Ecclesiastes 1

Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3 What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? 4 One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.

After a life of knowledge without Wisdom— of understanding without obedience— I believe the Solomon wrote this book in his old age, as proof that he finally obtained the Wisdom that God has promised him in 1 Kings 3.

“The name Ecclesiastes is derived from the Greek word ekklesia, which means ‘the assembly’ or ‘the church.’ It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Qohelet, which comes from the Hebrew word qahal. An old Jewish commentary (Qohelet Rabbah 1:1) explains that Qohelet was so called because it refers to 1 Kings 8, where qahal means ‘ the assembly’ to whom Solomon was preaching [at the dedication of the Temple] ... Indeed, the word qahal occurs seven times in that setting. (1 Kings 8:1, 2, 14, 22, 55, 65)” (Jacques B Doukhan)

Where did we come from and where are we going? “A superficial reading of Qoheleth (Preacher) may lead one to believe he is a man with a decidedly negative view of life in its many facets... What exactly is Qoheleth's view of the world and of life? What was the source of his ethics? Is Qoheleth the record of a man's search for meaning gone awry, ending in cynicism? Or, is it the book of a godly wise man who gives orthodox counsel for directing one's path through the labyrinth of life?” (Ardel B Caneday) I believe that the latter is true. And that he here speaks in the context of Biblical Creation, as well as the Fall of mankind.

Context of the book– Creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Gen 1:1-5) Before the first Words of Creation, there was nothing. Afterwards, the earth was “without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” The Spirit of God was separate yet fluttering over the face of the deep of the waters of the earth. And then, “God wished light to be there, but how could there be light when all was darkness? Again He spoke. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. Whence came the light? The word which was spoken, itself produced the light. ‘The entrance of thy words giveth light.’( Ps 119:130)” (A. T. Jones) And then as a crown of His creation, at the end of Creation week— six “evenings” and “mornings”— the LORD formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he (man or adam) became a “chey nephesh” – a living soul or being. (Genesis 2:7) We are but dust sustained by God's breathe.

The Fall– “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': Cursed is the ground for your sake…” (Gen 3:17) “The Hebrew phrase בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ (ba’avurekha) is more literally translated ‘on your account’ or ‘because of you.’ The idiomatic ‘thanks to you’ in the translation tries to capture the point of this expression. ‘In toil (`itstsabown) you shall eat of it all the days of your life.’(Gen 3:17) Adam would have to toil hard to obtain a living from the ground (vv. 17-18). Adam already had received the privilege of enjoying the garden (2:15), but this did not require strenuous toil...” (Henry Constable) as it now would.

“‘The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem’ (Eccl 1:1) This verse is supplemented by Eccl. 1:12 in the words, ‘over Israel’, a word which includes all of the Chosen People; and this limits the identification to Solomon, because he is the only son of David that ever ruled over the entire Israel in Jerusalem. If anything else had been intended as the meaning here, the words would have read, ‘over Judah in Jerusalem’” (Burton Coffman)

“‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ (Eccl 1:2)

“The NRSV translates it as ‘vanity’…the TNIV as ‘meaningless,’ the Anchor Bible as ‘vapor,’ and the New JPS Bible as ‘futility’ or seven other words, depending on the context.” (Sidney Greidanus) The modern definition of “vanity” is egoism and pride but, what the Preacher means here is a vapor or transient state. It is best defined as “a light wind, a puff, a breath that passes away instantly.” (J. Parker, DD) Symbolically, the proper name of righteous “Abel” is the Hebrew “Hebel.” Egoism was not a characteristic of his, but rather he lived a righteous life, making a more perfect excellent sacrifice than his brother (Heb 11:4), then passed he from this world in an untimely death. "The repletion of the word [hebel] in verse 2 is emphatic similar to ‘Song of Songs’ and ‘holy of holies’’ that is everything is utterly temporary.” (Richard Schultz)

