விரிவுரை தற்போது ஆங்கிலத்தில் மட்டுமே கிடைக்கிறது. தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு நடைபெறுகிறது.
Ecclesiastes 2 — I Hated Life
I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth. I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards. I gathered me also silver and gold. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem. And, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit. I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour. There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”
— Ecclesiastes 2:11
- v.1-11 Pleasures and possessions explored
- v.12-23 Wisdom's limits; toil's frustration
- v.24-26 Enjoyment as God's gift
A grace-note in the gloom. Simple gifts — food, drink, the joy in honest work — are from the hand of God. Receive them with thanks.
A check on both materialism and asceticism. The Preacher praises neither denial nor accumulation; he commends receiving God's daily gifts.
Verse 24 is permission and discipline. Receive the simple gifts as from God's hand — not as your achievement but as His provision. Eat the meal with thanks; do the work with joy.
The vanity of all achievement under the sun is healed by the Son above the sun, who came to give life... more abundantly (John 10:10). The simple joys are gifts of His Father.
The wealthiest king's honest review. Houses, vineyards, gold, fame — all of it tasted like vapor at the end.
A diagnostic for any successful person. The verdict on the achievements feels different when honestly reviewed.