vanity of vanities, all is vanity

     reading through ecclesiastes, i'm struck by how hopeless it is. obviously, if you look at the title and background of this blog, i think that christianity is largely a path to hope. so why would a book of the bible seem to communicate hopelessness, instead of the amazing hope that the rest of the bible points to?
     i think it's because ecclesiastes isn't about christianity. obviously, being an old testament book, it couldn't be; but what i mean is that it isn't talking about life in the context of faith in god. it's talking about what life is without god -- and that, my friends, is utterly hopeless. it's vain. it's a worthless, pointless, reasonless existence, and nothing matters.
     there are two theories about the writing of the book of ecclesiastes: the first, that it's written in the style of king solomon, and imitating what it might be like if king solomon had written it; and second, that kind solomon wrote it. the biggest evidence for the first theory is that the bible records that solomon became apostate before he supposedly wrote this book. there is reason, however, to believe that there are documents we don't have which might record solomon's repentance and return to faith in god. if this is the case, and the second theory is true, it seems to fit the writing of this book perfectly, and it makes the book meaningful in that the experiences it describes are real and the author really has done what the book says he has done.
     all that said, i subscribe to the second theory, and this entry will be written assuming that king solomon really was the author of ecclesiastes, as tradition affirms. i think the message is most potent given this assumption. so, without further ado, let's jump in.
     the book of ecclesiastes is in large part about the meaninglessness of life. it talks about the futility of endless cycles of processes, like the rivers running to the ocean, yet the ocean never filling; or the sun constantly going around the earth. it talks about the futility of work, and pleasure, and of happiness. it talks about futility of living and dying, and ending up with no more than when you start. yet, in the end, this book leads to a message of hope.
     the vanity of the endless processes is one familiar to everyone. it doesn't just apply to natural cycles; how often do you feel like your life is repetitive and has lost its meaning? i know i too often get settled in a process of doing things that just goes in a cycle, and i end up detached and feeling unsatisfied with things. however, the bible gives us a message of hope, and a cure to break these cycles. it tells us that god's mercy is new with every morning -- it's not the same thing everyday; it's new! god's love and mercy defy the meaningless cycle of life, and give profound purpose to every moment.
     the worthlessness of things like progress, pleasure, and happiness are also apparent. when you look at the world, and see how far humanity has supposed come in the past few millenia, you must inevitably realize that, despite technological advances and improved understanding of things, people's lives are fundamentally unchanged. people have the same problems as they did thousands of years ago, and the modern man is just as discontent with his life as solomon was in old testament times. it's apparent that no true progress has been made; there is nothing new, and nothing worth seeking after. humanity has not discovered for itself a solution to feeling discontent and purposeless. again, the gospel intervenes with a message of hope. god has offered the world a gift that transcends the shallow problems of the world. he has offered us eternal life, true fulfillment, purpose, joy, and hope!
     yet again, ecclesiastes confronts us with more meaninglessness. solomon reaches the final, inescapable truth that everyone will die. you're born, you live, and you die. regardless of how your short, hopeless life goes, it gets erased in an instant. every conqueror of men is conquered by this ultimate conquerer of men, death. it is inescapable, unavoidable, and utterly final. it's not a fun thing to think about when you see that it's hopeless. but yet again, as solomon offers us more meaninglessness, god offers us meaning. christ has conquered the grave -- conquered death -- conquered the ultimate conquerer itself! through him, death is no longer a hopeless fate, but a glorious step into the next great adventure -- the true great adventure. we no longer turn no profit from our lives; rather, the things we do have eternal consequence, and therefore have eternal meaning!
     in the end, eccelsiastes offers a very brief response to the problem of meaninglessness. the solution? fear and obey god. solomon gives us a reason, too: it is so that we might be rewarded when god brings judgement to the acts of men! without god, there is no meaning; but in christ, we have purpose, meaning, and hope!