Verses 9-10
The second reason to enjoy life is that youth is fleeting. [Note: See Kaiser, Ecclesiastes . . ., p. 116.] Solomon balanced his counsel to the youth to follow his or her impulses and wholesome desires, with a reminder that God will judge us all eventually. Solomon probably thought of God’s judgments before death (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 7:17).
"To older people it may seem to be too risky to advise a young person to walk in the ways of his heart and the sight of his eyes. Yet the advice is coupled with a reminder of responsibility before God. This is not to take away with one hand what is given with the other because a sense of responsibility belongs to youth just as vitality does." [Note: J. S. Wright, "Ecclesiastes," p. 1191.]
In all his writings, Solomon never advocated sinful self-indulgence, only the enjoyment of life’s legitimate pleasures and good gifts.
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