Ecclesiastes 2: 24-25
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?
King Solomon was given wisdom beyond any other human person. His rule over Israel was an "golden" time, his having "made gold and silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones" (II Chronicles 1:15), so that everyone could have all they needed.
He said he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes when "I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under Heaven. ..." (Ecclesiastes 1: 13). "Under Heaven," or "under the Sun," refers to life in this Earthly realm only, not considering an after-life, and is the theme of this whole book.
And he concludes that "there is nothing better" than to enjoy the Earthly benefits God gives us while we live here.
Ecclesiastes 5: 19 - 6: 7
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. ...
There is an evil which I have seen under the Sun and it is prevalent among men--a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor so that his soul lacks nothing of all he desires; yet God has not empowered him to eat from them. ...
All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.
Solomon says that it is God's gift for a rich man to be able to enjoy his riches. For what good is it to have everything you want but not be able to enjoy life? What good is it if it's not fun?
No matter how often we eat, we will always need another meal later. We are never completely satisfied, we'll always need to eat again, every day.
Every good gift comes from our Creator Who designed this Earth for us to build our World upon it and have everything we need. But when we focus on the things of this World, even if we amass great wealth, we won't be able to enjoy it without acknowledging God in it all.
So many wealthy people are miserable, because when we put our faith in things of this World, we will never be satisfied. We are made for more enduring "things".
Our stomachs will never stay full, our ears will never be full of hearing, our eyes will never finish seeing. Everything in this World is temporal, temporary. It never was designed to satisfy.
Only our Lord can satisfy our yearnings and longings. He made us that way. We need Him. He does not need us, but He loves us and wants us to love Him back, and to have us live with Him forever. That's when we will be totally satisfied, when that "hole" in us will be filled. And we will rejoice forever, it will never grow old. We will be satisfied and joyous throughout all Eternity.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
