Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 (ESV Strong's)
18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
Legacy!
The book of Ecclesiastes is a story of Solomon pursuing life. He has the wealth and the wisdom to put everything under a microscope, to determine if it is valuable or lasting or something more than “vanity.” You should never read a single verse in Ecclesiastes without first reading the last verses, Solomon’s conclusion:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV Strong's)
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
These two verses should be the lens we view the two verses from chapter two. In 2:18-19 we read that Solomon takes note of his legacy. Even though he was wise and wealthy (in that order ... God gave him wealth because he sought wisdom), he knew that what he was leaving to those who came after him would all be lost. No matter how wise he was, Solomon had no control over those who came after him who might squander his wealth and ignore his wisdom. When we read history we see that his son, Rehoboam, actually did ignore his wisdom and deplete his wealth. The kingdom of Israel actually split into Israel and Judah as a result of Rehoboam’s foolish decisions. It intentionally ignored the wisdom of his father and the counselors his father left him, to advise him.
1 Kings 12:6-8 (ESV Strong's)
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.
Our legacy is never guaranteed. Those who come after us have no compelling interest in us, as we are dead. We ought to not worry about what happens after us, but only want happens within us. We can only control, by God’s Spirit in us, through faith, what is happening with us and in us. Legacy is never a guarantee.
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