Ecclesiastes 2:11

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

In the last post and the previous verse in Ecclesiastes we saw Solomon chasing after all of his desires and getting every one of them. I closed the previous post with the thought that Ecclesiastes was his portion which was his condition while writing. He was an old broken man regretting every desire he ever laid his eyes on. This verse confirms that. "Then I looked"....and he found "no profit under the sun".

I have throughout these post questioned exactly what Solomon labored to do. I have said he didn't actually labor to do anything. I think the Hebrew word rendered works further solidifies the idea that Solomon did very little with his hands.

The word rendered works in Hebrew is mah-as-eh'. It means, "an action (good or bad); generally a transaction; abstractly activity; by implication a product (specifically a poem) or (generally) property". This word comes from a root word which means, "to do or make".

Solomon looked upon his transactions. He looked upon his actions. He looked upon the results of his transactions which caused things to be done or to be made. A couple of these things I am certain were done by the Lord through him, like building the temple, but most of the things Solomon seems to be taking an account of in Ecclesiastes have very little to do with the Lord. Indeed, his works become little more than activity and product. The end product being "vanity and vexation of spirit". I don't think Solomon could have picked a more apt word to describe his works at this point in his life.

The three Hebrew words after mah-as-eh' are very interesting too. They are: shel "on account of, what soever, which soever: - cause, sake", ...: aw-saw', "to do or make" and, ...: yawd, "a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.)".

So Solomon by his transactions/actions, on his account, caused things to be done or made by his power, means, direction, ect. Solomon certainly was not leaving any room for the Lord to have done anything at all and yet Solomon himself did not labor at all! This is why Solomon found that all he had labored to do was vanity and vexation of spirit, that is, his spirit.

Solomon took pride in things he had not honestly labored for. He looked upon things he commanded to be done by his power and took pride in works that were not his own. He took credit for works that the Lord had done through him. He took credit for works he caused to happen that had nothing to do with the Lord.

As you go through life today give credit where credit is due. "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:7-8).

Don't be a glory hound! "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Whether a parent, a boss, or a king... remember to pat the childs, the employes, the subjects, ect., remember to pat their backs and thank God and give Him the glory for the child, the good employee, the loyal subjects, ect. It was God who put you in the authoritive position and it was God who gave you the child, the employee, the subjects, ect.