The teacher of Ecclesiastes is pursuing life attempting to answer the question found in Ecclesiastes 1:3. “What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?” What do we have to show for all that we do in this life? Now the point of these studies is not to be depressed or demoralized by the teacher’s conclusions. Sometimes people read this book and find it to be empty and depressing. But the goal is that we will not waste our lives trying to find deep joy and lasting satisfaction in a world that was not built to satisfy. In our first lesson we saw that life is like circles. One day is like the next, one year is like the next, and one generation is like the next. In our second lesson we learned that life is crooked and it cannot be straightened. That is, you cannot get out of life what God not make life able to give. In Ecclesiastes 2 the teacher is going to explore areas in life where we try to find deep meaning and lasting satisfaction. As we come to Ecclesiastes 2:1 we see that the teacher is going to explore pleasure and see if he can achieve lasting satisfaction and deep joy can be found there.
Trying Pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:1)
Now I would like for us to consider that our American culture firmly proclaims that happiness is found in pleasure. You need to live for pleasure. You need to have more money and more stuff to be happy in this life. We have commercials that talk about living for the weekend. We are even told in commercials that “Snickers really satisfies.” Marketing targets this seeking pleasure component and tries to tell us that what they have will give us what we are looking for. But this is not a new belief. The Greek philosopher Aristippus said, “Happiness is the chief goal of life and pleasure seeking is the way to achieve true happiness.” So the teacher is going to put it to the test. Now the teacher will give you the answer before he gives the explanation. In verse 1 he says that pleasure seeking also proved to be futile and empty. What did he try? Did he really find that all pleasure seeking turns out to be elusive and empty?
Empty Laughter (Ecclesiastes 2:2)
The teacher first observes that laughter and pleasure do not leave you with anything to show for it. It is a self-evident truth that we can fail to consider. Laughter doesn’t last. There is nothing that you can do that will always keep a smile on your face. The entertainment always stops. Every diversion has an end. Whatever brought us that laughter at some point stops. The show is over. The trip is finished. The interaction ends. I just completed a lectureship with a good friend of mine and we had a great time together. But at some point it has to end. The joy we are experiencing is temporary. As much as I would have liked a few more days, there is a point where it all stops. There is no way to keep the good times rolling. Then, ironically enough, have you ever been doing something that is supposed to be so pleasurable only to want it to end? Think about the times you may have been on vacation in which you thought you were ready to go home. You were ready for the entertainment to end. You were ready for something else. Laughter, diversions, and entertainment cannot provide lasting joy.
Empty Excess (Ecclesiastes 2:3)
In verse 3 the teacher tries doing what the world said to do. Live for the weekend. He tried to cheer himself with wine. Everyone says that you just need to party. You need to party hard. Live for the weekend. Live for the excess. I have heard people say that they were going to get so drunk that they were not going to remember the weekend. I have heard people use drugs and warn it does not give what you are looking for. It does not do what you think it is going to do. The pursuit of more is not going to make you any happier and it cannot last. It is also like breath that vanishes away.
Empty Success (Ecclesiastes 2:4-6)
Next, the teacher looks to being successful in life. He increased in his achievements and built great works. He built houses. He planted vineyards. He made gardens and parks. He made pools and reservoirs. But even these works are emptiness. You can make something great and build great buildings. But then they break and lose their grandeur. You can have your name on the building only to have the building torn down or neglected to the point of disrepair. You can succeed and be great only to be passed by the greatness of others or forgotten by those in the future. Defining yourself by your achievements is still emptiness. Now you have accomplished something. Now what? Tom Brady is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in American football. After winning three Super Bowl championship, listen to what he said in a 60 Minutes interview.
“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.”
You can reach all your life goals. But then this nagging question comes to you. Now what? Freddie Mercury, the legendary singer for the band Queen said this:
“You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man. And that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds. But it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need: a loving, ongoing relationship.”
