Ecclesiastes 2:1-26

When something seems hopeless to us we call it an exercise in futility.  We also use the expression of beating our head up against a wall.  The point is that no matter how hard we try to do something, we keep ending up with failure and frustration so we decide it is better to just give up.  Solomon was seeking for happiness so he set off to achieve his goal in a wide variety of ways.  In this chapter he outlines three of those attempts but ends up realizing that it has been an exercise in futility.  His problem was not necessarily in his pursuit of happiness or in that which he did.  His problems was in correlating the two with the expectations that these things in and of themselves would bring him happiness apart from God.

THE FUTILITY OF WINE: I use the word wine here because it fits my alliteration but, in reality, it represents the pursuit of pleasure in any form.  One of the most basic components of being created in the image of God is a desire for pleasure.  We often have a very wrong idea about God.  Somehow we have an image in our mind of a worried old man that is walking around angry and frustrated, pacing the halls of heaven fretting about how to handle us wretched sinners.  This is not the case.  I believe the halls of heaven are filled with laughter and pleasures that are beyond our imagination.  God commands us in Scripture to rejoice in Him always.  Perfect pleasure and joy are found in God and God alone.  God is glorified by our joy.  Unfortunately Satan has tricked us into believing that we can find joy and pleasure by making them the ultimate goal or and end unto themselves.  Solomon set out to find pleasure under the delusion that he could build it for himself through experiences without relating with God.  All he found was that his wine, women and song left him feeling empty and guilty after only a few fleeting moments of pleasure.  This will be the experience of all who seek for pleasure apart from God.  

THE FUTILITY OF WISDOM: This sounds almost heretical especially after having spent so much time going through the book of Proverbs.  Solomon dedicated himself to the study of wisdom and gaining knowledge.  He studied people who were successful because they were intelligent and he studied people who were fools.  The differences between them were obvious and yet in many ways they were all the same.  They both got sick, they both were affected by tragedies in their lives and most importantly they both died.  If both the wise and foolish suffer the same eventual fate; Solomon concluded: “what is the point.”  Seeking after wisdom is just another exercise in futility.  The problem is not in seeking after wisdom.  The problem is making wisdom an end unto itself.  Our end must always be the glory of God.  If wisdom is a means of bringing glory to God it will always bring purpose, peace and even pleasure, but when wisdom becomes the purpose it will only lead to pride, pain and pointlessness.   We seek for wisdom so that we might live for the glory of God in the best possible way.  Wisdom is a means to an end but not an end unto itself.

THE FUTILITY OF WORK: Work was given to us by God and is a responsibility even before sin came into the world.  Work is not a result of the curse.  The curse is what brought about futility in our work.  So much of our work is unproductive and frustrating because it is just never ending.  When I lived on a farm I hated pulling weeds and picking rocks from our fields because it was a job that was never done.  Solomon worked very hard to make beautiful gardens, grand structures and accomplished amazing feats through his labor and knowledge.  The problem was that when he walked through the gardens or sat in his luxurious homes he continued to have that empty feeling in the pit of his stomach because he knew that all that he was building would one day be left for someone else, maybe even his enemies, to enjoy.  He found no sense of permanence in his work.  There was no real rest found through work because there was always more work to be done.  Once again, Solomon’s problem is not in the work but the motive behind the work and the expectation that work in and of itself would bring the satisfaction he so longed to find.  All of our work is important to God but it must be done for the glory of God and not become an object of worship in the place of God.  When we begin to admire our work instead of admiring the God who gives us the strength and opportunity to work we begin to walk down the road of futility together with Solomon.