Everything is Meaningless

I want to say that I am happy to be able to put it a decent amount of time into this post tonight. It has been a very busy and eventful weekend. It was tough to find a substantial amount of time to sit down and blog. I just started reading the book of Ecclesiastes this evening and it is one of my favorite books of the bible. It is way different then most books. I figured that it would be best to give you what the into for Ecclesiastes says in my bible.

Ecclesiastes Intro

Ecclesiastes is the collected words of a "teacher" or "preacher." The Teacher is described as having been king over Israel in Jerusalem, and as the son of David. Both of these mean that he was in the real line of Judah. He is not further identified, and while tradition identifies him with Solomon, it is appropriate to leave this cloak of anonymity in place. The repeated phrase Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless! warns us that life's rewards are uncertain and ultimately unsatisfying. The Teacher pursues this insight in a long discourse that shifts between prose and poetry, and between autobiography and straightforward teaching. The book makes observations and poses questions, returning to themes like the wind-round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. When the Teacher says What is crooked cannot be straightened, he reminds us that something wrong has intruded into our world. This fits the larger Jewish story told in the rest of the Scriptures. Setting things right again is what this bigger drama is about. The Teacher, however, does not tell us about God's attempts at straightening the world. He is content to say that God is sovereign over all things and it is our duty to follow his ways for living, since God will bring every deed into judgment.

I included the intro in this post because I plan on posting from Ecclesiastes quite a bit in the next couple of days and wanted to make sure that you all knew that background. I think one of the most important parts of this book is that Ecclesiastes reminds you that all of life gifts are uncertain and ultimately unsatisfying. That's tough to day because it's a great thing to have goals and it's an amazing feeling to accomplish those goals. I love this book though because it reminds me that no feeling will ever compare to the eternal glory we will feel some day. Although there are many things in this life that are important, there is one thing that is more important than any of that and Ecclesiastes is the perfect reminder.

Everything is Meaningless

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly Meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
bt those who follow them. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

I am sure that you read through this and might have thought to yourself..."wow, this seems negative." That's because it kind of us. It's the cold hard truth. Life is so short. The one verse really sticks out to me. It's verse 7 and it says: "All the streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the places the streams come from, there they return again." How perfect of a verse is that to describe things in our earth lives. All the streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. No matter what we do to try to reach a sense of fulfillment in this life we will never be able to do that unless it is through God and the Holy Spirit.

I hope that you enjoyed this post about the book of Ecclesiastes. Remember that you are loved more than you could ever imagine.