Wisdom Makes Sense
June 20, 2019
Commentary
This passage reveals a deeper investigation into the relative values of wisdom and folly. Solomon has found out from experience that wisdom and pleasure does not have the answer. Now he reasons that maybe if I just put my nose to the grindstone and really stay on the job I will be able to find the true value of life (vv. 12-19).
However, Solomon’s experience reveals that hard work bears no lasting value for those who work solely to earn money and gain possessions (vv. 20-23). Not only will everything be left behind at death but he must leave it to someone who has not worked for it. Furthermore, it may not be well cared for and all that was gained may be lost. This was true with Solomon as his son who inherited his throne was often foolish (l Kings 12). It is one thing to enjoy the fruit of our labor, but it is very distressing to know that all of our accomplishments and inheritance will fall into the wrong hands.
Hard work done with proper motives (caring for your family and serving God) is not wrong. We must work to survive and more important we need to be responsible for the physical and spiritual well being of those under our care. The real issue is not between work and no-work but between understanding a meaningful attitude in work and a hopeless fatigue (vv .24-26).
Application
True enjoyment comes only as I follow God’s guidelines for living. Those who know how to enjoy life are the ones who value life as a gift from God, thanking Him for it and serving Him in it.
Ecclesiastes 2:12– 26 (NET)
12 Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?
13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:
14 The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.
15 So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself, “The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”
16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies—just like the fool!
17 So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile—like chasing the wind.
18 So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.
19 Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth. This also is futile!
20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.
21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!
22 What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?
23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax. This also is futile!
24 There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.
25 For no one can eat and drink or experience joy apart from him.
26 For to the one who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the task of amassing wealth — only to give it to the one who pleases God. This task of the wicked is futile—like chasing the wind!
Illustration: Computer Generated Calls to The Moral Majority Toll Free Line
Edward Johnson programmed his personal computer to dial the Moral Majority’s toll-free line, (800) 446-5000, every 30 seconds for eight months, to keep others from reaching Falwell. Falwell’s group eventually detected a high instance of hang-ups on the line and called in the phone company to investigate. It took less than a month to find Johnson, who was given the option of unplugging his computer or losing phone service. The FBI also became involved, investigating whether federal laws were broken. The Moral Majority contended it lost nearly $1 million in pledges, according to the Washington Post. Johnson countered that the Moral Majority and others prey on the poor and that his computer-generated busy signal may have given more than one person time to think twice about funding this type of organization. (Encyclopedia of Illustrations #189).