ecclesiastes 1 through 3

Read Ecclesiastes 1 through 3 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

Ecc 1:1-11 {p} The earth abides forever, and there is nothing new under the sun
Ecc 1:12-3:1 {p} The works of man are in vain, for death + an end awaits all men
Ecc 3:2-8 {sx28} A time for every purpose under heaven
Ecc 3:9-12:14 {p} …

The weak paragraph divisions in Ecc 3:2-8, are in this manner:

Ecc 3:2a A time to be born, {s}
Ecc 3:2b And a time to die; {n}{s}

and so on throughout this paragraph.

A chiastic structure:

introduction) Ecc 1:12, I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem;

1a) Ecc 1:13-18, I set my heart to search by wisdom what is good to do under heaven;

1) Ecc 1:13a, I set my heart to seek + search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven;

2) Ecc 1:13b, This burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised;

3) Ecc 1:14-15, All work done under the sun is vanity, for there is no end to it;

1a) Ecc 1:14a, I have seen all the works that are done under the sun;
central axis) Ecc 1:14b, And indeed, all is vanity + grasping for the wind;
2a) Ecc 1:15, What is crooked cannot be made straight/ what is lacking cannot be numbered;

I.e. There is no end to labor, for something will always be wanting;

4) Ecc 1:16, I have attained more greatness + wisdom + knowledge than any before me in Jerusalem;

5) Ecc 1:17-18, I set my heart to know wisdom + folly/ it was vanity, for grief + sorrow is in much wisdom;

1a) Ecc 1:17a, I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly;
central axis) Ecc 1:17b, I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind;
2a) Ecc 1:17-18, For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow;

1b) Ecc 2:1-11, I looked on all the works of my hands/ it was vanity, for there was no profit under the sun;

1a) Ecc2:1-3, I tested my heart with pleasure (but it was vanity) to see what would profit a man under heaven;

1) Ecc 2:1-3a, I tested my heart with mirth + pleasure (but it was vanity), mirth + wine accomplishes nothing;

1a) Ecc 2:1a, I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure;”
1b) Ecc 2:1b, But surely, this also was vanity;
2b) Ecc 2:2a, I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”
2a) Ecc2:3a, I set my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while keeping wisdom/ how to lay hold on folly;

2) Ecc 2:3b, Till I might see what was good for men to do under heaven all the days of their lives;

1b) Ecc 2:4-7a, I made my works great: houses, vineyards, gardens, pools, servants;

1c) Ecc 2:7b, I had greater possessions of herds + flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me;

central axis) Ecc 2:8. I gathered for myself silver + gold + treasures/ singers/ women, very many;

2c) Ecc 2:9-10, I became great in works + riches + wisdom more than all who were before me in Jerusalem;

2b) Ecc 2:11a, I looked on all the works + labor that my hands had done + had toiled;

2a) Ecc 2:11b, 1) And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind/ 2) there was no profit under the sun;

1c) Ecc 2:12-16, I considered wisdom + folly/ the man who succeeds the king/ the wise + fool alike both die;

1d) Ecc 2:17a, Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me;

central axis) Ecc 2:17b, For all is vanity and grasping for the wind;

2d) Ecc 2:18a, Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun;

2c) Ecc 2:18b-21, The man who will come after the king/ wise man or fool/ the wise leaves his labor to others;

2b) Ecc 2:22-23, What profit has man for all his labor under the sun? His heart does not rest from it/ this is vanity;

2a) Ecc 2:24-26, Nothing is better but to eat + drink + enjoy good in his labor/ vanity;

1) Ecc 2:24a, Nothing is better for a man but to eat + drink + enjoy good in his labor;

2) Ecc 2:24b, This also, I saw, was from the hand of God;

4) Ecc 2:25a, For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?

5) Ecc 2:26a-c, God gives wisdom with joy to the good/ the sinner gathers, to give to the good;

1a) Ecc 2:26a, For God gives wisdom + knowledge + joy to a man who is good in His sight;
central axis) Ecc 2:26b, But to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting;
2a) Ecc 2:26c, That he may give to him who is good before God;

3) Ecc 2:26d, This also is vanity and grasping for the wind;

conclusion) Ecc 3:1 {p} To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

This strong paragraph of Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon’s journey to despair and back, because of his great wisdom. He set his heart to discover by wisdom, what would be the best thing for man to spend his life doing. He tested great works, riches, wisdom, folly, and pleasure. He discovered that all men, no matter what they do, encounter the same end of death, so he concluded that no matter what men do, it is all in vain, profiting nothing in the long run.

When he began, he had joy in the testing:

Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor. Ecc 2:10

But after time, his joy turned to despair, when he realized that his labor, that he had spent his life, his wisdom, and his riches in doing, also would not long outlast him:

Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. Ecc 2:20

This was very distressing for Solomon, but he discovered anew an important spiritual law: man’s works do not have eternal profit, but only benefit the man in his lifetime (which, since life ends, he viewed with despair as a bad thing).

Life on this side of heaven ends, but life does not end. But since the plan of salvation was veiled even to Solomon for all his great wisdom, he did not have a clear understanding of his future hope.

His hatred of his life, because of learning this principle, I think probably was the root of bitterness that caused him to descend into idolatry. But, when enough time had passed, and he had increased in the even greater wisdom that lies on the other side of this spiritual law, he realized that it was a gift from God to enjoy the present good benefit of your labor (Ecc 2:24), for God gives wisdom with joy to the good (Ecc 2:26, as opposed to wisdom with despair, Ecc 1:18). In other words, he learned contentment, which I believe is the fruit of trust and rest in God.

The first conclusion of his search, is that there is a time for every purpose under heaven: good, evil, wisdom, folly, even despair and joy.