After the Preacher’s dramatic opening stating his ultimate conclusion (“All is vanity”; v. 2) and corresponding question (“What does man gain?”; v. 3) he begins his discourse in earnest with a poetic description of the cosmos. The book similarly concludes with a poetic conclusion (12:1–7), in that case focusing on aging and death, followed by a reiteration of the refrain “All is vanity.” Thus along with 12:1–7 this section forms one of the bookends of the work within the third-person narrative frame (1:1; 12:9–14).

Poems and songs often employ metaphors to create deeper levels of meaning in a composition, whether written by popular or folk poets (such as Bob Dylan) or by more serious art poets (such as William Blake). The Preacher’s opening poem in 1:4–11 is likewise full of metaphors that invite the reader to consider the poem on multiple levels. On the surface level this passage can be read as a poetic description of the passing of mankind’s generations set against the backdrop of the relentlessly unchanging nature of the physical cosmos. While people come and go, nature seems unaffected; it is stable, but in a way it is also trapped in a weary, never-ending cycle (1:4–8). The real problem, however, as noted by Luther, is not primarily the creation itself but rather fallen humanity.27 The repeated cycle of the sun’s rising and setting is a beautiful thing to witness, but the truly dull repetitiveness of the world consists in the fact that human beings enslaved to sin habitually do the same things they have done before (1:9–10). It requires an intervening work of the Lord to make something new (Isa. 43:19; Rev. 21:5).

While the imagery of creation is featured prominently in this opening poem, on repeated readings and deeper reflection it emerges that it is also rightly interpreted as a series of political metaphors. The references to the sun, sea, and winds blowing to the south and to the north also speak to the never-ending cycle of (fallen) political powers fighting for control of Judea and its environs. Pagan rulers might depose other pagan rulers, but little changes for the Judeans who are trapped “under the sun”—that is, under the domination of foreign overlords.

  II.  The Political Cosmos (1:4–11)

A.  The Passing of Generations and Stability of the Earth (1:4)

B.  The Repetitive Phenomena of the Cosmos (1:5–7)

C.  Dissatisfaction with the Weariness of the Cosmos (1:8)

D.  Nothing New (1:9–10)

E.  No Generation to Be Remembered (1:11)

Many religions, philosophies, and worldviews look on history as essentially circular in nature. It is not hard to see why this is the case, since natural phenomena repeat themselves over and over in a predictable way. The sun rises and sets and rises again, clouds fill up with the rain (11:3) that keeps streams and rivers constantly flowing to the sea, and the seasons change and return with all their variety. Empirical observation of the natural world suggests an element of circularity to the cosmos. Likewise, observing the historical development of human societies also reveals recurring patterns—the past is often repeated by those who forget it—with the similar result that one could very easily conceive of history as running fundamentally in a constant loop. A circular view of the cosmos seems to be the default of most worldviews, and even the Preacher himself, relying chiefly here on the observation of his “eyes” and “ears” (1:8), feels stifled by the reality that the cosmos seems to be stuck in a constant, never-changing cycle.

Of course there is a natural beauty to God’s world, in which “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (3:11). To the one with ears to hear, the beauty and power of natural phenomena serve as a proclamation of the glory of God (Ps. 19:1–6) and of his “eternal power and divine nature” (Rom. 1:20). Tragically, however, as Scripture also makes clear, many people suppress these truths in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18), thereby rebelling against their Creator. In reality a strictly circular understanding of the world constitutes a rejection of God’s truth, because, in contrast to so many alternative worldviews, Scripture teaches that history moves not in a circle but rather in a line toward a particular destination. The history of the cosmos is linear in that it is progressing toward a goal and will culminate in the judgment of God (Eccles. 11:9; 12:14). The NT describes this destination in a variety of ways, calling it “the great day” (Jude 6) of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1) and the “blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). As one writer observed, “Christ came into the world, that He might break the cycle of the vicious circle.”28

While Scripture is clear that history does not run in a circle, the Preacher cannot see it progressing in a perfectly straight line to its ultimate end. Instead, it proceeds at times in “crooked” ways (Eccles. 1:15; 7:13): events take place that bring unexpected and even tragic turns in human history; at times it even seems as if things are going backward rather than forward. Biblically minded believers who honestly observe the world around them will rightly chafe at this state of affairs rather than accepting it passively; the holier that people are, the more zealous they should be for God’s righteousness and justice to prevail on earth (Rev. 6:9–11).

Observation often tells us that we are stuck in a vicious circle, but the opening poem of Ecclesiastes reveals an important truth: we cannot rely completely on our eyes and ears. As the apostle Paul would remind us, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). As helpful and important as natural revelation is, mankind desperately needs special revelation from the Lord to break it out of the darkness of a circular worldview. In other words, we need the Scriptures to be a “lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path” (Ps. 119:105) when that path is dark, as it so often is. Let us not be guided primarily by what we observe for ourselves or by what we see or hear in the media. Let us be guided by God’s “light” and “truth” (Ps. 43:3), which will lead us to his holy hill.Ecclesiastes 1:4–11

Ecclesiastes 1:12–18