Take a moment to read Ecclesiastes 1. There are only 18 verses. Highlight the word “vanity” and the phrases “under the sun” and “under heaven.” See that when Solomon says “all is vanity” (vs 2), that he speaks as one whose eyes have not risen any higher than the sky. That view does not penetrate into the realm of the spirit, before the throne of God. If we take God out of the picture, life is meaningless.

In verses 4-7, Solomon reaches back to his 6th grade science class and reminds us that nature is full of cycles. Human life cycles do not compare to the (seemingly) permanent nature of the earth (vs 4). The sun rises and sets with no end (vs 5). The wind blows back and forth with no consummation (vs 6). The water cycle circles around the globe with no break, no ultimate goal (vs 7).

Our family stopped by to see Niagara Falls in June. One could argue that you have not experienced Niagara Falls until you’ve seen it in the morning and in mid-day, and in the evening. You have not experienced Niagara Falls until you’ve seen it in the fall, winter, and summer and spring. For those of us who enjoy sight-seeing, Solomon says, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing” (vs 8).

There is simply nothing new under the sun (vs 9). We have cell phones today, which Solomon did not have, but they are simply alterations of a very old behavior of man: communication. We have rockets and planes today but, again, they are simply adaptations of very old means of transportation.

We no longer think much about having to walk everywhere we went, much less with sandals or even barefooted. This generation does not think about having to use a rotary dial phone. Perhaps one day, children will say, “Yes, my parents used to have to push buttons on their cell phones.” That day may be closer than you think. But, “there is no remembrance of earlier things” (vs 11).

Solomon has said all of that to say this: “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind” (vs 14).

In fact, in order to find meaning in life, Solomon first explored the life of the mind. I can commiserate with Solomon in that. I am an information junkie. Solomon wrote, “I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.”

There are many people who believe that the pursuit of knowledge is an end in itself. Solomon would say that taken to an extreme, it is striving after wind. This is not a contradiction to the Gospel but it shows the need for true knowledge, knowledge from the One who knows what is really important.

–Paul Holland