When we read a proverb like this, Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks (Ecclesiastes 10:18), should we just take it as a good, practical, moralistic lesson, or is there something more? When we consider the wider context of Ecclesiastes and the Bible, we see that what on the surface might seem like a simple practical proverb actually has deep gospel implications. A slothfulness problem is a gospel problem. First let’s consider the context of Ecclesiastes, and then the wider context of wisdom literature in Scripture.
Ecclesiastes 10:18 in the Context of Ecclesiastes
The Preacher’s words in Ecclesiastes begin and end with the same refrain: “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 12:8). The word we translate “vanity” is the Hebrew word hebel, and if you just glance across different translations (ESV = vanity, NIV = meaningless, NET = futile) of the Bible it quickly becomes clear that we don’t really have a nice one-to-one gloss in English that we can provide. The Hebrew word more literally describes “vapor” or “breath.” Most translations like those above tend to convey a negative connotation to our ears. But if everything is truly meaningless then that would make Ecclesiastes and the words of the Preacher self-contradictory:
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth (Ecclesiastes 12:9–10).
Notice, the book itself and the Preacher certainly seem to understand the message of Ecclesiastes to be meaningful. Indeed, the Preacher notes many meaningful things in life “under the sun.” For example,
Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness (Ecclesiastes 2:13).
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun…(Ecclesiastes 11:7).
Thus, the message of Ecclesiastes seems to understand hebel as something more akin to the incomprehensibility of life, the paradoxes of life, or the enigmas of life—the frustrating mysteries we just cannot explain.[1] For example,
In my hebel life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing (Ecclesiastes 7:15–16).
Ecclesiastes seems to understand hebel to be more closely related to an aspect of its literal meaning of vapor or breath. Indeed, the Preacher often describes man’s attempt to overcome the hebel of life as striving after or, more literally from the Hebrew, shepherding wind (Ecclesiastes 1:11). Thus, the hebel of life are those enigmas of life under the sun that we as humans experience. Hebel is the mysterious tension of the good and bad, the sweet and the bitter, life and the greatest enigma of all, death. What can happen, will happen, for “time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). And the Preacher says that trying to get your hands around and overcome the hebel of life is like shepherding wind. You cannot do it, so quit trying to overcome hebel.
But the Preacher’s message is not a fatalistic one. It is simply a realistic one. Romans 8:20–21 says,
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Because of the Fall, God subjected the world to futility. But it wasn’t meaningless. God did this so that through the futility and yes, the hebel, of life under the curse, we would learn to depend upon, seek refuge in, and find freedom and joy in him. And this is the message of Ecclesiastes. The Preacher says that the path to joy and life under the sun is not to fear hebel and respond to it by depending upon yourself to overcome it, but is to fear God and depend upon him in the midst of hebel. Consider how Ecclesiastes ends,
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
So, when we consider the proverb, Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks (Ecclesiastes 10:18), we must consider it with the overarching message in mind.
Now let’s bring in some insight from the wider context of the wisdom literature in Scripture by considering Proverbs 22:13.
Ecclesiastes 10:18 In Light of Proverbs 22:13
In Proverbs 22:13, we read,
The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” (Proverbs 22:13).
Have you ever wondered why someone would say this? What is going on here? Let’s consider what we know. First, we know who says this: the sluggard. That is, this is a foolish, lazy, idle man who neglects his responsibilities and duties. Second, we know what he says: there is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets. He maintains that if he goes out, a lion will devour him. Now let’s synthesize.
The sluggard is held out in Scripture as foolish and one not to imitate. Therefore, this statement must be a foolish statement that is not true. Why not true? Because if there really was a lion in the streets, it would be wise to not go out. So as it’s presented to us, this is foolish thing that a foolish sluggard says. But here’s another question: Is it possible that a lion could be in the streets? Yes. The reality is you don’t really know if a lion could come out of nowhere. But the odds that there will be a lion in the streets that will kill you, even in the Ancient Near East, were probably not that high. This would be analogous to one saying today, “There is a semi outside. I cannot go out because it will crash into me!” The sluggard’s reason amounts to nothing more than an excuse. Now to the point and the underlying gospel implications.
The Sluggard Fears Hebel and Attempts to Overcome It by Depending on Self Rather than God
The point is, yes, this is a world of hebel where unexplainable things happen. But fear of hebel and attempting to overcome is not the wise response. The sluggard fears hebel and uses it as an excuse to justify his self-centered slothfulness, his procrastination, and the neglect of his responsibilities. That is, the sluggard’s slothfulness is his futile attempt to overcome the hebel of life through self-preservation—never doing anything that might be too difficult, end poorly, require a lot of his energy, lead to disappointment, lead to others’ pleasure but at his expense, etc. The sluggard uses hebel as an excuse to justify his laziness.
Thus, the gospel implications are that the sluggard fears hebel instead of God. The sluggard attempts to overcome hebel by depending upon himself rather than depending upon God. The sluggard builds protective walls around himself and does not go out of the house. And what is the result of the sluggard’s laziness? His house is falling in all around him. The sluggard who fears hebel and self-centeredly tries to overcome it actually adds to the hebel of his own life. The very thing he tries to overcome he reaps. But the one who fears God and depends upon him walks out into the street not to add to the hebel of life but to relieve the hebel of life by selflessly being a worker of righteousness who “do(es) good as long as they live” (Ecclesiastes 3:12). He selflessly works hard and “Whatever (his) hand finds to do, (he) does it with (his) might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). He Fear(s) God and keep(s) his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). And he depends upon God to preserve him amidst the hebel of life, even the proverbial lion in the street.
A Slothfulness Problem Is a Gospel Problem
Slothfulness is a gospel issue. When man is slothful, this testifies to an unbelieving heart that fears hebel and depends upon self rather than a believing heart that fears God and depends upon him. When man is slothful, he adds to the hebel of his life and the lives of others. King Jesus exemplifies for us what it looks like to depend upon the Father in a life destined for hebel—Jesus’ incomprehensible, unjust death on the cross. Jesus didn’t slothfully put off, avoid, or procrastinate his work. He put his hand to it and did it with all his might because he depended upon his Father. By his faithful work, he will ultimately undo the hebel of life. By his faithful work, our slothfulness is forgiven. And by his faithful work, we too are empowered to not be sluggards in the midst of hebel but relievers of hebel.
[1] Jason S. DeRouchie, “Lecture 23: Ecclesiastes: The God who sustains through life’s enigmas,” Jason S. DeRouchie © 2017 https://jasonderouchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Lect-23-Ecclesiastes-1.pdf
