Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 2:1-11. In case you’re wondering, since I believe that Qohelet, the main speaker in Ecclesiastes, is best identified as Solomon, I will refer to him interchangeably as Qohelet or Solomon. Let’s go!
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 (NIV)
1 I thought in my heart, “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 foolish. 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 worthwhile for men to do under heaven 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 men and women singers, and a harem as well–the delights of the heart of man.
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 work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
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.
On verses 1-11: After focusing so much on gaining and studying wisdom and coming up empty (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18), Solomon shifts his focus to amassing wealth and pursuing pleasure. Solomon claims that his goal was “to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.” (v3) Pastor-author Douglas Sean O’Donnell puts it this way: in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 Solomon searches for satisfaction in 4 places: the pub, the garden, the treasury, and the bedroom.
– The pub (v3): Most likely Solomon would not drink with all the “common people”, but one could easily imagine that Solomon created his own private wine cellar and lounge, the most elaborate of its kind, in which he could try to drink his sorrows away.
– The garden (v4-6): Verses 4-6 describe how Solomon made his own version of Buchart Gardens: huge mansions, vineyards, gardens, parks, all kinds of fruit trees, water groves, as well as a large crew of slaves to maintain it all for him.
– The treasury (v7-8a): Solomon amassed more wealth than any ruler of Israel before him or after him. Just read 1 Kings 10:14-29 and you’ll get a sense of why they called Solomon’s time as king the “golden” age of ancient Israel.
– The bedroom (v8b): Solomon understates this huge part of his pursuit of pleasure: “and a harem as well – the delights of a man’s heart”. According to 1 Kings 11, Solomon took 700 wives and 300 concubines.
As Solomon himself describes, “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.” (v10) His was a “work hard, play harder” approach to life. Yet it did not satisfy. Solomon reports: “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.” (v11)
Solomon claims that through this entire process, he was still being wise: “I tried…embracing folly – my mind still guiding me with wisdom” (v3). Later in verse 9 he says, “In all this my wisdom stayed with me”. (Notice how Solomon once again detaches wisdom from God and claims wisdom as his own.) I seriously wonder if Solomon gives himself too much credit here. For look at the fruit of his “wisdom” as 1 Kings 11:1-6 describes it:
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter–Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
Abandoning God’s commands regarding marriage and sex, Solomon followed his own “wisdom” and it derailed his faith and destiny, leading to depression and disillusionment.
What can we learn from this?
– Be careful that when you think you’re being wise, it’s not actually a pride-fueled wisdom based only on your own understanding. As Proverbs 3:7-8 says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
– When we abandon God’s commands, the result is not satisfaction, fulfillment and peace, but emptiness and disillusionment.
– God made us with a great capacity to work hard and to play hard, but how much satisfaction and fulfilment you gain from working hard and playing hard will depend on how you work and how you play. Work and play apart from God, and you’ll end up empty and unsatisfied. Work and play with God in mind, and you’re much more likely to experience real joy, peace, wisdom and love.
– There is nothing wrong with wine, beautiful gardens, money and sex in and of themselves. All of them are gifts that God is happy to have us enjoy. But problems arise when we have a twisted attitude towards them, when we look to these things for the satisfaction that only God can bring. May we have a right view toward play and pleasure, realizing that you and I were made to work hard and play hard WITH God, not without Him.
Thank You, Father, that You made me with a huge capacity to work and to play, but always with You and not apart from You. Work and play without You is empty and meaningless. Work and play with You is peace and joy. I pray that I would have a healthy and wise view toward work, play and pleasure, realizing that I was made to work hard and play hard WITH You, not without You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
