"Vanity of vanities,"
says the Preacher;
"Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity."
(Eccl. 1:2 - NKJ)
Vanity – hebel (Hebrew)
• vapor, breath
• fleeting, empty,
worthless, deceitful
• absurd
Vanity – hebel (Hebrew)
Old Testament usage:
• Idols
A
• Brevity of human life
concept
• Pointlessness of living a
with
pure life
many
• Multiple applications
nuances
• Worthlessness
Vanity Manifested
•1:3-11 – The vanity of working but
getting nowhere
Eccl. 1:
8 All things are full of labor; man
cannot express it. The eye is not
satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing.
Vanity Manifested
•1:12-2:11 – The vanity of advancing
but not obtaining
Wisdom
 Fun and frolic
 Projects and possessions
 Entertainment

Vanity Manifested
•1:12-2:11 – The vanity of advancing
but not obtaining
Eccl. 2:
11 Then I looked on all the works that
my hands had done and on the labor
in which I had toiled; and indeed all
was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.
Vanity Manifested
• 2:18-23 – The vanity of losing by
gaining
Eccl. 2:
18 Then I hated all my labor in which I
had toiled under the sun, because I
must leave it to the man who will come
after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be
wise or a fool?…
Vanity Manifested
Vanity was everywhere he looked:
• Power for the oppressors, no
comfort for the oppressed
• Evil for the just, reward for the
wicked
• Time and chance happens to all
The lot of the rich, poor, wise, fool,
righteous, wicked
Eccl. 5:
16 And this also is a severe evil-- just
exactly as he came, so shall he go.
And what profit has he who has
labored for the wind?
17 All his days he also eats in
darkness, and he has much sorrow
and sickness and anger.
Vanity manifested by Ziggy
Interpreting the Message
The key to understanding the message
that “all is vanity” is to view it in light
of the setting in which the observations
are made… “life under the sun”.
• 1:3, 9, 14
• 2:11, 17, 20
• 3:16
“Vanity” is what
Koheleth saw,
“under the sun”
is where he saw it
Interpreting the Message
• His observations about vanity are
limited to life on earth.
• A totally secular viewpoint.
• Most of his observations are about
life without heaven’s insights or
foresight.
Life on earth, under the sun…
An absurd, meaningless venture,
which, in spite of hard work, in spite
of prudence, in spite of discipline, in
spite of talent and skill, leaves us with
nothing.
The Point of the Message
Eccl. 3:
11 He has made everything beautiful
in its time. Also He has put eternity in
their hearts, except that no one can
find out the work that God does from
beginning to end.
The book is a latent apologetic
Islands of Faith and Hope
• 3:11, 14-17
• 5:1-2
• 8:12-13
• 12:13-14
Islands of Faith and Hope
• He painfully sees what is
happening “under the sun”, but
He knows God is above it all.
• The book is layered, not
contradictory.
Ground (dirt) level > Vanity
Bedrock > GOD!
• Darkness with brief flashes of light
The point of life is to
trust in God
with hope that our life will
have meaning though
everything about our earthly,
physical experience tells us
that it’s all in vain.
Koheleth and the Messiah
Isaiah 49:
3 "And He said to me, 'You are My
servant, O Israel, in whom I will be
glorified.'
4 Then I said, 'I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing
and in vain; yet surely my just reward
is with the LORD, and my work with
my God.'"
Koheleth and the Messiah
Luke 24:21
21 "But we were hoping that it was He
who was going to redeem Israel.
Indeed, besides all this, today is the
third day since these things happened.
Koheleth and the Messiah
Christ showed that though an
earthly existence may seem to be
futile, it doesn’t have to be.
He paved the way to victory
over vanity.
Koheleth and the Apostle
• Romans 8:18-23
• II Corinthians 4:16-18
• I Corinthians 15:50-58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord.
• Philippians 2:15-16
Eccl. 2:
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did
not keep from them. I did not
withhold my heart from any pleasure,
…
• People have never been more
empty on the inside.
• Ecclesiastes has never been
more relevant.