Of all the books in the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes is rather unique in its peculiarly pessimistic tone: its first message is that everything is meaningless, whether it be wisdom, folly, pleasures, toil, advancement, riches, etc.
This is basically and fundamentally because of the realization of the ultimate "evil," that "the same destiny overtakes all" (9:3) no matter what one does in her life.
"Everything is utterly meaningless." This is a startling remark (so much so that anyone who tries to articulate this proposition risks sounding rather banal and trite). On the face of it, this seems to annihilate any intrinsic value to life. That is to say, if everything is in fact meaningless, then the natural thing to ask is "why then should one live?"
In my view, this provides a far better starting point for any serious (in the ultimately ethical sense, perhaps) philosophical inquiry, than does Socrates, who thought that the premier philosophical question was "How should one live?" I should like to say there is at least one question that is more fundamental than this; namely, "Should one live at all?"
The author of Ecclesiastes (traditionally thought to be Solomon) answers this question in the affirmative. This is the amazing feature of this philosophico-biographical book.
Everything is utterly meaningless, because no matter what one does, in the end, the same fate, death, awaits all. Moreover, life is full of injustice and the course of things irrational, with "a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness" (7:15).
"So," the author says, "I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot" (3:22). This "So" is absolutely fascinating; here, one glimpse the structure governed by wisdom of faith, and not (just) by rational logic.
This "So" indicates the meaning of meaninglessness, something I think I am looking for. The polarity reversed, and the emptiness filled. Chasing after the wind is futile, the book tells us, but the thought of eternity imbued in man's heart by God turns the wind into holy breath.
That is one in the third and crucial chapter the author says:
I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. [Therefore (?)] I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. (3:10-12)
