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2Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
3What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
6The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a thing of which it is said,
"See, this is new"?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
Perhaps the most intriguing line is found in v.4b: "…but the earth remains forever." One cannot help but notice that this assertion has a palpably deconstructive effect on the poem. If the author wanted to convince us that the world is like a circus parade or a carousel that keeps turning around and comes and goes, then this word seems an unnecessary exception. Why even mention it? The earth’s immovability in contrast to generations coming and vanishing out of sight serves yet another ironic but inherently theological purpose. The earth was made for humans. It stays. Humans, on the other hand, the lords of creation, are driven about like stubble. We dissolve into dust and are assimilated into the dirt which we were supposed to cultivate. So man becomes fertilizer for planet earth. Once again, the tragedy of the curse on all creation, particularly human life, is well within the reach of these words. We are no longer the crown of creation in God’s original sense. Everything is full of meaningless labor, and we fight a fight we cannot win. What a tragedy for the imago dei!
But the Teacher has one more trump up his sleeve—as though he needed it! He says people don’t remember anything (1:11). Surely, the author is not merely trying to convince us that our minds are constantly filtering information, resulting in the loss of data deemed dispensable. Indeed, the concept carries with it our willingness (or: unwillingness) to take life's and history's lessons to heart. 12:1 uses the word "remember" in this sense: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…." This is a call to turn your heart to wisdom, to pursue wisdom, to humble yourself under God's mighty hand. If remembering is conceived in this way, we are staring at a perplexing aspect of human experience: All too often we refuse to learn our lesson.
The child will still put its hand in the cookie jar, although it will be found out. The adulterer knows that he destroys his own soul and the life of his family, and he still finds his way to the whorehouse. We can say that ancient Rome was full of debauchery and perversion, and that this culture helped precipitate its own demise. We do remember these things, but Western culture continues to bank on greed and selfish comfort only to repeat the pattern.
Remembrance in a biblical sense is to learn, to learn is to change, and change bespeaks repentance. The whole sweep of biblical history has been given to us for this reason: "These things happened as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did" (1 Cor. 10:6). Learn your lesson! If it was only that easy! If we are to escape from the prison of meaninglessness and forgetfulness Jesus has to enter the scene. Only he can "proclaim liberty to the captives" (Isa. 61:1). And he has, for his promise is, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Qoheleth has made a number of valid observations about life, and he has made them stick in us like the blade of a knife. Still, the gospel promises healing.
It is true, without Christ, there is ultimately no satisfaction in anything. But he offers the "spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). This water gives life and meaning to everything we do under the sun. Death does not have the final word.
Qoheleth also says that there is no remembrance. But God remembers his children (Mal. 3:14-17), and his Holy Spirit causes us to remember his Word and learn from the author of life and history. And while there is nothing new under the sun (1:9), "He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true'" (Rev. 21:5). The cycle is broken.
The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.
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