Solomon had it all—money, power, pleasure—and called it "meaningless." [cite_start]Discover why chasing success is like chasing smoke, and what actually solidifies a life. [cite: 2]
Ecclesiastes is often called the most depressing book in the Bible. Jeremy Haroldson argues it is actually the most liberating. Why? [cite_start]Because it gives you permission to stop playing a game you cannot win. [cite: 5, 6]
Written by King Solomon at the end of his life, this book is a memoir of a man who tried everything—unlimited wealth, unbridled pleasure, supreme power—and concluded it was all "Hevel" (vapor). [cite_start]If you are exhausted from the hustle, feeling empty despite your achievements, or wondering "is this all there is?", this teaching offers a hard reset for your priorities. [cite: 7]
Jeremy unpacks the key Hebrew word of the book: Hevel. [cite_start]It is translated as "vanity" or "meaningless," but literally means "vapor" or "breath." [cite: 9, 10]
"Trying to find meaning in achievements or possessions is like trying to grasp smoke." It looks solid from a distance. You run toward it, grab it, and open your hand to find nothing there. Solomon warns us: You can spend your whole life chasing the wind, but you can never catch it. [cite_start]The sooner you realize that external success cannot fill an internal void, the sooner you can be free. [cite: 11, 12, 13]
We work hard to build wealth and status. [cite_start]Solomon asks a brutal question: "What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" [cite: 14, 15]
Jeremy points out the absurdity of the accumulation game: You work 60 hours a week to build a fortune, then you die, and you leave it to someone who didn't earn it (and might waste it). If your life is defined by what you get, it ends in zero. [cite_start]Meaning is found only in what you give and who you become. [cite: 16, 17]
We all want to leave a legacy. We want to be remembered. [cite_start]Solomon bursts this bubble: "There is no remembrance of former things." [cite: 18, 19]
Jeremy challenges the ego: "Who was the richest man 100 years ago? Nobody knows." We have forgotten the kings and typhoons of the past; we will be forgotten too. This isn't meant to depress you; it is meant to liberate you from the pressure of performing for history. [cite_start]You are free to live for an Audience of One. [cite: 20, 21, 22]
So, if money, power, and fame are vapor, what is solid? [cite_start]Solomon concludes: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." [cite: 23, 24]
In modern terms: Align with the Architect. Follow the design specs of humanity. When you center your life on connection with the Creator rather than consumption of creation, the "vapor" settles. [cite_start]You can enjoy a good meal, a good job, and a good family properly—not as gods that must satisfy you, but as gifts to be enjoyed. [cite: 25, 26]
Ecclesiastes teaches us to hold life loosely. Don't squeeze your job or your bank account, expecting it to give you a soul. [cite_start]It can't. [cite: 27, 28, 29]
Instead, realize that life "under the sun" is temporary. Stop looking for ultimate satisfaction in temporary things. [cite_start]Anchor your soul in the Eternal [God], and you will finally be free to enjoy the temporary blessings without being enslaved by them. [cite: 30]
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It is realistic, not pessimistic. It strips away illusions. Pessimism says "nothing matters." Ecclesiastes says "earthly things don't matter ultimatey." [cite_start]This distinction allows us to enjoy life for what it is (a temporary gift) rather than despairing over what it isn't (a permanent god). [cite: 35, 36, 37]
It is Solomon's phrase for life lived without a connection to the divine—the purely horizontal, material existence. Life "under the sun" is indeed meaningless. [cite_start]Meaning comes from breaking through the ceiling and connecting with what is "above the sun." [cite: 38, 39]
By shifting your expectation. When you stop demanding that your job or spouse satisfy your deepest soul needs, you take the pressure off. [cite_start]You can enjoy a sunset or a meal simply for the pleasure of it, thanking the Giver, without needing it to define your existence. [cite: 40, 41, 42]
Key Scripture Reference: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12:13
"Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity... The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." [cite: 43]