Wisdom From Ecclesiastes: The End of Pleasure and Labor I. Base Text: Ecclesiastes 2:1-26 II. Context A. Ecclesiastes 1:1: the words of the Preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem 1. The same, we are told, wrote many proverbs (Ecclesiastes 12:9) 2. Thus Ecclesiastes is a "sermon" of sorts by the Preacher, directly associated with King Solomon (1 Kings 4:32, Proverbs 1:1) B. Main theme of Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities, all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2) 1. All things are as a vapor or breath: fleeting, vain, for they do not last; in a sense absurd 2. Solomon describes the way life works "under the sun," that is, on this planet, in light of the impermanence of life, the certainty of death, and the transience of all material things people hold dear 3. Ecclesiastes is disorienting because the Preacher is stripping away the pretenses, veneers, and vain imaginings we maintain about ourselves, our efforts, our material wealth, and their ultimate value in and of themselves 4. Life, work, laziness, oppression, oppressor, wealth, poverty, fortune, etc.: it is all vain, a vapor, a breath; it is all absurd! C. Life as cyclical (Ecclesiastes 1:3-11) 1. Despite ancient presumption of regression and modern presumptions of progress, the Preacher declares that nothing new is under the sun 2. Things may be different at times, but they all have their problems, and humanity has not materially advanced in the big questions of life since Solomon! D. Wisdom and knowledge (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18) 1. The Preacher establishes what he has learned: God has given man unhappy business with which to be occupied under the sun 2. He has gained wisdom and knowledge, but that has not helped him feel better; quite the contrary! C. The Preacher now turns to the quintessential aspects of life: pleasure and labor III. Meaning A. The End of Pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11) 1. The Preacher then turns to consider pleasure and its enjoyment (Ecclesiastes 2:1) 2. He considers laughter as mad and wonders about the value of pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:2) 3. He attempted to find ways to cheer his heart with wine and participate in the follies of men while remaining guided by wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:3) 4. The goal was to see what is good for people in life; he can afford and enjoy the good life, with houses, vineyards, gardens, pools, slaves, herds of animals, silver, gold, even concubines (Ecclesiastes 2:4-8) 5. Without hyperbole he can safely say he surpassed all who came before him in Jerusalem while remaining wise (Ecclesiastes 2:9; cf. 1 Kings 10:14-29) 6. Thus he allowed himself to satisfy every desire and did as he wished; he did find enjoyment in his toil (Ecclesiastes 2:10) 7. And yet, at the end of the matter, he perceived it all was hevel, vanity or a vapor, and “striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11) B. Wisdom and Folly (Ecclesiastes 2:12-17) 1. After pursuing pleasure, the Preacher turns to consider the wisdom he has gained (Ecclesiastes 2:12) 2. The Preacher sees value in wisdom over folly, as light benefits more than darkness, and the wise walk properly while the fool stumbles blindly (Ecclesiastes 2:13-14a)... 3. ...yet both the wise and foolish person will die, and there will be no remembrance (Ecclesiastes 2:14b, 16) 4. The Preacher asks what the benefit is to his wisdom, and considers the matter vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:15) 5. So it happens that the Preacher hates life because of that grievous burden of man under the sun; all is vanity and striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 2:17; cf. Ecclesiastes 1:12) C. The End of Labor (Ecclesiastes 2:18-26) 1. The Preacher also hates his labor because it must be left to another (Ecclesiastes 2:18) 2. The Preacher meditates on the nature of inheritance: a son may be foolish or wise, and the father can have no control over that since he is dead; a skillful man may prosper but it is left to one who has done nothing to earn it: such is vanity and a great evil (Ecclesiastes 2:19-21) 3. The Preacher thus wonders: what does man get for all his work he does (Ecclesiastes 2:22)? 4. Getting little rest and experiencing life full of grief and sorrow is but vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:23) 5. Instead, people should eat, drink, and enjoy their labor; this is what God has given them, and the Preacher more than all (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25) 6. God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please Him; sinners collect and gather but only to see it given to those who please God; such is vanity, striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 2:26) D. Thus the Preacher has considered the end of pleasure and labor: be wise, find pleasure in what one does, but recognize it all is but vapor and striving after wind! IV. Application A. “Striving After Wind” 1. The Preacher uses illustrations that are extremely evocative: all as vanity or a vapor, and the endeavors of life as “striving after wind” 2. Think about what it would be to strive after wind a. To run after wind is folly; you can never catch it b. To try to capture the wind is also foolish; you cannot hold it back, and even if you could, it becomes simply air 3. Likewise, seeking after pleasure, one’s labor, and in fact all under the sun is like striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11, 17, 26): all sorts of energy is expended and the results remain impermanent; what people are actually trying to obtain likewise continually proves elusive! 4. We may not want to admit it, but the Preacher is right; what are we really trying to accomplish with our endeavors? a. Do we seek pleasure? The feeling is ephemeral b. Do we seek to accumulate stuff? It will belong to another who may squander it, and even then, it will all perish 5. