The book of Ecclesiastes reflects the experience of King Solomon of Israel, the wisest man who ever lived, but who often lived very unwisely. In Ecclesiastes, he set out to show what the world looks like to man “under the sun.” The “under the sun” perspective is a limited, “this world” perspective, which ignores the fact that God exists and there is much more to life than this world. Solomon wrote just as if there is no God, and this life is all that there is (which is how most people have always lived their lives). They know how they ought to live before God, but usually choose to do things their own way. When Solomon had tried and found wanting every worldly pleasure he concluded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

In the introductory section of the book he wrote, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In our age of modern technology, it seems almost absurd to say “there is no new thing under the sun,” because practically every day brings forth a new technological advancement, and there is always a new gadget or product for us to enjoy. Solomon was not talking about technological advancements, however, but unchanging principles, especially from the “under the sun” perspective.

His statement about “no new thing” is found in the midst of a discussion of the fact that weather and water cycles continue from year to year, and no matter how hard man works, or what he gets, he always wants more (Ecclesiastes 1:4-10). As Solomon looked at things from the pessimistic view of a man living just as if there were no God, he saw that in the basic areas of life, nothing ever really changes. He recognized that there were technological advancements, but they could not provide the fulfillment he sought: “I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

As long as one has only an “under the sun” perspective, the outlook must be pessimistic. Man may find increasingly sophisticated ways to entertain or kill himself, but what really matters is obedience to God. Solomon realized that all the world offers is simply “vanity of vanities” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) without God. His cyclical perspective, his “under the sun” view, of no real change as time passes, was common in the ancient world. The heavenly perspective, however, reveals that history is not going in circles. It began with the creation, and is moving toward the future, under God’s control. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). We now await the return of the Son, when time will be no more.