“This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness” Ecclesiastes 2:24b-26a
God, through the author of Ecclesiastes, has told us several things in these verses. First 
of all, we find out that only from the hand of God can we receive sustenance. We may get our food in many ways. Some buy it, some grow it, some raise it, and some even go out and kill it. But ultimately we are just the middle man between God and our plates. When we give thanks before a meal, it should not be a generic utterance, a formality that just seems like the right thing to do, but a genuine recognition of the founder of the feast. Unfortunately, the secular recitation “Good bread, good meat, good grief, let’s eat,” or “rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yea God,” might have more sincerity than some of our dutiful Christian utterances before meals.
Of course, God isn’t only the founder of the feast, but the provider of our peace. The writer asks us, “without Him, who can find enjoyment?” Can we enjoy things outside of God? Undoubtedly. 
But true enjoyment comes from many of the things that God has provided us. What good thing do we enjoy that God did not have a hand in? There are none. We enjoy a painting; who gifted the artist to paint it? We are overwhelmed by the sight of a mountain; who created it? We are exhilarated by a sport; who gave men and women the ability to play it? But, of course, the question always arises- what about the sin that man enjoys? Did God give us that? No, God gives us the good and man in turn corrupts it. Almost every good thing God gives us is distorted by man and made just a shadow of what it was meant to be. If we think the pathetic sinful perversion of some great gift God has given us can compete in ultimate joyfulness we are delusional. How many sinful endeavors begin with delight and end in a plight. The truest joy comes from the knowing the creator of joy.
God goes on to tell us that those who seek after His kingdom will receive “the special gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and happiness.” Knowledge is knowing and wisdom is knowing how to use our knowledge. What is the result of that? Happiness. All the knowledge in the world is of no value if we don’t know how to use it. All the wisdom in the world is useless without true knowledge. I listen to a very intellectual show (I know that is hard to believe) that every week pits two people of totally different persuasions to politely duke it out for an hour and a half. Awhile back I listened to an atheist scientist dialogue with a devout Christian scientist. Both men were knowledgeable (they drove me to my dictionary several times), but as they spoke, I realized that though they both spoke in 
revered terms about creation, one man had the advantage of also being in awe of the creator. There was a distinct difference in their tones. One was amazed by the facts and the other amazed by the act that created the facts as well as the facts. I sensed that there was greater joy in getting to know the creator than just getting to know the creation.
The true message of these verses is that enjoyment is a gift of God. There is nothing that we can possess, 
nothing we can do, nothing we can experience that can compete with those things given us from the hand of God. God wants to richly bless us and we can sit at the banquet table or settle for scraps. It is wonderful to realize that God wants us to have joy.
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul said, “He richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) It is God’s desire and intent that all the good things of life should contribute to our enjoyment. We will only experience this world as God intended if we understand that true joy only comes from Him.
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