Lessons From Ecclesiastes – Lesson 2
Ecc 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Ecc 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Some books of the Bible the author is not clearly stated. Not so with Ecclesiastes. There is zero doubt that Solomon is the one that God chose to pen this scripture.
After stating that he is the author Solomon starts with the statement all is vanity. And then he is going to proceed to show how that is true as the book progresses.
I have brought it up many times. When readying the Bible you must keep in mind context and that there are 3 main contexts. 1) The surrounding verses, this is very critical. 2) Another critical context is the entire Bible.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God. Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The Bible has over 40 penmen but only 1 author. It is God’s book given to man.
God does not contradict Himself and He does not make mistakes. The Bible must be taken and understood as 1 complete book. Each of the 66 books do not stand alone.
Each one is just a part of the whole and must agree with the whole. If you think you find a contradiction, then the problem is that you are looking at something wrong.
Those 2 contexts, the surrounding verses, and the context of the entire Bible are always critical and they are always in effect. And they always come into play and always have a huge impact.
The 3rd context is the context of the individual book. This context is more important for some books than others. And for the book of Ecclesiastes the context of the book is huge.
At the end of the book Solomon gives the answer to the whole matter. To properly understand Ecclesiastes chapter 1 until the end you must take it in the context of the answer to the whole matter and the contrasting thoughts, hints, and foreshadowing of that answer that is presented throughout the book.
If you don’t take the entire book in the context of the answer at the end, then you are going to get confused. Actually more than confused, you can get hopeless, down, despondent, or even depressed.
You might even come to the wrong conclusion of what then is the point of anything.
You cannot take the opening statement
Ecc 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
And look at what Solomon writes thru the context of the opening statement alone. Or even the context of the surrounding verses.
You must also have the context of the answer to it all found at the end of the book.
From chapter 1 verse 2 until you get the answer to it all at the end there is something that is often unstated and implied. And that is alone, without.
So as we go thru this don’t think yea but. Or what about… But in this situation or that…
Solomon is writing this in a style of Hebrew poetry which is the arrangement of thought. In this book the vanity of something that is alone and without the answer is presented and proved.
Then the next thing and then the next thing. And then contrasted to that will be something presented that is NOT alone or without… And then it will be back to presenting something alone and without the answer.
After he goes thru a long list of things and things look pretty bleak and pointless then bam at the end the answer to the whole matter.
I think the goal is so the light bulb really goes off. I think the goal is to get the reader to really think this all thru. And since we are talking about the meaning of life, getting people to really think this all thru is a good thing.
Before Solomon gets into explaining the first thing that is vanity he is going to first give a general explanation about the temporary nature of things; of life.
Ecc 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
Ecc 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecc 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Ecc 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Ecc 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
On a side note, the Bible is not a book of science. However, every single place where the Bible mentions science it is always absolutely correct. In verse 6 is a description of the jet streams.
The Jet Streams go south and then bend and then go north and continue that trend. They have circuits. They do not stop. They travel and return again and their travel is not haphazard or unpredictable. It is according to their circuits, their paths.
Yes their paths move some from time to time but it is always traveling its circuit.
Verse 7 is the description of the water cycle. The water runs to the sea but the sea never fills up and the water never stops running. Because the water leaves the sea via evaporation and travels and falls where the rivers come from and then they return again.
It is a continual cycle that never stops. Once again the Bible is 100 percent correct. Men today will give credit to some scientist for figuring these things out, but it was in the Bible thousands of years ago.
Solomon uses the Jet streams and the water cycle as object lessons that show the passing of time and how creation does not stop. The earth and life continue marching on.
He contrasts this with man and shows it is completely different with us.
Ecc 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Contrasting one thing with another is a large tool in Hebrew poetry, the arrangement of thought.
Two things are set side by side here. The earth and how it operates and never stops, it never passes away. And man comes and goes. A generation of men come and dies and another generation comes but they also die.
The fact that our lives are short is contrasted with the earth abiding forever. And that will be true until the end of the 1,000 reign and the ushering in of Eternity when time will be no more.
Ecc 1:8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Things that are done have been done before and will be done again.
Ecc 1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Some might say, I got you here. Electricity, computers, internet, all of those are new and were not done before of old.
All of the things done with them or on them are not new however. Work, greed, lust, entertainment, power, manipulation, ect… All of the basic things of life; none of it is new. And that is what this book is talking about.
It is talking about the meaning of life. This book is not talking about technology. New technology only lets you go about let’s say work in a new way, but it is still work. Done for the same reasons and same motivations.
So in the context of the book of Ecclesiastes which is the meaning of life, verse 9 and 10 are 100 percent correct.
Ecc 1:9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecc 1:10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Solomon finishes his opening discussion about the temporary nature of life with verse 11.
Ecc 1:11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
This is so very true. Go ask somebody who won the super bowl in 1982. Go even ask a person who loves football so much they spend thousands of dollars on season tickets. And they can’t tell you.
O’ there no doubt is maybe a few that will know that, but only a few out of millions of people.
And that is the super bowl that has huge marketing and a huge number of people watching and the winner is announced on every newscast and in every media outlet.
This is also true for the rulers of nations. After some time passes no one remembers much about them. Go forward some more time and they are no longer on people’s minds but only in a few history books.
And those are people who are leaders of nations who have a large amount of power and influence. There are a few names that are remembered a little. Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Peter the great.
