Everything is meaningless - how to make sense of the Book of Ecclesiastes

I have always had strong reaction every time I read the Book of Ecclesiastes. I understand that from King Solomon's perspective, he may feel that despite all the wisdom and riches he was endowed with, and the pleasures and delight he enjoyed throughout his life, he had not discovered (at least he did not articulate it as such in his Book) how knowing God and His purpose for him, should change his perspective about life. Of the 37 times the word "meaningless" appears in the NIV bible, 33 times are from the Book of Ecclesiastes. Here is a sample of it:

“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.” (vs 1:2)

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. (vs 2:1)

Then I said to myself,
“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.” (vs 2:15)







For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. (vs 2:21)

To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (vs 2:26)

This last verse really catches me. If I would be talking to someone who holds this perspective about God and life in general, I would become quite angry at him, especially if he claims to be a believer. Should Christian ever feel like his life is meaningless? Do I at times feel the same way about my life? Do I not sometimes feel that God has abandoned His creation and has left it to some random, meaningless, pointless course? What is the point of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible?

So I googled "purpose of the Book of Ecclesiastes" and summarize here a few of my findings:

Biblicaltraining.org has this to say: "Ecclesiastes is wisdom literature in regard to kind of a big picture of life. Does it have meaning or not?… Now of course, this is not the ultimate purpose of Ecclesiastes; its ultimate purpose to cause us not to think that way. But by looking at life as honestly as possible from the point of view of a person who thinks there is not life after death and there is not judgment and that God will not call all things to account and evaluate what we have done, Ecclesiastes really forces us to ask the question, what meaning does life have without God. What meaning does life have if God only watches and does not have a direct activity in our lives?"

Gotquestions.org gives this summary:"Ecclesiastes is a book of perspective. The narrative of “the Preacher” (KJV), or “the Teacher” (NIV) reveals the depression that inevitably results from seeking happiness in worldly things. This book gives Christians a chance to see the world through the eyes of a person who, though very wise, is trying to find meaning in temporary, human things. Most every form of worldly pleasure is explored by the Preacher, and none of it gives him a sense of meaning. In the end, the Preacher comes to accept that faith in God is the only way to find personal meaning. He decides to accept the fact that life is brief and ultimately worthless without God. The Preacher advises the reader to focus on an eternal God instead of temporary pleasure."

From the Bethinking.org site, Peter May (a retired General Practitioner!) has this to say: "Ecclesiastes uses the absurdity of life to point to its meaning." He then focus on four themes in Ecclesiastes:  
1. Human Yearning - "Unlike the animals, he is never satisfied. There are yearnings for ambition, fame, wealth and pleasure; for wisdom, knowledge and meaning; for justice, and to know the future."; "This is a major flaw in the atheist slogan for the London bendy buses: it reads “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” For the person who stands back and reflects upon life, it just isn’t that easy! Your philosophy would need to be  “eat, drink and be merry (Ecclesiastes 8:15) and try not to think about it”. The trouble is, when we do this, we wake up the following morning with an emptiness in the pit of our stomachs, yearning for something more fulfilling. For the pleasure-seeker, there is always a fly in the ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1), giving the perfume a bad smell. It is the smell of death for all those who treat the world as an end in itself."
2. Moral Values - "Atheists speak of values evolving, as though there was some relentless moral progress that could be documented. Not only is there no objective standard to evaluate this but some of the most appalling cultures in history have existed within living memory, whether the Nazi holocaust of the Jews, or the brutal regimes and mass killings of Stalin, or Mao Tse Tung or Pol Pot. On what criteria can we distinguish between moral values other than personal preference? Unless moral values lie in the character of God himself, we cannot meaningfully speak about the objective nature of good or evil. So our consciences make it very difficult to stop worrying and enjoy life."
3. Our Fallen Nature - "This is in marked contrast to the Tabloid view that there are good people and evil people. The preacher tells us that that is not the case. We all have the same propensity for doing evil –  a very unpopular viewpoint, but history records it on every page."
4. Ultimate Accountability - "Creation and beauty can only take us as far as deism; our consciences tell us further  that God is moral. But natural theology cannot show us what God is really like. Unless God himself steps into the picture and reveals himself, our human yearning for transcendence is left in the air. We cannot work it out for ourselves. We remain in a state of profound alienation. It is only as God reveals himself in Scripture, in the Moral law, in consciences and experience, and uniquely in the historic person of Christ, that God can be known. A God who surprises everyone by revealing himself hanging on a cross."
I have never visited the Bethinking.org site before. It is very well written. Will certainly come here again in the future.

So the Book of Ecclesiastes can be an exciting book to read. I have to take the "big picture" with me as I read through the pages of Solomon's struggles. I will constantly remind myself that Jesus has an answer for each of these struggles. Thank you Jesus for all that You have done for me!