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CHAPTER 2

 

Ecclesiastes 2:1 – I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure:  and, behold, this also is vanity.

 

Thought:  Solomon now experiments with pleasure.  He thought that that fun things of life would bring happiness for sure.  If life is always filled with excitement and action nothing could be better.  If a person could be involved in things that are enjoyable and be free from a life of hardship and stress, surely this is all that he needs.  Solomon found such was not the case.  He said:  “This also is vanity.”

 

Luke 15:11-14

 

Commentary:

 

A.     Solomon’s second test is now set before us.  “I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth…”

1.       Mirth

a.       Strong (8057):  blithesomeness or glee (religious or festival)

b.      BDB:  joy, mirth, gladness, pleasure, gaity

c.       Solomon defines it when he states:  “…therefore enjoy pleasure…”

2.       Note that he said “I will prove thee.”

a.       He is experimenting. 

b.      He is attempting to find the meaning of life. 

c.       He wants to find that which gives purpose to life and does not come to an end at death.

 

B.      How many people try to find fulfillment in pleasure?

1.       Some of it involves sinful pleasures:  drinking, partying, wild nights, dance drugs and sex.

2.       Some try to find it in pleasures that are not sinful per se:  sports, hobbies, crafts, vacations, celebrations.

 

C.     Solomon’s conclusion about these things is stated at the outset of naming the experiment.  “…and, behold, this also is vanity.”

1.       These things are empty and unfulfilling.

2.       These things do not bring lasting joy and happiness.

3.       All of the benefits of these things comes to an end at death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 2:2 – I said of laughter, It is mad:  and or mirth, What doeth it?

 

Thought:  Solomon pursued pleasure to such an extent that it became a companion to him.  After a period of time, he would address pleasure as if speaking to a person.  To laugher, he said:  “It is mad.”  Instead of producing joy, it was unfulfilling.  It was a daily pursuit of nothingness.  To mirth, he said:  “What doeth it?”  What reward did it really bring? What purpose did it really fulfill?  None.  Laughter and mirth were empty and meaningless.

 

Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

 

Commentary:

 

A.     In this verse Solomon speaks to the results of pleasure:  laughter and mirth (glee).

 

B.      He said to laughter:  “It is mad.”

1.       This is not occasional laughter from something funny happening or a joke that is told.  There is something beneficial in that merriment (Prov. 17:22a).

 

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…

 

2.       He is speaking of the crazy laughter that springs from revelry and partying.

a.       Those in a drunken stupor laugh at everything.

b.      Those who take drugs laugh at the crazy things they say and do.

3.       Solomon said that this laugher is mad.

a.       The word “mad means “to act madly” or “to act like a mad man.”

b.      K&D:  “…it is like one who is raving mad, who finds his pleasure in self-destruction..” (e-sword).

c.       There are no real benefits to this type of laughter.

 

C.     He said to glee (mirth):  “What doeth it?”

1.       The question Solomon asks is:  “What good does it produce in an individual’s life?” 

2.       K&D:  “…which disregards the earnestness of life and all due bounds, he is constrained to say, What does it result in? = that it produces nothing, i.e., that it brings forth no real fruit; that it produces only the opposite of true satisfaction; that instead of filling, it only enlarges the inner void…” (e-sword).

3.       What is amazing is that people continue to participate in this vain laughter and glee as if it does something for them. 

a.       They look forward to the next time they engage in the revelry.

b.      When they get to the end of life what good has all of the laughter and fun done for them?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 2:3 – I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

 

Thought:  Solomon knew about the influence of alcohol.  Thus, he used it in his exploration of what brings meaning to life.  Would he find happiness?  Would he find purpose?  Would he find reason?  Again, the answer was:  “No.”  He only laid hold of folly.  To intoxicate the mind never brings purpose to an individual’s life.  It may deceive him for a while.  Soon, he learns that this, too, is vanity.

 

Proverbs 20:1

 

Commentary:

 

A.     In his search for meaning through pleasure, Solomon gave himself unto wine.

 

B.      Beer, wine, and strong drink holds a powerful influence in the lives of many individuals. 

1.       The wine business in the U.S. produces $49.8 billion in revenue

2.       The beer industry produces $768.17 billion in revenue.

3.       202 billion liters of liquid is consumed in the U.S. each year.  Alcohol consists of 16.5% of that figure.  Thus, 33,330,000,000 liters of alcohol is consumed in the U.S. each year.  That figure continues to rise year after year.

 

C.     It is interesting that Solomon puts wine into two categories.

1.       It involved a way to acquire “wisdom.”

2.       It is put into the category of “folly.”

 

D.     Let’s look at some of the things Solomon tells us about wine from the Proverbs.

1.       Proverbs 20:1

 

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:  and whosever is deceived thereby is not wise.

 

2.       Proverbs 21:17

 

He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:  he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

 

3.       Proverbs 23:39-32

 

Who hath woe?  Who hath sorrow?  Who hath contentions?  Who hath wounds without cause?  Who hath redness of eyes?  They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to see mixt wine.  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 2:4 – I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards.

 

Thought:  Solomon now enters into another arena to find happiness.  It is the field of work.  Solomon had the resources to build many things and many things he built.  He built a house for himself.  He built a house for his wife.  He built the house of God.  He built storage units.  He built gardens and vineyards.  All that he built took effort.  It required skilled.  The outcomes were tangible.  They could be looked upon with pride.  Surely these things would bring meaning to life.  Keep reading.

 

I Kings 7:1-12

 

Commentary:

 

A.     Solomon now enters into another area wherein some attempt to find meaning in life, the field of work.

1.       We work a great portion of our lives.

2.       In our work, we use our talents and abilities.

3.       Our work contributes to our well-being.

4.       In our work, we find riches, achievement, promotion, and reward.

 

B.      Solomon was definitely a builder.  He begins by stating that he

1.       Built houses

a.       A house for the Lord (1 Kings 6:1)

b.      A house for himself (1 Kings 7:1)

c.       The house of the forest of Lebanon (1 Kings 7:2)

d.      A house for his wife (1 Kings 7:8)

2.       Planted vineyards:  In the Song of Solomon, vineyards are mentioned several times (SoS 1:14; 7:12; 8:11-12).

 

Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.  My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:  thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 2:5 – I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits.

 

Thought:  Solomon had the resources to develop a huge plantation.  He planted gardens with all varieties of vegetables.  He planted orchards that would bear all kinds of produce.  He planted trees that would bring forth all kinds of fruit.  The law of reaping and sowing states:  “He that sows bountifully will reap also bountifully.”  Solomon would bring forth in great abundance.  Surely, the harvest of his labors would bring happiness.  Again, keep reading.

 

Galatians 6:7

 

Commentary:

 

A.     After buildings, those with riches love to impress others with beautiful landscapes and gardens.

 

B.      One of my desires for a backyard:  A winding path with different stops along the way.  After the path takes a turn, it cannot be seen because of the plants between the walkway.

 

C.     One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”

 

Hanging garden of Babylon | Hanging garden, Wonders of the world, Gardens  of babylon

 

D.     Solomon planted many gardens, and orchards filled with all kinds of fruit trees.  In the Song of Solomon, gardens are mentioned several times (Ex., SoS 6:11).

 

I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

 

E.      Gardens have many benefits:

1.       They provide exercise to the physical body.

2.       They provide beauty to the eyes.

3.       They provide food for the body.

4.       They provide therapy for the inner man.

 

F.      But, gardens and orchards do not remain.

1.       Drought, disease, insects, wars, and desertion can easily destroy these creations.

2.       Where are “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon” today?