But while some know their names, what did they do, and what were they like. Very little is remembered and that little bit is only remembered by a tiny number of people and as time passes it gets less and less.
It is even more true for the average joe.
One of the reasons that Putin invaded Ukraine is because he wants to be remembered on the level with Peter the Great. That is vanity of vanities.
Ecc 1:11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
While people might remember George Washington and a few things he did now, even that will end one day. The tribulation will come and if you remember the destruction. There are disasters that destroy large parts of the earth.
And those beasts that were released to kill 1/3 of the people alive. That is not the total that die. Many died before they were released and many more die after. And with all of that destruction you will no longer have high tech and a power grid.
Jesus taught that if the time of the tribulation was not shortened that no flesh would survive.
The armies go back to having to use horses. By the time the 1,000 year reign starts no one is going to remember those that went before or what they did.
Solomon starts off by pointing out the temporary nature of this life and what you accomplish. And this is the first foreshadowing of the answer that is revealed at the end.
One thing that is missing in this opening section is obvious as soon as I say it. This is presented without eternity in view. It is you live and you die life is temporary no one remembers what you did and that is it.
And without eternity Solomon’s presentation is absolutely correct. Without eternity live is temporary and without any long term meaning or purpose.
The N.T. says that without the resurrection we are most miserable.
1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Solomon is starting off by giving his readers a hard look of what this life is alone and without.
Alone and without several things and in the start we see life alone and without eternity.
Next comes the The Vanity of Wisdom
Ecc 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Ecc 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ecc 1:15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Ecc 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
Ecc 1:17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
Ecc 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
The more you know, the more you understand that what is wanting cannot be numbered. Wanting as in lacking. Not sufficient.
The more you know the more you see that is crooked and cannot be made straight. Talking about sin and corruption. All of the wisdom and knowledge cannot fix everything and the more you know the more you see that is wrong.
Many liberals that are in education industry fall for the error that if we only had more knowledge and more education then we can fix everything. No way.
True knowledge and wisdom will teach you that you can’t make the crooked straight and that what is wanting is so much that it cannot even be numbered.
So following in and trusting in wisdom and knowledge alone and without… only brings grief and vexation of spirit.
Next is the Vanity of Self-Indulgence
Ecc 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.
Ecc 2:2 I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
Ecc 2:3 I 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.
Self-indulgence and the pursuit of entertainment is at epidemic levels in our country in our day.
Solomon had the resources and power to pursue every pleasure that the world had to offer. He is writing from experience here. He could afford anything. He found that the pursuit of pleasure is also vanity.
In the end what good is it? You have fun, then it is over, time passes, it fades away, and what did it accomplish? At best you have some memories, but then you get old and the memory fades.
Again remember Solomon is writing this with the implied alone and without…
Self-Indulgence just for the sake of self-indulgence is vanity.
Next is the vanity of having and building things.
Ecc 2:4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:
Ecc 2:5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
Ecc 2:6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:
Ecc 2:7 I 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:
Ecc 2:8 I 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.
Ecc 2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.
Ecc 2:10 And 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.
Ecc 2:11 Then 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.
Pursuing things and possessions alone and without… has an emptiness to it. Some of the most miserable people in the world are those who have it all.
There is an emptiness to all of those riches and possessions. They cannot give lasting purpose and satisfaction. Examples of this are everywhere, from Bill Gates to Rockefeller to Taylor Swift.
Solomon tried it, he built it all and had it all and examined it and it was all vanity.
Next is the Vanity of Living Wisely
Ecc 2:12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
Ecc 2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
Ecc 2:14 The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
Ecc 2:15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
Ecc 2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
Ecc 2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Live wisely and you die. Live like a fool and you die. No difference. Either way it is all forgotten. All of that effort and discipline in the end was for nothing.
Remember the implied alone and without…
One more today. The Vanity of Toil
Ecc 2:18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.
Ecc 2:19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
You work and slave away and build something and as the old saying is you can’t take it with you. The crazy Egyptian Pharoah’s hated that truth and they tried to get around it and take it with them.
So they built tombs and crammed their stuff in them and killed the workers to try to hide the location. But as you know all that stuff stayed behind and it all ended up in musems or in some collectors home. Or the gold melted down.
In the end the results of your toil goes to someone else because you will die.
Alone and without the answer at the end of the book, things are looking really bleak and this is just the 2nd chapter. Without the answer is despair and vanity and hopelessness and what is the point and why bother.
Ecc 2:20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
Ecc 2:21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
Ecc 2:22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
Ecc 2:23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
Now comes another hint and foreshadowing of the answer that comes at the end.
Ecc 2:24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
Ecc 2:25 For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
Ecc 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
There is a God.
God gives to man what is good in His sight. Being able to eat and drink and work and that he can make his soul enjoy good in his labor. That is possible and that is from the hand of God.
To a man that is good in God’s sight. So a man who is walking with God, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy.
That is contrasted to the sinner who gets travail. And a lot of it to gather and heap up.
And look at what happens to the sinner, he gives to the man that is good before God. For the sinner that is vanity and vexation of spirit.
So before verse 24 everything has been presented with the implied alone and without God.
Now we have this contrast presented that life does not have to be that way. There is a God and things change, they are different when a man is walking good in His sight.
There can be wisdom and knowledge and real joy.
This is just a hint, a foreshadowing of the full answer to come at the end.
Think about this, what world view is Solomon presenting up until chapter 2 verse 24?
We will talk about that next time.
See more lessons from Ecclesiastes