Ecc 2:1-11 | KingComments | STEP | Ungrateful activities, fatigue, sorrow, grief, that is the sad conclusion of the wise in the previous chapter ( ). Well, he then said, let me only think of the nice things of life, things you can laugh about and that make you feel happy ( ). Solomon has spoken to himself ( ). “I said” means that he made a decision. With an encouraging “come now” he has stimulated himself to take action. He has surrendered his heart to “joy”, for that might give him satisfaction. He did not test his joy, but himself by surrendering to hedonism – which is the view that pleasure is the most important thing in life. To stimulate his joy, he only looked at the good things of life [“enjoy yourself” is literally “consider with goodness”]. He said to himself that he should be positive and not pay attention to all the misery around him. He pushed away his worries, ignores his painful experiences, and has made himself to believe: Look happy and feel happy and smile to life. Solomon has kept this up for a while and put himself to the test to see if this gives him lasting happiness. But after a while he also had to say that it is “futility”. The pleasure evaporated and the harsh reality was seen again. Every human joy is spoiled by the awareness that it is not permanent ( ). You can watch and listen to comedians and laugh uncontrollably at their jests and jokes. It works like a drug. For a moment you forget all the misery around you. But when the show is over, you are back in the middle of reality. Distraction and entertainment have no lasting effect. You are still as empty as before. Neither “laughter” nor “pleasure” have been able to take away the terrible awareness of the meaninglessness of all his deeds ( ). Laughter sounds loud, but short. The sound disappears and nothing remains ( ). When life consists of laughter, it is “madness”. Someone who always laughs, looks more like a fool than a wise man. Laughter is madness when people laugh at obscene jokes and sickening humor. Laughter is madness when it is linked to the loss of judgment skills and the boundary between good and evil is lost. The laugher draws the hard facts into a sea of frivolity. When pleasure is a goal in itself, it achieves nothing. It does not free someone from the tormenting feeling of the meaninglessness of all his activities. He says of pleasure “what does it accomplish?”, by which he means that it does not accomplish anything. There is a temporary effect associated with pleasure. When someone is happy, it is pleasant for him ( ), but it does not bring about any fundamental change in man and his circumstances. Pleasure does not provide answers to the questions of life. The answer to the question is clear: all pleasure fails when it comes to meeting the needs of man who lives “under the sun” and has no relationship with God. There is a joy that goes deeper than temporary pleasure with limited effect, and that also goes far beyond it. This joy lies outside the field of the vision of the Preacher and is connected with the Lord Jesus in glory. He who has a living relationship with Him can rejoice in Him, for He gives His joy to everyone who is connected with Him by faith ( ; ). Solomon also tried wine to discover the influence it has on his mind ( ). With wine we can also think of everything that is good to drink and eat, the ‘good life’. Would the enjoyment of everything that caresses the taste buds give his heart the peace he was looking for? If you have some wine or a nice meal, you can feel physically well. You feel comfortable in your own skin. For that you really do not have to eat and drink so much that you get intoxicated. Solomon was so wise that he made sure he remained sober. He remained master of his mind and enjoyed the good life as a true life artist, who manages to do everything proportionately. That has extended his enjoyment. He also avoided unpleasant consequences. He also seized upon folly in order to thereby examine his heart. He has not behaved like a fool, for his wisdom has kept the control in his heart. He has held himself in control. Fools stuff themselves with food and drinks. That means brief enjoyment. By his gluttony the fool shortens the enjoyment of the thing, while he also vomits what he has stuffed himself with. Solomon would not have done this, for he has constantly kept himself in control. He has done everything to find out “what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives”. He wanted to know where to get the highest good that gives the highest happiness to man. That is what he has been looking for and that is what all his efforts have gone for. He wanted to enjoy this throughout his life, during his life in this world. In order to know this happiness he has done all these things.

‏ Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Pleasure, Laughter, Wine and Madness

Ungrateful activities, fatigue, sorrow, grief, that is the sad conclusion of the wise in the previous chapter (Ecc 1:13 ; 18). Well, he then said, let me only think of the nice things of life, things you can laugh about and that make you feel happy (Ecc 2:1-3).

Solomon has spoken to himself (Ecc 2:1). “I said” means that he made a decision. With an encouraging “come now” he has stimulated himself to take action. He has surrendered his heart to “joy”, for that might give him satisfaction. He did not test his joy, but himself by surrendering to hedonism – which is the view that pleasure is the most important thing in life.

To stimulate his joy, he only looked at the good things of life [“enjoy yourself” is literally “consider with goodness”]. He said to himself that he should be positive and not pay attention to all the misery around him. He pushed away his worries, ignores his painful experiences, and has made himself to believe: Look happy and feel happy and smile to life.

