1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
INTRODUCTION
What constitutes the good life? Where is genuine and lasting satisfaction found?
You may remember from last week’s sermon that Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26 (the second half of chapter 1 and all of chapter 2) is one larger section and that in it the Preacher examines four different aspects of life in an attempt to answer those questions.
The Preacher’s first attempt (last week) to find an “under the sun” life worth living consisted of a quest to understand the world through wisdom. He thought that if he could just make sense of things, a fulfilling life might follow. What’s more, we’re told that he did so with more access to the world and more under-the-sun wisdom than nearly anyone else in history. In other words, if anyone was going to be able to do so, it was him. His conclusions, however, discouragingly, were that the world is bad, vain, beyond repair, vexing, and sorrowful.
In his second attempt, found in our passage for this morning, the Preacher tried a different approach. If satisfaction isn’t found in understanding, perhaps it’s found in mere hedonism; in the simple pursuit of pleasure. To that end, the Preacher shares in some detail the process he went through to find out. He also shares his conclusions. In all of that, as I hope to help you see, we’re given a remarkable gift from the Lord.
The big idea of this passage is that true and lasting satisfaction is never found in the pleasures of this world, especially when they are sought for their own sake. And the main takeaway is to seek fullness of joy in the one place that it is found, in the presence of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
THE NEXT ATTEMPT AND THE CONCLUSION UPFRONT (1)
Again, remember, the Preacher’s main aim in this larger section is to find a way to live a life of meaning, significance, and satisfaction under the sun. His first attempt failed in spectacular fashion. But what about his second attempt? Helpfully, he begins by explicitly naming it and his conclusion from it in the very first verse.
The Second Attempt
What was the Preacher’s second attempt? Look at the first half of 2:1.
“1 I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself…’”
Some years ago, in the midst of some philosophical/theological debate with a friend—a non-Christian, well-educated, thoughtful, gainfully employed, married, father of three—I asked him to explicitly name his moral code. That is, I asked him to help me understand how he decided what to do in any given situation. His answer was a bit sheepish, but simple and crystal clear, (paraphrasing) “I suppose I do whatever I think will make me most happy.”
To be clear, he certainly had a category for finding happiness in sacrificing for his wife and kids and giving money to charity. It wasn’t as if he meant an entirely self-centered, selfish pursuit of happiness, but it was all about his happiness nonetheless. More specifically, it was all about an under-the-sun happiness. He couldn’t really imagine anything more.
In a very real way, that’s what the Preacher was talking about. He decided to “test his heart” to see if it might find genuine and lasting pleasure in the things of earth (11). We’ll come back to the specific places he sought earthly pleasure, but for now, it’s important that we simply acknowledge his aim: testing various pleasures to see if through them he could live a satisfying life.
The Same Conclusion
And rather than make his readers wait, the Preacher immediately revealed the results of his heart-test, “1 …behold, this also was vanity.” Just like seeking satisfaction through understanding, the pursuit of satisfaction through pleasure is also nothing more than vapor, a puff of smoke. It also is mysterious in its inability to deliver on what it promised.
All by itself, that’s a powerful warning and a significant gift (we’ll come back to that in a bit). If all we had concerning the outcome of the pursuit of pleasure, was what we find in v.1, we’d be well-served. In particular, we’re shown the need to be really careful concerning what we say in our heart and what we decide to test it with. As I’m sure you all know, our feelings and desires often lead us into trouble.
As helpful as that is, the grace of God, through the insight of the Preacher, is greater still. What follows (in vs.2-8) is an itemized list of the Preacher’s hollow, hedonistic pursuits. And then in vs.9-11 we find the Preacher’s expanded conclusion from his pursuits.
THE PROCESS EXAMINED (2-11)
In all seriousness, if I were to ask every one of you to write down a top-five list of the things you most want in this life, I wonder how close it would be to the things the Preacher tried. Another way to frame it would be to ask you what are the main things in this life that, if you were to have unlimited access to them, are most likely to truly satisfy you?
Please consider carefully your answers to those questions as we make our way through this list of seven things that the Preacher tried, employing all his vast power and resources, to find lasting pleasure in.
The Search (2-8)
1. Pleasure through Laughter (2).
2 I said of laughter, ‘It is mad,’ and of pleasure, ‘What use is it?’”.
The key word in this verse, v.2, is “mad.” It has the same root as the “madness” of 1:17 (“I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly”). And just like 1:17, it refers more to morality than sanity. The kind of laughter the preacher sought was from what the NT calls “crude joking” (Ephesians 5:4).
He brought in the comedians from HBO and SNL. He sought pleasure from laughter elicited from unrighteousness. Even righteous laughter can’t provide what the Preacher was looking for, but sinful laughter definitely can’t. And for that reason, the Preacher rightly asked, “What use is it?”.
