Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure"; but surely, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter--"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?" 3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
“Qoheleth’s actual test is related in this strong autobiographical section that has striking parallels with the Solomonic narrative in 1 Kings.” (Richard Schultz, The Baker Illustrated Bible)
Real wisdom of chapter 1 recognizes the Fall of man and the need for atonement. All else is vanity- [all transient], "he here enters into particulars, in proof that all is vanity [temporal].” (Robert Hawker)"...Koheleth embarks on a course of sensual pleasure, if so be this may yield some effect more substantial and permanent” (Pulpit Commentaries) After finding that worldly wisdom is transient in chapter 1, the Preacher adds pursuit of natural things: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. “The lust of the flesh in verses 1-3; the lust of the eyes in Ecclesiastes 2:4-6 , and the pride of life in Ecclesiastes 2:7-8.” (Arno Gaebelein)
“I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with mirth.’ The address to his own heart is alluded to in Jesus' parable of the rich fool, who addresses his own soul (Luke 12:19). So '(It is) mad,' or rather, 'Thou art mad,' answers to God's address to him, 'Thou fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' (Luke 12:20).” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)”The merry Greeks of the world think that they have the only life of it; that there is no such happiness as to ‘laugh and be fat,’ to ‘sing care away,’ and to lie carousing and melting in sinful pleasures; yea, though they perish therein, as the Duke of Clarence did in his butt of malmsey. ” (John Trapp) The handwriting is on the wall- Daniel 5.
“Why should the culprit dance and sing the night before his execution?” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “Thus his conclusion was that laughter which resulted from ‘having a good time’ was folly, it was empty, and that seeking merriment accomplished nothing. After all, what did it do, what did it accomplish, what did it leave you with when it was all over? The answer is, absolutely nothing.” (Peter Pett) ““Pleasure produces no lasting accomplishment, either. That is, while it has some temporary, immediate value (e.g., relieving grief or boredom), it does not produce anything permanently or ultimately worthwhile.” (Dr. Thomas B Constable)
It does not seize upon immortality.
It will perish with this world.
“Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of mirth is heaviness.” (Prov 14:13) “The pleasure addict cannot escape `the morning after,' nor the revulsion of satiety.’ [The New Bible Commentary] ‘The rhetorical question at the end of this verse has negative intent.’ [J. A. Loader] It simply means that mirth and laughter accomplish absolutely nothing.” (Burton Coffman) “It avails nothing in the attainment of real, lasting good.” (Paul Kretzmann)
“Billy Graham tells… of the disturbed patient who consulted a psychiatrist for help. He was suffering from deep depression. Nothing he had tried could help. He woke up discouraged and blue, and the condition worsened as the day progressed. Now he was desperate; he couldn't go on this way. Before he left the office, the psychiatrist told him about a show in one of the local theaters. It featured an Italian clown who had the audience convulsed with laughter night after night. The doctor recommended that his patient attend the show, that it would be excellent therapy to laugh for a couple of hours and forget his troubles. Just go and see the Italian clown! With a hangdog expression, the patient muttered, ‘I am that clown.’ He too could say of laughter— ‘Madness!’; and of mirth, ‘What does it accomplish?’” (Believer's Bible Commentary)
“‘I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly,’— Many try drug-induced religious experiences— drugs and wisdom mixed. Solomon Or he was as righteous Lot, living in the walls of Sodom. “Not in this way can the hunger and thirst with which the spirit of man is consumed be allayed.” (J. Willcock)— “’till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.’ “All the days’ is sometimes used to denote paucity, as Numbers 9:20; Genesis 34:30; Psalms 105:12, etc. Here the whole phrase may be rendered numbered days, i.e., few days. See Metrical Version.—T. L.” (Lange's Commentary) "Thank God! There is One who can still the hunger and thirst of the soul, who graciously invites, ‘if any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.’” (Arno Gaebelein)- all you who labor and are heavy laden.
Eccl 2:4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. 9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor.
