Solomon the Teacher (Solomon): What is the meaning of life? Seriously? Does anything bring lasting satisfaction? Good question! Many people feel there must be more to life. After many years as the king, Solomon wrote his most philosophical work reflecting on his experiences of pursuing wisdom, wealth, career accomplishments, and pleasure, and the seeming meaninglessness (hebel) of life. His conclusion is both helpful and hopeful in our modern age. Recorded on Feb 15, 2026, on Ecclesiastes 1; 12:13-14 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of the Solomon: The Legacy of a King series. King Solomon was a complex man whose story started some 3,000 years ago, when David, his father, was the most powerful and successful king of ancient Israel. David’s reign brought peace, prosperity, and plans to build the temple before handing the kingdom to Solomon. How would King Solomon handle living in the shadow of his great father’s legacy? Would he learn to be a wise and godly king? Could he overcome the plotting of his enemies, the dysfunction of his family, and the temptations of virtually unlimited wealth, fame, and women? What would be his legacy? Solomon’s story is a vital part of the history leading up to the ultimate son of David and anointed king, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon Transcript
A little over ten years ago, during the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, actor Jim Carrey presented the award for best comedy. He approached the mic and said, “Thank you, I am two-time Golden Globe winner, Jim Carrey. You know, when I’m going to sleep at night, I’m not just a guy going to sleep. I’m two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey, going to get some well-needed shut-eye.” Hilarious. “And when I dream, I don’t just dream any old dreams. No sir. I dream about being three-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey. Because then I would be enough. It would finally be true. And I could stop this, this terrible search. For what I know, ultimately won’t fulfil me.” People were visibly shocked, but he continued. “But these are important, these awards. I don’t want you to think just because you blew up our solar system alone, you wouldn’t be able to find us or any of human history with the naked eye, but from our perspective, this is huge. One more time, here are the nominees for best motion picture, comedy…” Can you imagine being in the audience there? Because what Jim Carrey did, so brilliantly, was to expose the whole entertainment industry, full of the rich and famous, by asking: Will any of this actually satisfy anyone in any lasting sense? Will any of this provide real meaning to life, or will it only ever leave us wanting more? Good question. But this isn’t just for celebrities or the entertainment industry alone. There seems to be a kind of universal feeling that there must be something more to life. Have you ever felt that way? Like, is this it? Or is there something more substantial? more satisfying in life? Something that would finally bring lasting meaning and happiness? Good question. Well, we’re almost done with a sermon series called Solomon: The Legacy of a King, on one of the most important kings of ancient Israel. After today, we only have one more week before starting a new series for Lent from the Gospel of Luke. But as we come to the end of our study of Solomon’s life, we have one more of his Biblical works to consider before we can make a judgment about what kind of legacy he left. Most of our series was based on the record of his life from 1 Kings. But we sprinkled in a few examples of King Solomon’s contributions to the Scriptures, as well. We studied his psalms, proverbs, and the Song of Songs. Today, we’ll consider his most philosophical work in the book of Ecclesiastes. In it, this ancient king reflects on the seeming meaninglessness of life under the sun. Solomon would’ve probably agreed with Jim Carrey. But the conclusion of Ecc is startlingly helpful and hopeful, no matter how famous you might be. So if you have your Bible/app, please open to Ecclesiastes 1:1. We’ll work through chapter one before getting to the conclusion of the matter from chapter 12.
Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 (NIV), “1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” 3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. 11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.” Ok! So Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature in the Bible, and maybe this is a little bit of an aside, but when people think about the history of philosophy, they usually start with the ancient Greek philosophers. But King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes hundreds of years before any Greek philosopher considered answers to the big existential questions of life. Philosophy really started with the ancient Hebrew kings and prophets. But here, Solomon is sharing the results of a philosophical and ultimately theological search for meaning — to answer the question: what really matters in life? Ecclesiastes shares the wisdom that Solomon the Teacher collected in his search for significance. And what’s his conclusion in verse 2? “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” Wow, what a heart-warming message, right? But what does he mean? There is no meaning in life? Well, Solomon is writing poetically about life “under the sun,” a phrase meaning human or earthly life. “…there is nothing new under the sun.” This phrase and the things he describes don’t really include the things of heaven. There are no references to God. Life under the sun might be called a secular worldview, which, of course, is very common today. But this worldview isn’t new. Solomon tried it almost 3,000 years ago, and no doubt many others too, over the years. But what does this perspective give us? Love, joy, and peace? No. A series of seemingly endless cycles. People come and go, generations come and go, we toil and labor, we build and create and repair, and for what? We never seem to be satisfied. We always want more. And then what? 50 or 100 years later, almost everything and everyone is forgotten. Even the few human achievements remembered 500 or 1000 years later don’t really benefit the people who accomplished them, because they’re dead and gone. This is hebel. Hebel is the Hebrew word translated throughout Ecclesiastes as “meaningless” or “vanity.” Hebel means vapor or breath; it’s a poof, a nothing. It means something here and then gone, something that has little to no substance, something empty or hollow. A gnat is a tiny creature whose whole life lasts only 7 days. A gnat is hebel. Now people aren’t gnats. But still, from the perspective of the earth, much less from God’s eternal perspective, human life is so short. As the psalmist says, “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” (Ps 103:15–16). But so much of what we invest our time and energy worrying about or working on or sacrificing for — so much of what consumes our lives — doesn’t really last. Now, none of us like to think about it, but Solomon’s right; life is hebel. But how did he arrive at this conclusion? What was his process? Here, too, we find a very modern, systematic approach.
Ecclesiastes 1:12–18 (NIV), “12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. 18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” What we see here matches what we’ve seen in the rest of our series in Solomon’s creativity and exploration of all sorts of domains of knowledge and human experience (for good and bad). And here, Solomon describes his process of exploring what matters and what, if anything, is the meaning of life. Solomon was the king for forty years, so this exploration might’ve lasted over several decades. He studied many things, including wisdom, wanting to learn both what makes someone wise and what makes someone a fool. Nothing was off-limits. Solomon pursued all sorts of things to see if anything would make life better under the sun. In this passage, he talks about wisdom, but he tried other things as well. Solomon also pursued work and career accomplishments, and I think we can say he was pretty accomplished, right? He single-handedly mobilized the whole kingdom to churn out one massive building project after another. But at the end of the day, he found them lacking. Writing in chapter 2, he said, “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish?” (Ec 2:18–19). I wonder how many of us have come to the same conclusion in our careers? Who am I building all of this for? King Solomon also pursued wealth, something many people pursue to try to find meaning and happiness, and again, he crushed it. We’ve seen that Solomon might have been the wealthiest man who ever lived. But all his silver and gold and his precious cedars of Lebanon didn’t satisfy. Solomon was the first to say, “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Not really, but in chapter 5, he actually said, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied,” (Ec 5:10). He saw the pursuit of wealth as the bottomless pit that it is. Next, he pursued justice but found that the unjust often seemed no worse off than the just. The wicked flourish while the righteous suffer. Next, he famously pursued a life of hedonism or pleasure, saying, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” (Ec 2:10). Solomon was unrestrained in following his heart. Now, what could be wrong with that? Aren’t we told to follow our hearts all the time today? What you feel about something or someone is the most important thing, right? Well, the problem with this belief is that the heart is deceptive. And for Solomon, his heart led him down a path of destruction and death. He developed a heart disease, first in marriage and then in his relationship with God. His conclusion to these experiments is that the more he learned/acquired/tried, the worse he felt. “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” None of these things finally satisfy, they’re all hebel. But if this is the conclusion of a king, and not just any king but a king who was wealthy beyond imagining, who was gifted by God with wisdom and insight, and who was one of the most famous people on earth at the time, then what hope is there for us?!? Is there anything that might give us satisfaction or meaning that will actually last under