How about pleasure?

Eccles. 2:1-3

2:1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

• What did Solomon set out to test after evaluating wisdom and knowledge?
  
• What was his basic purpose in doing this?
  
• Why are pleasures so appealing and enticing?
  
• Why is laughter so appealing and enticing?
  
• How is laughter related to pleasure?
  
• What is wrong with experiencing pleasure and/or laughter?
  
• When do pleasures under the sun become a physical problem? A spiritual problem?
  
• What does pleasure accomplish?
  
• How long does pleasure last?
  
• How long does the thing that produces pleasure satisfy?
  
• Why did Solomon use wine?
  
• How did Solomon plan his use of wine?
  
• How did wine help Solomon take hold of folly?

Harold's Musings:
So Solomon found hurt in seeking wisdom. What is the opposite of hurt? Pleasure. So he sought out pleasure and laughter. How often do we do that? We are hurt in some way so we seek comfort. Maybe it is food. Maybe a video game. Maybe sex. Maybe drugs or alcohol. You fill in the blank. Yet we all know what Solomon learned. It is vanity. It is empty. It is foolishness. The ice cream and chocolate only last a short while. The sex only lasts a short while. The alcohol only lasts a short while. Soon we want more. The hurt has not gone away but the relief has. It is all just vanity.

Wisdom hurts

Eccles. 1:16-18

16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

• God caused Solomon to be the wisest man that ever lived. How would you like God to do that for you?
  
• What did Solomon set out to know?
  
• Why would you want to know wisdom?
  
• What does it mean to know wisdom?
  
• Why would you want to know madness and folly?
  
• How would you set out to know wisdom?
  
• How would you set out to know madness and folly?
  
• Why did Solomon decide his quest was like chasing the wind?
  
• When is the quest for wisdom over?
  
• If you are seeking folly, when is your search over?
  
• Why does wisdom contain much grief or vexation?
  
• Why does increasing knowledge increase pain and sorrow?
  
• When have you known that hurt and sadness were heading at you but could not avoid it?
  
• When have you watched those you love do what you knew to be foolish things?
  
• How did your knowing it was foolish cause you grief?
  
• Why is resting your identity, pride, and hope on knowledge unwise?
  
• Why is resting your identity, pride, and hope on earthly wisdom foolish?
  
• What was the main temptation that Satan used on Eve?
  
• Why was one of the curses of eating the fruit actually the believed benefit of eating the fruit?
  
• How does having to make wise choices cause grief when you don't?

Unhappy business

Eccles. 1:12-15

12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart [1] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.[2]

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Footnotes
[1] 1:13 The Hebrew term denotes the center of one's inner life, including mind, will, and emotions
[2] 1:14 Or a feeding on wind; compare Hosea 12:1 (so throughout Ecclesiastes)

• What did Solomon set out to do?
  
• What is the unhappy business that God has given mankind?
  
• How did the events in the Garden of Eden result in the vanity Solomon saw?
  
• Why is it important to keep in mind that Solomon is looking at things "under heaven" or "under the sun"?
  
• Would you agree or disagree with Solomon? Why?
  
• Why might Solomon conclude that all the works done under the sun are empty and like chasing the wind?
  
• Does your experience on earth lead you to agree with Solomon or not? Why?
  
• What is crooked in this world?
  
• Why can't it be straightened?
  
• What is lacking under the sun?
  
• Why can't it be counted?

Harold's Musings:
Ecclesiastes is one of those books that stands the test of time. It is not one of the more common books for us to study, but that is our oversight. Every time I read it I find myself agreeing with Solomon yet again. My life has had so many "vanity/emptiness" events. Chasing professional recognition, striving for breakthrough innovation, struggling with inner wants and desires, all vanity. As you have seen so far, there are likely to be more questions than my musings in this study. Please seriously think through your answers. We have unhappy business to tend to.

Nothing new

Eccles. 1:9-11

9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, [1]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things [2] yet to be
among those who come after.

Footnotes
[1] 1:11 Or former people
[2] 1:11 Or later people

• How important is newness to you?
  
• What is the most common reason you want to replace something with its newer counterpart?
  
• How often do you want the newest version of whatever interests you?
  
• How does newness influence satisfaction?
  
• How important is novelty to you?
  
• How often do you seek out things you have not seen, tasted, felt or otherwise experienced?
  
• Why might being overly interested in novelty be risky spiritually?
  
• How many of today's cultural fads are truly new?
  
• How many of today's spiritual fads are truly new?
  
• What problems arise from focusing on newness?
  
• How often do people look at what happened to other fads before committing to the new one?
  
• How well do you learn from your past experiences?
  
• How well do you learn from the past experiences of others?
  
• How many new discoveries are more than just uncovering what God put there in the beginning?
  
• How many inventions are more than replicating something God put here in the beginning?
  
• When is man's God-given creativity a problem?
  
• Why does man want to move from copying or understanding God's work to being Creator?