ECCLESIASTES קהלת

To understand the statement “All is vanity”, we need to look at what Kohelet says about God’s position in our lives and his purpose. Everyone seeks to know the purpose of life. Tension builds throughout Ecclesiastes as the “Preacher” considers all his ways and actions.

For all intents and purposes, this book is a biography of what Solomon considered a vain life. “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:18).

He tested pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:1). He did great works (Ecclesiastes 2:4). He acquired many possessions (Ecclesiastes 2:7-8) and considered them his reward for all his toil (Ecclesiastes 2:10). He questioned his wisdom, for a fool would come to the same end as a wise person (Ecclesiastes 2:15).

He said, “How the wise dies just like the fool” (Ecclesiastes 2:16), and he “hated life” (Ecclesiastes 2:17) and despaired (Ecclesiastes 2:20). His heart and thoughts started turning toward his creator when he said, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)

Ecclesiastes is presented as the biography of “Kohelet” or “Qoheleth”; his story is framed by the voice of the narrator, who refers to Kohelet in the third person, praises his wisdom, but reminds the reader that wisdom has its limitations and is not man’s main concern.

Kohelet reports what he planned, did, experienced, and thought, but his journey to knowledge is, in the end, incomplete; the reader is not only to hear Kohelet’s wisdom but to observe his journey towards understanding and acceptance of life’s frustrations and uncertainties: the journey itself is important.

The book can be divided into two parts, part one comprising Ecclesiastes 1:4-6:12, and part two consisting of chapters 7 to 12, each commencing with a separate prologue.

Few of the many attempts to uncover an underlying structure to Ecclesiastes have met with widespread acceptance.; among them, the following is one of the more influential: Title (1:1) – Initial poem (1:2–11) – I: Kohelet’s investigation of life (1:12–6:9) – II: Kohelet’s conclusions (6:10–11:6), Introduction (6:10–12), A: Man cannot discover what is good for him to do (7:1–8:17), B: Man does not know what will come after him (9:1–11:6) – Concluding poem (11:7–12:8) – Epilogue (12:9–14).

Verse 1:1 is a superscription, the ancient equivalent of a title page: it introduces the book as “the words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem.”

The book of Ecclesiastes is foremost a study of philosophy for the faithful—about the purpose of life, what it means to be wise versus foolish, why terrible things often happen to the best of people, how to achieve self-fulfillment, and whether it is permissible for God’s people to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

The text starts out with a burst of gloom, rife with zingers such as, “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 NIV), or “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” (1:11), concluding Chapter One with, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (1:14).

Then it continues, in a meandering style, to point out what else is meaningless, everything from wisdom, folly, toil, and pleasure to riches, advancement, and ambition. Indeed, the narrator notes in 9:2, “All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.”

In the end, the only point to anything is God: giving him glory and honor, obeying his commands, and accepting that his way is supreme and humans are limited creatures with finite power, capacity, and capability. Therefore, we can feel free to enjoy life’s good times, understand hardship happens to us all, and know that there is no meaning to be found in life apart from the Lord, who reigns supreme overall. It ends with the instruction to “Fear God and keep his commandments” (12:13).

The book of Ecclesiastes contains proverbs, maxims, and sayings, and is largely an autobiographical story. The narrator had become aware of the mistakes that he made throughout his life and began to document them. The purpose of Ecclesiastes is to spare future generations the suffering and misery of seeking after foolish, meaningless, materialistic emptiness, and to offer wisdom by discovering truth in seeking after God.

Two phrases are repeated often in Ecclesiastes. The word “vanity”, and “meaningless” appears often, and is used to emphasize the temporary nature of worldly things. In the end, even the most impressive human achievements will be left behind. The phrase “under the sun” occurs 28 times, and refers to the mortal world. When the narrator refers to “all things under the sun,” he is probably talking about earthly, temporary, human things.

Ecclesiastes 1–2 The preacher concludes that everything in this life is vanity or fleeting and will not last. In support of this conclusion, he shares various efforts he made to find meaning and purpose in life. He sought after frivolity and pleasure, built “great works” (2:4), and gained riches but found that none of it satisfied him.

Ecclesiastes 3: The preacher explains that good and bad things happen to everyone. The works of man do not last. The works of God, however, are eternal.

Ecclesiastes 4–8: The preacher teaches that although this life is temporary and all will one day die, there are things we can do to find contentment in this life. He also identifies things that will surely lead to an unfulfilled life, including oppressing others, accumulating wealth for no other purpose than to have more than another, and failing to seek wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9–10: The preacher asserts that both the wicked and the righteous will experience tragedy. Everyone has a limited amount of time on this earth and will benefit much more from gaining wisdom than from gaining riches or power.

Ecclesiastes 11–12: The preacher concludes that unlike most things in life, obedience to God’s commandments is of lasting importance because one day we will die, our spirits will return to God, and he will judge us according to the way we lived during our mortal lives.