Is much of life just chasing after wind? Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 2.
Do temporary pleasures make for a fulfilling life or are they just empty pastimes?
I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with gladness, so that you shall see good things.” And behold, it too was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of gladness, “What does it do?” I explored with my heart how to stimulate my body with wine—while my heart was guiding me wisely—and how to seize simpleminded folly, until I could see where is this good for the sons of men in what they do under heaven the few days of their lives. (Ecc 2:1-3 LSB)
Do bigger projects, employees, wealth and sexual pursuits make for a fulfilling life or do they too just leave us empty?
I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and I had slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. I also amassed for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines. (Ecc 2:4-8 NASB)
Would becoming the richest man in the nation and chasing our heart’s desires just end up as meaningless too?
I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecc 2:9-11 NIV)
How are both the fool who lives in darkness and the wise person who lives in the light similar?
Then I turned myself to consider wisdom and madness and folly; For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—Only what he has already done. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head, But the fool walks in darkness. Yet I myself perceived That the same event happens to them all. (Ecc 2:12-14 NKJV)
What will happen to both the foolish and the wise? Will both be forgotten in time?
Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten. (Ecc 2:15-16 NLT)
Why did Solomon hate this life and its temporary nature?
So I hated life, because the work that is worked under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a chasing after wind. I hated all my labor in which I labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. Who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. (Ecc 2:17-19 WEB)
What does hard work accomplish other than leaving it all to heirs who didn’t work for it?
I then gave myself up to despair, as I thought about all my laborious hard work under the sun, because sometimes those who have worked hard with wisdom, knowledge, and skill must leave the results of their hard work as a possession to those who haven’t worked hard for it. This too is pointless—it’s a terrible wrong. I mean, What do people get for all their hard work and struggles under the sun? All their days are pain, and their work is aggravation; even at night, their hearts don’t find rest. This too is pointless. (Ecc 2:20-23 CEB)
What are some of the best things we can actually enjoy in this short life?
The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working. I believe these are God's gifts to us, and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do. If we please God, he will make us wise, understanding, and happy. But if we sin, God will make us struggle for a living, then he will give all we own to someone who pleases him. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind. (Ecc 2:24-26 CEV)
Do we chase after the wind, or follow someone who actually controls the wind and offers eternal life?
And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41 ESV)
Is much of life just chasing after wind? You decide!
