Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

The Teacher searches for
the purpose of our lives

Book of Ecclesiastes

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 2

The test to discover what makes a person happy – Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

v1 I spoke to myself. ‘OK,’ I said. ‘I will test those things that make a person happy. People think that those things are good. So I will try them.’ But even this did not provide any answers for me. v2 I realised that this was foolish. We must not think that we should laugh all the time. And there is no real benefit if we enjoy ourselves. v3 I drank a lot of wine to make myself happy. I even tried foolish activities. But wise thoughts were guiding me still. And I wanted to discover what is valuable in our lives. People cannot achieve a lot during their short lives on the earth.

v4 So I began some great plans. I built houses for myself. And I planted *vineyards. v5 I made beautiful gardens for myself and I planted all kinds of fruit trees. v6 I made pools for myself so that I could water the great number of healthy trees. v7 I bought male slaves and I bought female slaves. Also, I had other slaves who were born in my house. And I owned more cows and sheep and goats than anyone in Jerusalem had ever owned before me. v8 I collected large amounts of silver and gold for myself. Kings and rulers who came from foreign states brought silver, gold, and other precious things to me. And I obtained men and women who were singers. I had many wives and I owned other women as well. All of them were women who would seem pleasant to any man. v9 So I became much more important than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem. But in all these activities I did not lose my wise thoughts.

v10 I gave to myself everything that I wanted.

I did not refuse anything that made me happy.

I did everything with delight,

because I really enjoyed all my work.

v11 But then I thought a lot about what I had done.

I thought about all the things that I had worked so hard for.

And I discovered that nothing had a purpose.

I was like someone who was chasing the wind.

In this world, a person cannot gain anything that is valuable.

Verses 1-2 The Teacher decided to test himself. He wanted to learn what the purpose of his life was. So he made a decision that he would try to be happy. He tells us the result from his test before he gives the details of his experiment. He thinks in the end that no kind of fun satisfies people completely. Whatever he does, it disappoints him in the end. He felt like this because he did not think about God.

Verse 3 He drank wine. He tried other ‘foolish activities’ but he does not describe those activities. And he thought carefully about it all. He asked himself this question. What has real value for people during their life on the earth?

Verses 4-11 The words ‘for myself’ show that he was thinking only about himself. Like King Solomon, he lived in a wealthy and comfortable way.

Verse 4 The ‘houses’ here are like Solomon’s splendid buildings. (See 2 Chronicles 8:1-6.) The Teacher refers to ‘God’s house’ in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. People put plants that are called vines in *vineyards. And these plants produce small fruit that are called grapes. Then people squeeze the grapes to get juice. Then they make wine from the juice.

Verse 5 Gardens belonged to important people. A person needed a lot of land where he could plant so many trees and plants.

Verse 6 There was a pool in Jerusalem called the ‘king’s pool’ (Nehemiah 2:14). Another writer thought that Solomon had made it.

Verse 7 The Teacher owned many slaves. This showed to everyone that he was wealthy. Every day Solomon needed enormous numbers of animals to provide the meals for his people. He had to feed all the people who lived in his palace (1 Kings 4:22-23).

Verse 8 King Solomon had great quantities of gold (1 Kings chapter 10). And silver was ‘as common as stone’ (1 Kings 10:27). Apart from his personal wealth, he also received gifts. And money came to him from taxes in foreign countries where he ruled.

Singers provided music to please his guests at splendid meals.

Many women belonged to him. They lived with him in addition to his real wives. Apart from his many wives, King Solomon had 300 other women who lived in his home (1 Kings 11:3).

Verse 9 The Teacher says that he was the most powerful person in Jerusalem. He was the most powerful person who had ever lived there. But he reminds his readers that he always continued to think wisely. He wanted to test and to discover why people live in this world. Everything that he did was for that reason.

Verses 10-11 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 results of wise behaviour and of foolish behaviour – Ecclesiastes 2:12-17

v12 So I started to think about behaviour.

I thought about people who are wise.

And I thought about people who are mad or foolish.

A king can do only what previous kings have done.

v13 Then I realised that wise behaviour is better than foolish behaviour.

Wise behaviour is like light,

and light is better than darkness.

v14 The wise man can see where he is going.

But the fool walks along in the dark.

Then I realised that they both end in the same way.

v15 And I thought to myself,

‘The things that happen to the fool will happen to me also.’

So I thought about what advantage my wisdom had given to me.

I said to myself, ‘This also is a question that has no answer.’

v16 People do not remember the wise man for a long time.

Also, they do not remember the fool for a long time.

In the future, people will forget both of them.

We will all die, whether we are wise people or foolish people!

v17 So I hated my life.

Everything in my life brought trouble to me.

My work was worth nothing.

It is like someone who is chasing the wind.

Verse 12 The Teacher thinks about whether future kings would examine the same problems. They should examine the problems as carefully as the Teacher had examined them.

Verses 13-14 He thinks in the end that wisdom has value. It is better to be wise. Light and darkness show the difference between good things and bad things. Wise people know what they should do. Foolish people are like someone who tries to travel in the dark. But at the end, the same thing happens both to wise people and to foolish people. They all die.

Verses 15-17 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.

Thoughts about the value of hard work – Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

v18 I hated everything that I had worked hard for in the world. That was because I must leave everything. When I die other people will get it all. v19 And nobody knows whether that person will be a wise man or a fool. He will control everything that I have worked so hard for. This is not good. v20 So I felt desperate about all the hard work that I had done on the earth. v21 A man may be wise. And he may know how to use his skill. But then he must leave everything to someone who may not appreciate it. This means nothing, and it is not fair. v22 A man gains no advantage if he works hard during all his life on the earth. He does not get anything for all his worries. v23 Painful things happen every day. And at night his mind cannot rest. All this work means nothing.

Verses 18-19 The Teacher thinks that he must die soon. Then he will leave behind everything in the world. Another person will benefit from all his hard work. And he will not know whether or not that person appreciates his work. Perhaps that person will destroy the work. People do not always appreciate something that they have not worked for. King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, showed that, when he became king. He was so foolish that he destroyed the unity in Solomon’s *kingdom (1 Kings 12:1-19).

Verses 20-23 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.

To enjoy our life is God’s gift – Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

v24 So this is the best thing for anyone to do. You should eat all that you need. You should drink as much as you need. You should work hard until it satisfies you. That is how to enjoy your life. v25 I believe that these things come from God. So nobody can eat or enjoy his life without God’s help. v26 God gives the power to be wise. He makes people able to understand things. He wants people to enjoy their lives. He gives these gifts to those people who please him. But people who do not consider God must work too. They will earn rewards and then they can store up their possessions. But these things will benefit only the person who pleases God. This is difficult to understand. It is like someone who is chasing the wind.

Verses 24-25 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.

Verse 26 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.

vineyard ~ a field that produces fruit called grapes.
kingdom ~ the country and people that a king rules. God is the great king. And his kingdom is all the people who belong to him.