The Empty Pursuit of Pleasure

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

1 I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure"; but surely, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter—"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?" 3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.

4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.

9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.

10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor.

11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

Here as Solomon did in 1 Kings 4:20–28 is the empty attempt to fill our hearts with joy and pleasure.  These are given by God but not to be a substitute for our pleasure in Him and the understanding with wisdom which He provides as the foundation for them.  To seek these out of context with seeking to honor and please God according to His word only leads to a great emptiness and futility as Solomon discovered.  Laughter becomes as madness and joy popping accomplishes nothing that lasts for long, and certainly not for eternity.  Luke 12:19-21 reminds us firmly that we should be laying up treasures in heaven to be rich toward God instead of living by the hollow motto, “eat, drink, be merry.”  The preacher tried to imbibe in wine while leading his heart with wisdom to see how people grab onto foolishness as if to discover what was good for us to live for.  Therefore, he invested in grand houses and vineyards for wealth and more wine, along with fruit trees and irrigation systems to further expand his business and personal wealth.  He had a large staff working it all and became lord of the town in importance and wealth, investing in many precious metals and jewels.  His material portfolio was vast and unsurpassed.  He even obtained his own entertainers to keep the music going to become greater than all others in town.  Yet his wisdom given by God remained with Solomon through all these vain pursuits.  God had promised great wealth when wisdom was all the new king actually had requested (2 Chronicles 1:11-12) to rule wisely, but the allure of the wealth and power seems to have overcome good judgment along the way, eventually leading to taking many wives who led him away from the God who had given it all to him in the first place.  He lost the focus and direction of his life.  He held back no impulse for pleasure and possessions and worked heartily in all he did.  But when he stopped to consider all he had done and toiled so hard for to get richer and with power and influence in those things instead of the wisdom to rule well, Solomon counted it all as empty loss (Philippians 3:8) without any eternal profit.  It was just running after the wind as if to catch and hold it in his hands.  Likewise , we also can get so caught up in working to be someone, respected and influential in all we can accumulate in wealth and positions of power with great possessions to show off, yet these mean little before God and His work done in humble wisdom and reliance on pursuing Him instead (Luke 12:18-19, 20-21).  There is no eternal profit under the sun in what vanishes in the heat of the day.  May we live for what really matters, to know Christ and make Him known, investing in love for God and man, and not run after empty things.