Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
Everything is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 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.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I thought to myself, “Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-14
Do No Forget Your Creator
1 Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home
and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
“Everything is meaningless!”
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. 10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
John 1:1-4
The Word Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
A book is better understood, if you can start at page one and read it straight through until the last chapter and word...If you just took a book and read the middle one third of it, you more than likely would miss the books whole point...And if you did not miss the whole point, you would miss some of the author's intent...You would gather information in the part you read, but not get a complete understanding of what the author was trying to tell you...Yet, as we look at life, we are put in this Book of Life by God somewhere long after it has started, and there was life all around us...And more than likely, God willing, life will continue on for some time after our death...So there will be life going long after our death...So life is like this middle of the book reading and trying to understand what has happened and what is going to happen...So there remains questions for each of us, and there is nothing we can do about this...We are here and often trying to find some meaning of what is going on and happening around us...
It is much like Solomon writes what does a man gain from all his life's labor and toil...Generations come and generations have gone long before us...Solomon knew he must look at life long in the past, and look as best he could into the future -but who can read into what the future has in store...But the earth remains long after the Ecclesiastes' author, and here we are now...I remember Solomon and what he did because he wrote this, and was in the Bible...But I do not remember the ones of Israel, who helped build up Egypt before their Passover...And what about others, who were given no mention...There is no remembrance of the these men of the old, and no memories of those who are yet to come (by those born earlier)...How can there be?...Solomon, one of the wisest of all men, searched for meaning in the middle of his book in life (when he was on earth) and found that all he could find did not make much sense...Solomon had started reading his book of life in the middle, and he left the book long before it was finished...He was not given a choice, and this is life...Even with being one of the wisest of men, his story book and what he understood was incomplete...And he devoted himself to study and explore all that is done under heaven...He studied so much that it wearied his body...And in his studies, Solomon found that God has laid a burden at the feet of man...And what he saw in his lifetime was meaningless and it was like chasing after the wind...And in his great wisdom came great sorrow, with more knowledge came more grief for him...Not only was Solomon wise, but he also imparted knowledge to his people of Israel...Solomon would ponder and search out and set in order many proverbs for his people and others to learn from...He searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true...
Having the ability and the knowledge to see the complete story of life, makes the book much different than the middle one third of the book...The complete book is a much Greater Story, than just a part of the book...And there is this One who has gotten to see the entire Book of Life...This is because He is the Author of Life, the Author of the Book of Life, who continues to write in His Book...He adds characters each day, and other characters pass on...And His Son, who has been with Him in the beginning has read the entire book...They know the entire story, the complete story, the Greater Story...
They have Complete Understanding...And Complete Understanding is LOVE...