1: Everything is meaningless — Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

1 The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
² “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher, 
“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
³ What do people gain from all the toil
at which they toil under the sun?
⁴A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
⁵The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises.
⁶The wind blows to the south,
and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
⁷All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow.
⁸All thingsare wearisome;
more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
or the ear filled with hearing.
⁹What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been,
in the ages before us.
¹¹The people of long ago are not remembered,
nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
by those who come after them.

¹² I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³ applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. ¹⁴ I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. 

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” ¹⁷ And I applied my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a chasing after wind.

¹⁸ For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. From the brief introduction, what can you conclude about the author [there’s more in the Introduction and Notes]?

2. What is the writer’s main point? How does the he reinforce this idea? What images does the writer use? Which image seems strongest to you? Why?

3. How does the author feel about history? About creativity? About memory?

4. What task did the writer undertake? How did he deal with it? What was the result of his efforts? What image does he use?

Get Personal

1. Do you agree “nothing under the sun is truly new?” Why do you think this way? What difference would thinking the other way make in your life?

2. How would you reconcile v. 18 with the statement that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom?” How does our relationship with Christ affect our view of life? Of the world? Of the future? 

1:1. Teacher – this is the only book that uses this particular Hebrew word, so its exact meaning is not clear. Other translations use “preacher” or “leader of the assembly.”
King David’s son – most scholars accept Solomon as the author, although some argue that the literary style comes from a period at least 500 years after the time of Solomon.
1:2. Meaningless – the Hebrew is even stronger, incorporating futile, worthless, empty, without value. NOTE: The NRSV retains the archaic language of the King James Version: Vanity of vanities,” says the Teacher, “vanity of vanities! All is vanity. Verse 2, above, is the New International Version (2011).
1:3. Gain – the Hebrew word refers to profit: what is left over, what value has increased.
Toil – the Hebrew phrase actually means “hard to do,” and includes concepts like burdensome, difficult, unpleasant or troublesome. David expressed a similar frustration: Surely everyone goes about like a shadow. Surely for nothing they are in turmoil, [Psalm 39:6, also Psalm 144:4].
Under the sun – the first use of this phrase (there are 28 more – sometimes it’s translated “under heaven”) limits the scope of the Solomon’s exploration and analysis to the natural world, with no examination of its spiritual aspect or future. Paul provides an interesting counterpoint to this picture: We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have he first fruits of the Spirit, [Rom 8:22-23]. 
1:4-8. A generation . . . sun . . . wind . . . streams – remember, Solomon is relying only on what he can observe. And what he sees is the apparently endless cycle of people and nature going through the “same old same old.” He also sees very little purpose to this activity, describing it as wearisome more than one can express, [v. 8]. In this, Solomon is confirming the prophecy of Genesis 3:19: By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

1:8. Not satisfied — an echo of Proverbs 27:20: Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and human eyes are never satisfied. 
1:9-11. Nothing new — the individuals may change, the location may change, the technology may be different, but the nature of the events and their outcomes are the same as before. Solomon had watched military campaigns change from his fathers foot soldiers to the horse-driven chariots his warriors used. He would definitely be surprised by the HumVee’s and radio-controlled unmanned aircraft in use today, but not by the objectives of the fighting.
Is this new — only God can do something that really has never been done before: I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, [Isa 43:19].
1:13. Wisdom — this is not the wisdom of Job [28:28] or Proverbs [1:7], which involves knowing our relationship to God. Solomon is here referring only to what he can understand with his five senses and his analytical ability. Paul put it bluntly in his first letter to the Corinthian church: Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; that they are futile,” [3:18-20].
1:14. Chasing after wind — a very appropriate visual image of meaningless effort with no gain. Solomon used it nine times in this book.
Interestingly, Jesus says the wind refers to the Holy Spirit: The wind blows where is chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Sprit, [John 3:18].
1:18. Wisdom . . . vexation — with his human wisdom and great resources Solomon could study much more than most people of his day (even without Wikipedia). But the only “reward” for his effort was more certainty that everything is meaning-less and the resulting increase in his grief, [v. 18].