Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” 3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil 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 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
"Ecclesiastes" from Greek ekklesia—gathering, or assembly
A man with vast money, power, wisdom, pleasure tells us he tried the whole buffet and walked away empty.
Key 1 — Hevel: the bubble (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
Key 2 — Under the sun: the lens (Ecclesiastes 1:3)
Life Under the Sun Runs in Circles
1. The Cycle of Work (Ecclesiastes 1:3)
"What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?" Ecclesiastes 1:3
2. The Cycle of Generations (Ecclesiastes 1:4)
Ecclesiastes 1:4"Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever."
3. The Cycle of Nature (Ecclesiastes 1:5–7)
Ecclesiastes 1:5-7 "The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows… round and round… ever returning. All streams run to the sea, yet the sea is never full."
4. The Cycle of More (Ecclesiastes 1:8–11)
Ecclesiastes 1:8-11 "All things are wearisome… The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing… there is nothing new under the sun."
1 — If there is nothing but heaven under the sun, then our only hope must be above it.
2 When I finally understand what's meaningless, I'm ready to learn what's meaningful.
The one who has God has everything; the one who has everything but God has nothing; and the one who has God and everything has no more than the one who has God alone.
We can’t deny the ache under the sun, but we can put our hope in the SON who reigns above it all.
