Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 (NRSV)
Read Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 on biblegateway.com
Verse 2Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
Verse 12I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem, Verse 13applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. Verse 14I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind. Verse 18I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me Verse 19-and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. Verse 20So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, Verse 21because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. Verse 22What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun? Verse 23For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Devotion
I typically hear Ecclesiastes preached as a wakeup call to a culture that venerates achievement. In this book, a teacher, a leader, a writer who has accomplished much looks back on their toil, and sees that all of it is vanity, leading only to despair. The teacher's words can be met with existential dread. But they can also let some needed light into our lives.
As you read Ecclesiastes on this summer day, take it as encouragement to step back from the toil of your life. Take it as permission to leave your work, even if just for a moment, and to step out under the sun — it's July, after all! Read it as an invitation to sabbath, as an invitation to rest from your work. Find in these words the grace of a God in whom we live, and move, and breathe.
Prayer
God of work and rest, of winter and summer, of indoors and outdoors, give us the strength to rest from our work and to set our burdens down. Give us the fortitude to pause. Amen.