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Texts -- Ecclesiastes 3:12 (NET)

Context
Enjoy Life in the Present
3:12 I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live ,

Pericope

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon mad...
  • I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11A. Title and theme 1:1-21. The title 1:12. The theme 1:2B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-111. The vanity of work 1:32. The illustrations from life 1:4-11II. The futility of work ...
  • Solomon had unique resources for investigating life. He was the king of Israel (v. 12), and he possessed superlative wisdom (v. 13; cf. v. 16; 1 Kings 4:26-34). He says he made a comprehensive study of all kinds of human acti...
  • Thus far Solomon had reflected on the futility of all human endeavor generally (1:3-11) and the futility of human achievement (1:12-15) and his own achievements in particular (2:1-17). Next he turned to an evaluation of labor...
  • In 2:18-26 the emphasis is on what happens to the fruits of labor that one accumulates over a lifetime of toil. These fruits include money and all it can buy, fame, and happiness.2:18-21 Solomon viewed all his labor during hi...
  • In this section Solomon expressed his conviction that in view of God's incomprehensible workings all human toil is without permanent profit.3:1-8 As is customary in Ecclesiastes the writer began this section by stating a thes...
  • Again Solomon urged the enjoyment of life (v. 18; cf. 2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22), but he warned of some obstacles to that enjoyment. Solomon was not advocating hedonism but the simple enjoyment of life day by day (v. 18). In other...
  • Wisdom can enable a person to avoid the king's wrath (vv. 2-9), but it cannot enable him or her to understand fully why God deals with people as He does (vv. 10-17).8:10-14 There are two apparent inequities in verse 10. First...
  • 9:1 "All this"refers to the general pattern of God's inconsistent retribution that Solomon had discussed. Even though he could not predict whether a given person would experience prosperity or adversity, he believed all peopl...
  • In 1:12-6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun. Moreover we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we di...
  • Solomon had already advocated the enjoyment of life and responsible living in several of the preceding sections (2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22; 5:18-19; 8:15; 9:7-10). Now he stressed these points....
  • In conclusion Solomon repeated his original thesis (v. 8; cf. 1:2) and his counsel in view of life's realities (vv. 13-14). In between these statements he set forth his source of authority for writing what we have in Ecclesia...
  • Archer, Gleason L., Jr. "The Linguistic Evidence for the Date of Ecclesiastes'."Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society12:3 (Summer 1969):167-81.Barton, G. A. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ecclesi...
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