ALL IS VANITY

"What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever. The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, 'See, this is new'? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after." Eccl. 1:3-11

So says Solomon, son of David, king in Jerusalem…as he identifies himself in verse one.. "All is vanity" he says. He does not refer to the conceited pride that some display in their attitudes toward themselves and others. What Solomon refers to is the emptiness of life…without God.

"Behold, You have made my days as short as hand widths, 

And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.

Surely every man at his best is a mere breath,

a wisp of smoke,

a vapor that vanishes! Selah.

Surely every man walks around like a shadow in a charade; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them. And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope my confident expectation is in You." Ps. 39:5-7

It is the lack of fulfillment in every venture that will not stand in eternity. It is the uselessness of all effort that is not for God’s service. It is the futility of profit which will decay with the flesh of both the wealthy and the poor. It is the disappointment of covetousness because one can never have enough. It is our inability to save ourselves from death. All of the money; all the possessions; all the real estate; all the “toys;” all the power; all the monuments; all the achievements; all the honors; all the praises of men; all the science; all the “religion” …in the world (under the sun), can not provide any escape from death. Death is the same end for everyone. Nothing of status, power or wealth changes that fact.

In chapter 6, Solomon writes…
"There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction." Eccl. 6:1-2

Solomon refers to the accumulation of wealth, power, influence… (so that he lacks nothing for himself of all that he desires…this is key because it, no doubt, refers to himself), and then death comes and someone else gets to enjoy or squander it (perhaps referring to his son).
And then there is the parable of the Rich Fool in Luke…
"And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:19-21
Both lessons having application for us today.

Ecclesiastes can be a difficult book and it has its controversy among “scholars”.

[There are indeed many things in this book which are dark and hard to be understood, and some things which men of corrupt minds wrest to their own destruction, for want of distinguishing between Solomon's arguments and the objections of atheists and epicures; but there is enough easy and plain to convince us (if we will admit the conviction) of the vanity of the world, and its utter insufficiency to make us happy, the vileness of sin, and its certain tendency to make us miserable, and of the wisdom of being religious, and the solid comfort and satisfaction that are to be had in doing our duty both to God and man.] ~Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

To the undiscerning, the book ECCLESIASTES by the preacher/teacher reads like the despondent declamation of a failure at life whose only recourse then, would be to end it all. Nothing could be further from the truth! It is the insightful declaration of a man who HAS had ALL of BOTH… a bountiful relationship with God and an opulent, decadent relationship with the world… and KNOWS what is meaningless and worthless in the eternal. The author says…
"I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven…" Eccl. 1:13 (emphasis mine).
His goal, his focus, his commitment was to learn everything about everything under heaven, (1 Kings 4: 29-34).

We should note and contemplate that this was a man given the capacity to know everything anyone could ever want or need to know…under heaven. The LORD had appeared to Solomon in a dream and God said, "Ask what I shall give you". And because Solomon, in humility, asked not for riches, nor long life, nor vengeful things, nor anything selfish…but that he would have wisdom in governing God’s people… God responded,
"…behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 1 Kings 3:12,13

The “wisdom of Solomon” is a reputation of understated proportion. He is sometimes spoken of as “having his moments of wisdom” when in fact he was up to that point in history, and this point in time, the wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived!

“Wisdom” can be defined as… ability to make sensible decisions and judgments on the basis of knowledge and experience. (Encarta) …and, according to the Merriam-Webster, Wisdom is defined as…
Knowledge: accumulated philosophic or scientific learning...
Insight: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships...
Judgment: good sense.
These definitions will do for our “under the sun” scenario, but in reality, the definition of "wisdom" is beyond dictionaries. REAL wisdom is the God-given ability to make RIGHTEOUS decisions and judgments.


