Ecclesiastes contains reflections of an old man, the “Preacher,” as he considered the question of meaning in life. He looked back and saw the futility (“vanity”) of chasing after even the good things this life can offer, including wisdom, work, pleasure, and wealth.
Even if such things are satisfying for a time, death is certain to end this satisfaction. In fact, God’s judgement on Adam for his sin (Gen. 3:17-19) echoes throughout the book. Yet the person who lives in the fear of the Lord can enjoy God’s good gifts.
Young people, especially, should remember their Creator while they still have their whole lives before them.
Traditionally interpreters of Ecclesiastes have identified the “Preacher,” who is also called “the son of David, king in Jerusalem,” as Solomon (tenth century B.C.).
All Is Vanity
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new?”
It has been already in the ages before us.
There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance of later things
yet to be among those who come after.”
The Vanity of Wisdom
The Preacher applied his heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. This section’s theme follows that of the above, that all human striving seems futile. It shows that both human endeavor and the pursuit of human wisdom are futile and meaningless; saying that “All is vanity and a striving after the wind.”
“What is crooked cannot be made straight,
Ecclesiastes 1:15
and what is lacking cannot be counted.”
The Preacher continued saying that in his heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after the wind.”
“For in much wisdom is much vexation,
Ecclesiastes 1:18
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
The Vanity of Self-Indulgence
In this section, the Preacher shows that mere pleasure cannot give meaning or satisfaction. He went on to explain all the things he himself experienced thinking they would bring pleasure: wine; built houses; planted vineyards; made gardens, parks, and pools; bought male and female slaves; had a lot of herds and flocks; had silver and gold and treasures; got singers; and had many concubines.
He became so great that he surpassed all who were before him in Jerusalem and his wisdom had stayed with him. Whatever his eyes desired, he did not keep away and he kept his heart from no pleasure, for he found pleasure in his toil; and all of this was the reward of his toil.
The Vanity of Living Wisely
Here the Preacher returns to the folly of trying to find satisfaction in merely human wisdom.
“Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly,
Ecclesiastes 2:13-14
as there is more gain in light than in darkness.
The wise person has his eyes in his head,
but the fool walks in darkness.
And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.”
He knew that what happens to the fool would happen to him also and questioned why he had been so wise. For both the wise and the fool there is no enduring remembrance, and their days would be long forgotten. The wise dies just like the fool.
The Vanity of Toil
“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, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?”
Ecclesiastes 2:18-19
The heart of Ecclesiastes and a repeating theme, is that only in God does life have meaning and true pleasure. Without Him nothing satisfies, but with him we find satisfaction and enjoyment. True pleasure comes only when we acknowledge and revere God.
A Time for Everything
For everything there is a season,
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task
This section discussed that there is nothing better than to be joyful and to do good as long as you live. Everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil, as that is God’s gift to man.
Whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so people fear before him.
“That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.”
Ecclesiastes 3:15
From Dust to Dust
This started out saying that no matter what, everyone under the sun there is wickedness; even in the place of justice and righteousness. God will judge the righteous and the wicked.
The Preacher discussed that God was testing humans so they could see that they themselves are but beasts.
“For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”
Ecclesiastes 3:19-20
This next part was sort of interesting as he continued on saying,
“Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of beast goes down into the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21
Evil Under the Sun
“Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil seeds that are done under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3
The theme of oppression runs throughout and is another ingredient in human tragedy. To find life meaningless is sad enough, but to taste its cruelty is bitter beyond words.
Another time the Preacher speaks of seeing vanity under the sun was when “one person had no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, ‘For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?'”
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Fear God
The theme of this section is the meaninglessness of superficial religion, as reflected in making rash vows. It says,
“When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than you should vow and not pay.”
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
The Vanity of Wealth and Honor
“If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.”
Ecclesiastes 5:8
It continues to say that whoever loves money will not be satisfied with just that, as it is only vanity. Greater wealth does not bring satisfaction; more so, greater wealth brings greater anxiety.
Then, it says how there is an evil under the sun that lies heavy on mankind.
“A man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is grievous evil.”
Ecclesiastes 6:2-2
At the end of today’s reading is questioned again, “For what advantage has the wise man over the fool?”
“Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 6:10-12