There is one book in the Bible I almost avoided reading, Ecclesiastes. It seemed so dark and so full of hopelessness. But isn’t that the very question this book wrestles with: What is the meaning of life? Why is it in the Bible, I often wondered. Had the author struggled with the same questions many of us today have?
The author of the book, Solomon, was supposed to be the wisest man in the world. Why was he saying that everything is vanity? That word vanity is repeated 40 times in Ecclesiastes. It is the translation of a Hebrew word, hevel, which means fleeting or temporary. Sometimes, hevel, is translated as meaningless.
A Search for Answers
We don't know if Solomon was thinking back to a time when he was living apart from God or, as some scholars speculate, at the moment he wrote the book he was out of fellowship with the Lord. As we walk through this book what we know is that we see someone not unlike ourselves.
We see a person genuinely searching for answers. Someone who doesn't seem to see, at first anyway, God working in their life.
What Is the Meaning of Life? What Ecclesiastes Tells Us
Twenty-nine times in Ecclesiastes he uses the expression, "Under the Sun." What is the meaning of life? What Ecclesiastes tell us is that these feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness are universal without God front and center in our lives.
Even today, people still search for a reason for living. To quote from Reddit, one person stated that, "the meaning to life is the meaning you give it". The author of Ecclesiastes tried giving his life meaning in several ways. None of them gave him the answers he was looking for.
When Life Feels Pointless
Ecclesiastes discusses the many ways that life can seem pointless to people. These feelings, these questions, are as common today as they were in Solomon's time. A student recently asked, "After university, all we do is work till we die? How do we create more meaning to life outside this??? I don't want this to be my life!" Surely there is more than this he is saying.
As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:18, "Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me." He looked on his works and labor and concluded it was all vanity. And if that is truly all there is to life, it would be.
Pursuing Fleeting Pleasures
He also tries what many still try today, alcohol (Ecclesiastes 2:3). Like many of those today he finds that this also is vanity. No matter how much he drinks, he finds no meaning to life in it. After seeking satisfaction in temporary pleasures, Solomon contrasts this with a deeper, more enduring source of fulfillment—gratitude and contentment in the blessings God provides.
Gratitude and Contentment
The author sought meaning in mirth, in pursuing all manner of pleasure and joys (Ecclesiastes 2:1). This too he finds to be vanity, without meaning. The expression many of us have heard, "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die," finds its roots in Ecclesiastes 8:15 when he says that under the sun there is nothing better than to eat, drink and be merry. This sounds like he's saying, "Go party because you never know when you're going to be dead."
But he is not promoting this hopeless philosophy. When read in the context of the chapter, Solomon is saying that we should be grateful for the blessings God provides. He also says in Ecclesiastes 3:13 "that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God." Solomon agrees with Paul in the New Testament that our blessings and our contentment should come from God.
In Philippians 4:11, Paul says he has found contentment in whatever situation he is in. While Solomon focuses on gratitude for earthly blessings, Paul speaks of a deeper, unshakable contentment rooted in his relationship with Christ, regardless of his circumstances. Both Solomon and Paul, therefore, point to a crucial truth: true fulfillment and meaning are found not in fleeting pleasures but in a right relationship with God, the giver of every good gift.
A Time for Everything
The author also teaches us that there is a time for everything in our lives in Ecclesiastes 3. You may have heard this passage read during a funeral. Solomon says, "There is a time for every purpose under Heaven," (Ecclesiastes 3:1) The seasons in our life, whether good or bad, don't happen by accident. They serve God's purpose for us. Meaning for our lives comes from understanding this.
Eternity in Our Hearts
Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has "put eternity in our heart." We have a desire, a deep longing, for something more than this life. Even for people who have never heard of God there is an awareness of something beyond time. Ecclesiastes reminds us that this longing, this "eternity in our hearts," as Solomon describes it, points us beyond the fleeting pleasures of this world to the One who placed that desire within us. Thankfully, God has provided a Way to reach eternity through His Son, Jesus.
Wrestling with Injustice
In chapter 8, Solomon asks the big question many of us have. Why do the evil prosper and the good experience bad things? In the author's view that there is nothing new under the sun, this makes life seem meaningless.
Without understanding eternity and the mercy of God, it would definitely seem pointless. Since none of us are truly good (Mark 10:18), perhaps the better question is why does God in His wonderful mercy ever show goodness to us at all?
Acknowledging God's Sovereignty
Gradually, Solomon comes to the realization that it is impossible to know and understand all the works of God (Ecclesiastes 8:17). We have to realize, just as God told us in Isaiah 55:8-9, that God's thoughts are not yours. His ways are not yours. His ways are higher.
Remembering God in Our Youth
The author realizes that the best way to live life is to "acknowledge God from your youth," (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Of all the lessons I wanted my children to learn this was, to me, the most important.
What is your life? Our life is short, as the author of James tells us, and it is but a vapor (James 4:14). The time we are given needs to be, as much as possible, lived for God. If we do, then we can live a life that is not filled with regret. We can live a life not so burdened with the consequences of our sin.
The Final Word: Fear God
Our desires, wants, needs, our search for meaning has not changed over the span of time. The author concludes in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 that this universal experience calls us to fear the Lord and obey Him.
He tells us that God will judge all our actions, even those done in secret. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus tells us that it is He who will judge all of mankind.
True Hope and Meaning
The book of Ecclesiastes ultimately wants us to realize that without God there really is no fulfillment, no hope in this life. Without God all our efforts to find purpose for our life will fall short. No amount of searching, drinking, partying, working, gaining wealth or any of our other pursuits will give us what we are looking for. As 1 Peter 1: 3-6, tells us only Jesus is "our living hope."
In John 6: 67-68, Jesus asks the disciples if they want to leave Him, like some others did who thought His teachings were too difficult. Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Once we believe in the Lord our response should be the same. To whom shall we go? There is no meaning without Christ because without Him our life is like a vapor—ultimately empty. He gives us purpose and hope, eternally.
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