Ecclesiastes 1:1

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:1-8, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.[2] Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.[3] What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?[4] One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.[5] The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.[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.[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.[8] All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” The preacher said in verse 2, “All is vanity.” Why would he make such a statement about this life where there is so much opportunity and potential? The answer to that question is found in verse 3 that says, “What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?” The book of Ecclesiastes is a book that emphasizes the futility of human life if all that exists is human life on earth and nothing more. When reading this book, it is always good to remember what is said in the conclusion of the matter at the end of the book. It says in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”

The preacher asked a question in Ecclesiastes 1:3, “What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?” One of the benefits to being a Christian is that we have an answer to that question. If you are a Christian, and you have grown in the knowledge of Christ, then you know that you can dedicate everything that you do to the Lord Jesus and His glory, and when you do that, there will be a good purpose to all your labor. It says in First Corinthians 15:57-58, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.[58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

In verses 4 through 7 Solomon is trying to emphasize what to him is the vanity of life. He is trying to say that nothing ever really changes, and that is evidence of the vanity of life, and is evidence of the fact that your life and no one else’s life ever really changes anything. The rivers still flow to the sea. One day follows another. The wind still blows where it will. But this constancy is a great blessing. If this constancy means that no one is really going to change anything for good, then it also means that no one is really going to change anything for evil either. No matter who is president or leader of any country, and no matter how good or bad they are, nothing is really going to be changed by what they do. The rivers will still flow to the sea, one day will still follow the next, and the wind will still blow where it will. Why get so upset about what they do? And also the will die like everyone else. They change nothing. As it says in Ecclesiastes 1:4, “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.”

In Ecclesiastes 1:8 Solomon wrote, “All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.” When he said that all things are “full of labour,” Solomon meant that all things are a reason to be weary as one would be after performing much labor. He seems to be saying that you can see and see, and hear and hear, and never find the end of a matter. You can study any issue from a multitude of angles and keep going into a greater and greater detail about it. But looking at the positive side, that shows the wonder of life. And because everything in this world was created by the infinite God, we would expect all things to be “full of labor.” Life is interesting and full of wonder. No one should ever be bored. There is an unlimited supply of detail to investigate and to be the object of your enjoyment and pursuit.

It says in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, “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.[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.[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.” There are many often-quoted phrases in the book of Ecclesiastes. One of them is in verses 9 that says, “there is no new thing under the sun.” What we see happening today has happened before and will happen again. If it rains today, we know what it is all about because it has rained before. One of the implications of this principle is that we can learn from history. We should learn from history. Sometimes people ask the question, “Where do we see America in Bible prophecy?” Perhaps we see America in Bible prophecy when America eventually becomes part of Babylon as it is described in the book of Revelation. But we definitely see an example in history of what happens when a nation turns from God. It happened to Israel in the Old Testament, and the very same thing that happened to Israel in regards to their downfall might very well be happening to America. It says in Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” It also says in Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” If you want to know what happens to a nation that turns away from God, just look at history. “There is no new thing under the sun.” Whatever happened to the other nations who turned away from God will happen to your nation: and it will get ugly.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:12-13, “I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.[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.” Solomon is said to be the wisest man ever to live on the earth. Why did he have such wisdom? The answer to that is found in verse 13 that says, “And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom.” As a matter of fact wisdom is what Solomon desired more than anything else from God. It says in First Kings 3:5-12, “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.[6] And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.[7] And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.[8] And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.[9] Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?[10] And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.[11] And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;[12] Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.”

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 4:5-9, “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.[6] Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.[7] Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.[8] Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.[9] She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” If you have the attitude that King Solomon had in desiring wisdom, then you too can receive that gift. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” One of the benefits of being a Christian is that Jesus is our wisdom. The Bible says in Colossians 2:2-3, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;[3] In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Look to Jesus, and He will give you wisdom.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:14-15, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.[15] That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” One of the negative sides to learning a lot and having a lot of wisdom about what is really going on is that you see all of the bad things too. You understand what should be, but is not. You see the deceit and the fraud and the lying. You see the failures and mistakes and the errors. That is what Solomon was talking about when he said in verse 15, “That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.” This world is not going to be fixed by man’s efforts: “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.” Man is not good enough nor powerful enough to put in all the fixes that are needed. We need an Almighty Savior, and that is exactly what we have in Jesus. The world will be fixed and made straight, but not until Jesus does it. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that even as the world passes away on a downward course, we can grow in Christ and be on a path of improvement.

One of the results of having so much wisdom that enables one to see all the problems that exist in the world is stated in the last verses of Ecclesiastes chapter one. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, “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.[17] And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.[18] For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” The more that you know about what is going on in the world, the more that you will know that this world is very evil. All of the systems of this world operate in deceit, in lies, in cheating, in manipulation, and worse. To see these things and know what is really going on can truly be a source of “grief” and “sorrow.”

In order to avoid living in sorrow because of what he knew, Solomon attempted to use his knowledge to find a way to enjoy life. It says in Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, “I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.[2] I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?[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.” There is one small part of what Solomon said here that Christians can certainly agree with: enjoy life. Life was meant to be lived to the fullest: no doubt about it. Of course, live life to the fullest in the will of God and according to the Word of God. Jesus wanted His disciples to be happy. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Christians have more reason to enjoy life than anyone else. It says in Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” You can look at all the evil and failure around you and be sorrowful, or you can look to the Lord Jesus and leave all those things to Him and be joyful. The choice is yours.

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