Through the Bible in 66 Days - Ecclesiasties

Ecclesiastes: When Life Feels Like Chasing the Wind

The book of Ecclesiastes stands as one of the most unusual and striking books in the whole Bible. It refuses to gloss over life's frustrations. Instead, it walks straight into them, naming the emptiness we often feel but rarely admit. The Teacher—it's writer—speaks with a raw honesty that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever wondered, What's the point of it all?

Yet Ecclesiastes is not a hopeless book. It is a signpost pointing beyond the emptiness of life "under the sun" to the fullness of life found only in Jesus Christ. The Gospel shines where human experience grows dim.

1. The Unending Cycles of Life

Life can feel like an exhausting loop. We sleep, wake, and sleep again. We eat, get hungry, and eat again. We work, grow tired, and collapse into bed—only to repeat it all tomorrow.

We find happiness only to lose it again. We fall in love only to feel heartbreak. We get excited only to be bored once the excitement fades.

Ecclesiastes captures this perfectly:

"All things are full of weariness… the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing." (Ecclesiastes 1:8)

The Teacher knows exactly how we feel.

2. Ecclesiastes Names the Emptiness We Feel

The book reminds us of the cycles of life that can be frustratingly empty. It doesn't pretend everything is fine. It doesn't offer shallow comfort. Instead, it confronts the reality that life can feel pointless.

The Teacher declares:

"Vanity of vanities… all is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

If you wanted to face real problems head‑on, Ecclesiastes leaves nothing unsaid. It is uncomfortable. It is soul‑searching. It is a journey deep into your own heart and mind.

Without God, the emptiness could break you into pieces.

3. A Book That Understands the Human Heart

The Teacher wrote Ecclesiastes to shout a message many of us whisper in the dark: life, as we experience it under the sun, is meaningless. We are chasing the wind.

He understands the disappointment of unfulfilled dreams, the weariness of repetition, and the ache of a world that never quite satisfies.

But he also points us to the only place where meaning can be found.

4. You Won't Find Meaning Under the Sun

Ecclesiastes teaches that you won't find what you're looking for under the sun. Not in pleasure, work, relationships, success, or wisdom. Everything slips through our fingers.

But what we cannot find under the sun, God has provided from above the sun.

Jesus Christ entered our weary world from above:

"He who comes from above is above all." (John 3:31)

He stepped into our cycles, our frustrations, and our emptiness to give us life.

5. The Gospel Breaks the Cycle

Where Ecclesiastes says, "Everything is meaningless," Jesus says:

"I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Where Ecclesiastes says, "There is nothing new under the sun," Jesus declares:

"Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5)

Where Ecclesiastes laments the certainty of death, Jesus proclaims:

"I am the resurrection and the life." (John 11:25)

The Gospel doesn't ignore the emptiness 

Ecclesiastes exposes—it answers it.

6. Finding Meaning Above the Sun

The Teacher concludes that the whole duty of humanity is to fear God and keep His commandments. But the New Testament shows us how this becomes possible: through Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law, bore our judgment, and opened the way to God.

We were made for God. We were made to know Him. We were made to find life in Him.

The Lord Jesus is 'the way, the truth, and the life'. You can know God, the Father, through Him.

7. A Final Word for the Weary

If life feels like an unending cycle… If you're tired of chasing the wind… If you feel the weight of the emptiness the Teacher describes…

Then hear the invitation of Jesus:

"Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Ecclesiastes shows us the problem. Jesus Christ gives us the answer. Life under the sun may be frustrating, but life in the Son is full of hope, purpose, and eternal joy.

Meaning is not found under the sun. It is found above the sun—in the God who made you, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to save you. To know life and meaning, you need to acknowledge your sin before God (repent and confess your sins) and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Key Verses

Acts 20:21 - Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 16:31 - And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

All photos courtesy of Unsplash 

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