Ecclesiastes 1
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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.
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.
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.
12 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.
14 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.
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.
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.
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Commentary
Feelings of hopelessness. Everything seeming burdensome. Hard to get out of bed, to smile, to meet the requirements of life. An overwhelming burden. I’m being too emotional,I say. Settle down, take a deep breath, and think things through. It might help, maybe not. A good rational solution, informed by the best wisdom, should pull me out of it.
Some things in life really can’t be explained. Some injustices are painful to bear. Our hearts break when viewing the things that life too often throws at us, wearing us down.
We need better wisdom, wisdom which is as kind as possible but honest enough to face the problem straight on. God imbued Solomon with exceptional wisdom, wisdom from the Father, the Word, the Truth, and he accepted the challenge to try to make some sense out of it all.
God invites us to come to Him with our doubts, our despair, our desperate need for answers. God invites our honest seeking. Ecclesiastes 1 lays it all out, bare and painful, a clear statement of the problem. It doesn’t stop there, however. Stay tuned. God will draw you, step by step, into His perfect will, into actions that will prosper you and those around you. If you feel like you’re at the end, hold on.The Father isn’t done with you yet.
Art Kharns
Music Director, Simi Valley Seventh-day Adventist Church, California USA
