Ecclesiastes 2:1-2 “[1] I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. [2] I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?”
Mirth – Social merriment; hilarity; high excitement of pleasurable feelings in company
Laughter – Convulsive merriment; an expression of mirth
Mad – Inflamed to excess with desire; Infatuated with folly.
Once more we find our devotion from the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon purposes in verse 1 to live a life of merriment and pleasure. Throughout verses 4-10 we find that he set out to accomplish this mirth by: building great houses; planting vineyards, gardens and orchards; making canals / aqueducts to provide adequate water to his fields; he acquired servants and maids; succeeded to attain great sums of wealth and treasures from every kingdom; he hired singers and musicians of every type; and, finally, he tells us that he accomplished whatever his eyes desired from the world around him. This lead to two outcomes: Solomon was increased above any that lived in Jerusalem (past or present) and he writes in verse 10 that when he looked at his accomplishments his heart rejoiced at what works he had done.
However, in verse 11 (after pondering the works that he had accomplished) he found that all he had partaken in had no lasting merit. He had merely deceived himself into thinking that his indulgence in mirth and laughter would have a lasting impact on the future. He then sought out the wisdom, madness and folly of his actions; discovering the truths that he penned in verse 2.
Anyone that has ever lived will fall prey to a state of depression if they sit down and reflect upon the deeds of their life in the context that Solomon reflected upon his deeds. Solomon desired to live a life and accomplish deeds that would last the test of time and leave the world a better place. What did all those hours on the job truly accomplish? What lasting impact did the stacks of paperwork make? 100 years from now, who will even be able to find the things that were crafted by my hands? Where are Solomon’s houses, vineyards, gardens and orchards now? What lasting influence did all the music, gatherings and feasts truly have?
So many people seek to leave a legacy by partaking of life to the fullest and receiving mirth. They believe that the laughter of mirth is the goal that will enable them to leave a better future that the world that they inherited. They never realize that they are mad, that they are addicted to folly. Webster’s 1828 dictionary distinguishes between Mirth and Joy. Mirth is always associated with lough and raucous noise (the sound of merriment); joy is made known internally and can be observed by others, but others cannot partake of it. So many with to live a life of importance through the thrill of social hilarity and the short lived outburst of laughter. Solomon proclaims, once again, that these are vain and empty of lasting merit.
The only valuable thing that Solomon left behind is this: wisdom. Wisdom that was not his, but given to him by God. Look at what Solomon says in verse 26, “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Wisdom, and the wise actions taken by a wise man, endure throughout all generations. One example, Man is alive today because Noah was wise enough to do as the Lord instructed him. A wise man is given knowledge and joy from God to sustain and satisfy. The sinner is vain in his endeavors and vexed in spirit by the travail of trying to provide mirth and laughter, only for God to take from their stockpiles and give to those who live righteously before God.
I’m reminded of what Jesus preached, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven. Godly people do not seek the temporary and understand all that they accomplish in vanity will not survive the fire that will destroy this world one day. Godly people fear God more than they fear the notion of missing out on mirth and laughter. As a result, God fills their lives with joy (the superior and lasting sensation). So many Christians fail to be Christ like because they purpose in their hearts to do what verse 1 says. The reason America became the reality we see is because saints decided to pursue mirth instead of having their steps ordered by God. We who are saved no longer can claim ignorance of such things, for we have received the light of the gospel. Anyone who tastes of the Lord, even without reading this passage, cannot stand before God and claim that they believed the way to live their life was by fulfilling the desires of their heart. The heart is exceedingly wicked, no man can know it. However, I can know the will of God for my life. I can receive joy by doing that which he instructs in a goodly manner. I can live as child of the Heavenly King in a world that needs to see more of His joy and fewer people feigning after folly in madness.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
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