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Ecclesiastes, part 4, The Futility of Pleasure

If Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 tested wisdom, then Ecclesiastes 2:1–11 tests pleasure and accomplishment to see if it might bring lasting profit and value.

¹ I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

Koheleth and Epicurus

Here we may compare Koheleth with Epicurus, the Greek philosopher who also believed in the pursuit of pleasure (and pain avoidance). Koheleth’s pursuit of pleasure in Ecclesiastes 2:1–11 and the philosophy of Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) address the same human question—can pleasure secure the good life?—but they arrive there by very different routes and end with opposite prescriptions.

Both Koheleth and Epicurus value wisdom, but (as Paul shows us in the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians) the wisdom of men is based on soulish reasoning, whereas the wisdom of God is based on spiritual revelation. Hence, man’s wisdom is foolishness to God, while God’s wisdom is foolishness to soulish men.

Epicurus’ wisdom is founded on ethical reasoning and is subject to the limitations of the soul (the “old man”) which comes from Adam in his fallen, mortal condition. He assumes that pleasure is good, though it must be carefully defined. After all, short-term pleasure may result in long-term pain. For this reason, he rejects hedonism, as also does Koheleth—though for a different reason.

Koheleth, being Solomonic wisdom, is concerned about the problem of mortality and is testing pleasure for its endurance. Can pleasure produce lasting profit under the sun? Epicurus asks, “What kind of pleasure leads to a stable, happy life?”

Koheleth approaches the question theologically; Epicurus approaches it psychologically. While there is certainly much good in human wisdom, it has limitations, as Paul points out. Human wisdom could hardly conceive of a crucified Messiah to resolve the problem of sin/debt. Scripture defines sin legally as injustice and resolves the problem of sin in a court room; Greek philosophy generally defined sin as ignorance and tried to resolve the problem in a classroom.

Hence, the Greeks sought human wisdom through learning and knowledge, whereas Scripture says in Deuteronomy 4:5, 6 that the laws of God are “your wisdom and understanding.”

Koheleth and Epicurus agree that reckless pleasure fails, but they disagree on why and what follows. Epicurus says: Reduce desire and pleasure will suffice. Koheleth says: Even fulfilled desire cannot escape time, loss, and death.

Thus: Epicurus offers a strategy to live well within the confines of mortality. Koheleth insists mortality itself prevents pleasure from being ultimate and lasting.

Socrates

Socrates was one of the greatest of the Greek philosophers (470-399 B.C.). Perhaps he came the closest to biblical wisdom by defining his concept of a true Just Man. He was quoted later by his student, Plato, who wrote:

“Let him be the best of men, and let him be thought the worst; then he will have been put to the proof; and we shall see whether he is just for the sake of justice or for the sake of reputation.

“Let him be stripped of everything except justice and have the worst fate. Then let him be scourged, tortured, bound, have his eyes burned out; and at last, after suffering every kind of evil, he will be impaled [crucified], and will know that one ought to seem rather than to be just.”

(Plato, Republic II.361e–362a)

Socrates is arguing that if justice is valued only for reward or reputation, it is not true justice Therefore, justice must be tested without reward. A perfectly just man in an unjust society will be destroyed. This is philosophical diagnosis, not prophecy.

Socrates says that the truly just man, stripped of reputation, will be tortured and finally impaled, proving that justice is loved for itself and not for its rewards.

Justin Martyr

Socrates’ statement is referenced later by Justin, a second-century philosopher who became a Christian believer and was martyred for his faith.

In First Apology, par. 46, Justin Martyr says:

“…those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists; as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and men like them…”

Justin identifies Socrates as an example of someone who lived according to the Logos, even before Christ. He uses this classification to argue that Christian truth was already partially known through philosophical reason. He suggests that those who lived reasonably — like Socrates and Heraclitus — are “Christians before Christ,” because they participated in God’s rational order (Logos).

In Justin’s framework, Socrates’ philosophy and moral life point toward Christ, even if he did not know Christ in the historical sense. Justin thought of him as a proto-Christian. In other words, Socrates was positioned just a small step lower than those Old Covenant believers whose revelation was limited by types and shadows.

The Futility of Laughter and Wine

Ecclesiastes 2:2, 3 continues,

² I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

Koheleth recognizes that pleasure must be pursued with the guidance of wisdom. Epicurus would agree and insist that pleasure must be governed by reason and wisdom to avoid pain. Koheleth implies that if disciplined pleasure offered by wine and laughter could work, it would work here. However, any positive effects of wine soon wear off. Those who use wine to suppress inner pain soon find that it is only a temporary solution at best.

The Futility of Architecture and Agriculture Systems

Ecclesiastes 2:4-7 says,

⁴ I enlarged my works; I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made gardens and parks [pardēs] for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees.

Later, in verse 11, Koheleth tells us that this too was vanity, or futility. Solomon himself not only built the temple in Jerusalem but also “the house of the forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2), “the hall of pillars” (1 Kings 7:6), “the hall of judgment” (1 Kings 7:7), and a palace for himself and for his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh (1 Kings 7:8). These were royal residences and administrative buildings, taking 13 years to complete—longer than the Temple itself.

In addition, Song of Songs 8:11 mentions Solomon’s vineyard at Baal-hamon. 1 Kings 4:22–23 describes massive daily provisions, implying large agricultural systems, supported by reservoirs and irrigation systems. Hence, Eccl. 2:5–6 suggests royal agricultural management rather than subsistence farming, built to support court luxury, trade, and diplomatic hospitality.

These included royal pleasure gardens, echoing Persian-style parks. (The word pardēs was a foreign word, from which we get the word “paradise.”) Ecclesiastes 2:4–6 deliberately echoes Solomon’s palaces, vineyards, gardens, and waterworks recorded in Kings and Song of Songs, presenting Solomonic achievement at its peak—only to declare that even such greatness cannot secure lasting meaning.

The Futility of Possessions

Ecclesiastes 2:7, 8 says,

⁷ I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.

Slaves and singers are all as mortal as Koheleth himself. Their labor and their songs, as well as their silver and gold, are an accumulation of futility insofar as the mortal owner is concerned. The question is how to turn futile labor into enduring gain. Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). But what profit is there in this? His harem was mostly a showcase, because it was impossible for him to take advantage of any one of them more than every few years. His wives were given to him in order to consolidate foreign alliances by marrying the daughters of foreign kings who did not worship the God of the Bible. 1 Kings 11:3 says, “his wives turned his heart away” (from God).

Furthermore, Solomon violated God’s instruction to rulers in Deuteronomy 17:17,

¹⁷ He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

While polygamy was not forbidden in the law, the original marriage pattern in the Garden of Eden was monogamy. The law does not specify how many wives are allowed, but the New Testament (1 Timothy 3:2) interprets this law to mean “one wife” for overseers, or bishops who rule the church.

The Futility of Greatness

Koheleth’s pleasure experiment ended in futility once again. Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 concludes,

⁹ Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ¹⁰ All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

The problem with having everything is that it is never enough, yet there is nothing to look forward to. When all desires of the flesh are met—as in the case of the super rich—they turn their attention to attaining power. But in climbing the ladder of power, only one can reach the highest pinnacle. Depending on which ladder they climb, they eventually discover that the top position has already been taken—either God or the devil—and neither is willing to be displaced.