VANITY OF VANITIES
Adapted from a sermonpreached on 27 May 2001, at the PCC Evening Service

“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher,vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:2)

The book of Ecclesiastes was no doubt written by King Solomon, the wisest kingwho ever ruled Israel. In the first verse of the book, the writer describeshimself as the “Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” A little later,in verses 12–13, he writes:

I the Preacher was king over Israelin Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerningall things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to thesons of man to be exercised therewith.

This certainly fits the description of Solomon, who was the son of David, andwas declared as the wisest men who ever lived (1 Kgs 4:31). At the time of thewriting of Ecclesiastes, he was probably already an old man, and he writes inretrospection of his own life (see chapter 12).

Now, Solomon was not only the wisest king, but also the richest and mostglorious king who ever ruled in Israel. Under his dominion, the nation ofIsrael extended from Egypt to the Euphrates, or in other words, the entirepiece of land, which God promised to Abraham (cf. Gen 15:18–21; 1 Kgs 4:21,24).

During his reign, there was peace and prosperity all round. Yet, writingtowards the end of his life, he declares repeatedly: “Vanity of vanities,… allis vanity” (Ecc 1:2; 12:8).

If you know anything about the book of Ecclesiastes at all, I am sure you wouldknow that this is the theme of the book: “Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.” Infact, after stating this theme, Solomon goes on to prove his assertion with theentire book of Ecclesiastes. But what does Solomon mean?

Vanity of Vanities

The word “vanity” (Heb. hebel) occurs a total of 38 times in thebook of Ecclesiastes. It literally means “vapour” or “breath” in the Hebrew. Ifyou have been to a cold country in winter, you will notice that when youbreathe, your breath is visible, but it disappears almost immediately. So it isvery transient, it appears to have no weight, nor substance. This is the ideabehind the word “vanity.”

Or if you have never been to a cold country, I am sure you have stood before amirror, and breath onto it. What happens when you do so? The mirror fogs upbefore you. But does it remain fogged up for long? No, it clears very quickly.And it leaves no stains and no traces behind. The mist on the mirror may bedescribed as a vanity.

So the word “vanity” speaks of what is worthless, meaningless, purposeless, andtemporal. To pursue vanity is to chase after the wind. To say that something isa vanity is to say that it is a waste of time to pursue it, and meaningless foryou to have it.

But Solomon is even more emphatic. He says, “Vanity of vanities.” Now, this islike saying: “Emptiest of empty,” if there can be such an idea. The way inwhich it is written is the same way in which the most holy place in theTabernacle or the Temple is described in the Scriptures. In the KJV and in manyother translations, it is described as “the Most Holy Place,” but a literaltranslation should rather be “the Holy of holies.” That is to say the very,very, holy place, the absolutely holy place. The Holy of holies is so holy thatonly the high priest may enter, and that only once a year with the blood ofatonement for himself and for the people.

So “vanity of vanities” would mean absolutely, utterly, completely,unreservedly, meaningless. Now, you can imagine that if we know anything thatmay be so described as vanity of vanities, we would not want to spend oureffort to get it. In fact, even the world would regard anyone who pursueanything so meaningless to be silly and wasting his time. We would agree, forexample, that it would be silly for someone to develop affection for his shadowand to grieve when the shadow is annihilated by light. It is meaningless todevelop affection for shadows. And again, we would think that someone is out ofhis mind if every time he goes to the barber, he would bring a bag to collectevery strand of his hair so that he has bags after bags of hair in his house.That exercise is meaningless. It is vanity, if not vanity of vanities.

Unless we are out of our minds, we would not do what may be described asmeaningless, much less what is vanity of vanities—what is absolutelymeaningless.

But here’s a problem. Solomon, the wisest man, tells us: “All isvanity….”

All is Vanity

What could Solomon mean? How could everything be meaningless? It sounds sofatalistic, does it not? It seems like Solomon is saying that life ismeaningless and everything else is meaningless. Does he really mean it? Surelyhe does not mean to say that everything is meaningless? Could it be that thisis the sinful reflection of an old man suffering the pains of old age anddesiring to die? It cannot be. These are the words of a preacher who is seekingto teach the truth. In fact, towards the end of the book, Solomon repeats thisverse: “Vanity of Vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity” (Ecc 12:8). Andthen as if to tell us that what he says is true, he declares:

And moreover, because the preacherwas wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, andsought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find outacceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth(Ecc 12:9–10).

