[Ecc 2:1-11] A Chasing After the Wind(Lim)

John C. Lim                                          

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

 1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" 3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem ^[a] as well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
       I refused my heart no pleasure.
       My heart took delight in all my work,
       and this was the reward for all my labor.

 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
       and what I had toiled to achieve,
       everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;

Everyone in this world lives with goals and dreams.  Regardless of where we come from and who we are, we seek that which will bring us a measure of happiness and satisfaction.  From simple math problem we solved in the class room in elementary school to achieving high academic excellence in graduate school, we continue to foster that dream of one day becoming a famous scientist or a famous person of notable worth.  We nurture dreams about future and navigate through life to achieve those dreams and goals we have set for ourselves.  Of all God’s creation, we are above all the creatures of the sea, land and air.  God has mandated us to subdue the earth in Genesis 1:28. 

 

I n pursuit of dreams, man has achieved all kinds of success.  The fact that we are able to live in modern world with such advances in all aspects of our lives is a testament to man’s success in achieving what may seemed impossible long ago.  The writer of Ecclesiastes shares with us what his dream was and how he pursued his objective.  Look at verse 3b.  This is the basic premise of his life. 

 

 I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

 

He is a man who gave much thought to what life was all about.  Before he dived in without any reservation, he had to come to some conclusion.  And this particular verse tells us his mission statement.  Solomon quickly realized finiteness of man’s life in general.  He mentions, “…under heaven during few days of their lives.”  This indicates Solomon understood how few our days here on earth truly are.

 

Even as we go on living in this world, we see many people who live in perpetual denial of transient nature of life.  Many refuse to even think or dwell on this sobering fact of life.  Life here on earth is rather limited.  No one lives forever.  Some of the well known people from the past through television and other forms of media are the best examples.  Everyone gets old.  Aging is a normal process that proves we don’t live forever.  Yet, many people go on living as if life will continue.  Wise person is someone who never forgets the finiteness of life and lives accordingly.  Solomon obviously came to that conclusion early in his life.

 

It is one thing to know the truth and another thing to live the truth.  Perhaps  there are many who would acknowledge the finiteness of life and truly understands that life has an end.  But many more are people who
simply will not dwell on this but continues to live as if there is no end in sight.  Solomon thought about life and formed his own hypothesis.  His basic presupposition was that man’s life is finite.  If life is short, what is worthwhile for men to do under heaven was his quest.  Acknowledging how short life is, then what should we do is another way to frame this. 

 

Life is short, so what do we do?  What shall we seek knowing that life is so short?  What do we think?  If we know that life is finite, what shall we do? 

 

In order to find out what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives, Solomon set out to find out.  He began by pursue pleasure, wealth, and construction.  Look at verse 1.

 

 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.

 

Solomon began with pleasure.  He sought pleasure through laughter and wine.  People in our world drink to feel good, do they not?  Many believe that drinking alcohol brings them pleasure.  Some drink to forget the past and some drink to remember the past.  Solomon confesses in verse 3 that he tried cheering himself through drinking.  Look at verse 3a. 

 

I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom.

Trying to cheer oneself with wine is simply foolish according to Solomon who tried it with perhaps the best wines of the day.  I have heard that there are some bottles of wine that costs in thousands of dollars for their exceptional quality.  There are plenty of people who are more than glad to shell out thousands of dollars for a vintage wine that is exquisite.  And Solomon who probably had his own collection of the world’s greatest wine collection tried it to cheer himself.  Yet, his conclusion is that trying to cheer oneself with wine is nothing but embracing folly.  Do we really need to find this out on our own?  What do we gain from drinking a glass of wine from a vintage bottle of wine that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars?  Have we become a better person because we did this? 

If there are some people who are out there thinking and believing that a bottle of exceptional vintage wine will somehow be the answer to all their trouble would be gravely disappointed.  When that bottle of wine is gone, it will not bring lasting peace or lasting joy.  Solomon draws a quick conclusion that the attempt to cheer oneself with wine proved to be a folly. I think it is alright to take Solomon at his word that has been inspired by God.  We don’t need to find out for ourselves.   

Yet, there are people in this world who would find out through their own experience.  See, how many drunkards are in the streets of any city in US seeking some measure of joy through wretched bottles.  Wine does not bring anyone lasting joy or happiness.  Yet there are closet drunkards who seek happiness in the privacy of their own homes.  There are countless numbers of people struggling with drinking problem in secret.  They are all seeking something but are not finding comfort or peace which they seek through wine. 

Then Solomon thought that undertaking vast construction projects would bring him joy and happiness.  Building projects change landscape.  Just look at the Pyramids in Egypt or Coliseum in Rome.  These monumental building projects bring lasting fame and glory.  However, look at verse 4-6.

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.  I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.  I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

Solomon did not sit still but went on to undertake great construction projects.  By building grand and magnificent structures which his eyes could rest upon, he pursued these projects with zeal.  He built palaces, gardens, aqueducts, and reservoirs.  He took on various construction projects that would have awed people in that time.  Because of his wisdom, Solomon showed his engineering acumen.  His building projects were impressive.  It is as if he would find satisfaction from his own work and bask in self-satisfaction.  Not only that, but he also pursued accumulation of wealth as well.  Look at verse 7-9.

I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.  I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem ^[a] as well—the delights of the heart of man.

Solomon was into increasing his wealth.  He owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem.  His wealth multiplied.  He amassed silver, gold and other treasures.  He even had a harem of many women.  Solomon was not only wealthy but possessed special wisdom.  Vs. 3 says, “..my mind still guiding me with wisdom.”  Also, vs. 9 says, “In all this my wisdom stayed with me.” 

