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.”
“Go to now” is better
translated “Come now.” Having found that human wisdom, apart from God, is
as worthless as chasing the wind, he determined to examine or test pleasure
to see whether it might afford something of lasting value, but found that it
too was the equivalent of pursuing the wind.
2:2. “I said
of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?”
This laughter is not that
which is the expression of true joy, but rather, that which, as far as
affording lasting satsifaction is concerned, is worthless. It is
momentarily evoked by some fleeting earthly pleasure, and proves to be also
as worthless as chasing the wind.
“What doeth it?” is also
translated, What use is it? What does it accomplish? It is worthless.
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.”
Having found earthly
pleasure to be incapable of giving lasting satisfaction, he decided to give
himself to wine, and to the examination of foolishness - while at the same
time retaining his innate wisdom - in order to find out whether wine might
perhaps prove to be a dependable source of enduring happiness.
Like many another before
and after him, he found, in fact, that overindulgence in wine not only
yielded no enduring peace and happiness, but was more likely to be the road
to ruin.
2:4. “I made
me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:”
2:5. “I made
me gardens and orchards, and I planted tres in them of all kings of fruit:”
2:6. “I made
me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:”
“... works” applies to
anything with which one may busy himself, and in the present context it
applies to Solomon’s occupation with the planning and building of beautiful
parks and gardens, with pools or miniature lakes from which everything could
be watered.
2:7. “I got me
servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great
possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem
before me:”
His servants were
multiplied, as were also his flocks of sheep and goats, and his herds of
cattle: all of them were more than had been possessed by anyone before him
in Jerusalem.
2:8. “I
gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of
the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of
the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.”
“Peculiar” in the present
context means proper, special, good, closely guarded; and “provinces”
means a jurisdiction, district, region, ruled by a governor or judge;
and “... delights” means things that are luxurious, delicate,
pleasant.
2:9. “So I was
great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my
wisdom remained with me.”
Neither his greatness nor
his possessions had robbed him of wisdom, as they have so many of those who
have preceded and followed him.
2:10. “And
whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart
from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion
of all my labor.”
He denied himself nothing
either in the way of pleasures or possessions. In fact it was the
gratification of every desire that gave him joy, that pleasure being the
recompense of whatever effort he may have had to expend to obtain what he
desired.
2:11. “Then I
looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I
had labored to do: and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and
there was no profit under the sun.”
In the final analysis,
however, all his vast possessions had brought him no lasting satisfaction,
his disappointment being variously expressed as all was vanity and a
striving after the wind; like chasing the wind; worthless; there was no
enduring advantage. Many another who has pursued the same foolish path
has been brought to make the same sad acknowledement. The truth is that
lasting peace and satisfaction become the possession only of those who have
recognized that they were sinners on the broad and crowded road that leads
to hell, and who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
William MacDonald has
summed it all up, “That is where our contemporary society is - in a hell of
materialism, trying to satisfy the human heart with things that cannaot
bring lasting enjoyment.”
2:12. “And I
turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man
do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.”
Having contemplated the
accumulation of wealth, and having found it to be as worthless as chasing
after the wind, he then turned to examine the difference between wisdom and
madness or folly, for he knew that those who would follow him would be
unable to do more than he himself had done.
2:13. “Then I
saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as the light excelleth darkness.”
He perceived, as must
every rational person, that as light is superior to darkness, so is wisdom
to folly.
2:14. “The
wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I
myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.”
The wise man knows that
everything he does will have consequences according to whether he does good
or evil; but the fool fails to consider the outcome of his conduct; yet the
end of each is the same: both eventually die.
2:15. “Then
said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me;
and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is
vanity.”
As Solomon considered that
death would claim both him and the fool, he was prompted to ask what
advantage there was in his having been endued with wisdom; and his
conclusion was that there was none: his wisdom was as worthless as the
wind. It couldn’t save him from death.
2:16. “For
there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing
that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth
the wise man? as the fool.”
Death claims the wise man
as well as the fool, and with the passage of time both alike are forgotten.
2:17.
“Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is
grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
“... grievious” is also
translated vexatious, evil, irrational, disgusting, and it was so to
Solomon because he realized that all of it was as worthless as chasing the
wind.
2:18. “Yea, I
hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave
it unto the man that shall be after me.”
He hated, detested all
that his labor had produced, because he realized that all of it would pass
into the possession of his successor.
2:19. “And who
knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule
over all my labor wherein I have labored, and wherein I have shewed myself
wise under the sun. This is also vanity.”
He knew not whether that
successor would be wise or foolish, and if he should prove to be foolish
then all of Solomon’s labor would have been wasted, worthless, the
equivalent of his having chased the wind. His son Rehoboam proved to be a
foolish son indeed, for he listened to the advice of his young companions,
and ignored the counsel of the older wiser men, with the result that the
kingdom was divided into two.
2:20.
“Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which
I took under the sun.”
Taylor has translated this
verse, “So I turned in despair from hard work as the answer to my search for
satisfaction.”
2:21.
“For there is a man whose
labor is in wisdom, and in knowldedge, and in equity (skilfulness); yet to a
man that hath not labored therein shall he leave it for his portion. This
also is vanity and a great evil.”
A man may labor wisely,
knowledgeably, and skilfully, only to have all his estate pass into the
hands of one who lacks all of these virtues, a fact which caused Solomon to
realize that all human effort here on earth was no better than chasing the
wind, for a man can take nothing with him when he leaves this world.
2:22. “For
what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he
hath labored under the sun?”
When it comes his time to
leave this world, what eternal gain will remain to a man as a result of all
his work and worry in the course of his earthly life? Nothing!
2:23. “For all
his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest
in the night. This is also vanity.”
In all of his days there
are sorrows and toil; nor does he find rest even at night, for when he
should be enjoying restful sleep, his mind dwells on the problems, real and
imaginary, which occupy most of his days. This too is as profitless as
chasing the wind.