So, what does Solomon mean to convey when he says “all is vanity”? Well, hedoes not leave us to guess. In the verses following, he explains firstly, thatall human endeavours are meaningless (cf. Ecc 1:3–4), for no one lives longenough to enjoy the fruit of his labours. Though the earth remains unchanging,one generation after another pass away, and soon all men will cease to enjoyany of the fruit of any man’s labours. Secondly, that even the processes ofnature are meaningless (Ecc 1:5–7), seeing there is no nett gain. The sun goesdown, comes up and goes down again. The wind appears to whirl aboutcontinually. The water in the earth simply gets cycled round and round.Thirdly, work and knowledge are meaningless (Ecc 1:8–11). There is nothing newunder the sun. It is true that in the last century, man has invented many newthings: quite unlike the time of Solomon. But how often are new thingsinvented, and how many of these things have real and lasting significance?Solomon tells us that there is no remembrance. There is nothing of real andlasting significance.

Continue reading through the book, and you will no doubt be convinced that, forSolomon, all of life is vanity. Read on to chapter 2, and you will find Solomondeclaring that pleasure and entertainment are meaningless. Read chapter 3, theprocess of life is meaningless. Read chapter 4, and you will find that work andadvancement are also meaningless. Move on to chapter 5, and you will see thatriches are meaningless, and so on, until you reach the last chapter.

But Solomon was the wisest man, and a worshipper of Jehovah, a God-fearer, abeliever or, we may say, an OT Christian. How could he have such a fatalistic,negative attitude towards life? Surely our perception and reading of him mustbe wrong.

Under the Sun

Surely, there is something in his message that we missed? And because we missthat something we come to a wrong conclusion of the attitude of Solomon? Whatis that something? Let’s look at the verses again and I’ll show you.

Now, do you see it? Do you see a phrase appearing over and over? This phrase,“under the sun” is the key phrase in the whole book of Ecclesiastes. You cannotunderstand this book unless you first notice the phrase “under the sun.” Thisphrase occurs no less than 27 times in this book, and in every chapter exceptin the concluding two chapters. What does Solomon mean?

What does it mean by “under the sun” but everything that is visible to the eye?Solomon is saying that if this world is merely physical, and consists only ofthings that are visible and tangible, and so there is no God, no soul, nospiritual realm, then truly everything is a vanity of vanities, everything isutterly meaningless.

Have you ever taken a hard look at your life and considered your veryexistence? Almost 20 years ago, I reached a time of crisis in my life when Ilooked at myself and wondered why I existed at all. I wondered what the meaningof life was. I was not sure if God existed, and so my life was merely aphysical visible one. So I held to Darwinism, to the theory of evolution. Butthen I asked myself: If man evolved from lower life forms, as theevolutionalists say, then, wouldn’t I be just an animal like a dog, a cat, arat, or even an ant on the table, or a cockroach in the drain? I looked at thebirds, and wondered within myself—if I am just an animal, then my life is muchless meaningful than that of the birds. If what is under the sun is all thatthere is to life, then being able to fly like the birds, to enjoy myselfbriefly and then die would surely be more desirable than having to take examinationsyear after year. Oh but even then life would be meaningless. What is the use ofenjoying life for a brief while and then becoming nothing?

If all there is to life is what we see under the sun, then nothing that is doneby men would be of any real significance at all. If it is true that we cameabout by a cosmic accident, and we are alive because of this accident, that is,life is simply accidental, then what is the difference whether we are alive ornot?

If all there is to life is what we see under the sun, then what is thedifference between me and a rock? The only difference is that I move and eatand suffer and die, but the rock does not. I am just a more complex blob ofchemical than the rock, and long after I am disintegrated into dust, the rock wouldstill be one piece. So much for the idea that man is a significant being.

But you say, “Wait a minute! I am an emotional creature with an intelligentmind.” But if all that there is to life is what we see under the sun, then youhave no soul; then what is intelligence and emotion? They are but purelybio-chemical reactions. A cockroach will have similar kinds of reaction whenyou try to stomp it.

So then, if all there is to life is what we see under the sun, then nothingthat we achieve is really important, because everything is temporal, and all isgone when we die. Even if we consider the fact that the works of our hands maybenefit our next generation, it would still be meaningless because the nextgeneration will also die, and soon the whole human race will be no more—afterall if we came by accident, then we would probably be destroyed by an accident.Perhaps a meteoroid will collide with the earth, or perhaps the sun will burnout, or perhaps it will destroy itself with its nuclear arsenal. So then, ifall there is to life is found under the sun, then life is a vanity of vanities,life would be utterly meaningless.

Our Spiritual Response

But is life really that meaningless? Thank God that it is not! The fact is thatthere is more than life under the sun. We have a soul, God exists, and He willbring everything into judgement one day. This is what makes life meaningful.

Like a master teacher, Solomon drives to despair anyone who is tempted to thinkthat all that there is to life is seen under the sun. But lest we leave thebook of Ecclesiastes in despair, he concludes with the final words:

Let us hear the conclusion of thewhole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole dutyof man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing,whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecc 12:13–14).

All of life finds its meaning in the fact that God exists and that He willjudge us for all aspects of our lives. Or, to put it in another way: How welive matters because there is a living and true God who will judge us for ourlives at the end of our earthly journey. Or, to put it in yet another way: Thesignificance and meaning of all and every aspect of our lives is determined notby our enjoyment or the praises of man, but whether God our creator is pleasedand glorified.