the sun? Ultimately, Solomon’s answer is yes. There is meaning to be found. There are things we can pursue that will finally satisfy and will last forever. Ecclesiastes raises some uncomfortable questions, but it doesn’t land in a place of despair. But before we get to our Source of hope, let’s consider our options. If you study the history of philosophy, you’ll know that there isn’t an infinite number of conclusions that human beings have come to about these big existential questions of life. There are really only a few options that people have come up with over the ages. But what options do we have when we consider the meaninglessness of life? What options do we have when we encounter the futility, injustice, and chaos of this broken world? In my view, there are only four responses to hebel. First, we can become lost in despair and hopelessness. This world is difficult and harsh, and it doesn’t really seem like we can do anything about that. This is very depressing. So the solution for so many people today is to try to treat their depression, but while the treatments can help people cope, they rarely address the root issue. Second, we can live in denial or at least try to forget reality for a time. Sure, the world is depressing, but let’s try not think about it, ok? Maybe through substances like alcohol/drugs or entertainment like TV/social media or by becoming a workaholic or trying some other form of escapism, we can forget about it all for a time. And some of these things can bring us a measure of happiness for a time, but again, is this the life we want to live? A life of trying to escape/deny reality? I don’t think so. Third, we can become cynical and nihilistic and just want to see the whole thing burn to the ground. This is a response of rage against all the systems/structures/cultures/people of this broken world. If I can’t have lasting happiness/satisfaction/meaning, then no one can. I really don’t think this is the kind of destructive life anyone wants, but it is so tragically prevalent in our society. Ok! So far, in response to the seeming meaninglessness of life, we can live in depression, denial, or in some destructive rage. Are there any other options? I did say there were four responses. What was Solomon’s conclusion after years of study and contemplation?
Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 (NIV), “13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” This is God’s word. And here is the conclusion. Here is where we can find lasting meaning and significance in life. Fear God and keep his commandments. Why? Because God will judge the world. Judgment Day is coming, and God will determine the goodness or evil of everything under the sun. So, fourth, in response to the hebel of life, we can turn to something, or better yet, someone who is outside and above this life under the sun. This is where the ancient Hebrew philosophers differed from the Greeks. They turned to the God of the Bible, the creator of the heavens and the earth. A personal God who entered into a covenant relationship with the family of Abraham and Sarah. A God who rescued their people from captivity in Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land. A God who knows what life is like in this broken world but has a plan to redeem and renew all things. And it’s here that we find our hope. Instead of becoming depressed or living in denial or falling into the trap of destructive rage, we can trust that God is sovereign over all. That as confusing and messed up as this world and our hearts seem to be, God is still great and he is still good. His plans of redemption and renewal will come to fruition. And in the end, justice will be done. Commentator Duane Garrett writes, “This passage is not a contradiction to the gospel but a call for it. The world is in bondage; and humanity is unable to explain, find satisfaction in, or alter it. Only the Word [that is Jesus Christ], who came into the world from above, can open the way of understanding and escape.” [Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (NAC)] This is it! This is the answer Solomon was looking for! Maybe the most startling news of the Scriptures is that God agrees with this assessment of the meaninglessness of life under the sun—but listen: God isn’t content with leaving things this way, in bondage as they are to sin and death, just as he wasn’t content with leaving the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live and die and rise again, to provide a way for us to be forgiven and freed from the power of sin and death. And by faith in Jesus, we can experience a life that isn’t hebel, but rather, a life that actually has meaning and significance that lasts; not just 50 or 100 years, but forever and ever in the kingdom of God, the kingdom where Jesus is king. The life we find by faith in Jesus is the life of meaning and significance that we long for and that we’re all trying to find. It won’t be found by a third Golden Globe award. It’ll only ever be found when we commit ourselves to fear God and keep his commandments. He will judge what is right and wrong. Even if we don’t understand everything. Even if we don’t like some of the commands of God. Even when life gets hard. Aren’t you glad this is in the bible?? This is such a helpful and hopeful message! But did Solomon finally learn, by the end of his life, the folly and sin of his unrestrained life of pleasure? A life that led him into gross idolatry and would ruin his kingdom? I think so. I said last week that I couldn’t prove it from 1 Kings. But Solomon could’ve only written Ecclesiastes toward the end of his life. And he lands in a very Biblically orthodox position. Fear the Lord and obey him is another way of saying to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and follow him in life. Do you want to have a life of meaning? Do you want to find significance that lasts beyond the grave? Turn to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, trust him, follow him, worship him, serve him, not out of fear of punishment but in the reverent awe that he deserves. To him be the glory, honor, and praise both now and forevermore. Amen. Let us pray.
