Ecclesiastes 2:12-26 FOR WHAT PURPOSE The Preacher continued his search for ultimate meaning in his life but nothing worked. He applied himself to wisdom, seeking out every kind of pleasure, but nothing satisfied him. Then he went to work, hard work, in great building projects and the accumulating of wealth, but all gave no real satisfaction or meaning to him because they were all temporary and like a puff of wind. He had to face the fact that death takes away everything we gained in a lifetime of living, so what is the point. Even so, wisdom is much better than foolishness like day is better than night. However, death takes away any advantage, because no one survives and nothing is taken to the grave. The best a person can expect is to get what God allows and use it while you have it.
Those who came after Solomon won’t find any more than he found as far as questions about the meaning of life. Those questions remain today in spite of all the advances made in medicine, technology, travel and scientific thought. None of them gives meaning unless God is in one’s life. There is as much or more turmoil in the world as there ever was. Nothing really has changed. Wisdom does have an advantage over folly because wisdom gives order to life, and an understanding of what we can see. There is a brief personal gratification in being aware of the intricacies of life and created things. Observation can give temporary pleasure to thinking people.
The wise man has some knowledge, discretion and understanding from God which keeps him from floundering in the ways of darkness. That perception is a real advantage to living, but the reality as far as the meaning for being alive is that both the wise and foolish have to die. So, what is “the big deal? It ends up being the same for the wise and the fool. There is nothing lasting or meaningful when both are gone. The only thing left is a name on a tombstone, or a book that is read once and then forgotten. A new generation will hardly know anything about a genius, or a fool, unless forced to read about them in a schoolbook, and then it is soon forgotten.
It will be difficult to find anything about both the wise and foolish in a short passage of time. The only value we can get from what we have done in life is the impact it has left on eternal things. What we teach our children about God will last. How we lived for the Lord may have some lasting effect. What influence we may have had on the thoughts and spirits of those with whom we have had fellowship with in life, may have been able to leave some good after we have gone.
Why would a wise man like Solomon hate life? It was because in his life he had pursued all the “things” he could for personal gratification and it didn’t work. Personal satisfaction is very self-centered by its nature, and any real enjoyment in life is that which is shared with God and with others. When God is in one’s life, and like Paul said, “For me to live is Christ,” then we have the best possible Person with whom to share life. Added to that is the fact that there are more of God’s people around with whom we can share our life and its experiences. Poor Solomon had all he labored for, and realized it would all be left for someone else to use or abuse.
We have no control over how those behind us will use what we leave as far as physical and tangible things. A wise person may use it well for a time, or a fool may squander what we labored for in a very short time. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, ruined Israel as a united nation in a very short time. It is not wrong to work hard to provide the necessities of life for our families and/or for others, but to labor for self-satisfaction or self-glory is wasted effort. All we ever work for during our lives as far as possessions are concerned, will be left for others to enjoy, waste or lose.
What does life lived for self mean when all is said and done? Nothing! Like Solomon wrote, his work, his pain, his restless nights or worry were all meaningless. However, in a life lived for God and recognizing all our benefits come from Him, we can take joy. In recognizing the fact that God has allowed us to have so much, and to use them right, even for satisfaction and pleasure, brings us joy.