Vanity- emptiness; want of substance to satisfy desire; uncertainty; fruitless desire or endeavor; Trifling labor that produces no good; Untruth; Empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle show; unsubstantial enjoyment; Ostenation; arrogance; Inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride; conceit over personal attainments or decorations.
Webster’s Dictionary; 1677
Reading Ecclesiastes 1 with that definition in mind certainly deepens the meaning in Solomon’s words. (V. 2) “Vanity of vanities… Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” This verse literally says, “emptiness of emptinessess, all is empty and unable to satisfy.”
Nothing produces good. No work that is done is good.
“What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.”
Ecclesiastes 1:3-4
These verses speak to the issues directly; that nothing we do changes the cycle of life. The next couple of verses look at the earth on a macro scale, showing that the wind still follows its course, as do day and night. The endless circles are unaffected by us and our labors. Any pride we feel in what we accomplish is pointless, and the things we aspire to accomplish are also empty and we remain unsatisfied.
“All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.”
Ecclesiastes 1:8-11
To me, this is one of the funniest passages in the Bible. Maybe I just have a dry, morbid sense of humor, but the fact that, as excited or worried as we get over discoveries and events, none of it is new like we think it is, is something I find particularly funny. There is nothing new. New does not exist, only “new to me.” To some, this is very depressing, because it’s hard to see the point of anything. Why do we work? Why do we learn? Why do we even get up in the morning? It’s a depressing rabbit hole if that’s all you get from this passage. But let’s move on.
“And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.”
Ecclesiastes 1:13
This verse is very important. Do not skip over it, especially if you find this passage to be depressing. Solomon, with his God-given gift of wisdom, the wisest man in history, sought to find the purpose of work and activity. Just in stating what he wanted to learn about, he begins to give us the answer: “this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.” God purposed to give us things to do and discover, again and again, in order to exercise us.
His conclusion to this research?
“I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14
What is he saying? He knows that God has appointed us to do work and to learn and to be busy about things her on earth, but what Solomon realized as he studied the activities of man was that there is no value to the activities themselves! None! If God had not appointed us to do them, there would be no point to our activities other than to sustain the cycle of life that already exists.
“And I set my heart to known wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”
Ecclesiastes 1:17-18
Solomon sees, through his gift of wisdom, his God-given gift, that there isn’t even any value in the wisdom or maturity or foolishness taken out of their God-appointed context. Do you ever wonder why there is so much worry and depression in the world? Solomon, without yet saying so outright, is telling us that the reason is godlessness! In having much wisdom, the follow of the world becomes obvious and the wise are grieved. Those who know more about the state of the world, even just those who stay up-to-date on the news, are more sorrowful and stressed because they have an understanding and awareness of the godlessness, even if they don’t realize that is what they are seeing.
Abrigail Julian: 