Ecclesiastes Chapter One
The key word in Ecclesiastes is vanity, “the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God.” The Preacher (traditionally taken to be Solomon, the wisest, richest, most influential king in Israel’s history) looks at life “under the sun” and, from the human perspective, declares it all to be empty. Power, popularity, prestige, pleasure—nothing can fill the God-shaped void in man’s life but God Himself!