Commentary - Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

Bird's-eye view

In this second chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, the Preacher, embarks on a grand experiment. Having concluded in the first chapter that the pursuit of wisdom under the sun is a chasing after the wind, he now turns his attention to its polar opposite: pleasure. If wisdom cannot satisfy the soul, perhaps unbridled hedonism can. This is not a half-hearted attempt. Solomon, with the limitless resources of a king, dives headlong into every form of gladness, laughter, wine, and worldly accomplishment that a man could desire. He withholds nothing from himself. The result of this exhaustive field test is the central theme of the book, stated here with resounding force: all of it, from the grandest building project to the most exquisite pleasure, is vanity. It is smoke. It is an attempt to shepherd the wind. This section serves as a powerful refutation of the world's gospel, which is the gospel of self-fulfillment through experience and acquisition. Solomon tries it all so that we don't have to, and his conclusion points us away from the horizontal plane of life "under the sun" and toward the only source of true and lasting joy, which is the gift of God.

Outline

The Great Experiment

Solomon is not just sinning here; he is conducting a deliberate, philosophical inquiry. He says, "I will test you." This is a calculated pursuit. He maintains his wisdom throughout the experiment ("while my heart was guiding me wisely"), which makes his findings all the more authoritative. He is not a debauched fool who loses his senses and then regrets it. He is a clear-eyed investigator, meticulously documenting the results of seeking satisfaction in the very best things the world has to offer. This is crucial. If the wisest, wealthiest, and most capable man in history, with unlimited resources, cannot find lasting good in pleasure and possessions, then no one can. He is running the experiment for all of us. The world preaches that more money, more fun, more stuff will finally make you happy. Solomon puts that sermon to the test and proves it a lie. He demonstrates that all the world's blessings, without God's gift of enjoyment, are like a thousand cans of peaches with no can opener. You can look at the labels, you can stack the cans, but you cannot taste the fruit.

Commentary

Ecclesiastes 2:1

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.

The Preacher turns from the library to the festival. If deep thoughts lead to vexation, perhaps shallow ones will lead to joy. He addresses his own heart, his own soul, and proposes an empirical test. The hypothesis is that "good things," true substance, can be found in gladness or pleasure. The word for gladness here is simchah, which refers to joy, mirth, and pleasure. He is going to give hedonism its best shot. But notice the conclusion is stated right up front: "And behold, it too was vanity." The Hebrew word is hebel, which means vapor, smoke, or a puff of air. It's not that pleasure isn't real; smoke is real. You can see it and smell it. But you can't grab it. You can't build a house with it. It has no substance, and it disappears. This is the verdict on a life lived for pleasure, even before the details of the experiment are laid out.

Ecclesiastes 2:2

I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of gladness, “What does it do?”

Here he breaks down the results. Laughter, in and of itself, as a goal, is madness. This doesn't mean it is wrong to laugh. The Bible speaks of a time to laugh (Eccl 3:4). But to pursue laughter as the meaning of life is insane. It's like trying to live on cotton candy. It's sweet, but there's no nourishment. Then he asks a practical, bottom-line question of gladness: "What does it do?" What does it accomplish? What profit is there in it? The answer is nothing. It produces no lasting gain. It is an end in itself that, when the moment is over, leaves you right back where you started, empty and needing another fix. It is a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:3

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.

This verse is key to understanding the whole project. He is not simply describing a drunken binge. He is exploring, investigating. He stimulates his body with wine, but he does so while his heart, his mind, is guiding him wisely. This is controlled folly. He is trying to understand the appeal of a fool's life without becoming a fool himself. He wants to "seize" folly, to grasp its essence, to see if there is any "good" in it for men. And the scope of his search is for all the days of a man's life under heaven. He is looking for a sustainable, life-long good. This is not a weekend bender; it is a serious philosophical and practical investigation into the nature of worldly pleasure.

Ecclesiastes 2:4

I made my works great: I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself;

The experiment now moves from ephemeral pleasures like laughter and wine to more tangible accomplishments. If fleeting joy is vanity, what about lasting works? Solomon shifts from consumption to production. He doesn't just buy a house; he builds houses. Plural. He doesn't just plant a garden; he plants vineyards. These are legacy projects, things that will outlast him. This is the pursuit of meaning through great works, through building and cultivation. This is the man who seeks to make his mark on the world, to leave something behind. It is the ambition of tycoons and empire builders throughout history.

