I must confess that there are a few books of the Bible that I often come back to from time to time for guidance, comfort, wisdom, or some other reason. And much to my chagrin, there are books which I often forget about and don’t consider when I am seeking our Lord’s voice.
One such book is the book of Ecclesiastes. I know that I’ve read it through before, but it had been years, so I read it again this week and wow, it is bleak. The author, the “Preacher” who may have been Solomon, works through topic after topic and declares it all “vanity” or “dust” (meaningless and without substance). He writes of work, or toil, and says that is vanity. He relates how he sought out the pleasures of this life, and denied himself nothing, and that too is vanity. He even speaks of wisdom, that the wise man and the fool both die and are forgotten, so even wisdom itself is vanity.
Even the conclusion of the book lacks any positivity or a sense of hope for people to hold onto in a world that the Preacher sees as meaningless vanity. The book ends with these words:
Now brothers and sisters, I hope you won’t misunderstand. I value the wisdom found in Ecclesiastes, even though it is challenging to read. And, it is true, that the duty of Man is to fear God and keep His commandments, to do what He created us to do. God’s future judgment should motivate us to seek good and to turn from evil.
At the same time, there is much in Ecclesiastes which can be true, that much of life is meaningless. It can be incredibly difficult to find meaning in doing the dishes every week, or in washing the laundry, in mowing the lawn or filling up the car with gas, or in a thousand other tasks which are necessary but not eternally meaningful on their own. And yet, we Christians have a motivation for our work, our toil, that the Preacher did not have. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 6:
Our deeds, our work and our toil, are not meaningless when they are done in service and in glory to God. Our lives are not merely vanity, a chasing after the wind, because God has given our work meaning. If we continue in our good work, even when it is dull and repetitive and seems meaningless, it will be rewarded, as it says in Galatians.
There is much that can be said for this present world which is afflicted with Sin and brokenness to a level that is hard to comprehend. It is easy to agree with the Preacher that all is vanity. But I hope today you will agree with the last statements of Ecclesiastes, that our duty is to fear God and keep His commandments. We are called to love others, to create beauty, to steward the world He has given us, to share the Gospel, to pray for each other. Let us endeavor to live lives full of meaning as we accomplish the good works set before us.
God’s Wisdom and Power be with you all,
Noah