Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 1-6.
The writer of Ecclesiastes begins by declaring that everything is meaningless. Really, a large part of what he has to say can be summed up by what he writes in verse nine of his first chapter:
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
This counters the arguments of many who say that certain biblical teachings should no longer apply because things are different now than they were when the Bible was written. I am not going to go into the different things where people make that argument, but a study of history will show that they are mistaken. We may have different technology today than they had in the past, but human nature has not changed. The author studied to expand his wisdom and knowledge. He discovered that as he gained wisdom and knowledge he merely increased his sorrow and grief. So, he chased after pleasure, which he found to be just as empty and meaningless. That led him to pursue great projects, and after much toil those also led him to feel empty and unfulfilled. He concluded that wisdom was better than folly, but that it still provided no meaning. Ultimately, he says that we should toil at the work God has given us and strive to serve God and do good while we live. Only that which is of God will endure.
I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.