Solomon was not reckless in his pursuit of these endeavors.  His wisdom guided his passion for pleasure, wealth and construction projects.  In spite of his full court press in pursuing these things, what does he conclude in his ripe old age after he did all these things?  Look at verse 10-11.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

With all his senses fully working, he says everything was meaningless, or a chasing after the wind.  That was his conclusion.  Nothing was gained under the sun. 

Let’s think about this for a minute.  Solomon went after all these things with gusto.  He went all out pursuing these goals, while leaving nothing behind.  No person could have done as much as he did in trying to somehow find satisfaction through them all.  Yet in the end, he says everything was meaningless.

When we come across news about those people who live the life of the rich and famous, we are stunned at their luxurious lifestyles boasting of unimaginable amenities we could never dream of.  Their lives are so different from ours that they might as well be living on different planet.  As we struggle to make ends meet from day to day, week to week, month to month, there are those who worry about what they shall wear for the evening social.  Yet, we know from this passage through Solomon who lived such life of the rich and famous, that such thing is nothing but a chasing after the wind.  Do those people truly find satisfaction and happiness from such extravagant lifestyle?  Perhaps they would claim they do, we don’t know.  Must we also achieve those things and find out for ourselves? 

Solomon surveyed all that his hands had done and what he had toiled to achieve and came to conclude that everything was meaningless.  That is a powerful conclusion.  Many people live with similar drive today.  They believe that whatever they are seeking will be attained if they simply reach their goals.  So they work hard and try everything they can to achieve their goal.  Yet when they actually reach that goal, they find nothing but emptiness.  Although there is nothing wrong in setting personal goals and dreams, we have to realize that those goals and dreams do not necessarily bring the ultimate satisfaction and joy.  Solomon gave all he had in pursuing these things to find meaning in success of his attempt.  Yet though he was able to accomplish all that he set out to accomplish, in the end there was no meaning in these pursuits.

We are often misled by the world and its value system to pursue these lofty goals of achieving success.  From gaining admission to prestigious schools to attaining highly paid jobs, we sometimes believe achieving these goals define who we are.  We live as if accomplishing such goals for ourselves will bring such happiness and satisfaction that all the effort, energy and time went in to achieve them would have been worth it.  And yet, so many people in their dying moment rarely regret that they couldn’t have worked harder or longer.  However, they do regret not having spent more time with their loved ones and living life with full of true joy and happiness. 

Solomon though he was a man of great wisdom and highly favored by God who granted him all other things did not find true satisfaction and meaning through all the feats he accomplished.  In the end, he concludes simply that everything was meaningless.  His valiant effort to find meaning in all his pursuits returned only emptiness and disappointment. 

The only way we will find meaning in what we do is when we first find God in our lives.   We can only find true meaning in life when we have God in our lives.  Apart from God in our life, all other worthy endeavors are nothing more than wind.  All the wonderful projects and dreams in life are meaningless without God in our lives.  Are we searching God in our lives or are we searching for worldly success?  Unless God is our foundation in all that we do, we will find nothing but emptiness in the end.  All the wealth in the world and depth of pleasure will bring no relief to our parched soul that can only be satisfied by God’s grace and mercy.  Even this day, we should ask ourselves what we are seeking. 

Many people attempt to bind God with worldly success.  This is rather unfortunate as we define God’s blessing with worldly success or materialistic prosperity.   We cannot equate prosperity with God’s blessing.  There are many wealthy people who are completely immoral, and unethical.  And there are true believers who struggle to meet their financial obligations.  We must be careful not to pronounce judgment on people by wealth or lack of it.  Life is not about wealth but having a personal relationship with the Son of God who came to die for us 2,000 years ago. 

If we don’t have Christ in our lives, we have nothing in spite of what the world tells us.  In our difficult time, we’ve come to realize even more how fragile our economic system is.  It is as if we are building our world on shifting sand.  We know for a fact that people’s wealth has evaporated into thin air in the last several months.  We work hard and do everything we can but within a very short time, our wealth disappears.  Can we truly count on our wealth to bring us joy and peace?  Sooner we come to realize that our joy and happiness do not come from wealth, sooner we would be able to achieve true joy and happiness in the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Even if we have nothing in this world, if we have Jesus Christ, we have everything.  All the wealth will melt away but nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.  We need to remind ourselves of such precious gift of God through Jesus Christ time and time again. 

Solomon did the work for us as he achieved zenith of material success as any man could possibly achieve.  He enjoyed everything a person could wish for.  And yet, in the end, he confesses that it was nothing more than a chasing after the wind.  However, so many of us are not interested in hearing this heartfelt confession from Solomon.  We want to have the opportunity to find out on our own.  Such is our folly.  We’ve heard of many stories where people who won Lotto will eventually find themselves in the same predicament before they hit the jackpot.  We even hear stories of those Lotto winners ending up in broken marriages, in a family turmoil and even bankruptcy.  Yet, it is our nature to seek such fortune even after we hear about all the negative consequences from such rags to riches stories thinking that it will not happen to us.  Perhaps we would be able to manage better or perhaps we will not fare any better.  But the point is that we don’t have to find out on our own.  Solomon who achieved so much would tell us that he has done it all and that in the end it was nothing but vain glory.  Only if we would listen to Solomon and not waste our energy in finding out on our own, we would save time and energy and would be able to concentrate our effort in pursuing something much more worthwhile such as seeking after God’s glory in our lives.