Setting – Solomon reviews what he has done in his life
Content – The theme of this chapter is (v. 1-NIV) “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” Basically (v. 20-NIV) “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” He (v. 9-NIV) “became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.” After going after anything he wanted (v. 11-NIV) “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Then he (v. 12-NIV) “turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly.” He did find (v. 13-NIV) “that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.” He realizes (v. 16b-NIV) “Like the fool, the wise man too must die!”
After this he states (v. 18-NIV) “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” At this point we can understand him saying (v. 20), “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.” So he ask (v. 22), “What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?”
With even the despair that Solomon experiences is realizes (v. 24-25), “There is nothing better for a man {than} to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” Solomon concludes with (v. 26-NLT) “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.”
Application – We further see when one “refuses there heart no pleasure” (italics are mine) that it’s striving after the wind. We see that “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.” This life isn’t for those who are God’s children. Striving after what the world has to offer is vanity, “meaningless”, “chasing after the wind”. God wanted the Israelites to not intermingle with non-Jews so that they wouldn’t influence them. But we see when they took on the pagan practices God pulled away His blessing.
We need to pursue those things that aren’t tangible, love, peace, kindness, forgiveness, etc. These are ‘things’ (if you will) that bring joy to an individual and those on the receiving end. Matthew 6:28-29 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” In comparison (Matt. 6:32-33), “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must feed, shelter and cloth ourselves, but these aren’t to be our pursuits. And besides, God says that He will take care of these things.
Content – The theme of this chapter is (v. 1-NIV) “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” Basically (v. 20-NIV) “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” He (v. 9-NIV) “became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me.” After going after anything he wanted (v. 11-NIV) “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Then he (v. 12-NIV) “turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly.” He did find (v. 13-NIV) “that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.” He realizes (v. 16b-NIV) “Like the fool, the wise man too must die!”
After this he states (v. 18-NIV) “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” At this point we can understand him saying (v. 20), “So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.” So he ask (v. 22), “What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?”
With even the despair that Solomon experiences is realizes (v. 24-25), “There is nothing better for a man {than} to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?” Solomon concludes with (v. 26-NLT) “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.”
Application – We further see when one “refuses there heart no pleasure” (italics are mine) that it’s striving after the wind. We see that “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him.” This life isn’t for those who are God’s children. Striving after what the world has to offer is vanity, “meaningless”, “chasing after the wind”. God wanted the Israelites to not intermingle with non-Jews so that they wouldn’t influence them. But we see when they took on the pagan practices God pulled away His blessing.
We need to pursue those things that aren’t tangible, love, peace, kindness, forgiveness, etc. These are ‘things’ (if you will) that bring joy to an individual and those on the receiving end. Matthew 6:28-29 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.” In comparison (Matt. 6:32-33), “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must feed, shelter and cloth ourselves, but these aren’t to be our pursuits. And besides, God says that He will take care of these things.
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