There was another simular lesson. When Solomon was addressing the assembly at the dedication of the first temple, the Scriptures tell us in 1 Kings 8:2 “that the event took place on the seventh month, Tishri (September / October), during the feast, that is, the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot (see Ezekiel 45:25; Nehemiah 8:14; John 7:37). Sukkot was the moment when the Israelites were supposed to remember their passage in the wilderness, when they lived in tents; it was therefore a festival associated with the transitory character of life. Significantly, the book of Ecclesiastes is the biblical book that is supposed to be read in the booths in order to accompany the liturgical flow of the Feast of Tabernacles. Biblical tradition has associated the dedication of the temple with Sukkot…” (J B Doukhan)

And today when Israeli children ask- "Why are we supposed to dwell in temporary structures for a week out of the year?"- they are to be ready to be ready to answer. We are to remember that our ancestors dwelled as a nation in the wilderness for 40 years. And we are, likewise, to remember that our bodies are but jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7)— temporary dwellings for us.

“‘What profit has a man from all his labor(amal)…?’ (Eccl 1:3a)— ”God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to “tend and to keep it.” (Gen 2:15) The work to “tend" and "keep” was relatively easy. But they were forced out after the Fall and the labor made hard. “Qoheleth structured his inquiry based upon man's divinely appointed occupation within creation (cf. Gen 2:5, 15) rather than ask abstractly, ‘What is the meaning of life?’ His interest is not economical but truly philosophical; it does not concern pecuniary profits but life's purpose and meaning…. — ‘in which he toils UNDER THE SUN?’ (Eccl 1:3b) This “speaks of the earth upon which man dwells.” (Ardel B. Caneday) “While painting a picture of a wise man's struggles with the truly unjust and unfair world under the sun, the book of Ecclesiastes presents to the faithful an understanding of the source of the problem by making clear connections with the Fall narrative, offering them ways to cope with this world and redirecting them to God's guidance in the Commandments and the hope in God's final and absolute justice.” (Bernard Maurer)

This is the same thing that Paul taught as the source of our state of affairs. Jehovah God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake (Gen 3:17)— “For the creation was subjected to futility (vanity);” (Rom 8:20a) The word ‘vanity’ here ματαιότης mataiotēs is descriptive of the present condition of the Christian, as frail and dying; as exposed to trials, temptations, and cares; as in the midst of conflicts...” (Albert Barnes) “… not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope. (Rom 8:20b) The hope was that humanity would seek for immortality.

“‘Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain’; ‘Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.’ See the earth inscribed with terms like these… Spiritual cultivation, like the culture of the land, cannot be hastened. You cannot extemporize moral greatness; it is a slow growth…. Spiritual cultivation is sometimes very hard. Circumstances are heavily against us; we are not placed in favorable localities, or under very gracious conditions. Let us be thankful to God if, though faint, we are still pursuing.” (J. Parker, D. D.)

“‘One generation passes away, and another generation comes;’ (Eccl 1:4a) Generations of people have returned to dust since the fall of mankind. In fact: “As soon as one generation comes it goes. This cycle idea of come and go is already contained in the Hebrew word for, ‘generation,’ whose primary meaning is ‘circle.’” (Jacques B Doukhan) —

“’But the earth abides forever.’ (Eccl 1:4b) A period “generally, time out of mind (past or future).” (Strong’s) It is used 57 times in the OT in reference to something that has already come to an end— for example in the case of the length of time that Jonah would remain in the whale’s belly. (Jonah 2:6) Also, Hannah vowed to take her son, Samuel, to "appear before the LORD and remain there forever," (1 Sam 1:22) but later explains that she has lent him to the LORD "as long as he lives."(Vs 28) `OWLAM DOES NOT MEAN “for everlasting time; eternally”. Jesus taught: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." (Matt 24:35) So perhaps Qoheleth means that one generation passes away and another comes, but this earth will abide through all generations until the Seed of the Woman bruises /crushes the head of the seed of the serpent. (Gen 3:15; Rom 16:20)

Eccl 1:5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. 6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. 7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. 8 All things are full of labor; man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing

“These repetitions give an impression of both monotony and business. The point of the poems is that everything repeats, always returning to the beginning…. It is ALSO remarkable that all these movements are not happening at random; they reflect the successive steps of the Genesis Creation story (Genesis 1:1-2:4)… Notice the many parallels between Ecclesiastes 1 and Genesis 1 and 2:

