Life Not Lived For Christ Is Vanity
Ecclesiastes 2:1-17
Why did Solomon hate life?
#vanity
Published June 26th, 2018
Arc
Arc
OT
Ecclesiastes 2:1-17
esv
I x said in my heart,
“Come now,
I will test you with pleasure;
actionpurpose
enjoy yourself.”
inference
ideaexplanation
But behold, this also was vanity. 1
concessive
I y said of laughter,
“It is mad,”
and of pleasure,
“What use is it?”
series
I z searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—
my heart still guiding me with wisdom—
and how to lay hold on a folly,
till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven
during the few days of their life.
temporal
I made great works.
I b built houses
and planted c vineyards for myself.
I made myself d gardens and parks,
and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.
progression
I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees.
I bought male and female slaves,
and had e slaves who were born in my house.
I had also great possessions of f herds and flocks,
more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
I also gathered for myself silver and g gold and the treasure of h kings and i provinces.
I got j singers, both men and women,
and many k concubines, 1
the delight of the sons of man.
So I became great
and l surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem.
Also my l wisdom remained with me.
And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I kept my heart from no pleasure,
for my heart m found pleasure in all my toil ,
ground
and this was my n reward for all my toil.
actionresult
Then I considered all that my hands had done
and the toil I had expended in doing it,
and behold, all was o vanity
and a striving after wind,
comparison
and there was nothing p to be gained under the sun.
situationresponse
q So I turned to consider r wisdom and madness and folly.
For what can the man do who comes after the king?
Only s what has already been done.
questionanswer
Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly,
as there is more gain in light than in darkness.
t The wise person has his eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.
alternative
And yet I perceived that the u same event happens to all of them.
Then I said in my heart,
v “What happens to the fool will happen to me also.
Why then have I been so very wise?”
And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.
For of the wise as of the fool there is w no enduring remembrance,
seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten.
x How the wise dies just like the fool!
So I hated life,
because what is done under the sun was grievous to me,
for o all is vanity
and a striving after wind.
Pleasure
Folly
Projects
Possession
Treasure and persons
discourse
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