UBF Daily Bread

MEANINGLESS! MEANINGLESS!

Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:1~18

Key verse: 1,2

Everything Is Meaningless

1 The words of the Teacher,^[a]^(A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:^(B)

²“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”^(C)

³What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?^(D)
⁴Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.^(E)
⁵The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.^(F)
⁶The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.^(G)
⁸All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,^(H)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;^(I)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹No one remembers the former generations,^(J)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.^(K)

Wisdom Is Meaningless

¹²I, the Teacher,^(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.^(M) ¹³I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.^(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!^(O) ¹⁴I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.^(P)

¹⁵What is crooked cannot be straightened;^(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;^(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,^(S) and also of madness and folly,^(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

¹⁸For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;^(U)
the more knowledge, the more grief.^(V)

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES

Ecclesiastes comes from a Hebrew word meaning 'Preacher' or 'one who addresses the assembly.' It is translated 'Teacher' in the NIV. Traditionally, King Solomon is the author. Solomon was a man whom God blessed with great wisdom, as well as with honor and wealth. The Queen of Sheba once traveled from the ends of the earth to hear his wisdom and see his wealth, and she left satisfied. He built the glorious temple. He had a thousand wives. He acquired everything for which most men strive. Now, with most of his life behind him, he realizes that without God, material things and human success have no meaning or purpose. Nothing--not even great learning and wisdom, not even human love can satisfy a man's inner thirst.

His climax and conclusion is found in 12:13: 'Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.' If we keep this conclusion in mind as we read, we can hear the unspoken message of every chapter: The worldly life, with no spiritual side, and no hope in heaven is meaningless. Only life in God is eternal. The world cannot satisfy; but God abundantly satisfies our souls when we seek and trust him.

1. Meaningless! (1-11)

When one looks at the world from a human point of view, he sees how man toils to stay alive--only to return to dust. Nothing is ever satisfied. The sea is never full, though all streams flow to it. The eye never sees enough. Nothing seems to have meaning. There is nothing new under the sun. How boring it is to live without meaning! But God created this world and he is still working in it. He began human history and he will end it. God's people live in God's history; they have meaning and purpose.

2. Chasing after the wind (12-18)

Some people think that much study will fill the emptiness of their lives. The writer studied hard, but found that the wisdom and knowledge he acquired only gave him a heavier burden. He decided that all things done under the sun were like chasing the wind--meaningless. God made us for himself; we can only find meaning in him.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to walk with you and see the world from your perspective.

One Word: Meaningless without God