Ecclesiastes 1: 12-18

Review

Last time we gathered together, we discussed the overall message of Ecclesiastes, as well as the first 11 verses of chapter one. To remind you of the basic premise of the book of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes is almost the counterpoint to the book of Proverbs.

In Proverbs 10:27, Solomon states “The fear of Yahweh prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.”

In Ecclesiastes 9:2, He says “It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.”

So Solomon tells us in Proverbs how things ought to go, and what we can plan for and expect, and Ecclesiastes is the response to life never going as planned.

Proverbs points us to earthly blessings; Ecclesiastes, seeing even the futility of earthly blessings, looks one step further; The preacher turns our hearts towards our final fate and our final end: judgement, death, and ultimate purpose.

I want to remind you of one of the core themes of this book, and wish to offer you a course correction on the matter; no, for of a shift in focus and emphasis.

Now the book opens up with the phrase: “Vanity of vanities”. I mentioned that the Hebrew word translated “vanity”is actually “hebel”, which means “breath”. Now listen to the sound of the verse translated with “breath” instead of “vanity”.

“Breath of breaths, says the preacher, breath of breaths! All is a breath.”

I want to emphasize here something that can be lost in the translation from the original Hebrew

The Vanity of Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 1:15 LSB

What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Ecclesiastes 7:13–14 LSB

See the work of God, For who is able to straighten what He has bent? In the day when there is good be of good cheer, But in the day when there is evil see— God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not find out anything that will be after him.