“Vanity of vanities or another conclusion.

Ecclesiastes 12 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; ² before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; ³ in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; ⁴ and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. ⁵ Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. ⁶ Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; ⁷ then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. ⁸ “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

 ⁹ In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

¹¹ The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. ¹² But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

¹³ The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. ¹⁴ For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

The writer of Ecclesiastes begins with these words in chapter 1 verses 1-2: The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. ² “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”   The NIV says: "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." He continues through 11 chapters to bemoan the futility of life and man’s work on earth. He cites man’s insignificance in the scheme of eternity: What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? ⁴ A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. He says:  For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!... I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. Throughout the entire dissertation the theme remains that all of man’s striving, all of his accomplishments, all his work, his wisdom, all of his riches and fame amount to nothing in the end. Every person, the rich and the poor, the wise and the fool will come to the same end. Chapter 3:1-2 says it: There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven ² A time to give birth and a time to die;

Keep in mind these were the words of Solomon, of whom it is said: King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.(1 Kings 10:23) Whether Solomon truly took a great deal of time to process the reality and truth or whether it was a literary tool that he used for emphasis, he comes to the conclusion:     ¹³ The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. ¹⁴ For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

We too, at some point need to realize that all that we do, with selfish motives, all that we do for temporal gain, whether gain of wealth or gain of power, will last only as long as our life at best and it could be gone much sooner. Jesus says:  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹ for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.(Matthew 6:19-21) In Luke 12, Jesus again teaches:

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”… which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? …. your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ³² Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

We have been given all the riches of the kingdom of God. Jesus says: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Whether we learn this reality in an early chapter of our life or in life’s final chapter is not what is most important. Remember whether we are granted a few years or many, they are but a twinkling in eternity. What is important is that when we have come to the conclusion of the writer of Ecclesiastes, when by the revelation of the Holy Spirit we hear Jesus, who says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20) When that happens what is important is that we open to Him, That we do: seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…

A life lived without God is: "Vanity of vanities,"- "Meaningless! Meaningless!"- “Absolute futility,"- "Utterly pointless,"  But with Christ: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.(Philippians 4:13)    I pray that if you have not already come to the conclusion of wisdom of Solomon, may today be that day.

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. Amen