Solomon spent most of his life trying to come up with a theory of everything.
1 12-18: Solomon sought to study all the great philosophers up to that time, but he discovered there are some questions that just can't be answered by human reasoning. Besides, knowing the wise way to fix something doesn't automatically mean you have the power to make that thing right, and anyway, as Solomon says in verses 14-16, whether you live by man's wisdom or you're a complete fool, you wind up dead in your grave either way.
Chapter 2
Having realized gathering wisdom was useless, Solomon then turned to living his life for pleasure on the one hand and toward leaving a legacy on the other hand.
I have heard people say of verses 4-7 that Solomon should have concentrated on building things for his people to enjoy rather than for himself. However, that is not the point of this chapter, which is that whatever Solomon built, whether it was for himself or for others, had no guarantee of lasting even a full generation after he was gone. This is because you never know if those who will come after you will preserve what you've done or destroy it. There are countless examples of businesses out there the founder poured his life and strength into building, but within one, two or three generations, the company goes bust. Your children or their children don't appreciate all the work you had to put into building the company, so things get more lax and it goes under.
Up till the end of this chapter Solomon has been speaking about life under the sun, that is, life from man's perspective. However, for God and His followers, with life over the sun in Heaven in mind, the view is totally different.
Verse 26 affirms that pleasures in and of themselves are not wrong, as long as we remember, as James says, that all good things come from God. Wisdom and knowledge are given to man in order for them not only to live good lives but, more importantly, to help them grow closer in relationship to the One who gave it to them in the first place.
As for material possessions, the meek will inherit the earth. Everything the wicked have will be given to the righteous in the thousand year reign after Christ's return.
3 1-8:
v2: Our life and it's span are in God's hands for His purpose. Those who don't get the chance to be born, or who are born but die before their age of accountability, will be in Heaven with God, but as is said in verse 15, those who die after their age of accountability will have to give an account of how they lived. More on this below.
The cycles of nature, such as seed time and harvest, are in God's hands as well. Seed time and harvest will continue while the Earth is still in existence (Genesis 8 22.)
v3: Mostly, society should focus on trying to heal people, but there are times, if someone is too far gone, it is better to let them die.
v4: There are happy times in life and there are sad times, but for the Christian, the Lord is with us through both.
v5: Stones can get in your way if you are trying to plant a crop but are very useful in construction. In life, there are things which are at times obstacles but at other times are helpful.
When dealing with a grieving person, sometimes we should speak words of consolation and perform comforting actions, but with other people it's best to not say or do much and just stalwartly be there for that person if they need us. It takes the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to know which to do and when.
v6: As Job said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."
v8: Christians should try to live at peace with all men, as the New Testament instructs, and, as Isaiah prophesied, there is coming a day when "they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and they shall learn war no more." However, before that, there is a time when we will need to do the exact opposite to our plowshares and pruning hooks. Revelation makes this quite clear.
v9-15:
v11: God has made a beautiful universe. He has placed a sense of wonderment and curiosity in man. In fact, this creation of God's is so complex that mankind could never find out everything about it.
That curiosity and awe over our planet and the rest of the universe should lead man to have the same curiosity about eternity, but said curiosity doesn't usually get to a point where a man comes to a knowledge of salvation in God and His Son Jesus Christ.
This verse fits with Romans 1 18-20.
v12-13: Again, Solomon reiterates what he said in 2 26: that labour and pleasure are not wrong in themselves, but we need to recognize that those things come from God.
v14: As Paul says in Ephesians and Peter says in his first epistle, Christians are to work "as unto the Lord." We work, in whatever field we happen to be in, to glorify God, to use to our utmost and best the talents and abilities He's given us to do that job.
v15: As stated earlier, those who die after their age of accountability will have to answer to God for what they've done. For the Christian, whatever sins they've committed will be covered by Christ's blood, but for the unbeliever, all the good things he's done will be as filthy rags and will never meet God's standard of perfection.
v14: As Paul says in Ephesians and Peter says in his first epistle, Christians are to work "as unto the Lord." We work, in whatever field we happen to be in, to glorify God, to use to our utmost and best the talents and abilities He's given us to do that job.
v15: As stated earlier, those who die after their age of accountability will have to answer to God for what they've done. For the Christian, whatever sins they've committed will be covered by Christ's blood, but for the unbeliever, all the good things he's done will be as filthy rags and will never meet God's standard of perfection.
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