For other comparisons, see 128:3; 144:12.) The city gate was the place where important legal business was transacted (Deut. 21:19; Ruth 4:1ff.; Amos 5:12), and it was helpful to have a godly family to back you up. Also, the enemy would try to enter at the city gate, and the more sons to fight at your side, the better was the opportunity for victory. It is in the family that we preserve the best of the past and invest it in the future. Every baby born is God’s vote for the future of humankind and our opportunity to help make some new beginnings.

Not everyone is supposed to get married, nor are all married couples able to have children. But all adults can value the children, pray for them, be good examples to them, and see that they are protected and cared for and encouraged in their spiritual upbringing. Remember what Jesus said about this in Matthew 18:5-6.