2. Pleasure through Wine (3).
Laughter elicited by coarse joking didn’t do it, but what about wine? Maybe that would be different.
3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.
For a second time, the Preacher explained that his pursuit of pleasure was anything but cursory. It was anything but flippant. He “searched with [his] heart.” He gave all of himself to this pursuit. He did his best to get deep into his own heart. His testing was thoroughly thorough in every manner, and specifically, here, with wine.
There’s a bit of uncertainty surrounding the nature of the Preacher’s wine-driven pleasure pursuit. In fact, he mentions two, seemingly conflicting, aspects of this pursuit.
He says, “I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom…” but also, “how to lay hold on folly…”.
If all we had the was the second thing he said (“how to lay hold on folly”) we would assume that a key aspect of his search was intoxication; pleasure through drunken parties.
And if all we had was the first thing he said (”my heart still guiding me with wisdom”), we would probably assume he went to wine not (mainly) to be made drunk by it, but to appreciate it as a connoisseur. The idea would most likely that he tried to find satisfaction in the pleasure of wine-tasting.
Either way, the point is that a life of satisfaction “during the few days of [man’s] life [on earth]” was the ultimate goal, and pleasure through wine was a means the Preacher tested to see if it was able to provide.
3. Pleasure through Great Works (4-6).
Next, the Preacher tells us that he tried to find lasting pleasure through building, planting, and cultivating great things.
4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.
I do wonder whether the pursuit of pleasure was more aimed at the commissioning and oversight of those projects or the enjoyment of them once completed. Many have sought pleasure in each and both; in the power to create and in the enjoyment of things created.
Either way, when we consider the vast measures of wealth, resources, and manpower at the Preacher’s disposal (more on all of that in just a minute), it’s not hard to imagine what a significant accomplishment and how beautiful all of that must have been.
This is a good place to pause to ask you all to consider again the question I asked earlier. What if you had all the access you wanted to your favorite comedians, the best wine, and the ability to create and enjoy anything you wanted? Do you think that would be enough for you to be truly satisfied?
4. Pleasure through Servants (7a).
In the beginning of v.7, the Preacher spoke of another potential source of pleasure, the accumulation of servants.
7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house…
The basic idea here is one we’ve all had, I’m sure: A life where you only have to do the work you want to do and someone else does all the rest for you. You get to work in the shop or craft or teach or garden or cook or whatever you like and someone else pays all the bills, changes all the diapers, handles all the discipline and doctor appointments, plans for the future, and does all the cleaning and dishes.
Perhaps, the Preacher wondered (like so many of us), if I can just give myself to the things I like best, if I only work within my specific gifts, if I can get rid of all the responsibilities in my life that I’m particularly inefficient at or frustrated by, I can be satisfied in the pleasure that brings. And so, he bought an untold number of servants to test his heart in this (undoubtedly to help with his great works, flocks, herds, and household).
5. Pleasure through Possessions (7b).
A fifth (of seven) test, connected to the accumulation of servants, was that of possessions. In the ancient world, the most significant possessions were often animals.
7 … I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
If the Preacher is in fact Solomon, we’re told in 2 Chronicles 7(:4) that he sacrificed (not had, sacrificed) 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. What a staggering number. I’m not sure I can even imagine what that means from a logistical, boarding, feeding, cleaning, perspective. But the main point is that the Preacher wanted to see if accumulating animals in that vast of a quantity would satisfy his heart.
I don’t know exactly what the modern-day equivalent would be. Maybe businesses or houses or cabins or cars or toys to support hobbies. Regardless, the Preacher tested to see whether the accumulation of more of the most valuable possessions could provide enough pleasure for a life of genuine satisfaction.
And in that, once again, we’re invited to test ourselves in this as well. Can you have enough stuff to be happy?
6. Pleasure Through Treasure (8a).
Perhaps the most obvious, the places most of us would think of first, are the last two named by the Preacher. In the beginning of v.8 he tells us that he sought satisfying pleasure in treasure.
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces…
The Preacher wondered if gathering in vast sums of wealth would do the trick.
Again, even if the Preacher wasn’t Solomon, Solomon gives us the benchmark for accumulating silver and gold. 1 Kings 10:14 tells us that “the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land.”
In case you’re not up on your ancient measurements, a talent was around 75lbs. That means that Solomon brough in over 50,000lbs (25 tons) of gold every year. On the low end, that would probably put Solomon’s worth at over 2 trillion dollars in today’s money. He certainly succeeded in accumulating wealth, but was it enough to satisfy? Do you think it would be for you?
7. Pleasure through Entertainment (8b).
Finally, the Preacher sought to satisfy his heart with the pleasure of entertainment.
8 … I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.
Singers and sex.
Concerning singers, it’s important to recognize that music was much harder to come by in the Preacher’s day. There were, of course, no recordings. And instruments and training to use them were far scarcer. But the Preacher, with his vast wealth and power, gathered them together for his pleasure.