“’I made my works great, I built myself houses,’ “the house of the sanctuary, to make atonement for Israel; the king's house of refreshment, and the conclave and porch; and the house of judgment, of hewn stones, where the wise men sit and do judgment; I made a throne of ivory for the royal seat;'' (The Targum) "Significantly, one of the greatest things Solomon ever did was to construct the Temple in Jerusalem; but true to his immeasurable conceit (as when he spoke to the queen of Sheba), he mentions here that he did it all for ‘ME,’ not for God. In this one paragraph, Solomon used the words `I,' `my,' `me,' and `mine' 32 times!” (Coffman Commentary)— “‘and planted myself vineyards (orchards) - literally, ‘paradises,’ i. e., parks or pleasure-grounds (cp. Nehemiah 2:8 note). Indications of at least three of these have been pointed out; one at Jerusalem near the pool of Siloam, called ‘the king’s garden’ Nehemiah 3:15; Jeremiah 52:7; a second near Bethlehem (cp. Ecclesiastes 2:6); and a third in the remote north, on the heights of Hermon Song of Solomon 4:8; Song of Solomon 8:11.” (Albert Barnes)
“All so pleasing to the eye… To all this he added servants and maidens, with great possessions. He gathered silver and gold and treasures such which only kings could obtain, gifts, probably from other monarchs, perhaps those which the Queen of Sheba brought. He also paid attention to music, had men singers, women singers, and an orchestra.” (Arno Gaebelein)—
“‘So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.’ (9) Kohéleth carried out his plan of tempering his enjoyment with discretion, but while he took his fill of the pleasure that fell to his lot, he found in it no abiding profit.” (C J Ellicott) His political and relgious “policies wrecked and eventually destroyed Israel; and it was his son's foolish efforts to continue those policies that terminated the united Israel almost before Solomon's body got cold in the grave..” (Burton Coffman) He built the temple of the LORD and also various other shrines for his wives. “‘The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!’ (Matt 6:22-23) “’This [eastern] gate [of the temple] shall be shut, and shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel hath entered by it,’ Ezek. 44:2; there by signifying, saith a divine, that although the heart, of a Christian, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost, may let many things enter into it at other gates, yet must it keep the east gate, the most illuminate and highest power and part of it, continually shut against all men..” (Trapp) "No one can serve two masters;’ etc. literally, can be the slave of two masters. — ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’ (24) God or mammon, not both together, will be the ruling power with him.” (C. J. Ellicott)
Eccl 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun
“Does he then sing and in a blessed peace of mind is he content and satisfied?” (Arno Gaebelein) “’This was my portion from all my labor’ (10) but being transitory it is subject to vanity, and therefore does not afford a sufficient answer to the repeated question, ‘What profit etc.?’” (Albert Barnes) “Yes indeed, that was Solomon's `portion,' such as it was. It reminds us of what Abraham said to the rich man as he lifted up his eyes in the heart of the earth, ‘Son, remember that in thy lifetime thou receivedst thy good things’! (Luke 16:25).” ( Burton Coffman )— “’lt was vanity and a striving after wind’ (11) Solomon did not say he experienced no pleasure; he did. Nevertheless, his final evaluation was that pleasure does not yield long-term profit, i.e., real significance in this life.” (Thomas B. Constable) As the emperor in Hans Christian Anderson, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the king was naked, but he knew it.
Eccl 2:12 Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?-- Only what he has already done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. 14 The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived that the same event happens to them all. 15 So I said in my heart, "As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, and why was I then more wise?" Then I said in my heart, "This also is vanity." 16 For there is no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever, since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come. And how does a wise man die? As the fool!
The king, the Preacher of Israel, had employed himself in good works for church and state. Here we find that both the wise man and fool alike both-- "die before they have completed their plans, and cannot tell who shall enjoy their work. Besides, the superb palace and its enchanting scenes attach the heart too much to this life, and make an invitation to the paradise above an unwelcome message, though in itself the highest of all favours. This also is vanity, for the wise man dieth as the fool; they mingle in the common dust (Genesis 3:19b), and in a few ages, the antiquaries cannot exactly say where the palace stood.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
"This is a book about the 'vanity' of our work (for any of our work is vanity, even our most prestigiousand most sacred work, like the wonderful Temple...). In the Bible, God works for the Israelites, God ‘fights for them’ (Exo. 14:25), ‘lest Israel claim glory for itself’ (Judges 7:2). From the Creation [week, including rest on the seventh day], to the life of Jesus, and on to scenes of the new earth, the Bible is the story of a God who works for mankind. Any attempt on our part to work for God is ridiculous and leads to nowhere; it is vanity. Work as a gift of God is a work that is received from God. Therefore it is a work conducted with passion, conviction, care, and responsibility, but also with faith, because not all depends on me... Even if our work is not completed when Sabbath begins, we will rest anyway, trusting that God will take care of the rest. This is the main lesson contained in the Sabbath; it is a reminder of the work of God for us, His gift for mankind. The Sabbath becomes the memorial of His total grace, the moment when we should realize that He did 'all' for us. Humans were not there, working for Him, when God created all things for them; the Sabbath is the sign of this gift...” (J. B. Doukhan)
Eccl 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 18 Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. 21 For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? 23 For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. 24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? 26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Everything was transient because of the curse. Thus, even when I tried to do good, I couldn't go it. (Romans 7:19) My motives are questioned and, often, rightly so. I confessed faith, but I lived like Lot. I was the king of Israel but I walked like an Egyptian.
