Ecclesiastes chapter 2

vs 10

So he both gave himself every pleasure that he wanted, but also the work he was doing was a delight to him. So everything he was doing was enjoyable.

vs 11

His enjoyment of his toil was meaningless. The fruit of his toil, what he created, was meaningless. At the end of the day, nothing was gained.

vs 12

King's successor? He might not be talking about himself. He might be saying that he's already done everything - what is there for anyone to do after him? So he was very thorough in his pursuit of wisdom (hence the link with Solomon, or the writing being Solomon himself) and there is therefore nothing really else that could be accomplished in this area, in his opinion.

vs 13

Both are still meaningless - but one is better.

vs 14

So one sees, and one doesn't - but both die. The life of wisdom might seem better, but it results in the same death as that of the fool. Temporary benefit, but no eternal meaning.

vs 15

Wisdom doesn't save from death. Perhaps it lets you understand death better, but then you just are more likely to see it coming. You can't stop it any more than you can stop the sun rising.

vs 16

Not only death, but disappearance, follow both the wise and the fool. No-one will remember either of them. Inevitably someone else will stand up and say what they did, wise or foolish, and that person will take their place, only to also be forgotten.

vs 17

Haven't we all felt this lack of motivation at some point in time? We can't seem to make any difference, everything we do just needs to be done again pretty much straight away. What's the point?

vs 18

Of course, the work that is done doesn't just disappear the moment you die - although for you, it does. But it will hang around, and at the very least your kids will get something out of it. But they didn't work for it! Part of the enjoyment of it, we remember, was the toil. And now the things that he values because he worked on them are given to those who did nothing for them. More on this tomorrow.