Ecclesiastes 2: Trying to Find Fulfillment in Worldly Ways

Ecclesiastes is a very difficult book, but this is what Chapter 2 said to me.

Solomon has come to the conclusion that all earthly things that man does is vanity and vexation of spirit. Chapter 1 ended with Solomon recognizing that in much wisdom, and Solomon received from the LORD God more wisdom than anyone, there is much grief.  In knowing and discerning everything around him, this brought much sorrow."

 Chapter 2 Solomon embarks on worldly pleasures and labours but finds that all are vanity.  Mirth, laughter, "what doeth it?"  What good does it do?  No good at all.  Solomon in V3 "I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, 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."

V4-10 Solomon lists all the things that he did: He made great works; he built houses, he planted vineyards.  He made gardens and orchards.  He made pools of water.  He got servants and maidens for his house.  He had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem.  He gathered silver and gold, and other treasures.  He got men and women singers to entertain him, and musical instruments.  He was great and increased in goods more than all that were before him.  And his wisdom remained with him.  He did not keep anything from him that his eyes desired, he did not withhold himself from any joy.   But then the reality came to him - V11 "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was  vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."  

Seriousness is Better Than a Good Laugh

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

These words in the book of Ecclesiastes were written by a man of whom God says was the wisest man who ever lived.  He was a king, one of the greatest kings in world history.  He was rich, so rich that his riches are beyond description.  He had 700 wives, and 300 concubines.   He experienced all the pleasure he ever wanted, he was looked up to by surrounding kings and queens who paid homage to him.  No kingdom in the history of the world was equal to the glory of King Solomon and his kingdom.  But King Solomon fell.  The bible tells us that his wives turned his heart away from God 1 Kings 11:3-4 "...and his wives turned away his heart.  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God..." and King Solomon built temples to false gods and he began to live only for pleasure and feasting and he made God angry with him and God punished him.  It was after Solomon's fall when he saw his great failings and he turned back to God in his old age that he wrote the Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes.  It was after all his experience of life that he wrote these words:

  Eccle 7:1-4 "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.  It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.  The heart of the wise in in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
 
When Solomon wrote those words he was inspired by God the Holy Spirit, this is the teaching of God.  The message can be summed up in one sentence.  Seriousness is better than frivolity.  Here is a paragraph of relevance to our entertainment-crazed generation.  The four verses are  a series of paradoxes, apparent contradictions, they state the complete opposite of what the majority opinion is in this world.  That is to be expected because when it comes to the real meaning of life and real life values, the world is always wrong because the unsaved world does not know the author of life.  They do knot know the one who came to give us life in all its fullness so therefore its obvious that they are going to be wrong in their view of life.

The Mothers Who Came to King Solomon: His Wise Decision

1 Kings 3:5-28

Some background is necessary regarding how king Solomon came to have such great wisdom.  After the death of King David, when Solomon was made King, God appeared to him in a dream one night, and said "Ask what I shall give thee." (1 Kings 3:5) We know that our God is omniscient, and knows the hearts of men, and knew what Solomon's answer would be, still  Solomon's answer was a true blessing.  "..O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in....give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people." (V7-9)

So much here, Solomon refers to the LORD MY God, this is a personal relationship Solomon has with the LORD.  He is humble, referring to himself as "A little child" in need of guidance and wisdom.  He asks not for silver or gold or great riches, but "an understanding heart" to judge "thy people" not his (Solomon's) people.  Truly Solomon is devoted to the LORD.  And so  the LORD is pleased and answers "I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart: so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee......" (V12)  What a wonderful gift that would be, I wonder how many of us would ask for wisdom rather than riches?

And so this is the background to the two mothers that soon come to Solomon. The bible calls them harlots, but they are not denied an audience with the king whom they stand before and begin to tell him the reason for their appearing before him.

They both live in the same house, and they both bore children, indeed three days apart they had their children, and there was no one with them, they were alone in the house.  (V17-18) And then a very sad occurrence, one mother speaks "this woman's child died in the night because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.  And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. "(V19-21)