Solomon has kept this up for a while and put himself to the test to see if this gives him lasting happiness. But after a while he also had to say that it is “futility”. The pleasure evaporated and the harsh reality was seen again. Every human joy is spoiled by the awareness that it is not permanent (Pro 14:13). You can watch and listen to comedians and laugh uncontrollably at their jests and jokes. It works like a drug. For a moment you forget all the misery around you. But when the show is over, you are back in the middle of reality. Distraction and entertainment have no lasting effect. You are still as empty as before.

Neither “laughter” nor “pleasure” have been able to take away the terrible awareness of the meaninglessness of all his deeds (Ecc 2:2). Laughter sounds loud, but short. The sound disappears and nothing remains (Ecc 7:6). When life consists of laughter, it is “madness”. Someone who always laughs, looks more like a fool than a wise man.

Laughter is madness when people laugh at obscene jokes and sickening humor. Laughter is madness when it is linked to the loss of judgment skills and the boundary between good and evil is lost. The laugher draws the hard facts into a sea of frivolity.

When pleasure is a goal in itself, it achieves nothing. It does not free someone from the tormenting feeling of the meaninglessness of all his activities. He says of pleasure “what does it accomplish?”, by which he means that it does not accomplish anything. There is a temporary effect associated with pleasure. When someone is happy, it is pleasant for him (Pro 15:13 ; Pro 17:22), but it does not bring about any fundamental change in man and his circumstances.

Pleasure does not provide answers to the questions of life. The answer to the question is clear: all pleasure fails when it comes to meeting the needs of man who lives “under the sun” and has no relationship with God.

There is a joy that goes deeper than temporary pleasure with limited effect, and that also goes far beyond it. This joy lies outside the field of the vision of the Preacher and is connected with the Lord Jesus in glory. He who has a living relationship with Him can rejoice in Him, for He gives His joy to everyone who is connected with Him by faith (Phil 4:4; Jn 15:11).

Solomon also tried wine to discover the influence it has on his mind (Ecc 2:3). With wine we can also think of everything that is good to drink and eat, the ‘good life’. Would the enjoyment of everything that caresses the taste buds give his heart the peace he was looking for? If you have some wine or a nice meal, you can feel physically well. You feel comfortable in your own skin. For that you really do not have to eat and drink so much that you get intoxicated.

Solomon was so wise that he made sure he remained sober. He remained master of his mind and enjoyed the good life as a true life artist, who manages to do everything proportionately. That has extended his enjoyment. He also avoided unpleasant consequences.

He also seized upon folly in order to thereby examine his heart. He has not behaved like a fool, for his wisdom has kept the control in his heart. He has held himself in control. Fools stuff themselves with food and drinks. That means brief enjoyment. By his gluttony the fool shortens the enjoyment of the thing, while he also vomits what he has stuffed himself with. Solomon would not have done this, for he has constantly kept himself in control.

He has done everything to find out “what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives”. He wanted to know where to get the highest good that gives the highest happiness to man. That is what he has been looking for and that is what all his efforts have gone for. He wanted to enjoy this throughout his life, during his life in this world. In order to know this happiness he has done all these things.

Great Works

Solomon enjoyed pleasure, joy, the good things and wine for his body, but found no lasting satisfaction. Therefore he started a next investigation in his search for the meaning of life. Would the making of great, impressive things perhaps give him the full happiness his heart was so looking for? Would an abundance of earthly goods and what he would accomplish with them give him lasting satisfaction?

No one but him was better able to gather and manage riches and to accomplish great things that the human ambition continuously intends to accomplish (2Chr 9:22-28). Thus he set out to work and surrendered himself to building houses and planting all kinds of gardens with all kinds of fruit trees. He has become a master builder, a landowner and a producer of fruit.

In Ecc 2:4-10 we see what Solomon was capable of. We see that he combined in himself the qualities of gifted people. He was a great architect, a classy gardener, an employer of a large company with a lot of staff, a landowner, a bank director, a concert owner and an art lover, enjoyer of life. But his conclusion is that it has all been “vanity and striving after wind” (Ecc 2:11), by which he means that it has not given a true fulfillment to life.

Solomon gives an overview of the “enlargement of his works” he has accomplished for himself – see the recurring “I” and “for myself” – to see if his heart could find undisturbed peace in them (Ecc 2:4). He has built “houses” for himself (1Kgs 7:1-2 ; 1Kgs 9:15-19; 2Chr 8:3-6). Great leaders in the history of the world wanted to express their greatness in impressive buildings, among other things. “Vineyards” are described in Song of Songs (Song 1:14 ; Song 8:11). He was able to enjoy the wine. He did everything for himself: “I built … for myself”, “I planted … for myself”. In this way he continues in the following verses.

