Ecclesiastes 1:2, 9-10---Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Solomon set his heart to find the meaning of life. He tried pleasure of all kinds. He tried to find satisfaction in wealth, in building projects, and in increasing his great wisdom. In the end, he concluded it was meaningless. A million men had come and gone before him, and nothing had changed. He grieved over the fact that those men are not remembered nor would he be. We don't know what Solomon looked like. We can't know him personally. All we have are a few pages of history and some of his sayings of wisdom. Is that all there is to life? He had the wisdom to see that everything that is promoted as new is just a different face on an old product. A man still tries to find pleasure in the same things he looked to millenniums ago. He'll still be seeking the same things tomorrow. What Solomon in all His wisdom did not see was the coming of Jesus. Though the promise was made to his father, and though as the son of David he was a foreshadowing type of Christ, he did not see his descendant would be the Messiah. Could he have said that all is meaningless if he knew God was going to show us how to live and die through the sacrifice that makes us fit for heaven? To seek the things of the world and personal satisfaction is always meaningless. To come into a relationship with your Creator and find His purpose for your existence is filled with eternal significance. Solomon knew we were to fear God and keep His commands, for there would come a day of judgment. What he missed was a deepening daily relationship with that God, which lays up treasures in heaven that do not perish.
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