No Profit Under the Sun - Ecclesiastes 2:11

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, “And whatsoever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor”, and in chapter two and verse eleven of his book Solomon said, “there was no profit under the sun”, where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do:” Solomon began with the words, “then I looked”  or “at that time I, Solomon, turned his eyes upon, observed and put notice” “on all the works” which means “upon each, every, the whole and everyone of the labors, toils, deeds, businesses and undertakings” “that my hands had wrought” or “that my, Solomon’s, physical hands fashioned, accomplished, made, produced and worked”, “and on the labor” which means “and upon the toil, trouble, mischief and wearisome travail” “that I had labored to do” or “that I, Solomon, severely and with irksomeness performed and produced”. Solomon shared how he observed every one of the labors and toils that his physical hands toiled and worked to fashion and accomplish. 

The verse goes on to say, “and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” Daniel continued with the words, “and, behold” or “and, lo, look and consider”, “all was vanity” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the labors and works were vapor, breath and transitory emptiness” “and vexation” or “and longing, striving and grasping” “of spirit” which means “pertaining to breath or the wind”, “and there was no profit” or “and there existed not any advantage, excellence or gain” “under the sun” which means “beneath the sun in the sky”. Solomon concluded that all of his “labors” were empty and as grasping the wind, and there did not exist any advantage or gain beneath the sun in the sky. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Solomon how he observed all the workings of his physical “hands” as well as the toil he performed, and yet, these were also considered to be vain and grasping at the air - soap bubbles. He decided there was no advantage or gain that could be obtained “beneath the sun”, however, he was not considering the greatest gift that has been given which is a relationship with Jehovah God. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will help us perform acts and deeds for the Kingdom of God which shall not only be valuable, but will also remain for all eternity.

Next time Solomon says, “I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".