Empty Wealth (Ecclesiastes 2:7-10)
Then the teacher turns his attention to wealth. Surely wealth and possessions will be the answer to lasting joy and true satisfaction. So he amassed gold and silver for himself. He gave himself to entertainment, accumulating bands and music. He gave himself to sexual desires, having concubines. He says at the end of verse 8 that he had everything a person would think you could want. Look at verse 10. He did not deny anything his eyes desired. He did not restrain himself from any pleasure. Our world will tell us that wealth would be the answer. Sex will be the answer. Possessions will be the answer. Success will be the answer. Fame will be the answer. Parties will be the answer. Entertainment will be the answer. So what did he say about all of these things? Look at verse 11.
Still Empty (Ecclesiastes 2:11)
When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11 CSB)
All of these pursuits were still empty. For all the wealth he had and for all the pleasures he experienced, he draws the conclusion that none of it lasts and it is still emptiness. You still have nothing to show for all of the efforts you have put into these pursuits. Now I think our problem is that we do not want to believe him. We do not want to believe that this could possibly be true. Maybe the teacher did it wrong and we can find lasting substance in these things and it will not be chasing the wind. But I want us to think about what Tom Brady said. He said that there must be more than this. Freddy Mercury was a musician who was on top of the world who said all of his accomplishments had brought him bitter loneliness. But let’s keep adding the people who had won in the game of life who also stated the same things. John D. Rockefeller was one of the wealthiest men in history. He was asked, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.” No matter how much you have, it will not give you want you think it will give you for lasting joy and satisfaction. John D. Rockefeller further said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”
Andrew Carnegie, another famous industrialist and philanthropist, who was also one of the richest Americans in history said, “Millionaires who laugh are rare. My experience is that wealth is apt to take the smiles away.” Wealth did not give but took away joy.
Jim Carrey, a famous actor said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
As I was preparing for this series, I was amazed to read an Instagram post that remarked about the way of this world. Scottie Pippen was a teammate of Michael Jordan, consider one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Scottie Pippen was a long time teammate on the Chicago Bulls with Jordan. Many note that Jordan was unable to win his many championships and seal his dynasty without Scottie Pippen. Jordan and Pippen were an unstoppable duo on the basketball court. Pippen has fame and fortune and all that he could want was accessible to him. On September 17, 2024 he made a post on Instagram. Here is what he said:
“As you get older, you’ll realize that a $30,000 watch and a $30 watch both tell the same time. A Gucci wallet and a Target wallet hold the same amount of money. A $10,000,000 house and a $100,000 house hold the same loneliness. A Ford will also drive you as far as a Bentley. True happiness is not found in materialistic things, it comes from the love and laughter found with each other. Stay humble…the holes dug for us in the ground are all the same size.”
Scottie Pippen literally proclaimed Ecclesiastes 2. None of the things in the world that the world says is so important really matters nor do they really satisfy. We are all going to die in the end and you are looking for true joy in all the wrong places.
The Challenge
So here is my challenge to us from this lesson. Please honestly think about which of these areas you are trying to find long-lasting happiness. What are you chasing in this life and why are you chasing it? Do we think the problem we have in our lives is that we just need more money? Do we think we would be happier if we have a new car, another car, a new house, or some other possession? Do we think that drinking or drug use is the path to happiness? Do we believe that the weekend is going to be answer to your problems from the week? Do we think career promotions and success will change our satisfaction with life? God is asking us to consider that pleasure provides no answers. None of these pursuits can be sustained nor can be permanent. As we noted in chapter 1, God says that what is lacking cannot be counted (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:15). You cannot get something out of it what it was not created to do. Nothing in this world has been made to give the satisfaction you long for. So stop wasting your life by trying to make happiness out of being a pleasure seeker. Living for pleasure will not only not satisfy, but leads to depression, addictions, and destruction because we keep trying to sustain a temporary pleasure. The joy of new car requires buying another new car in the next year. The pleasure of sex requires seeking it again the next day. The numbing that comes from drinking and drugs requires indulging in it again hours later. The accumulation of possessions just requires more stuff to be accumulated. So God is asking us to have the wisdom to stop chasing the wind and see the emptiness in these pursuits. The end of chapter 2 will tell us how to approach these pleasures properly. But we will save that conclusion for a future lesson. Instead of chasing this world, chase God. Pursue a relationship with him. Seek him and let God take care of the rest (cf. Matthew 6:33).