Ecclesiastes · chapter 2 of 12
Updated on
Ecclesiastes 2 tells how the Preacher tested pleasure, wine, great projects, wealth and wisdom to see whether anything could give life meaning. He admits he enjoyed his work, but when he looked at all his hands had made he saw that it was vanity. He fears leaving it all to an heir who may be a fool, and concludes that the best thing is to eat, drink and enjoy work as a gift from the hand of God.
In chapter 1 the Preacher announced that everything is vanity and that wisdom alone is not enough. Now he runs an experiment in the first person: with the wealth and power of a king, he tests everything that might fill the human heart. The result of that test, and his brief turn toward God at the end, are essential for understanding the book.
The Preacher resolves to test joy and pleasure, but concludes that this too is vanity. He explores wine while keeping wisdom at the helm, and takes on great projects: he builds houses, plants vineyards, gardens and parks with every kind of fruit tree, and makes pools of water to irrigate a forest of trees. He acquires male and female servants, herds and flocks, silver and gold, singers, and the delights of the sons of men.
He became greater than all who were before him in Jerusalem, and he kept from his eyes nothing they desired. His heart found joy in all his toil, and that was his reward. But when he considered all that his hands had done and the labor it had cost, he saw that it was all vanity and a chasing after wind, with no profit under the sun.
Then he compares wisdom with folly. Wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness, yet the same fate comes to both: death, and neither will be remembered forever. He hates his toil because he must leave it to whoever comes after him, who may be wise or foolish, and his heart despairs.
The chapter closes with a turn: there is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink and enjoy his work, and this comes from the hand of God. God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy to the one who pleases him, while to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up to hand over to one who pleases God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
He says he kept from his eyes nothing they asked for and withheld his heart from no pleasure, and that his heart rejoiced in all his toil. He admits the enjoyment was real, but the next verse will show that it was not enough.
Looking at all his hands had done and the labor he had spent, he concludes that it was all vanity and a chasing after wind, with no profit under the sun. This is the verdict of his great experiment.
The wise person has eyes in his head while the fool walks in darkness, yet one event happens to them both. The Preacher defends wisdom and at the same time admits that death does not distinguish between wise and foolish.
There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink and enjoy his work, and this comes from the hand of God. It is the first of several statements in the book that life's good pleasures are a gift of the Creator, not a final goal.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Joy and pleasure, and also wine, without letting wisdom leave him. — Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
Answer: He built houses, planted vineyards, gardens and parks with fruit trees, and made pools of water. — Ecclesiastes 2:4-6
Answer: That he became great and surpassed all who were before him in Jerusalem, and that his wisdom remained with him. — Ecclesiastes 2:9
Answer: The advantage of light over darkness. — Ecclesiastes 2:13
Answer: Because he must leave it to the one who comes after him, and he does not know whether that person will be wise or foolish. — Ecclesiastes 2:18-19
Answer: To eat, drink and enjoy work, recognizing that this comes from the hand of God. — Ecclesiastes 2:24
The Preacher's experiment is a gentle warning to a culture that promises happiness through more things, more entertainment and more achievements. The one who had it all says none of it can be the final goal. In a youth group or an adult class you can talk about which goals look promising and what happens once they are reached.
The end of the chapter is not a recipe for pessimism. Enjoying food, rest and work is a gift that comes from God, and receiving it with thanks is very different from looking to those things for salvation. The practical question is whether we use God's gifts to worship him or to fill the place that only he can occupy.
Ecclesiastes 2 shows that neither pleasure nor wealth nor wisdom can solve the problem of death, but it leaves a door open: the good gifts of life come from the hand of God. Chapter 3 will develop that idea with its famous poem about the times God has set.
No. He describes a test he made that left him empty. When he recommends eating, drinking and enjoying work, he presents it as a gift from the hand of God received with thanks, not as an end in itself or an excuse to live without thinking of God.
The text contrasts the one who pleases God, who receives wisdom, knowledge and joy, with the sinner, who is left with the task of gathering and storing up. The Preacher does not explain further, but the contrast shows that what counts is a relationship with God and not the amount of possessions.
Because everything he has made he must leave to someone who comes after him, and he cannot know whether that person will be wise or foolish. He expresses the frustration of working without controlling what will become of the fruit of his effort.