With this section we conclude the first half of the book of Ecclesiastes. Apart from the heavy dose of imperatives in the last section (5:1-7), most of the first half of Ecclesiastes has been consumed with reflections on various realities and perplexities of life. In this text Qoheleth returns to his reflective mood, as he draws upon samples from life to teach about the futility of an existence consumed with the pursuit of comfort and riches. We have discovered in our studies that 3000 years of history has not changed the landscape of the human heart, so today we deal with the very same issues that faced men of Qoheleth’s time. If there ever was a text that served as an indictment of our culture’s views about money and success, it is this. Indeed we live in a society where people “can’t get no satisfaction,” no matter how much they may try and try.
