Ecclesiastes 2:24 Commentary and Bible Study

Is contentment in this world therefore impossible? Is there no way to enjoy the good things that God has given without being caught up in a whirlpool of frustrated desire and disappointment? Certainly, there is a way.‘There is nothing better’ – we read these words wrongly, and produce a problem for ourselves. After all he has said, is he now saying, ‘Eat drink and be merry’? No, it is milder than that. Let not man think he can achieve this goal of complete satisfaction from the world, but let him seek something simpler: contentment from these things. This is not the high ambition of fulfilment that some aim at, but it is contentment from the hand of God, given to those who have trusted in him for salvation. These alone know the secret of contentment. It is a beautiful argument. Modern writers spend pages working out why Solomon contradicts himself, but they misread him. How is it that, in spite of all that he has said about the vanity of this life, some do succeed in passing through this world in a state of peace and contentment? Where do their hidden resources come from and what is the secret of their peace of mind? How can one man experience only the vanity of life that devours him like a burning thirst, while another passes through this world in a state of happiness? At the new birth the individual begins an entirely new relationship not only with the Lord, but with creation itself. For the first time it is not longer an all absorbing idol, but it has taken its proper place as a gift that God gives to his beloved. This man or woman has discovered that complete fulfilment and satisfaction is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they no longer look to the world for what it is incapable of giving. Contentment comes from receiving with gratitude from the hand of God, whatever his wisdom chooses to allocate to us. Whatever he gives is certainly enough and he himself is our exceeding great reward.The words ‘there is nothing better’ must be understood in a relative sense and the discussion is restricted to the enjoyment of earthly goods. He is not saying that faith in God and the true worship of him are nothing, that man should live as if he were an animal without any future hope; that the obtaining of forgiveness of our sins and fellowship with God are not possible. He is simply limiting his discussion to the subject of man’s capacity to enjoy the earth. The world was made for man in the first place and it is only because of the fall that his capacity to appreciate it has been lost.