The Meaning of Life
We begin a new sermon series through the book of Ecclesiastes in May. The book of Ecclesiastes is composed of a first-person autobiography. Throughout the book, the main author who refers to himself as Preacher (or Teacher), describes his search to understand life and its meaning.
Meaningless
One of the key words throughout the book is vanity. This word is essentially the motto of the book and is used to characterize many of the activities the author examines. The basic idea of the Hebrew word is “breath,” but in this context it is understood metaphorically in reference to time as something that is “fleeting” or in reference to the meaning of life as meaningless, futile, or senseless.
“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”