Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

Satisfaction Granted

I.                    Nothing under the sun is satisfying apart from the Son, so none of our own understanding, efforts, experiences, and achievements can produce true satisfaction (1:12-2:11)

a.   After wrestling with meaning and purpose in life, Solomon now begins to deal with the issue of being satisfied in life. The first method he chose to pursue for satisfaction in life was the acquisition of worldly knowledge and understanding, “under the sun”. He sought earthly knowledge and understanding of everything, from everywhere, and his accumulated knowledge was unmatched by anyone before him, but it didn’t bring satisfaction to his life. In fact, the more he learned, the more he understand that he didn’t know, the more obviously broken things became, and the more he realized how powerless he was do anything about it. So ultimately his unparalleled knowledge and understanding of all earthly things didn’t bring him satisfaction, it only increased his grief and pain. The same can be said in our lives today. The more knowledge we have of the world and our circumstances, the more overwhelming and hopeless life often seems. The more we learn about the vastness of the universe and the complexity of life, often the more accidental, insignificant, and trivial we feel. (1:12-18; Gen. 3:1-19; 1 Kgs. 3:5-14; Prov. 14:12; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 8:19-23)

b.       Now he seeks satisfaction through what he can do, obtain, and experience. First he pursued the pleasure of laughter and partying, but he found that it only provided temporary relief from life and not lasting satisfaction. Then he filled his life with vast work projects, slaves, servants, entertainment, sexual pleasure, and possessions; he conquered nations and assimilated their wealth, and became so rich that silver and gold were as common and valuable as rocks, but still no satisfaction. All he experience, achieved, and possessed under the sun was fleeting, empty, and like trying to catch the wind. Wealth, power, possessions, achievements, and experiences are like a drug which always requires greater amounts to achieve it’s effects. They don’t provide true satisfaction in life, but only leave us empty, frustrated, dissatisfied, and in conflict with others. (2:1-11; 1 Kgs. 5:13-18; 7:1; 8:63; 9:10-28; 10:21-29; 2 Chron. 8:1-6; Prov. 14:13; Matt. 6:19-33; Mark 8:36; Jas. 4:1-4)

II.                 Nothing under the sun is satisfying apart from the Son, so none of our own understanding, efforts, experiences, and achievements last (2:12-23)

a.       Now Solomon revisits his pursuit of knowledge to consider its legacy and results. He concluded that while there are obvious merits of wisdom over ignorance, in the end the wise and ignorant both meet the same end in death, and the wise man isn’t remembered any more than the fool. So the legacy of the wise is vanity, the most important lessons are forgotten, and the most grievous mistakes are most often repeated. His legacy in wisdom didn’t satisfy him, it only brought him grief and futility, and caused him to hate life. Now he considers whether his great building achievements and wealth will be sustained throughout generations. But he realizes that he’s spent his whole life, all his effort, and all his time building things that he never fully enjoyed, can’t take with him, and it’ll be squandered by others. All of our advancements in knowledge, understanding, and technology have made life more convenient, more instantly gratifying, and longer lived, but has any of this truly increased our satisfaction, decreased our worry and fear, or steadily moved us towards peace and away from conflict, discord, envy, and hate? (2:12-23; 1 Kgs. 9:1-9; 11:41-12:24, 14:25-26; Prov. 4:10-11; Luke 12:13-21)

III.              Nothing under the sun is satisfying apart from the Son, because only Christ grants us true satisfaction in all things now and eternally when we walk obediently and pleasing in Him (2:24-26)

a.       Now Solomon seeks to understand why nothing under the sun satisfies. For those who only seek what’s “under the sun”, there is nothing better in life for them because God is the lone giver of every good and perfect gift, and satisfaction is a gift from God in Christ which can’t be earned. We only experience true pleasure, joy, and satisfaction in life when we humble ourselves before Him in repentant faith, seek to walk obediently and faithfully in His commands, and seek to live pleasing to Him. Then all of our knowledge, efforts, experiences, and achievements find purpose in Him, and produce satisfaction in this life which cannot be taken away! (Ps. 16:11; Prov. 10:7; 13:22; Isa. 55:1-2, 6-13; Jer. 29:11-13; Matt. 3:17; 13:44-46; Luke 9:23-25; 15:11-32; 1 Cor. 15:10, 54-58; 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:7-9; Eph. 2:1-10; 3:20; Phil. 4:6-19; Col. 3:23-25; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Heb. 11:1, 6; Jas. 1:5-8, 16-17)