Ecclesiastes - Chapter 2
The lure and snare of pleasure (1-11):
Solomon speaks to his own heart as this chapter opens saying that he will test it with mirth and because of that testing pleasure should be enjoyed.
We saw in chapter one that the search for wisdom was external. Now his test for pleasure is internal. The point of the test is to determine whether pleasure is all it is said to be and if it will bring more satisfaction than wisdom. In just one verse he then allows us the results of the search as futile (vanity/mystery) while allowing that laughter is madness while mirth accomplishes little.
Here the preacher is not speaking of true cheerfulness that should mark the attitude of a godly man, but rather he speaks of idle laughter and the mirth of the fool. He speaks of the love of pleasure as a grand pursuit of life.
It seems important for us to not let the blunt conclusion so soon given that pleasure is empty to make us overlook the lure of pleasure itself. From the standpoint of our senses it would seem that pleasure is what we were made for. The preacher sought to test that view by abandoning himself to pleasure, giving his senses every chance to thrill him.
In verse 3 he tells us just how difficult is the human quest for meaning. The good in life is not at all apparent, so he had to search diligently. He tells us that it is only in the worldly area may it be sought and also that the time to seek it was always diminishing.
Pleasure has also another lure. It lifts our lives above the normal routine when so much of life seems just ordinary. Here he speaks of more than sensuous pleasure, speaking of pleasure in his accomplishments. Achievements that are extraordinary provide delight as they lift us above the routine. These were useful, attractive, and productive works, such as building his own palace (after the temple was completed).
It took 13 years to build, almost twice as long as the building of the Lord's temple.
Solomon devoured many delights which he details for us in verses 7-10. Here the testing of pleasure moves beyond construction into personal wealth and pleasures of the flesh. He accounts for his accumulation of silver and gold and special treasures as well as telling us that his wealth allows him to acquire many side benefits, singers, musical instruments, and the interesting acquiring of “delights”, likely the intimacy of his 700 wives and 300 concubines. Who among us would not like to write a description of success that he gives in verse 9?
Despite the serious seeking of pleasure that Solomon details, he now admits in verse 11 that all was vanity, grasping for the wind, and finding there was no profit in wordly matters (as he describes as “under the sun”).
He knew the lure of pleasure and he knew it's snare. He had found that pleasure promises more than it produces. Living for pleasure has another snare as well. Pleasure only satisfies during its moment and the moment must be repeated again and again to regain it. The pursuit of it results in boredom or frustration. If we gain our goal in it we soon tire of it. If we do not we are filled with disappointment.
When the snares of pleasures are examined we see why Solomon reached his negative conclusion. If we look for a foundation on which to build a life, do not count on pleasure as it does not have the substance to sustain us.
Here is a good warning. Even the richest, wisest, most accomplished of us can find ourselves in futility if pleasure is the aim. To move beyond futility, we must take another path.
Jesus gave us the answer. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and are humble of spirit find true joy. That true joy is not found apart from serving the Lord. In his service is found no emptiness nor hollow worldly things that prove temporary. In Him is found the permanence of the fulfilled life.
Lack of permanence (12-26):
The focus in these verses is divided into three sections:
No difference between the wise and the fool (12-17)
No assurance that labors will last (18-23)
No better solution than to enjoy the present (24-26)
The reality of death dampens the enthusiasm of the wise. Yet that wisdom lacks any permanent worth, because death is always present and threatening. Death is the one event that catches both the wise and the foolish equally. Solomon even makes clear his understanding of this fact in verse 15 when he says “...it also happens to me...”, and then once more says that such a thing is vanity.
It sounds as if death was holding him by the neck and shaking the joy of life out of him as he says in verse 17 “... I hated life...”. In all of scripture only the sad verses of parts of Job, portions of Jeremiah (chapter 20), and the book of Lamentations rival the despair of this statement. Death also has one more sad whim to Solomon. It leaves all of our accomplishments for others to use.
We should contrast this moment in this section with the opposite reflection of Paul who teaches us in Phillipians 1 which teaches us that “... to live is Christ...”.
The mood of this passage is depression. His use of the phrase “I hated” sets the tone for what follows. The heart of his depression is that as grand as his achievements are, another man will enjoy them who has not earned them. This makes no sense to him and again seems to be vanity (mystery). No other passage of our Bible paints a picture more grim of how fragile success in this life is.
Death is a haunting reality which diminishes the value of wisdom. Even the memory of the wise can be erased by death. So Solomon comes to his conclusion:
Enjoy life while you can.
Surrender to God's decisions.
Expect nothing better.
These last thoughts have much merit. They stir us to seek joy in God's daily gifts but still provide no permanent solution to death.
It took the greater wise & Holy One to bring that message. He replaced death as the ultimate reality when He said “... I am the resurrection and the life...”. Through our Lord we are taken out of the hand of death and held in the hand of our Savior, from which there is no one with power to remove us.
The resurrected people of God will live on to enjoy wonderful fellowship with our maker who has fully and finally dealt with death.