Like houses, also luxurious “gardens” contribute to the glory of kings (Ecc 2:5). The beautifully landscaped gardens with a choice of the most beautiful flowers were a delight to the eye. The orchards with “all kinds of fruit trees” provided the most delicious fruit, a delight for the tongue and good for your health. He must have imported the fruit trees and immediately enjoyed the fruit of it. Here the memory of paradise comes to mind (Gen 2:8). Walking in those gardens and orchards and eating the fruits must have been an extraordinarily relaxing experience.

He also provided for the construction of “ponds of water” (Neh 2:14a) so that “a forest of growing trees” could be irrigated (Ecc 2:6). The growing trees seem to be trees other than the fruit trees of Ecc 2:5. The idea has been raised that these were trees that could be used for building houses and ships and making musical instruments.

He had also surrounded himself with “male and female slaves” who served him to the full maximum and to whom he had entrusted the management of certain things in his house (Ecc 2:7). The children of these male and female slaves belonged to him automatically. In the long run, he always had an abundance of staff.

The “flocks and herds” he possessed surpassed in largeness those of all who preceded him in Jerusalem. It was an unprecedentedly large livestock. Because of this there was always abundant meat present.

He also “collected … silver and gold” for himself (Ecc 2:8) which indicates his great wealth (1Kgs 9:14 ; 28 ; 1Kgs 10:14 ; 22 ; 27; 2Chr 1:15). The “treasures” came from “kings” of neighboring countries and from “provinces” conquered by him. They were eye-catching treasures. For the caress of the ear he let male and female singers to perform ‘live’ for him whenever he wanted. Beautiful music belongs to “the pleasures of men”.

Everything that is pleasing to a human child, in whatever area, he has enjoyed, so he can say that he has had pleasure in abundance. Solomon is a real bon vivant here. He also enjoyed sexual pleasure. His “many concubines” enabled him to do so. He understood the art of it and had the possibilities to do so.

As he became great (Ecc 1:16), his wealth also increased (Ecc 2:9; 2Chr 9:22). He mentions once again that he has surpassed all who preceded him in Jerusalem. But he has not let all his wealth drive him mad either. It did not take control over him in such a way that it made him happy and wealth had led him to a sinful use of it. His wisdom had kept the upper hand. This enabled him to enjoy everything intensely, while at the same time recognizing its relative value.

He did not impose any restrictions on his eyes or his heart at all (Ecc 2:10). He has not kept his eyes form seeing anything they have desired to see. He has never said ‘no’ to his eyes. We must remember that it is not about looking at sinful things. He talks about everything he has made and purchased to get to know the meaning of life. His wisdom stood by him.

He did not withhold his heart “from any pleasure”. He has done everything that his heart has been able to rejoice. This joy he has found in everything he has made, for which he had worked. With a certain satisfaction he expresses what his part was in all his labor: it has given him pleasure in his heart. But is that what he was really looking for? Was this pleasure the meaning of existence?

In Ecc 2:11 he draws the conclusion. At the end of all his labor he looks back at all these works. He judges all that his hands had made and all that he had made while working. What is his conclusion? It “was all vanity and striving after wind” and “there was no profit under the sun”. It is reminiscent of the Lord Jesus’ question: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mk 8:36). Solomon’s answer to that question would be: ‘It would profit him nothing, nothing at all.’

After he has done everything he intended, he faces the result. Each and every one of them was an impressive achievement. We can ask ourselves which person is capable of such a thing. But however gifted and impressive his achievements may have been, he has failed to find the answer to the question of the true fulfillment of life. Also in view of eternity it has not brought him anything. Nothing remains of all his thinking and all his labor.

The ‘pleasure in abundance’ has an expiration date. It is only a temporary and immediate pleasure. He has the advantage that everything he has undertaken has succeeded. In that sense he is happy with it. But none of that has lasting value. The only thing it has brought him is that pleasure. If that is all and there is nothing else left, if there is nothing of lasting value, it is miserable. The conclusion of all his efforts is no different from that of all his examination.

The question is always: what is life about? The message is, that we should not mix up the radiance of the glories of the world with true happiness. We may be happy with what we do, but we can never rest in it. Let the earth be the water vessel, not the source.

Only God can look back upon all His works and conclude in truth and with full satisfaction: “And behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31).