seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?” 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem[a] as well—the delights of a man’s heart. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
than what has already been done?
13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 The wise have eyes in their heads,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.
15 Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!
What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
“This too is meaningless.”
16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!
17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. 20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. 21 For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? 23 All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.
24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? 26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom,knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
a. Ecclesiastes 2:8 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain
Wow.... Solomon asked for wisdom.... but I don't think he liked knowing what wisdom taught him.
These outtakes are from the easy English site.
The Teacher had done his experiment in a way that tested everything. He had wanted to enjoy everything. And he was happy with his work. He was interested in his work as he continued his plans. But then he thought about what he had achieved. He thought about all his hard work. Then he realised the truth. He had done it all to please himself. And this disappointed him. There is no permanent benefit if you search merely for your own happiness. It is impossible to discover the purpose of our lives. It is like someone who tries to catch the wind.
The Teacher thought about whether wise people have any advantage. A wise person dies and a fool dies. It was a puzzle. Everyone soon forgets both wise people and foolish people. So the Teacher thought in the end that there was no answer to these puzzles at this time. It was like someone who tries to catch the wind. But the Teacher will get nearer to the answer later.
The Teacher did not think that it was fair. Other people ought not to enjoy the results from the Teacher’s hard work. He had worked hard and worried a lot during his life. He had suffered strain in his body and he had suffered mental strain. Every day, he had to think about difficult problems. At night, he could not sleep because he was worrying. So he thought in the end that hard work was not the satisfactory answer. He was still looking for the real purpose of our lives.
The Teacher is wise, but he has failed to discover the purpose of our lives. Pleasure has not satisfied him completely. Hard work has disappointed him because he must die. And he will leave behind all that he has achieved. Another person will benefit from his work and that person may not deserve it. The Teacher’s experiments have all been about our life in this world. But it has been without reference to God. In these verses, the Teacher begins to change his attitude. Now he shows that our life is a gift from God. So he can enjoy his life. To ‘eat’ and to ‘drink’ means to be content.
People who please God will recognise God’s gifts. They recognise that everything comes from God. And God wants people to enjoy his gifts to them. ‘Everything that God created is good. You should thank God for it.’ (That is 1 Timothy 4:4.) The foolish person, who takes no notice of God, must work too. The foolish person gets no satisfaction from his work. And he gets no satisfaction from all the things that he gains. They benefit ‘the person who pleases God’. The Teacher does not explain how this would happen. Many people are without God. It is also difficult to understand what happens to them. It is like someone who is trying to catch the wind.
As I was reading the commentary.... I was thinking... Solomon was really and "aholic" of a lot of kinds..... alcohol, food, sex, work..... I wonder... did Solomon blame God for the death of his brother? Did Solomon somehow shoulder some guilt or hatred over the affair David and Bathsheba tried to cover up? Is that why he appears to be self medicating and avoiding family for work? When David and Bathsheba were arguing [which I assume they did because they were married and they had a history] was Solomon in earshot when Bathsheba was crying over the death of her soldier husband, her first child, and the life she once had? Did Solomon want to own everything or do everything so that he didn't have to deal with the sadness in her eyes that so often haunts a son when his mother is gone.
If this isn't about Solomon's deep sadness over the finality of death.... then it's a lesson in "life is nothing without God".
Hubby bought me a new sewing machine. It's a Brother SE600.... it embroiders and sews..... and I am having a ball with it. I found a facebook page where there are other people with the same machine.... and we all got our machines at about the same time.... like within the last few months..... and new people join the page every day..... and the one thing they all balk at..... they don't read the manual. They want to know "why this" and "how that". The answers to the majority of the questions are in the manual. But they don't have time to set down and read through roughly 80 pages of hints and how to's. I read my manual.... from time to time... I'll pop the page number up on the page in response to a question. That way they can just go read a paragraph and get on with their project. I figure Brother designed the machine.... might as well find out what Brother says about the right way to run it.
Funny.... I guess that's what the Bible is all about.... God created this life and God gave us an instruction manual for it. If we take the time to read the manual.... then operating life is better. Solomon didn't have the Bible. God handed him wisdom..... and riches....
Solomon is telling me flat out..... "Without God...none of this matters"
