Ecclesiastes
Vanity of vanities, all is
vanity. This theme marks the Book of Ecclesiastes. There is a melancholy strain
that runs throughout, so different from the buoyant joy of the Psalms.
David was forever shouting
"rejoice, sing, praise God, shout for joy." Solomon, sitting in
peaceful security with riches, honor, splendor, undreamed of power, and living
in the lap of almost fabled luxury, was the one man in all the world whom men
would have called happy. But was he?
This book, with its
unceasing refrain of "all is vanity" which is the product of
Solomon's old age, leaves us with the distinct impression that he was an
unhappy man. The word "vanity" occurs 37 times.
The key thought of the book
may be "eternity." God has set eternity in the hearts of men. In the
inmost depths of his being, there is a longing for things eternal, a nostalgia
for God. In its most sublime moments, the soul of man dreams of a long lost
garden where God is known in loving fellowship. Nothing temporal or earthly can
satisfy his longing. There is something missing in his life and all that
surrounds him. Only in Jesus Christ, who brought life and immortality to light
through the Gospel, can man be complete.
Solomon saw earthly life at
its best. He seemed to have made it his business in life to see how good a time
he could have. Now he looks at life and concludes that the way he lived his
life was all vanity and vexation of spirit. There was nothing to it.
God gave Solomon wisdom and
great opportunity to observe and explore every avenue of earthly life. After
much research and experiment he concluded that, on the whole, humanity found
very little solid happiness in life. He found in his own heart an unutterable
yearning for something beyond himself. Thus this book is sort of an expression
of humanities cry for a savior. When Jesus came the cry was answered. Jesus
never once used the word "vanity," but spoke of joy, peace, and the
full, glorious, abundant eternal life.
The writer says that he
drank deeply from the various springs of pleasure, wealth, knowledge and so on.
When he says that they left him dissatisfied, you and I can easily see how that
could be true. The spirit within us cannot be satisfied by bread alone. Water
in itself is good and meets a vital need, but it does not meet the requirements
of hunger. We can quench our thirst and drink to the full, and still die of
starvation. Why?
Because the whole physical
man and his needs were not ministered to. The demands of the physical life may
be gratified, and those of the intellectual life and the spiritual side of man
die of starvation. From that standpoint the soul will call out, "vanity of
vanities, all is vanity."
He says that however one may
distort the truth of things, deny the eternal realities of God, and set his
life to indulge in sinful pleasures, it does not alter the fact that God is
watching and judgment is awaiting us for the deeds of this life. Ecclesiastes
12:13,14 says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall
bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil."
© Copyright
2002, LeRoy Eims