Daily Devotions
Ecclesiastes
"I looked on all the works that my hands had done"
Text: Ecclesiastes 2:11
CANDOUR IN WRITING
Solomon maintained a high degree of candour in his writing of the book of Ecclesiastes. He wrote honestly and plainly about his achievements. He also wrote honestly about how he felt as he looked at what he had accomplished.
“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labour in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:11
1. “Then I looked”
a) This is a candid look.
b) There was much openness.
2. Two things were looked at:
a) All the works that Solomon had done.
b) And on the labour in which he had toiled personally.
He was personally involved in these projects!
3. A great sense of emptiness was felt
His candid conclusions:
a) “Indeed, all was vanity”
b) “Grasping for the wind”
c) “No profit under the sun”
UNDERSTANDING THIS SENSE OF EMPTINESS
How may we understand this feeling of emptiness?
1. He may have felt happy and fulfilled
a) But that was only for the moment.
b) But he could not retain this feeling of happiness and fulfilment.
2. He struggled with what he felt deep inside him
a) The deeper level is that of the soul or spirit.
b) The soul does not find its sense of fulfilment in things that are ephemeral.
c) The soul is not like the flesh that can be satisfied with physical things.
Solomon’s soul found that all his achievements amounted to “vanity”.