1:2, ‘all is vanity’ / state of pre-Creation (Genesis 1:1-2)

1:3, ‘under the sun’ / light and sky (first and second days, Genesis 1:3-8)

1:4, the earth / the earth ‘under the sky’ (third day, Genesis 1:9-13)

1:5-6, sunrise and sunset; wind of the North and of the South / day-night and seasons (fourth day, Genesis 1:14-19)

1:7, rivers and sea in movement / life in water (fifth day, Genesis 1:20-23)

1:8, humans who speak, see, and hear / creation of humans (sixth day, Genesis 1:24-31)

*1:9, humans who do not remember (‘nothing new’) / end of Creation (Sabbath, Genesis 2:1-3)

… ‘All is vanity’ (1:2), the motto set forth in verse 2, is thus confirmed. ‘ All’ (kol) is a key word of the Creation story (Gen 1:30, 31; 2:1, 2, 3, 5); it embraces the whole world of Creation.”

(J. B. Doukhan)

“‘The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose.’ (5) A generation (4), like the sun, never stands still. They are one moment at the noon of prosperity and then quickly cut off at the midnight of life.” (Charles Box) — “’The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually,.’ etc. (6) - i:e., it returns afresh to its former circuits, however many be its previous veerings about.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)— “’All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full.’ They return to their sources through the medium of the clouds (Genesis 2:6).”(Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)— “to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.” (7) “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered.” (Romans 8:20-21)

There is no rest or Sabbath for Creation until the consummation. The sun “rises and sets again, but its setting is not a coming to rest; for from its place of resting in the west it must rise again in the morning in the east, hastening to fulfil its course…. [The wind also etc.] Thus designedly the verse is long-drawn and monotonous. It gives the impression of weariness…. From the currents of air, the author now passes to streams of water.” ( Delitzsch)

“‘All things are full of labor’, on account of the curse following sin, Gen 3:19.” (Kretzmann) “All things” is “translated by a number of commentators as ‘all words’… (cf. LXX and the use elsewhere in Ecclesiastes of the Hebrew plural form of debharim = ‘words’) Hence Hertzberg renders, ‘All speech is a wearying of oneself, no man can utter it,' a justifiable interpretation… man’s spirit becomes weary at the sight of the endless monotonous rounds of nature, so that the eye and ear enter upon endless courses of seeing and hearing that never satisfy.” (Interpreter’s Commentary)— “‘man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.’ [8] Surely, God's providential directing of the affairs of this world is carried out with uniform precision and beauty and yet the curse hides the full character of the One who governs the universe” (A B Caneday)— whose Words will by no means pass away.

Eccl 1:9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.

Nothing new under the sun. (9b) “Many of man’s most boasted achievements have their counterparts in nature. Birds flew long before man did, for instance. Even space travel is not new. Enoch and Elijah were transported through space without having to carry their own oxygen supplies with them! So those who spend their lives searching for new novelties are bound to be disappointed. It has already happened in ancient times.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary) “As one excitedly exclaims, ‘Look! This is something new,’ the excitement quickly fades with the realization that, ‘It was here before our time’ (1:10).” (A. B. Caneday)

“’There is no remembrance of former things,’ (11a) “Even such things as are thought of new invention, it may be only owing to the ignorance of former times, history failing to give us an account of them; thus the art of printing, the making of gunpowder, and the use of guns and bombs, and of the lodestone and mariner's compass, were thought to be of no long standing; and yet, according to the Chinese histories, that people were in possession of these things hundreds of years before; the circulation of the blood, supposed to be first found out by a countryman of ours in the last century, was known by Solomon, and is thought to be designed by him in Ecclesiastes 12:6; and the like may be observed of other things.” (John Gill)

Creation will have a Sabbath rest, as Israel was supposed to give the land, and there will truly be no more remembrance of former things. EVERYTHING will be new- a new heaven and a new earth. “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.” (Rev 21:5)

Eccl 1:12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. 16 I communed with my heart, saying, "Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge." 17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. 18 For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

The Preacher says that he set his heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven. “His desire was that he might be able to judge between right and wrong… The search for this wisdom brought Solomon weariness to the flesh, and pain and uneasiness to his mind.” (Charles Box) It was “‘a burdensome task (travail),’ in the sense of toil.” (Albert Barnes)— that “God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.” (13) “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:17-19) They were dust! But God provided a covering for them in Genesis 3:21- tunics of innocent an animal's skin.

