Empty…useless…pointless…futile… hopeless…this is how Solomon describes life on this earth in the book of Ecclesiastes. He speaks with the experience of an old man who had lived a full life “under the sun” (1:3). These are not the words of a monk who separated himself from earthly experiences and luxu- ries. They are the words of one who achieved many great things as a king, amassed abundant riches and knowledge, had many wives and children, and enjoyed the pleasures that life has to offer. He had it all and accomplished it all. Yet despite all this, he says, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (1:2). Why was this the message about life that Solomon was divinely inspired to record not only for his own children, but for all God’s people?

Originally published Vol 82 No 9, 2023 / September