As we begin to look at this book of Ecclesiastes we need to note the viewpoint of the author. Of course, Solomon is the writer. (We will talk more about him in a moment.) In this book he looks at life “under the sun,” or from a purely human perspective. This is a view that sees life apart and separate from God, Heaven, and eternity. As he views life “under the sun,” he ignores the fact that there is something above the sun. I believe this book of Ecclesiastes reveals to us what is in the hearts and minds of people today who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior. However, I want to add that I believe this would be a good book for our teens and young adults to study. Here is why. We know and have already seen that when sin entered God’s crowning creation, mankind, it not only separated God and man, but it left a God-shaped vacuum, or void, in the heart of man. We also know that humans have attempted to fill that space with many things, one of the chief ones being religion. They have also tried filling it with power, popularity, prestige, and pleasure, but these things cannot fill the void in the human heart. Sadly, whether we intended to do it or not, God’s people have fallen into the snare of the devil and at times have impressed upon our children that these things should play an important role in their lives. Because of that many young people (some of them saved young people) are led to view life from the same humanistic perspective as Solomon does here, and they,along with him, cry out “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” They may question, “Is this all that life is about?” Many young people today are looking for a purpose to their lives, and when they cannot find it, they turn to “pleasure,” often finding it in alcohol, drugs, fornication, and other sins. (Do not kid yourself, sin is pleasurable to the flesh -- Hebrews 11:25.) And, way too many, when they cannot find purpose in their lives, and the enjoyment of these things wears off, take their own lives. But, when life is viewed from God’s perspective, it takes on meaning. There is a reason we are told in the book of Proverbs to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Some suggest that word “old” has the idea of “when whiskers begin to appear on the chin.” (For most boys that is in the early teenage years.) Unfortunately, some parents wait sixteen years and 160 pounds too late to try to train a child. Let's see life "under the sun" as we examine:

I. The Approach Of The Book.

II. The Author Of The Book.

III. THE ASSERTIONS OF THE BOOK.