After examining whether all the things mentioned in the previous verses are where happiness and the meaning of human life are found, his conclusion is, Then I considered all that my hands had done, and the toil I had expended in doing it. And behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
Solomon now says, based on his own experiences, that satisfying man’s own desires cannot provide a person with real and lasting happiness. Focusing on satisfying one’s desires does not lead to a genuinely good life. When people build their joy on that, they will be disillusioned. When people do not look beyond this world and the enjoyment of this world, life remains empty. You should consider carefully what the apostle John writes about this in 1 John 2:15–17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.