Please turn with me to Ecclesiastes, chapter 1.
This week we are starting in on our fall series, studying the book of Ecclesiastes. And what better time to start a series on a book that discusses the futility, and confusion, and seeming meaninglessness of life, than when all of our children are with us during the service! :)
I am excited to study this book with you all, because even though it reflects on all that confusion in life, it does start to point us in the one direction we can actually find meaning and hope: trusting in God’s promises and obeying His commands.
Let’s read, just the first two verses this morning, because they introduce the author and theme of the book:
Ecclesiastes 1:1–2 (CSB)
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
The Word of the Lord. This morning, we’re going to learn about this word, futility, and what the Bible teaches us about it.
Intro to Ecclesiastes
Verse one begins by telling us that this book contains the words of “the Teacher,” who is identified as “son of David, king in Jerusalem.”The word we have here as “teacher” is a unique Hebrew word, “Qoheleth,” which means “gatherer.” The book’s name, “Ecclesiastes,” is the Greek word for it.
The book contains the words of King Solomon the wise, and it asks some hard questions about life. Life is hard. Life is confusing. Sometimes life seems to be pointless, he says, because someday you will die.
He points out to us, that if we run after anything in all of creation — achievement, wealth, power, pleasure, knowledge and wisdom — as our source of meaning, identity, and hope, those things will all fail us — because at the end of the day, no matter how much wealth you have, how much power you have, how much you have achieved, how much you have experienced, a little, or a lot, your life will end, fade from everyone’s memory.
And to capture this thought about how frustrating life is, he uses a word: futile.
The Meaning of Futility
The word we have translated as futile is an interesting one. It’s the Hebrew word “hevel,” and it literally means vapor or mist. Kind of like your breath when it is cold outside. He uses the word 38 times in the book (that’s a lot.)He uses this word that means “vapor” as a sort of a figure of speech, and translators have tried lots of different words to try and capture his meaning: Vanity, meaningless, useless, empty, worthless, smoke, temporary. The idea is that life is short, fragile, and often disappointing.
Another figure of speech he uses in the book for the same idea is “chasing after the wind.”Have you ever tried catching the wind?It’s tough to do! I almost had it one time. Maybe after the service, you can go outside on the playground and try to do it. It’s kinda like a dog chasing its tail! Will he ever catch it?Maybe if it runs fast enough!
This word, “hevel”, is used in other places in the Old Testament as well. About half of the time is in this book, though!To help us understand the meaning of the word, we can look in those other places and see that this word is used to talk about “false idols”, “nothings”, “empty talk”, “mist”, “fleeting”, “false hope”, and “delusion.”
What does this tell us about the Teacher’s big idea?Something that is “hevel” is something that isn’t worth anything, won’t last, and won’t work.
Something that is “hevel” will always let you down.
Life will let you down if you are looking to the wrong things as your source of hope.
Why is everything “hevel?” Futile? Because eventually we will all die. All this is temporary.
But every now and then, the Teacher gives us a glimpse of positivity, of hope. Every now and then, in Ecclesiastes, he tells us that because everything is “hevel” - we should enjoy the simple things, food, work, as gifts from God.
That’s a pretty positive outlook!Life is hard and confusing, and you can’t control it. But don’t let that drive you to despair. Just enjoy the simple things as gifts from God.
That’s a pretty good answer.
But there’s still a big problem:
You still will die.
“Hevel.” - Chasing the wind.
So what now?
Well, Christians, we get to keep reading. This idea of “hevel” shows up in the New Testament, in Romans chapter 8 (and a few other places), and The Apostle Paul gives us the answer.
Futility vs. Eternity
Using the same language and concepts from Ecclesiastes, he writes to the church:
Romans 8:18–21 (CSB)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
There’s that word futility. “Hevel.” Notice the other phrases he uses to flesh out the concept: sufferings, bondage to decay. What is the answer he gives? That there is something more coming. Glory. The glorious freedom of God’s children that comes when God finally returns to set all creation free from “hevel” - from futility. From death.Paul puts the same idea more simply for the Corinthian church:
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (CSB)
Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Momentary, temporary, hevel.
What is the opposite of temporary vapor?
Eternal weight.
For those who trust Christ, Paul says, an eternity of glory is coming!
Jesus Christ, the second person of the one triune God, who existed eternally in this glory, where nothing is temporary, nothing is meaningless, nothing is futile, stepped in to our world, with all of its hevel, all of its futility, and lived in it with us. He showed us, perfectly, how to follow the Teacher of Ecclesiastes advice: “Fear God, Keep His Commandments.”
He lived the perfectly meaningful life that none of us do. And though he put up with the frustration of life, just like we do, in this sin-cursed world, he never gave in to temptation or despair. After living that perfect life, he willingly sacrificed himself for us, paying the debt of sin we all earn for ourselves as we chase all the meaningless, futile, false idols this world values: achievement, wealth, pleasure, comfort, knowledge, wisdom, all those things that will fail us.
And he rose from the dead, conquering the thing that makes everything hevel, that makes everything futile: death. So that those of us who trust Him will share in that eternal weight of glory.
What are you hoping for most in your life? What is your most important goal? Is there somewhere you are chasing the wind?
For those of us who trust Him, “these light and momentary afflictions” are not merely something we endure as we thank God for the small good gifts of food and drink and work. We do that too. But much more than that, we have not only hope, but also joy in the midst of this life, because all of these troubles, these afflictions that hevel, futility, brings us, ARE PRODUCING something! Glory!
We see that in all the futilities, all the frustrations, God is growing us up to be more like His son. Knowing that this world, and all its fleeting pleasures, are not all there is, but there is a life coming, free from futility, full of meaning.Knowing this is coming helps us see all the little ways God gives us glimpses of that during this life as He works to draw us to Himself and make us more like Him. So we can respond with not only humility and gratitude, but also great joy, in this life.
I hope you join us over the next fifteen weeks as we explore this wonderful and puzzling book of Ecclesiastes together and take an honest look at the hardship and confusion of life, but also how God provides the answer to the seeming meaninglessness of it all, through His son.
Pray with me.
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