Ecclesiastes 2:11. by those things; to improve and satisfy the mind of man, to raise him to true happiness, to be of any service to him in the hour of death, or fit him for an eternal world. He tells us up front that there’s ultimately no satisfaction to be found in pleasure and wealth. He goes on to question in Ecclesiastes 2:2 the value of laughter and mirth – they have no value in terms of being the source of meaning in life. Ecclesiastes 2:11. I looked on all the works, and I made a serious review of my former works and labors, and considered whether I had obtained that satisfaction in them which I had expected to find; and behold, all was vanity — I found myself disappointed, and wholly dissatisfied in this course. And there was no profit, his hands had done” (Ecc. 2:11)?
It reads in Luke 12:20:”But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
The Preacher tested life. He summarizes what he found. He found the mirth and pleasure is vanity. He found that laughter is madness, mirth accomplishes little if anything, He describes what he did. He experimented with wine and folly. Using the wisdom he had for he was seeking to find what was truly good for people to do “under the heaven all the days of their lives. He made things such as houses, vineyards, gardens, orchards, water pools. We read in
1 King 7:1-12: But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them. Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.
We read also in 1 King 9:15-19: And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
Continued:
He acquired whatever he desired, such as servants, livestock, silver, gold, treasures, singers, and “the delights of the sons of men” (concubines or musical instruments?)
Notice 1 King 9:28; And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
1 King 10:10:And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. :Verse 14: Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, {Verse 21: And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.} {Verse: 27: And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.}
{1 Kings 11:1-3: But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
So also he became great and seemed to be happy and greater than any before him, while maintaining his wisdom. Having all his eyes and heart desired, finding enjoyment in his labor. His conclusion from what he did. He concluded all was vanity, and grasping for the wind.” “There was no profit under the sun.” [The conclusion drawn by the Preacher may seem strange, when he admitted that he found joy in his labor again spoken. But when we consider what he says next, we begin to understand why after his great experiment.]
{Lets Read: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11:
I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; 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. I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that brings forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, it seems that more and more people are becoming increasingly anxious about what is going on in the world today and what is likely to happen, both within our own nations and far away from home. There are may conspiracy theories on one hand and a lot of intensive publicity on the other, which seem deliberately designed to cause people to become anxious, stressed and afraid. That’s why I try real hard to stay away from Television. I know that You are not a God of chaos or fear, but a God of peace and love, but I also know that the Bible tells us that as we get closer to the return of the Lord Jesus for His church, men and women’s hearts will start to fail, for fear of what is coming on the earth instead of fixing their eyes on You. I thank You and praise You for Your guidance, encouragement, promises and directions. I thank You, Love You, praise You and give You all the glory in Your Precious Name Jesus Amen.
Psalm 16:7
The Plan of The MASTER WEAVER”
(Author Unknown)
My life is but a weaving
Between the Lord and me;
I may not choose the colors,
He knows what they should be;
For he can view the pattern
Upon the upper side
While I can see it only
On this, the under side.
Sometimes He weaves sorrow,
Which seems strange to me;
But I will trust His judgment,
And work on faithfully;
It is He who fills the shuttle,
And He knows what is best;
So I shall weave in earnest,
Leaving for Him the rest.
Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why –
The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
"Only Life Changes" 