Ecclesiastes 2

V 1–3: PLEASURE Solomon decides to go on the pleasure trail as a means of giving him laughter and mirth. He fortifies his search with wine so that his wisdom can discern whether there is anything lasting in such an approach to life. V 4–9: PROSPERITY His search for pleasure includes heaping up things of great value and with even a little musical culture thrown in. He was greater in this than anyone else in all Jerusalem. V 10: POWER Whatever he wanted he took to test this theory to the full. V 11: POINTLESS His conclusion regarding all this is that ‘there is no profit under the sun’. It is all pointless from the human point of view. V 12–16: PRUDENCE He then looks at wisdom, madness, and folly. He can see apparent benefits in wisdom, but comes to the conclusion that everybody dies, whether wise or foolish, and that this also is vanity. V 17–26: PITIFUL This experiment leads the Preacher to hate life itself because of its pointlessness and vanity. Even eating and drinking on a daily basis, to enjoy the pleasure of one’s labours, becomes a pitiful emptiness when God is not central. This is a depressing conclusion at such an early stage of the book.