The Impossibility of Enjoyment Outside Devotion to God (Part 1 of 2)

Ecclesiastes 1:16–2:16: Solomon's Pursuit of Wisdom and Pleasure

I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”

I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; also my 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 found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. Then I said in my heart, “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 no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

The Pointlessness of Life Without Devotion to God

Continuing through Ecclesiastes, we add to our list the pointless things of life. One overarching theme of this book is vanity—or pointlessness—without devotion to God. Some things Solomon experienced are not godly. Not everything in the Old Testament, especially Ecclesiastes, endorses what is described as good. Solomon is not instructing us to indulge in concubines, wine, or slaves. He shares his testimony to show what he did and why it was pointless—either blatantly sinful or neutral but meaningless without devotion to God.

Ecclesiastes teaches us to avoid sinful things because they are pointless, and the New Testament reveals they are offenses against God. There are also things not explicitly sinful but pointless without devotion to God. You might abandon purely vain activities for purer devotion or add meaning to others through gratitude to God.

For example, sports: If not done with gratitude and glory to God—who created you and granted your abilities—sports are pointless. Looking back on my sports career, it was fun but ultimately meaningless. None of it helps me now. But crediting God for my abilities adds meaning. Other activities, like Christians going to bars, may be purely vain and abandonable, even without sinning.

Last week, we saw vain experiences: nature walks pointless without recognizing the Creator, work like toiling in circles, accomplishing nothing—like pulling weeds that regrow after rain. All vain without God.

The Impossibility of Enjoying Life and Wisdom Without Devotion to God

The point tonight: The impossibility of enjoying life and wisdom without devotion to God. Ecclesiastes seems hopeless to secure hope in God alone. Its purpose: Life's entire aim is to enjoy, obey, and devote yourself to God, finding enjoyment in nothing else but God and things pertaining to Him.

The book depresses to demonstrate pointlessness, creating hopelessness that devotion to God alone resolves. It tears down our worldview, cultural perceptions, and peers' seemingly enjoyable lives, showing their hopelessness to highlight hope in God.

Ecclesiastes presents two roads that look similar—both full of toil, vanity, misery—but one endures with God's joy and hope. Choose wisely.

1. Increasing Wisdom Increases Problems

From last week: Vanity through wisdom. Wisdom seems good—praised, advantageous—yet increases vexation and frustration. James 1 urges asking God for wisdom liberally, in faith. Paul imparts godly wisdom. So why does Solomon say extreme wisdom brings problems?

Wisdom is understanding. Understanding a sinful world saddens: Creation groans in a fallen state, breaking down. God, omniscient, grieved over sin (Genesis 6). Godly wisdom sees this frustration—creation not glorifying God as intended.

Vexation is angry sadness, provoking surrender. The Greek translation says it increases pain—like man's toil post-Fall.

Should we avoid wisdom? No catch-22: Foolishness (moron) is also vain. Yet wisdom gains more than folly—like light over darkness (holiness over sin, 1 John).

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24–25)

The trick: Devotion to God amid wisdom avoids pointlessness. F.F. Bruce: Without God, life is meaningless recurrence. Transcendental argument: Nothing makes sense without God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:20–21)

Vanity creates hopelessness to desire God's freedom and glory.

2. Increasing Pleasure Increases Emptiness

Pleasure and emptiness seem opposed. Yet pleasure causes emptiness. Pursuers seem happy, but inwardly empty—celebrities suicidal despite excess.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23)

Solomon tested pleasure: Laughter mad, pleasure useless. Wine, folly—nothing good for man under heaven. Even health benefits futile; all die.

He denied his eyes nothing, found pleasure in toil—but considered it: All vanity, nothing gained under the sun. Comparatively pointless to life with God.

Solomon is not against joy or pleasure, but against it outside devotion to God. God must be pleasure's source—holy, sinless, sanctified.

Exercise: Give up sports cold turkey, movies, post-youth fellowships.

Imagining Life with Only God

Imagine stopping all fellowships after youth, no longer shopping for nice clothes, no time with friends, no conversations in person or over the phone. Even your parents and I decide to take away all these activities. The only things allowed are eating food and drinking water.

Initially, this sounds horrible—without your smartphone, television, entertainment, or closest friends. It seems miserable. But here's the catch: you give up every single one of those things, total cessation of all activities you value. The only activity allowed, besides eating and drinking, is to worship God. Everything is taken away and replaced with God himself. Your daily activities are doing whatever he tells you and praising and worshiping him in response.

Does that sound boring or totally lame?

The book of Ecclesiastes is hyperbolic and extreme, calling all things vain. It's an exaggeration to create an attitude in you where you value God more than things that are not God. If your heart is captivated by things unrelated to worship, only worshiping God will sound lame. Ecclesiastes exposes what you truly value.

Exposing Idols Through Resistance

I recently read an article by Kevin DeYoung, a pastor who writes for The Gospel Coalition. He doesn't understand why Christians watch TV shows filled with nudity, violence, and violent nudity. People respond that it's art with compelling storylines and good actors.

The most intriguing part was the comments attacking him for intruding on their entertainment. One said, "Don't knock it till you try it." A wise response: "That's like saying you've never watched porn so you can't say porn is wrong, or never gotten drunk so you can't say drinking is wrong." The reply: "No, this is art with a storyline."

Every excuse lacked biblical exegesis. It boiled down to "We want to, and you have no right to tell us otherwise."

You can identify a person's idols, devotions, affections, values, and treasures by the resistance they give when those things are challenged. Solomon says all life is pointless—much of it is, even good things. Don't hold onto pointless things when you should hold onto God.

Are you willing to follow God even to the point of abandoning things that are not God?

Increasing Amounts to Nothing

Verses 15–16 of Ecclesiastes 2:

Then I said in my heart, “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 no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool!

The philosopher dies the same as the moron, the scholar like the fool. They all die—they all have an appointed end. There's a time to be born and a time to die.

What purpose is there in achieving so much if life has an expiration date? The death of the wise is no more noble than the fool's. What makes a death valuable?

You could die the same way as a prostitute or drug addict—everybody dies the same pointless death. How do you have a meaningful, valuable death that matters?

From our context, it's the death of those devoted to God. Psalm 116:15:

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

"Precious" means costly, expensive, weighty, valuable—like weighing gold against money on a scale. It's weighty to God himself.

The way to a different death is being one of his saints. Devotion to God is the only way to live with real significance and die without waste. Devotion to God makes a life and death not wasted.

Two Key Questions

First, are there obviously vain things in your life distracting you from enjoying God? Examine yourself: Do you enjoy God? Does thinking of him swell you with excitement and joy, even in serious or difficult situations? That's the enjoyment Solomon describes, even amid toil.

If you don't enjoy God, serious surgery may be needed to remove vain distractions.

Second, are you willing to get rid of vain things? Or would you fight tooth and nail, like those Christians defending wicked shows?

Redeem vain things by glorifying God in them. Sports is neutral—you can endure it to God's glory. Even brushing teeth is vain—you'll die, so why preserve enamel? But do it giving thanks to God for his provision; it honors him and adds transcendent value.

Or legitimately get rid of them: redeem entertainment by enjoying things that draw you to God, or ditch the television completely. Jesus said it's better to enter heaven maimed than hell whole. Better heaven without a TV than hell with a big flat screen.

Are there things distracting you from enjoying God? Are you willing to get rid of them?