Ecclesiastes in the age of the toaster – Jeremy Lallier sabbaththoughts.com

Being a king once meant having access to whatever you wanted—if it existed.

That’s what makes the words of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes so remarkable:

“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10)

Yet in many ways, we enjoy luxuries that even the greatest kings never knew. We can travel across continents in hours, communicate instantly with people around the world, access vast stores of knowledge from a device in our pocket, and enjoy conveniences that previous generations would have considered unimaginable.

It would be easy to assume that if the Preacher had experienced our world, his conclusion would have been different—that modern comforts could finally provide the fulfillment he never found.

But they cannot.

The pleasures have changed; human nature has not. Solomon pursued every delight available to him and concluded that it was “vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). Our technology and luxuries are simply newer versions of the same pursuit.

His final conclusion is just as true today: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

When we seek fulfillment in blessings, we find emptiness. When we seek God first, even our blessings become meaningful because our purpose has always been found in the Giver, not the gifts.