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Ecclessiastes 1:2
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (King James Version - KJV)
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." (New International Version - NIV)
Life apart from God has no ultimate meaning and therefore has no value or significance
Vanity comes from the Hebrew=Hebel which means breath, vapor
Psalm 39:5
You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.
James 4:14
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Wisdom
Ecclessiastes 13-14
I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
V16-18
I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." 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. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Job 12:13
"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.
Job 15:8
Do you listen in on God's council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
Pleasure
Ecclessiastes 2:1-2
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
Proverbs 21:17
He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.
Proverbs 10:23
A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.
Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Wealth
Ecclessiastes 2:4-11
11 - Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
Psalm 39:6
Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
Psalm 73:12
This is what the wicked are like— always carefree, they increase in wealth.
Psalm 52:6-8
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh at him, saying,
7 "Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!"
8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God's unfailing love
for ever and ever.
Proverbs 8:18
With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
Proverbs 11:4
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Toil / labor
Ecclessiastes 2:22-23
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
Ecclessiastes 4:4
And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecclessiastes 7-8a
Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
"For whom am I toiling," he asked,
"and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
Psalm 127:1
[ A song of ascents. Of Solomon. ] Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Isaiah 49:4
But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God."
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Without God, life is meaningless. Wisdom, pleasure, work, wealth are all meaningless without God. Without God, we fall into a state of despair, like the writer of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclessiastes 12:13
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
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