Neville Goddard on Ecclesiastes 2:3-11 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ecclesiastes 2 in context

Scripture Focus

3I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.

4I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:

5I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:

6I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

7I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

8I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

9So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

10And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:3-11

Biblical Context

A man seeks wine, wisdom, and worldly pleasures, building great works and riches. He finally sees that such pursuits are vanity and vexation under the sun.

Neville's Inner Vision

Picture Ecclesiastes 2 as a patient teaching about states of consciousness. The man’s feast—wine, wisdom, wealth, music, and vast works—are outer symbols of inner moods. He believes external abundance will satisfy, and so he piles gold, builds palaces, and fills his halls with song. Yet, as Neville would say, the kingdom is not 'out there' but within: the I AM that counts on itself creates worlds of experience, and only when you stop identifying with lack can you experience fullness. The vanity arises because the mind seeks fulfillment as a possession rather than a state of being. The verse invites you to revise by returning to your true center—the awareness that already contains all riches as potential. When you inhabit the feeling 'I am the consciousness that creates,' the harbors of wealth and joy become natural expressions of your inner kingdom. The path is not renunciation of labor, but a shift in identification: prosperity follows the inner state you station in awareness.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Close your eyes and silently declare, 'I am the I AM, the source of all wealth and joy.' Then revise the scene to feel the inner kingdom already established, savoring wisdom, abundance, and peace.