10.20.21
Vanity Found in Nature
All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. (Ecclesiastes 1:8)
Solomon set out to solve a puzzle that he saw in life. Wherever he looked, life seemed to be a series of circles. He saw a lot of effort and exertion, but no meaningful progress. Therefore, he concluded that life is meaningless or puzzling. It is this puzzle that he set out to solve in this Book.
We are focusing our thoughts today on Ecclesiastes 1:1-8. You will note the exasperation that Solomon expresses.
He began the book by giving his initial verdict on life: Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (1:2) He will also utter these same words at the end of his observations (12:8). These words bookend his look at life before he gives his conclusion. (12:9-14). If his observation is correct, than life does not make sense. It is just all an endless circle. It is vanity.
What profit can a person have for all of his effort in life under the sun? (3) This is the central question of the book. After subtracting life’s pains and problems from its pleasures, is there anything left over?
Vanity speaks of breath. It speaks of the shortness of life. Man is keenly aware that life is short, but apart from God, he is unable to find any fulfillment or meaning. Even wisdom, goodness, power, and wealth don’t seem to bring any advantage by themselves.
Solomon formed his examples of the vanity of life by that which was around him. He took the assumptions most people have and reasoned from them. People have questions and fears. Often they try to drown these with frenzied work or hollow amusements. Yet the nagging questions remain. Will there be any value to what I am putting into life? Life can only end with a bitter taste when one does not put God at the center.
Solomon got much of his evidence of the vanity of life from nature and from history. Thus he looked at life ‘under the sun.’ Let us look first at what he saw in nature.
One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth abides forever. The sun also arises, and the sun goes down, and hastes to his place where he arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from where the rivers come, there they return again. All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing (4-8).
Solomon saw the same picture everywhere he looked—things change yet everything stays the same. The rising sun, the wind and the cycle of water present great examples of endless repetition. After looking at these three things, as well as many more events in life, Solomon concluded, “All things are full of labor” (8). Things change all around, but nothing really changes. Consequently, what he saw in nature did not bring him satisfaction. Looking at life without taking God into account produces only frustration and heartache.
What about you…have you found the satisfaction and joy in life that only Christ can provide?