Pleasure Gains Nothing Under the Sun

Rev. Vance Becker, LCMS missionary serving as a theological education at Neema Lutheran College in Matongo, Kenya, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ecclesiastes 2:1-17.

Solomon continues to put his thesis to the test concerning the vanity of life. He seeks out all manner of pleasure for himself. He indulges in wine, he engages in magnificent building projects, and he acquires all kinds of wealth. Yet when he reflected on all his pleasure and the toil he had expended in doing it, he found that he had gained nothing under the sun. When he turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly, Solomon found more of the same truth, especially in light of the great equalizer, death. Though this is the vanity that we see in life under the sun, life under the Son of God, Jesus, gives us the heavenly perspective needed for meaning and joy.

“Wisdom for Life Under the Sun” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon’s favorite word in Ecclesiastes paints a bleak picture: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” Apart from God, life is nothing but vapor that does not last and can never be grasped. Yet Solomon does not leave us in despair. He shows us that life does have meaning in the faith and fear of God, from whom all things come to us as a gift.