I n Ecclesiastes chapter two, and, indeed, all throughout this book, the Preacher is searching for happiness and the meaning of life. His conclusion, that “all is vanity,” seems morbid, and has, unfortunately, repelled many Christian from a proper study of Ecclesiastes. As it turns out, a proper study of Ecclesiastes reveals the Preacher’s ultimate conclusion, which is considerably brighter. Observe some key phrases in Eccl. 2, as the Preacher “tests his heart with pleasure” and seeks to “gratify his flesh”—one predominant phrase is “I made myself…” and various forms thereof. The result of these “tests” is summarized in verses 10-11: “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit un