Solomon explores areas of life in his search for meaning in Ecclesiastes 1 & 2. It appears as though he had searched everywhere and tried everything in an effort to find a meaning/the meaning of life. He eventually finds it but I will show you where in the course of this outline.
I. Ecclesiastes 1
(1) Labor: The futility of all human actions and endeavor, everything is meaningless.
a) Mans labor and toils
b) Conversely, God’s labor endures long after man (v. 4) earth, (v. 5) sun, (v. 6) wind, (v. 7) water systems. There is an enduring continuity and order to God’s work some of which is cyclical and repetitive in nature as outlined in verse 8, 9, 10 with statements like, “All things are wearisome”, “What has been will be again” and “there is nothing new under the sun”. Verse 11 speaks of the transient nature of man. How he is here a short time and then gone.
(2) Study, Wisdom, Knowledge: Solomon claims wisdom is meaningless. To clarify: of earthly things.
a) He devoted himself to study and to explore by wisdom
i) All that is done under heaven (earthly; of this world).
b) Solomon concludes he has seen all the things and all of them are meaningless
i) What is wise and worthwhile in this world but isn’t of God and can be burned up in the fires of judgment is worthless after we depart this world.
ii) He even goes as far as to say that wisdom of and for this world becomes a burden to the owner of it. The more knowledge the more grief.
II. Ecclesiastes 2
(1) Pleasures: The pleasures (of this world) are meaningless
a) He tested pleasure to find out what was good but that too also proved to be meaningless.
i) I imagine this is the case when too much of a good thing becomes a burden also. It becomes a means to an end but has little or no purpose. You become desensitized to the pleasure or built a tolerance to it and end up needing more and more of it to satisfy. You end up being a slave tot the thing that was created to serve you.
(2) Works (Reprise): Solomon then appears to return to human works or endeavors (full circle perhaps)
a) He undertook great projects:
i) Built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
ii) Made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
iii) Made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
iv) Bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house.
v) Owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
vi) Amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces.
vii) Acquired men/women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man
viii) Became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me
ix) was basically rewarded for all is labor
When he surveyed everything he had done and all his labor...everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. He concludes that both wisdom and folly are meaningless because every man dies both wise and foolish and they both end up in the same place, Sheol.
We then arrive with Solomon at the whole point of this discourse. It would appear Solomon looked for many of the things above without God. This is perhaps during the time of his apostasy from the Lord which could be argued because of statements here about harems/concubines. So he ended up hating life (v. 17) hated all things (v. 18) his heart despaired over his labors (v. 20). He claims that a man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. Then he it’s the reason for all of the meaninglessness, “all things come from the hand of God FOR WITHOUT HIM, WHO CAN EAT OR FIND ENJOYMENT?" God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. God ultimately gives everything its meaning, its worth, it purpose…even man.
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