Money, good food, a sense of accomplishment, laughter, and pleasure have something in common—they don’t last! Ever finish a really good meal and think, “That didn’t last long enough?” Ever go on a cool vacation and find yourself at home wondering, “That went by quickly?” Or maybe it was a book or show you were excited about, and were almost sad to see it end. Life is full of things that feel like steam rising from a hot drink—they disappear quickly.
The book of Ecclesiastes has a word for this, it’s הֶבֶל (heḇel) which means “vapor” or “breath.” It shows up 37 times in the 12 chapter book. That’s a lot. Oftentimes it’s translated as “meaningless” or “vanity,” but these English words miss the metaphor of a puff of smoke or whiff of cloud that’s gone just as quickly as it arrives. We often put our hopes in things like money, power, influence, or pleasure, and Ecclesiastes points out they’re like a few shallow breaths of air. Don’t try to hold on to them. They can’t satisfy. Don’t make life about them.
Heḇel is also used another way: you know those hard, unanswerable questions that drive you nuts? Questions like, “Why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?” Trying to understand is like trying to grab smoke. As soon as you think you got it, you realize there’s nothing in your hand except the smell. There are so many difficult and unanswerable questions in life, and Ecclesiastes draws attention to many of them.
But far from saying there’s no meaning in the universe, the book ends with the only answer we can hold on to when things don’t make sense—stand in awe of and trust in God, and follow his ways (12:13).
If life is hard right now and things don’t make sense? Read Ecclesiastes. If you’re angry or frustrated with evil people in power? Ecclesiastes is too. If you just bought a new (to you) car and got in a wreck? You’re ready to read Ecclesiastes. If you’re disappointed at how hard you pursue financial security, pleasure, or answers… only have them slip through your fingers like smoke? Yep, that’s what Ecclesiastes is all about.
Here’s a challenge: read Ecclesiastes chapter 3, but don’t put emphasis on the positive lines. Instead, put emphasis on the negative lines. If you do that? We think you’re reading Ecclesiastes correctly, and God is eager and ready to meet you on the other side of losing hope in all of the things that deceive us. He’s offering long-lasting hope, joy, and life beyond the fleeting heḇel.