Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 2:17-26. In case you’re wondering, since I believe that Qohelet, known as the “Teacher” and the main speaker in Ecclesiastes, is best identified as Solomon, I will refer to him interchangeably as Qohelet or Solomon. Let’s go!
Ecclesiastes 2:17-21 (NIV)
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 he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work 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 man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
On verses 17-21: In the book of Proverbs, a younger Solomon was all about investing in the next generation. Proverbs in many ways was Solomon’s attempt to prepare his son for life. Solomon was so eager to see his son thriving for the long-term. Yet here in Ecclesiastes, Solomon seems resentful that he has to leave his wealth to his successor. Rather than being comforted that the next generation will be well provided for or excited at what the next generation after him could do in the future, Solomon seems to resent the next generation for taking from him what they didn’t earn and work for.
Where did the shift in Solomon’s attitude begin? The Bible does not give us many details about the relationship between Solomon and his children. However, one could guess that with 700 wives and 300 concubines, Solomon probably had many children that he didn’t know at all and who were practically and emotionally estranged from him. I would submit that the shift in Solomon’s attitude began when Solomon married more wives, took on more concubines and in turn begat more children than he could manage. Eventually, rather than seeing those children as close and dear to him, Solomon may have seen them as strangers who wanted a piece of the royal pie. If Solomon had respected God’s design for marriage, he wouldn’t have had so many wives, concubines and children to provide for. If he had focused instead on raising a family God’s way and really preparing his next generation for the future, perhaps Solomon would not have felt this way. Sometimes our biggest problems are ones that we unwittingly create for ourselves.
Ecclesiastes 2:22-25 (NIV)
22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?
23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
On verses 22-25: In verse 24 we get a nugget of truth directly from Solomon’s words: it is a gift from the hand of God when we are able to eat, drink, find satisfaction in our work and enjoyment in our life. As James 1:17 says, every good and perfect gift comes from above. The sad thing is that, very likely, given his complaints about work so far, Solomon is likely saying this not as one who is personally experiencing satisfaction and enjoyment from God, but as one who sees that satisfaction and enjoyment from a distance, who misses that satisfaction and enjoyment and wishes he could find it. It goes to show that money, power and fame are no guarantee for happiness. Solomon had more money, power and fame than anyone, and yet he was miserable.
Ecclesiastes 2:26 (NIV)
26 To the man 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.
On verse 26: Why does Solomon say that this situation in verse 26 is meaningless? Maybe it’s because Solomon finds that he does not identify with “the man who pleases” God (v26a). We can already see that happiness has in many ways eluded Solomon. And we have just read that Solomon laments having to give all the wealth he has accumulated to someone who didn’t work for it. So there’s a good chance that, rather than seeing himself as one who pleases God in verse 26a and who is blessed with happiness, Solomon sees himself more as the sinner in verse 26b who gathers and stores up wealth only to hand it over to someone else. And that is why he calls this situation meaningless.
But is the way Solomon feels inevitable for all of us? Not necessarily. Keep in mind that this older, jaded Solomon is speaking from a mindset that life on earth is all there is. Who knows if there is heaven or eternal life, the olded, jaded Solomon wonders? And so Solomon does not find comfort in knowing that God will reward those who have been faithful with what God gave them, or that a life of peace and joy in eternity awaits him. When you have no hope of eternity, life becomes hopeless and meaningless.
Father, thank You for all the times when I have been able to eat, drink, find satisfaction in my work and enjoy the life You have given me. All of that is a gift from You. Thank You that to the One who pleases you – i.e. Jesus – You give wisdom, knowledge and happiness. That happiness might not always be instant or immediate, but it is eventual and eternal. And thank You that because my life is hidden in Christ, that eventual and eternal happiness is mine as well, all because of Your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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