Ecclesiastes 1:5-7

Science does not answer these questions either.

People’s work is similar to the aspects of nature cited in these verses. In nature there are many things that recur in a cyclical pattern. They are never complete. For example, we never have a rainstorm that makes it unnecessary to have any more rainstorms (cf. Job 36:27-28). Our work is never complete in the sense that we never finally arrive at a condition in which no more work is necessary. There is always the need to do more work. Any homeowner can testify to this!

One writer argued that the preacher did not intend Ecclesiastes 1:5-7 to show the futility of the phenomena he recorded. He intended to show only ". . . the limitations imposed on them by their allotted natures and functions, which necessitates their constant cyclical repetition." [Note: R. N. Whybray, "Ecclessiastes 1.5-7 and the Wonders of Nature," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 41 (June 1988):105.] These limitations reflect futility.