Sunday’s Sermon: “Solomon’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days”

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

I said ^[a]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So ^[b]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. ² I said of laughter, “It is madness,” and of pleasure, “What does it accomplish?” ³ I explored with my ^[c]mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my ^[d]mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men ^[e]to do under heaven the few ^[f]years of their lives. ⁴ I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and I had ^[g]homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines.

⁹ Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ¹⁰ All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^[h]exerted, and behold all was ^[i]vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.