The Futility of Hard Work (Ecc 2:18–26)

When King Solomon looks at life, it seems frustrating and futile. As he has examined things that promise fulfillment, he has found that education is too limited in scope (1:12–18), legitimate pleasures were unsatisfying (2:1–11), and that death comes to all men, regardless of their lives (2:12–17). Perhaps the answer is simply to grit one’s teeth, dig deep, work hard, and make the best of life.
What about hard work, or “labor” as the Preacher calls it (2:18)? The disappointment of hard work is that you can’t take it with you. When you die, someone else will inherit everything you have worked so hard to do. And who knows if that person will continue to keep it or not even appreciate it (2:19–23)?
The man who lived in our house before my wife and I moved in was a world-class gardener who spent his time puttering in the flower beds. He built a fish pond, put in brick walkways, and many different kinds of flowers and shrubs. After he died and his wife sold the house to us, we enjoyed all of his work. However, I am not a very good gardener and I don’t have the time to keep up the flower beds. Little by little, they have grown less manicured because we just don’t have time to keep them up. This is what Solomon is talking about: this man gave his life to his garden, and now, just a few years later, all his work is coming to nothing.
The King gives his first conclusion at the end of this chapter (2:24–26): Even though our work sometimes seems frustrating, it is a gift from God to be enjoyed. Many things in life seem very confusing and mysterious, but God has given us work and wisdom to fulfill our lives here on earth. Remember that in the perfect garden of Eden, God created man and gave him work to do. Of course, our work should never lose sight of eternity, but God created work for our benefit and enjoyment.

The Futility of Wise Living (Ecc 2:12–17)

King Solomon’s assessment of life as he sees it is that it is futile. So far, he has been examining things in life that promise fulfillment. Knowledge and education are too limited in scope (1:12–18), and the pleasures of life were also unsatisfying (2:1–11). What could he do that would last and have some sense of permanence to it?
The Preacher turns to the issue of living wisely or living foolishly (2:12). Just as in the book of Proverbs, wisdom does not mean being smart or intelligent, but godly; that is, one who lives according to God’s wisdom. As Solomon looked at the pros and cons of living according to God’s law and living based on man’s thinking, he acknowledges that there is a benefit to living wisely (2:13). The wise person who lives according to God’s Word avoids many difficulties and struggles in their life. It is like walking through life with one’s eyes open instead of closed (2:14).
However, no matter how one lives, all men face the same future: death (2:15). This is a frustrating puzzle: some men live sinfully and foolishly, and others in a godly and holy way, but all men die. And sooner or later, the wise man and the foolish man are both forgotten (2:16). This also seemed frustrating and unsatisfying to King Solomon (2:17). What was the point of living wisely?
That is a pretty striking question: Why should we bother trying to do what is right? We will all live our lives and someday die, and that will be that, right? Of course, we haven’t reached the Preacher’s conclusion yet, but this is a question we certainly have all asked. An important answer to this question is faith. Faith is believing something we cannot see. If we live based on what we see and how things seem to us, we cannot help but be discouraged as we look at life. Instead, we must live life based on the truth of God’s Word. By faith we know that reality is what God says it is.

The Futility of Pleasure (Ecc 2:1–11)

The Preacher, King Solomon, is examining things in life that promise fulfillment. He has concluded that knowledge and education are too limited in scope (1:12–18). Now he turns to pleasure. He decides to see if pleasure can provide meaning and fulfillment to life, but his conclusion is that this too is futile (2:1–2).
Now when we think of pleasure, we might immediately think of sinful or lustful pleasure, but Solomon says that even in his quest for pleasure his heart was “acquainted with wisdom,” or better, guided by wisdom (2:3, 9). Therefore, he was not exploring illicit or sinful hedonism, but the pleasures of life. He was going to see if he could buy happiness. Remember, he was a king and the richest man around, so if anybody could do it, it would have been him!
He built lavish palaces and elaborate gardens (2:4–6), he hired slaves to serve him hand and foot, and he had huge flocks and goats and sheep, an indicator of wealth in those days (2:7). He amassed a huge treasure of silver and gold, and he enjoyed the arts, singing, and music (2:8). In short, he was successful! He had more of the good things that life offers than anybody around (2:9). Nothing was beyond his reach: he could do anything or have anything he wanted (2:10).
Even then, the Preacher says that this pursuit of “good living” was empty and unsatisfying. He says, “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” (2:11). Even having and doing everything he wanted wasn’t good enough. The same is true today: what matters to our age won’t last five years, let alone five hundred. It looks like fun and appears to bring satisfaction, but the Preacher says that this is emptiness and futility as well.