Eclesiastes 2

Eclesiastes 2

Morgan - This also is vanity and a striving after wind. Ec 2.26. These words occur at the close of a section of the debate, and are a refrain already oft repeated. In the first movement, after stating in general terms his conclusion, the Debater elaborated his statement by describing vividly his consciousness of the grind of the material universe (Ec1.4-11). Then he began to mass his evidence in support of his contention that all is vanity. He first gave his own experience in personal life. He tried knowledge, giving himself up to a study of "all that is done under heaven." The result was that he "perceived that this also was a striving after wind" (Ec 1.12-18). He gave himself up to pleasure, to mirth, and found "this also was vanity" (Ec 2.1-3). He devoted himself to the amassing of wealth, and this with conspicuous success, only to look on everything and to discover that "all was vanity and a striving after wind" (Ec 2.4-11). He then contemplated life in the light of these disappointments, and came to the material conclusion that "there is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink"; and yet he was forced to admit that "This also is vanity, and a striving after wind." This is indeed graphic literature. It shows us a man, richly endowed in himself, living in the midst of marvelous things, of knowledge, of mirth, of wealth, of life; giving himself to these things with all the powers of his being—and yet finding nothing in them. He is starved, homeless, despairing. There is a side to life which he is not counting on, or considering. It is the side which is spiritual, the completion of the sphere over the sun, above the material. For-getting that, everything is vanity. This is as modem as the ennui of every human soul which seeks knowledge, mirth, wealth, life—and forgets God. Martin Luther - CONTENTMENT COMES FROM GOD To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.Ecclesiastes 2:26 Whenever someone is able to feel content with what they have, it’s a gift from God. God gives those who please him contentment without having to strive for it. God sees only two kinds of people:those who are faithful and those who are sinners. Besides the gifts he gives to all people, God gives wisdom and discretion to the faithful. On top of that, he adds joy. The faithful are content with what they have and are not tormented by the same kind of thoughts and desires sinners have. They go about their business with joy and peace. On the other hand, sinners are always troubled. They are preoccupied with gathering and storing up wealth, but they’re never satisfied. Even if they’ve been given wisdom and skill, so many difficulties are mixed in with these gifts that they feel more like punishment. Sinners don’t enjoy their work, whether it’s farming or building—even though others enjoy doing these things and find happiness in them. What sinners produce cannot be used in the right way by anyone except those who have God’s approval. So whatever sinners accumulate belongs to those who have God’s approval. The faithful know how to use God’s gifts with joy and thanksgiving, even when they have very little. But sinners don’t even use what they have, in spite of all the trouble they go through to accumulate their possessions. In the end, faithful people truly own the whole world because they enjoy it with happiness and contentment. Even when they possess a lot, sinners have nothing. That’s how pointless their lives are. Ray Pritchard - Something New Under the Sun ARE YOU ON GOD’S SIDE? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:26NIV Verse 26 reminds us that there is a moral government in the universe. God honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30), and He judges those who sin against Him. The casual reader may skip right over the particular judgment Solomon has in mind. He suggests that the wicked store up wealth to give it to the righteous. This is a startling thought. It implies a number of interesting ideas, including the idea that sinners are just as much under God's ultimate control as the righteous. When we sing "He's got the whole world in His hands," we don't usually think about sinners being in His hands, but they are. Beyond that, we may also say that God orders events so that the righteous will often profit from the work of sinners. Proverbs 13:22 states the same truth in a different context: "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous." And Proverbs 28:8 offers a similar statement: "He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor." Matthew Henry suggests that God "tantalizes" sinners by giving them wealth only to take it away later and give it to the righteous. God does it by an "overruling providence" so that the ungodly are compelled to yield their riches to the children of God. He offers as an example how the Canaanites kept the good land until God gave it to the children of Israel. We might also think of Mordecai receiving the king's signet ring after the death of Haman (Esther 8:2). Mordecai ends up receiving the estate of wicked Haman, who plotted against the Lord's people. Several questions might be asked at this point, chief among them being, Why doesn't this happen all the time? The basic answer is we do not know; but I confess that I find much comfort in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: "The arm of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." We will never understand the inequities of life when we take a short-term view. Bad things do happen to good people and bad people sometimes get away with murder. One man gets cancer and dies at forty-two; another lives for ninety-five years—but the first man was godly and the second was not. How can this be? The person of faith must assume that there are other factors that go beyond what we can see. However, if we take the long-term view our vision becomes much clearer. There truly is a moral order to the universe. God does honor those who honor Him. He judges sinners and rewards the righteous. The reward often comes in this life, but if not God has an eternity to set right what has gone wrong. In the end no one will ever regret serving the Lord. Lord, I do not ask that You be on my side, only that I be on Yours. Amen. SHINING THE LIGHT What three adjectives would you use to describe the life that pleases God? Do you believe it pays to serve God? Name some ways God rewards His children in this life. MORE LIGHT FROM GOD'S WORD Read 2 Chronicles 30:20-21; Hosea 14:9; and Romans 2:6-11.