Solomon was also a man given the wealth of the world. God said to Solomon,
"…wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like." 2 Chron. 1:12
And yet, Solomon speaks of vanity over and over again throughout the book in every chapter except chapter 10, not as a man walking with God but as a man who had become grossly involved with the world. Solomon had become apostate. And while some believe he had not repented, I believe he did. Solomon shares the fact that satisfaction in life does not come from riches or the accumulation of things or even personal accomplishments. Nothing Solomon had or did could afford him such a happiness as satisfies the soul. Why? Because the soul was made for God, and in the possession of Him alone can it find happiness. Compare with... "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33

The observations he makes are echoed throughout the Bible. Scofield, in his notes, describes vanity as “the emptiness in final result of all life apart from God. It is to be born, to toil, to suffer, to experience some transitory joy (which is as nothing in view of eternity), to leave it all, and to die" ~ C.I. Scofield.

And Paul declares it. He says, "For the creation was subjected to futility (vanity), not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God". Rom. 8:20,21
Creation is subjected to misery and vanity, not willingly as man did, but because of man; the corruption permeated all of man's realm. But God subjects it also to the same hope of deliverance out of that bondage of corruption (in which it groans waiting for redemption) into the glorious liberty of the children of God

The cumulative effect of Solomon’s spiritual decline, idolatry and life of self-indulgence left him at the end disillusioned with pleasure and materialism as a way of happiness. Ecclesiastes records his cynical reflections about futility and emptiness of seeking happiness in life apart from God and his word. He had experienced wealth, power, honor, fame and sensual pleasure --- all in great abundance --- yet they added up in the end to emptiness and disillusionment. "Meaningless! Meaningless! -- Everything is Meaningless".
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Mark 8:36

Isn’t this perhaps an excellent way for God to teach us of the absolute bankruptcy of everything the world has to offer? What better way to teach us than by example. Solomon is our example.
Matthew Henry says…

Every thing is as God made it; not as it appears to us. We have the world so much in our hearts, are so taken up with thoughts and cares of worldly things, that we have neither time nor spirit to see God's hand in them. The world has not only gained possession of the heart, but has formed thoughts against the beauty of God's works. We mistake if we think we were born for ourselves; no, it is our business to do good in this life, which is short and uncertain; we have but little time to be doing good, therefore we should redeem time. Satisfaction with Divine Providence, is having faith that all things work together for good to them that love Him. God doeth all, that men should fear before him. The world, as it has been, is, and will be.

In the celebrated third chapter, Solomon writes of a paradox… the constant mutability of life. There appear to be 14 positive things and 14 negative things, or opposites…or cancellations. There is an ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning; from one extreme to the other and we are powerless to change things. The world relives what was and what will be, over and over. He begins with…
we are born and then we die; we plant and then we harvest; we kill and we heal; we break down and we build up; we weep and we laugh; we mourn and we dance; we get and then we lose; we rip and we sew; there is a time to keep silent and then there is a time in which to speak;
we love and then we hate; a time of war and a time of peace. 

But now contemplate on this “life of the world” over and over again…the constant changing of the times; the repeatability of life. What an empty vain existence I read from that. The soul is not happy with any of that. The soul is not satisfied with any of that. Neither will it ever be because the soul was made to have a relationship with God; for God to love and to be loved back.

"All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled." Eccl 6:7
All the labor of man - work yourself to death, driven by carnal lusts; and because man cares more for this than for his spiritual well being, the appetite-the intense desire to fill that void-is never satisfied. Until man learns to provide for his soul as he does for his body, he will never be happy or satisfied…and then he dies.
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Matt 4:4
The only real satisfaction is communion with God; and I do not mean once a month or even once a week. As always, the Lord Jesus is our example. The four Gospels offer us abundant examples of Jesus’ walk here on Earth, in communion with God the Father.
"Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." John 4:34

But Solomon also grieves over injustice, wickedness, and inequalities as existing with righteousness. He speaks of evil many times. Interesting that he should note…
"Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked;" Eccl. 8:11-13a
This is so relevant today!
"For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin." Eccl 7:20
"There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." Rom.3:10-12

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." Eccl. 12:13,14
Jesus summarized the message of Ecclesiastes when He said,
"Whoever drinks of this water [the world] will thirst again" John 4. 13.
Only God can fill the vacuum of the human heart. The way of fulfillment is to get above the sun where Christ sits at the right hand of God.

"As you do not know what is the way of the wind,

Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,

So you do not know the works of God who makes everything."
Eccl. 11:5