"'Therefore I hated life, etc.' I less loved it than I had done; I saw mortality to be a mercy, with Cato; I was neither fond of life, nor afraid of death, with Queen Elizabeth. I preferred my coffin before my cradle, my burial day before my birthday." (John Trapp)
In 1 Kings 11, we find the curse taking it's toll on Solomon. His heart had turned from the LORD because he “loved many foreign women. (v. 1). So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:1-13)
“‘Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun,’ that is the toil that resulted from the curse, ‘because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.’ (18)
"True is the saying, He builds too low, who builds below the skies." (Jospeh Sutcliffe)
Absolom had already conspired against him, and now king Solomon considered who would take the throne of his kingdom. “As Solomon thought upon the certainty that he would soon leave his vast riches to another, there was increased bitterness in his heart at the possibility that his heir might be a fool (as indeed Rehoboam proved to be). Many another rich man has been haunted by the same uncertainty. It was this very question that God Himself hurled in the teeth of the rich fool (Luke 12:20), ‘Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?’ This is the question that every [wise] man should contemplate. Solomon contemplated it here, but he did not like the obvious answer.” (Burton Coffman) Who will tell the next generation of our common hope?
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15)
“‘For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it.’ The great paradox mentioned here is that great reward should go to the wise and the industrious; but, lo, and behold, some lazy and foolish heir inherits every bit of it! No wonder that Solomon's verdict on all this was that, ‘This also is vanity and a great evil.’ (21) But it was not the final answer. There is an eternal Judgement.
“’For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest.’ (22-23) that is, he remaineth awake, troubled by anxious thoughts and plans, or tortured by unquiet dreams; comp 5:12; Song of Solomon 5:2.” (J. P. Lange)
But there remains a rest for the people of God of which the Sabbath and the land were but types. “‘Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor.’ (24) “‘A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work’ has been segregated from his theme and corrupted to become the slogan of the indulgent Epicurean sensualist, ‘Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!’" (New Chain-Reference Bible) And he adds, “This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” The true and good answer of the God of Israel is “eating and drinking and rejoicing in the midst of one’s toil.” (Bernard Maurer) “Therefore the readers are not led into some Epicurean work- ethic or ‘to the desperate attempt… to snatch what they can while there is still time.’ This toil cannot endure for eternity since it takes place ‘under the sun’. Hence, the… reader will see that that which abides is the eternal work of God (3:11, 14, 15) and that all men must place their fear in Him alone (3: 14 ; cf. 2:22-26) and not in their vanishing works done under the sun. In this very practical situation there is truly ‘nothing better’ for a man to do than to rejoice in what God has providentially given him (I Sam. 27:1).” (H. Carl Shank)
“‘For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God.’ (26) This, whatever appearances may sometimes suggest, is the law of God's giving: that the good shall have abundance, while the bad lack; that more shall be given to him who has wisdom to use what he has a right, while from him who is destitute of this wisdom, even that which he hath shall be taken away.” (Samuel Cox) This truth will be realized in that world which is to come. Eternal Blessings will endure and exist in that new world wherein dwells righteousness. “God grants ‘wisdom,, knowledge and happiness’ to one ‘who please Him’ (NIV; literally ‘good before Him’). In contrast, the ‘sinner’ (Hebrew hote; contra NJPS, ‘him who displeases’) may gather possessions only to pass then on without ever enjoying them, if God withholds that ability. Eccl. 7:26 and 8:12-13... indicate that this benefit has a moral basis rather than resting on God’s ‘unpredictable and totally arbitrary pleasure’.” (Richard Schultz)
Trust that there will be a Judgment , as Solomon did, and that God is the Judge. “One may chase any earthly rainbow that he may choose, but, apart from the blessing of God, the utmost futility, despair and destruction will be his eternal reward.” (Burton Coffman)
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