And concerning his pursuit of satisfaction through physical pleasure, one final time we look to King Solomon as the benchmark for what the Preacher likely had in mind. 1 Kings 11:3 says that he had “700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines.” I do not intend to speculate how that worked itself out, but needless to say, the Preacher did not skimp on this (or any) pursuit of pleasure.
Again, how about you? Unlimited concerts, records, and access to your favorite musicians. Functionally unlimited access to physical pleasure. Could you be satisfied by that? We might wonder how could you not be?
The Scope (9-10)
One of the key features of the Preacher’s pursuit that I’ve mentioned repeatedly was his unparalleled power and wealth that gave him access to the things of the world to examine and his unparallel wisdom with which to examine them. The Preacher himself explicitly states that in v.9.
9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
The result is that there was nothing on earth that the Preacher knew of but did not try. He names seven specific things, but his pursuits went even beyond those. He gave himself to every single pleasure known to him.
10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure…
(The second part of v.10 simply explains the earthly means by which he gained the resources necessary to indulge in every possible pleasure.
10 …for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.)
Again, all of that is virtually impossible to imagine. And if we’re honest, most of it is probably pretty appealing. But was it enough?
The Conclusion (11)
Before coming back to the Preacher’s conclusion, I’d like to point out one more aspect of the Preacher’s quest and ask you to bring a now familiar question to a point.
The thing I’d like to point out is that in this context, the Preacher was testing his heart with every pleasure to see if he could find satisfaction in life. Not for his family. Not for those in his household. Not for the people over whom he was king. And certainly not for the people he’d employed (or conscripted) to provide the various pleasures he sought (the comedians who elicited laughter, the wine makers or vineyard managers who produced the wine he consumed, the carpenters and gardeners who built and tended his “great works,” the servants who freed him from work, the shepherds and herdsmen who tended his flocks, the bankers who stored his vast treasure, the singers who sang, or the concubines who performed). There’s a possible allusion to others in v.3, but far and away, the Preacher was after his own pleasure and his alone.
1 I said in my heart…”enjoy yourself.”
3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body
4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
5 I made myself gardens and parks
6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings
10 I kept my heart from no pleasure
There’s something profoundly selfish about the Preacher’s hedonism. It’s rather staggering, really, to consider the hundreds (probably thousands?) of people and millions (probably billions?) of dollars spent in pursuit of his own pleasure.
And that leads to the question I’d like to bring to a point. If you could have all of those things (all the laughter, wine, great works, servants, possessions, treasure, and entertainment that money can buy), do you think you would be satisfied? Most of us are chasing satisfaction in those same exact things all these thousands of years later. Do you really believe that if you got them, they’d provide meaningful satisfaction?
It’s an extremely important question, especially if we’re going to get the full measure of benefit out of the Preacher’s conclusion. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you get to the bottom of this for yourself. Ask the Spirit to test your heart in this matter. And ask the Spirit to help you learn from the Preacher.
We heard the shortened version of the Preacher’s conclusion in v.1. He unpacks it a bit more in v.11.
11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Everyone who has ever tried to find genuine satisfaction in someone or something falls into one of two categories. Either they eventually gained access to it or they didn’t. Either you got the job, the promotion, the girl/guy, the kids, the cabin, the toys, the money, the retirement account, the work of art, the signed copy, the degree, the income bracket, the trip—whatever you thought would make you happy—or you are still seeking it.
Those in the second category (still seeking the person/thing) often remain convinced that they could be happy if only they were to get the thing they sought. The result is usually a life of longed-for pleasure that continually seems just out of reach.
There are some, however, who fall into the first category (who get the under-the-sun thing(s) they sought). The Preacher was one of them. And the end result is the same for all who do.
All the time, money, and energy the Preacher spent; everything that the Preacher tried; all the people the Preacher involved…all of it, every ounce of it, he concluded was vanity (mystery, enigma, futility), all if it was completely illusive (like trying to catch wind), nothing to be gained in the end!
Perhaps one of the most straight-forward and well-known quotes on this idea came from quarterback, Tom Brady, after winning his third Superbowl (a year in which he led his team to an undefeated 16-0 record, set the single-season touchdown pass record, and was MVP). During the course of an interview with 60 minutes he said,
“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be … I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.”
I do not mean to say that there is no joy for those who got the thing they chased. I do mean to say, however, with the Preacher, that there is a difference between short-term joy and genuine satisfaction. I also mean to say, with the Preacher that nothing under the sun can provide genuine satisfaction. Many things promise it and advertisers pay lots of money to make you believe it, but all are (by God’s irrevokable design) impotent to do so.
As I said at the beginning, seeing all of this in the Preacher is a remarkable gift from God. It’s a gift in that it frees us from looking for satisfaction where it will never be found. Rightly read, it frees us from the zealous, hollow pursuit of the next mirage and then the next and then the next.
