Ecclesiastes 2:18-21

Solomon viewed all his labor during his lifetime ("under the sun," Ecclesiastes 2:18) with despair, because there was no real permanence to its fruits. He could not take them with him.

"A Jewish proverb says, ’There are no pockets in shrouds.’" [Note: Wiersbe, p. 490.]

Solomon would have no control over what he had accumulated or accomplished after he died, either (Ecclesiastes 2:19). The idea so common today that a good job is more desirable than a bad job because it yields benefits the worker can enjoy is a very short-sighted, selfish view. It seems to contradict Solomon’s conclusion, but it does not. Solomon’s perspective was much broader and more altruistic. He was thinking about what long-range changes for good could come out of all human toil.