Ecclesiastes 2:22 Commentary and Bible Study

What does he have that he can call his own, that is his permanent possession? Where in his life can he point to any real gain to recompense him for the massive amount of toil which he puts into life and for all the trials that he bears along the way in order to attain its elusive rewards? It is not only the labour of his body that he expends but of his mind also? There is so much planning and problem solving, and fears and anxieties involved in accruing this world’s goods? Would anyone knowingly go through all that for nothing? Is it a pleasant experience in itself to work so hard and sweat and toil, to push oneself on each day towards a goal which we can never reach? But at the end of life the man under the sun finds himself losing the capacity to enjoy the things he has worked so hard for and what he has surrounded himself cannot please his senses anymore, for those senses themselves become incapable of functioning. Then finally he must leave the world as his body gives out and not a pin can he take with him to the place where he is going. It is all the riches of this world and he must leave all behind. Truly we have life on lease from God, and he can call time at any moment. God has instituted human property, but the Christian realises that all is only on loan, and that the true riches await another place. There will be gifts that will not be taken away, for death itself will have been swallowed up in victory.