Ecclesiastes 2:26: “For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.”

July 7th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Some have read this chapter as King Solomon’s midlife crisis. If it is, then perhaps there are some helpful benefits to having one. There is something good about reaching the halfway point in life and pausing to assess how our lives are turning out, whether or not we are reaching our personal goals. An unexamined life is a worthless life. We have already seen that this book is limited to life as it is perceived and lived “under the sun.” Solomon does not refer to anything that exists beyond this world, nor does he speak of a relationship with God that begins on earth, grows into maturity, and continues on into eternity. So it is not surprising that to him life seemed like “grasping for the wind.”

Life on earth is much like the ice hotel that is built every year in Canada. It is constructed of 4,500 tons of snow and 250 tons of ice, costing $750,000 Canadian dollars to build. It has beds made of ice, an ice bar, two ice art galleries, and an ice cinema. Those wanting to stay there have to get in quick because the hotel only lasts 3 months, melting each April.

The Apostle Paul tells us that this physical world, with its powers and values, will not last: “for the form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31). As New Testament believers we have been given understanding beyond what Solomon grasped. While this world is temporal, it will one day be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth that will last for eternity. That is why Jesus commanded us: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:19–20).

“LORD, help us to remember that everything we see around us is quickly fading away and only those things done in You will last.”