Solomon appears to be saying that no one has any advantage over anyone else when they are born when it comes to faith, however, he’s really saying that everyone who is ever born is born equal. We don’t understand God’s purposes for this world at times, but we must continue to work until we die.
Remember that Solomon and the other Old Testament people didn’t know anything about the afterlife and immortality, this came when Christ revealed it in His Gospel, 2 Timothy 1:10, as far as they were concerned death was the end.
We all know that when someone dies, they have no more influence in the world they leave behind, However, when they are alive they still have hope and they can enjoy the blessings from this life, Matthew 5:45.
The only advantage the dead have is that they don’t have to suffer any longer from the things of this world. Remember they thought that death was the end and there was no reward or punishment afterwards, Acts 17:31 / Matthew 25:31-46.
For most people who don’t believe in God, their motto in life, drink and be glad, Ecclesiastes 2:24 / Ecclesiastes 3:12 / Ecclesiastes 3:22 / Ecclesiastes 5:18 / Ecclesiastes 8:15. Life for them is all about self and not about others, this is simply because they don’t believe in the afterlife.
Solomon says that ‘God has approved what you do’, what he means is that since many believe they can’t really know God’s ways, then this gives them the excuse to make the most of life anyway.
If there’s no afterlife, they thought they could just take advantage of what God had to offer anyway. In other words, if this life is all there is, including all the suffering which goes on, then it wouldn’t be worth living in the first place.
If we want to enjoy the benefits of this life, we must be willing to work, this has always been God’s plan for us, John 9:4. Most people work for the here and now but we work because of the promise of eternal life, 1 Corinthians 15:58 / Revelation 14:13.
No matter how much we try, we can’t stop time, we stop the fact that we will all die, despite the difficulties we have in this life. Those of us who have been around for a while know that none of us knows when our time to leave this planet will come.
We can accomplish great things in this life, but the reality is we can only accomplish so much. As humans, we have our limitations because we are mortal beings, but God has plans for the world, which aren’t affected by anything we do. Therefore, we must figure out God’s plans for our existence and then live according to His will, not ours, Ephesians 5:10 / Romans 12:1-2.
Solomon tells us a story about how the humblest in our societies can actually, have the power of wisdom to deliver a whole city. The problem was that once that city had been delivered, they forgot all about the humble person who helped them be delivered in the first place.
Notice they forgot about this poor man but didn’t forget that the city had been delivered. Solomon is making the point that wisdom will be remembered, whilst those who possessed wisdom will be forgotten.