For most of us, we will never get the full measure of the things we are seeking. And for that reason, we can live on under the delusion that it might be found in those things.
The Preacher, however, had all of those things, and came to see first-hand that they cannot provide what they promised. His access is our God-given warning.
AN ABOVE-THE-SUN PERSPECTIVE ON PLEASURE
I want to conclude with an above-the-sun take on all of this; on the relationship between pleasure and satisfaction. The Preacher showed us one side, but there’s another that’s just as important. That is, we know now where true satisfaction is not found, but does God’s Word give us any help on where it is found?
Satisfaction is Found in God Alone
What my non-Christian friend said, as well as what the Preacher was after in our passage, is the inevitable aim of every human heart. Believe it or not, part of being made in God’s image is the continually pursuit of highest joy. We must seek our satisfaction. We can’t not. God made us that way.
The only difference between men is where they seek it.
Said another way, there is nothing wrong in any of the Preacher’s pursuits. Every single one of them has a proper place in the life of a Christian. Every single one of them can be a righteous source of satisfaction, properly pursued. Every single one of them were in the first Garden (the Garden of Eden) and will be in the last (in the new heavens and earth). In fact, this entire passage is in many ways the Preacher’s right longing for the Garden and a wrong attempt to recreate it by his own hand.
The chief end of man really is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever! Our God-given highest purpose in life is to seek and find satisfaction…in God.
The Preacher looked in creation for what can only be found in the Creator.
I just read of King David’s (possibly the Preacher’s own father) acknowledgement of this in my QT this week. In Psalm 27:4 he declares, “One thing I have asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the says of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
Why would David want to dwell in the house of God and gaze upon His beauty continually? Because, as another of His songs highlights, “In [God’s] presence [and in His presence alone] there is fullness of joy; at [His] right hand are pleasures forever more” (Psalm 16:11).
True, full, eternal satisfaction is found in God’s presence and pleasure. And we know that access to the presence and pleasure of God is ours by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ alone. He alone was able to atone for our sins (including the sins of seeking our joy by placing our hope in what will be destroyed) and reconcile us to God.
Grace Church, hear me clearly and tell your neighbors joyfully, it is right that you want to be truly and lastingly satisfied. It is right to seek that. God has put that desire (that need) in you. But you must seek it where it can be found. And it is found (eternally!) in Christ alone. Every other pursuit—every.single.one—leads in delusion, disappointment, and eventually (if not repented of) destruction.
Satisfaction in God Allows Satisfaction in His Creation
The news that we can have our heart’s true desire in Jesus gets even better though. When that happens, when we find our true satisfaction in God through Jesus, the rest of His creation opens itself up to us as well.
Indeed, laughter (contrary to the Preacher’s experience) is a satisfying gift of God when it is rooted in gladness at the kindness of God and Christian fellowship. The righteous are men and women of deep belly laughs, flowing from the joy of the Lord.
Wine is a satisfying gift of God when it is a part of godly celebrations (Psalm 104:15) and more importantly, the celebration of the gospel that is the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-28). It will be a part of the great marriage supper of the Lamb (Matthew 26:29)!
Building works of wonder (homes, gardens, parks, trees, ponds) are satisfying gifts of God when they are done for His glory and the good of his people. It is a part of God’s earliest (pre-Fall) commands to exercise dominion over the earth (Genesis 1-2) and a significant means of pointing people to the glory of God.
Having servants is a satisfying gift of God when our treatment of them is a blessing to them and they aid us in righteous pursuits (Colossians 4:1). Jesus Himself said and modeled, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
Having possessions is a satisfying gift of God when the possessions are used to care for the vulnerable and provide a sight pin to God’s glory. Indeed, Jesus is in heaven right now preparing a place of His followers in the mansion of God (John 14:2).
Being wealthy is a satisfying gift of God when we view ourselves not as owners of the wealth, but as stewards of God’s (Matthew 25:14–30); using it all for His purposes and glory as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
Music is a satisfying gift of God when it is excellent and celebrates that which is good, beautiful, and true. God’s people are commanded to address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart…” (Ephesians 5:1). And singing will be our native tongue throughout eternity (Revelation 15:3).
And sex is a satisfying gift of God when it is experienced in its proper place (within a covenant marriage) and for its intended purposes (procreation, protection, and communion).
In other words, everything the Preacher tried was a good gift of God. His problem was that he sought each in an under-the-sun way—as ends in themselves—when he was meant to seek God first and all those things for God’s purposes—for the glory of God, for the good of mankind, and according to God’s design.
Grace, the big idea of this passage is that true and lasting satisfaction is never found in the pleasures of this world when they are sought for their own sake. And the main takeaway is to seek fullness of joy in the one place that it is found, in the presence of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.