“A large portion of mankind has lived in an agrarian based society… Consequently, God has used familiar objects associated with working, and living, in a farming community to teach important spiritual lessons. One example of this method of instruction is the use of ‘thorns and thistles’ mentioned in Genesis 3:18. At first glance, it may appear that God is speaking in literal terms about thorns and thistles growing up and causing problems for a farmer. However, when viewed with other scriptures on this subject it will become apparent that God is revealing a much deeper spiritual truth. As any farmer or gardener knows, thorns and thistles can be very frustrating to deal with. They slow down the work that is being done, can be difficult to remove, may cause injury, inhibit growth or possibly destroy useful plants, trees, and flowers. If they’re not completely removed, they will come back to cause more problems.”

(Thorns and Thistles-One Truth One Law) “The LORD, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, uses the worthlessness of thorns and thorn-bushes when exhorting sinful people of Judah to repent, e.g. ‘For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. (Jer 4:3, KJV) Further on, the Lord tells Jeremiah that because of their sin He is ceasing to provide for His people, and again uses the image of thorns as judgment: ‘They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.’ (Jer 12:13).” (Biblical Thorns - Creation Research)

“‘I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind (and vexation of spirit).’ (14) - futile business" (Mof); "frustration and lost labor" (Knox) (Hosea 12:1).” (Dunagan Commentary) “Ephraim (even the remnant) feeds on wind, and pursues the east wind continually; he multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.” (Hosea 12:1)

“‘What is crooked cannot be straightened,’-(15a). “Nothing that man can do can remedy the anomalies with which he is surrounded: The inadequacy of all systems of government, economics, education, etc., are utterly beyond his power to improve or correct them.” (Coffman Commentary) “All attempts to rectify this imperfection without recognition of the fall of man are vain.”(Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) But God! -> “Only God can correct the wrongs of the world. Isaiah wrote, ‘And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.’ (Isa 42:16)…” (Charles Box)—‘and what is lacking <Dan. 5:27> cannot be numbered.’—-… so as to take a complete number: so equivalent to ‘cannot be supplied ‘(Maurer).” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)

“I communed with my heart,’ (16)— Literally, ‘I spoke, I, with my heart,’ When successful in my researches, but not happy in my soul, though easy in my circumstances, I entered into my own heart, and there inquired the cause of my discontent.” (Adam Clarke)—- “saying, ‘Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem.” He surpassed all of the (Canaanite) kings of the earth in wisdom. (1 Kings 10:23)

“The solution wasn’t to think harder and search better; it was all grasping for the wind.” (Guzik)— “‘And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.’ Although Qoheleth seeks to understand wisdom better by studying its opposites, ‘madness and folly’ (17), wisdom itself is experienced as a mixed blessing. As the concluding proverb asserts (18), increased wisdom and knowledge are accompanied by 'vexation and pain.'” (Richard Schultz) “A man may determine or make up his mind to accomplish something eternally significant in a creation subjected to vanity, yet no matter how hard he tries Qoheleth tells him it will be a fruitless endeavor.” (H. Carl Shank) He needs to partake of the atonement of the burnt offering. By faith, he kills it and it is destroyed (reduced to dust) on the brazen altar in his place.

“Solomon looked into his own heart and realized that he had much wisdom and knowledge of the world and of mankind. He had become a great man in the world. It was said of Jesus, ‘The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.’ (Matthew 12:42 )... [Here is the Burnt Offering of the age.]

There is a wisdom that brings the result that Solomon described. There is also true Wisdom.” (Charles Box) “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Cor 1:30) “You search the Scriptures," you toil in the flesh, "for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)