Ecclesiastes 2:5-6

I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; I made for myself pools of water from which to water a forest of growing trees.

The scale of his work is breathtaking. Not just functional vineyards, but ornamental gardens and parks. He is cultivating beauty on a massive scale. He plants every kind of fruit tree, creating a paradise for himself. And he undertakes massive engineering projects, creating reservoirs and irrigation systems to sustain his creation. He is exercising a god-like dominion over his environment, shaping it to his will, making the desert bloom. He is creating a world of beauty, abundance, and order. If man can find satisfaction in his own works, surely this is where it would be found.

Ecclesiastes 2:7

I bought male and female slaves, and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

His acquisitions extend to human capital and livestock. He had a massive household staff, both purchased and born into his service. His wealth in livestock was unparalleled, exceeding all the kings before him. He is checking every box of what the ancient world considered to be wealth and success. He has land, projects, people, and animals. His dominion is complete. He is at the absolute apex of the food chain, in every conceivable category.

Ecclesiastes 2:8

Also, I collected 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 men, many concubines.

He amasses financial wealth, the "treasure of kings and provinces." This is not just personal wealth, but the tribute of nations. He pursues the fine arts, hiring the best musicians. And finally, he turns to sensual pleasure, the "pleasures of the sons of men," which he specifies as "many concubines." He had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). He explored the heights of aesthetic pleasure and the depths of sensual indulgence. Nothing was off-limits. He had the money, the power, and the time to pursue every desire.

Ecclesiastes 2:9

Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

Here is the summary of his worldly position. He reached a pinnacle of greatness and wealth never before seen in Jerusalem. And crucially, he repeats that his wisdom remained with him. He never lost his head. He was not a mindless prodigal, squandering his inheritance. He was a wise, calculating man who managed his pursuit of pleasure with sagacity. This fact is what makes his final conclusion so devastating to the worldly mindset.

Ecclesiastes 2:10

All that my eyes asked for I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any gladness, for my heart was glad because of all my labor, and this was my reward for all my labor.

This is a staggering statement. "All that my eyes asked for I did not refuse them." Think about that. No desire went unfulfilled. No impulse was denied. He gave his heart over to every kind of gladness. And he found a certain kind of pleasure in it. He says his heart was glad "because of all my labor." There is a satisfaction that comes from hard work and accomplishment. He calls this his "reward." This is the paycheck for a life of toil. But a paycheck is not the same thing as a meaningful life. The reward was real, but it was temporary and superficial.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

Thus I turned to all my works which my hands had done and the labor which I had labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and striving after wind, and there was no advantage under the sun.

And here is the final, sober assessment. After the party is over, after the buildings are complete, after the songs have faded, Solomon takes a hard look at everything. He turns and surveys his entire life's work. And the verdict is in. "Behold, all was vanity." Smoke. A puff of wind. And "striving after wind." Imagine trying to catch the wind in a net. That is what a life spent pursuing worldly satisfaction amounts to. It is exhausting, frustrating, and ultimately futile. And then the final nail: "there was no advantage under the sun." The word for advantage is yitron, the same word used in 1:3. It means surplus, profit, what is left over. After all that work, all that pleasure, all that accumulation, the net profit was zero. Nothing. This is the bankruptcy of the secular worldview, declared by the man who gave it its most thorough and honest test.

Application

The world is constantly telling us that if we just had a little more, did a little more, experienced a little more, we would be happy. Solomon's testimony here is a gift from God to protect us from that lie. He ran the race for us and came back to report that the finish line is a mirage. The treasures of this world are not the answer. This does not mean that pleasure, work, or possessions are evil in themselves. They are not. They are gifts from God. The problem is not the gifts, but the heart that seeks to find ultimate meaning and satisfaction in them.

The answer is not to despise the gifts, but to worship the Giver. Ecclesiastes is not a call to asceticism, but a call to right worship. Later in the book, Solomon will tell us to eat our bread with joy and drink our wine with a merry heart (Eccl 9:7). The difference is the posture of the heart. The unbeliever seeks to wrest joy from the world and finds it to be vanity. The believer receives joy as a gift from God, even in the midst of a vain world, and finds it to be solid and real. The key is not in changing our circumstances, but in fearing God and keeping His commandments. That is the can opener that allows us to enjoy the peaches.