Monotony

The book of Ecclesiastes doesn’t open with a warm, comforting promise. Instead, Solomon declares, “Absolute futility, says the Teacher. Absolute futility. Everything is futile” (Eccl. 1:2, CSB). At first glance, that sounds like despair, but if we lean in, we find that Ecclesiastes speaks with startling honesty about the way life often feels. By facing life’s troubles head-on, this book touches the hearts of people who struggle and wrestle with doubt. In fact, Ecclesiastes is as much for the skeptic as it is for the believer—for the person who can’t stop asking hard questions about God.

For Solomon, searching for the meaning of life was like chasing the wind. He pursued wealth, wisdom, pleasure, and power more than anyone else in history, and yet he concluded that none of it could satisfy. That confession cuts to the heart of our own restless pursuits. We often imagine that if we just had more—more money, more recognition, more experiences—we would finally be content. But Ecclesiastes pulls back the curtain and shows us the emptiness of life lived “under the sun.”

The phrase “under the sun” is one of the keys to the book. Solomon uses it again and again to describe life lived on a purely human level, apart from God. It is a picture of frustration that touches every corner of life. Work feels endless, days run together, and pleasures slip through our fingers. Verse 1:8 even says, “The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing.” Or as the Contemporary English Version translates it, “All of life is far more boring than words could ever say.” In other words, life on its own terms doesn’t deliver the joy we expect.

And yet, while Ecclesiastes takes such a sober view of life, it does not drive us to despair. Instead, it points us toward the God who created life and rules over it. Psalm 19 tells us that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (v.1). Where Solomon saw monotony in the cycles of creation, the psalmist saw a joyful witness to the Creator: “The sun…comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy” (Ps. 19:5). Ecclesiastes shows us the limits of creation, while the rest of Scripture shows us how creation points beyond itself to God.

This book also asks the deepest questions people still wrestle with today: What is the meaning of life? Why is there so much suffering and injustice? Does God even care? Is life really worth living? Those questions are not easily answered, but Ecclesiastes shows us that we can bring them honestly before God. In fact, the Spirit inspired this book so that our illusions about life in a fallen world would be shattered, creating in us a hunger for something better—a hunger for Christ Himself.

Each day in Ecclesiastes reminds us how much we need a Savior to make all things new. When Solomon writes, “For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases” (Eccl. 1:18), he exposes the truth that even our best efforts to make sense of life cannot remove our pain. But Romans 8:28 reassures us that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him. The grief of this world is real, but it does not have the final word.

At the same time, Ecclesiastes presses us to stop wasting our days on meaningless pursuits. James 4:14 reminds us, “For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” Life is brief, and pretending otherwise doesn’t make it last any longer. Solomon’s wisdom jolts us awake from our illusions and calls us to prepare for eternity. Only when we prepare to die, in Christ, can we truly learn how to live.

So why does this book belong in the Bible? Because it dismantles our illusions. It tells the truth about how empty life is apart from God, and it points us toward the only foundation that will last. Far from being out of place, Ecclesiastes is one of God’s gifts to help us live faithfully in the real world. It doesn’t hand us neat, easy answers. Instead, it forces us to wrestle with the brokenness of life so that we might cling more tightly to God’s promises.

In the end, Ecclesiastes doesn’t leave us in despair—it leads us to worship. It reminds us that while life is fleeting, God’s purposes are eternal. “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Ps. 113:3, KJV). Our days may feel repetitive, but they are not meaningless when lived for His glory. Ecclesiastes doesn’t solve all our mysteries, but it does invite us to trust the One who holds all things in His hands.