What is this fact to us?

In the first place, every person who does not believe in the existence of Godmust logically come to the conclusion that life is vanity of vanities aspainted by Solomon. If there is no God, there is absolutely no meaning orpurpose in life. Nothing you have and nothing you do in this life will have anymeaning at all if there were no God. You can bring nothing you have into thisworld with you when you die because you yourself become nothing if there wereno God. And nothing you do in this life, whether you may think it is good orbad, has any meaning, because one day everything will return to lifeless dustand there will be no memory of what you have done.

But what if a person believes in the existence of God, but does not believethat He is the God of the Bible or in the Lord Jesus Christ? He is a‘freethinker’ or he believes in any of the other religions in the world? Well,I submit to you that there is no essential difference—he is without God. TheApostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians reminds them that they were at one timewithout Christ, and while they were without Christ, they were without God inthe world (Eph 2:12).

The Lord Jesus Christ tells us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no mancometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn 14:6). The Apostle John tells us: “Noman hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom ofthe Father, he hath declared him” (Jn 1:18).

To be without Christ is to be without God, whatever you may think. God is aholy God. A god who is not pure and holy, and not most glorious cannot possiblybe God. And if God is pure and holy, then how dare corrupt and sinful man comeinto His presence? Will you dare to go into the presence of God who sees allthings and knows your heart more than you do? Knowing that all men fall shortof the glory of God, will you dare to go into the judgement seat of God alone?I dare say that the torment of your conscience will be so great if you comebefore God yourself, that even before God pronounces His sentence you would bepleading: “Lord I am guilty, sent me away from thy presence, send me to eternaldamnation, anything but to stand before Thee, Thou who art a holy God.” WithoutChrist, God is a consuming fire. It is a fearful thing to fall into the handsof a living God who is angry because of our rebellion against Him. Let no manpresume that God will receive him as would a benevolent father his child,should he attempt to come into His presence without Christ.

Thank God that He has provided a way for us to come into His holy presence, forChrist shed His precious blood to pay for the sin of all who would call untoHim in repentance and faith. He is sitting at the right hand of the throne ofGod, ready to receive all who will come to Him to plead for forgiveness. Hesays: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me: and him that cometh tome I will in no wise cast out” (Jn 6:37). All who will come unto Christ andembrace Him as Saviour and Lord will have Christ as their Advocate before theFather.

In the day of judgement, we shall be ushered before the tribunal of God. And weshall see Christ sitting at the right hand of the throne of God, for alljudgement has been committed to Him.

If you are covered by the blood of Christ, then will Christ arise and stand atthe right hand of God and receive you as He did when Stephen was martyred. Thenyou shall hear the beautiful words of the Lord: “Well done, thou good andfaithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make theeruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” But woe are youif Christ remains seated to pronounce judgement upon you.

Oh, will you not consider your life? Will you not seek Christ while He may befound? We will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ, or else all oflife would be vanity of vanities and we may as well end our life than suffermeaninglessly. But the question is: Will Christ be seated as your prosecutor orstanding as your lawyer when you stand before the tribunal of God? I pray thatthe latter will be the case.

But what about you who know Christ, who have humbly put your trust in Christ:who know that the blood of Christ covers you despite your imperfection andrebellion against Him? How should the fact that without Christ all things are avanity of vanities affect our lives? How should the fact that we will be calledto the judgement seat of Christ when we shall be judged of everything in ourlives, whether good or evil, affect how we live?

I believe it should remind us once again that we are but pilgrims in thisworld, heading for our eternal home. Therefore we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We must notlay up treasures upon the earth where moth and rust doth corrupt. Rather weshould give great priority to the things of eternal values. It is sad to knowChristians who are very zealous when they are young believers. But as they growin maturity and in the faith, they become indifferent and begin to be boggeddown by the cares of the world. Sometimes, they may not even realise it, andthey may even excuse themselves for their lack of zeal in the things of God,thinking that their excuses are valid. Slowly through the numbing of theirconsciences, their career, their education, their houses, their cars, theireating and drinking, their clubs, etc., become more important in their livesthan Christ and His church. By and by, without even realising it, they becomeSunday Christians, and begin living like the rest of the world, chasing aftervanity of vanities. They have become secret atheists who, if they do notrepent, will perish with the world.

Conclusion

Dearly beloved, will you not sit down to take stock of your lives. How manythings are vanities in your lives? Do you have them or do them for practicalreasons or to facilitate your pilgrim journey, or are they there because theyare the fashion of the world? May we live our lives with the knowledge that Godwill call us to account for every aspect of our lives.

Friends, if you do not know Christ, will you not seek Christ while He may befound or risk living an entire life in vanity, and dying only to face the wrathof the Lamb? Amen.

—J.J. Lim