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it remains true: once we strip away all pretense, our worldly efforts are all striving after wind! B. The End of Pleasure and Labor 1. The Preacher analyzes pleasure and labor by considering their extremes 2. This is effective in many situations: what if we could take whatever thing we want or do to the nth degree? What is the end of the matter? 3. Solomon sees the end of it all: it is all a vapor, a striving after wind; pleasure and labor do not deliver on the worldly pretense and supposed promise 4. We do well to soberly consider Solomon’s argument 5. Do you think life would be better if you had just a bit more money? Solomon had ridiculous levels of silver and gold, and he enjoyed it, but gained nothing in the end 6. Do you think life would be happier if you had more sex or greater variety in sex, went to more parties, did crazy things, or such like? Solomon had more than you can imagine, and he sure enjoyed it, but it was all a vapor, ephemeral, and did not last 7. Do you think life would be great if you had a nice house, garden, pool, etc? Solomon had all such things, enjoyed them, but it did not lead to happiness 8. Do you feel better about yourself and your descendants because you have accumulated wealth or stuff because of your labor? Your children and children’s children will take it and very likely may squander it; it won’t mean anything to your children like it did to you 9. Solomon is a great example in extremis: these worldly desires and stuff do not really satisfy 10. Whenever we start thinking that if we just had “a bit more” we are no longer content, and when we are not content, even that “bit more” would not make us content! a. Thus 1 Timothy 6:6-10 b. And so it is: how many times do we live up to our income level? c. If we get more income, well, we will just want more things, and want to get to the next income level! d. If we want the fancy technology or object, and get it, then we will just want the next level of technology or object! 11. Meanwhile we live in a world full of temptations and forces trying to tell us that we do not have enough, are not enough, and need this product or that information to make us “complete” 12. But do those products or that information really make us more complete? We are then left wanting more or the next one! 13. Instead, we do better to find contentment in who we are and what we have; to enjoy the work we do for what it is, and not pretend it must last on earth forever! C. Wisdom and Righteousness 1. The Preacher does commend both wisdom and serving God in Ecclesiastes 2:13, 26, and thus is not entirely nihilistic or fully in despair 2. Wisdom is great, but the wise dies just like the fool 3. Ecclesiastes 2:26 may see some fulfillment under the sun at times but the believer maintains the hope of its ultimate fulfillment on the day of judgment (Acts 17:30-31, Revelation 20:11-15)! 4. Serving God, after all, is the only way out of the existential despair of life “under the sun,” since God’s existence grounds our hope that there is life beyond it! D. Thus the Preacher continues to strip away the pretense in order to truly explain life on earth: it is a vapor, a breath, a striving after wind, and we ought not trust in this life only! V. Conclusion A. We have investigated Ecclesiastes 2:1-26 and have seen the end of pleasure and labor 1. The temptations of pleasure, work, and “security” promise much but deliver little! 2. Take it from a voice of experience: having it all isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! B. Matthew 16:25-26 1. Jesus of Nazareth takes a similar matter to its extreme 2. What would you give for your soul? 3. The world? What do you gain if you could have everything but you lost your soul? 4. In the end it would profit you nothing, for as the Preacher saw, you will die, and whatever you had will belong to another 5. Let us not sell our soul for temporary earthly pleasure! C. Instead let us soberly consider Matthew 16:27-28 and recognize our need to serve God in Christ, trust in Him, find contentment in what He has given, and be saved! D. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: I said in my heart, “Come now, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”: and, behold, this also was vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:1). The Preacher wondered if he would find satisfaction in pleasurable things in life. Yet even there he discovered vanity: such pleasure is ephemeral, a vapor indeed. Let us understand the end of pleasure and instead seek after God in Christ! 2: 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 a striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:11). The Preacher enjoyed that which he had done, but what was it in the end? A vapor, like striving after wind, trying to grasp something which cannot be held and vanishes. So it is with labor. Let us put our trust not in our hands but in God and the Kingdom of Christ! 3: Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor wherein I had labored under the sun (Ecclesiastes 2:20). Many try to take comfort in their efforts and the wealth they accumulate. Yet the Preacher sees that whatever one makes is used by their children, and one who has put in no effort gets the benefit of the work of others. Let us invest in the Kingdom of God whose treasure will never be squandered! 4: There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God (Ecclesiastes 2:24). There is some joy in labor: the pleasure gained by making or doing and seeing that effort come to fruition. Humanity, however, wants to think more grandly and highly of their efforts as they did at Babel; it is all vanity and striving after wind. Let us enjoy our labor but not idolize it and serve the Lord Jesus!