I have 3 children who are all very different– each one with his own unique personality, equipped with very specific likes and dislikes. But as different as they may be, there are some things they have in common. One, in particular, is a love for playing with bubbles. We’ve spent countless hours in our back yard with wands, machines, and every kind of bubble gadget imaginable watching them laugh and play, chasing bubbles all around the yard. It’s incredible how much joy can come from a bubble!
A bubble has a very short lifespan. The wind quickly carries it away or it lands and pops, then it’s gone. It vanishes as quickly as it appears. The Bible has a word that compares our lives to that of a bubble. The word is “vanity.”
Solomon used the word “vanity” more than 30 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. The term is pregnant with meaning. Basically defined it refers to a “vapor,” “wind,” or “breath.” Thus it reminds us that life is short and fleeting (Ecc. 11:10). “Vanity” also refers to that which is meaningless or empty. It possesses no stability or substance. This is the way Solomon uses the term, most often. For example, the constant pursuit of wealth is vain because man always wants more (Ecc. 5:8ff). The word can also mean “absurd,” or, “an offense to reason.” Think of good things happening to bad people while bad things happen to good people (Ecc. 8:14).
What Solomon wants us to understand is that a life lived apart from God is like chasing bubbles (Ecc. 12:13-14). There is no meaning, or stability, or reason in labor, wisdom, wealth, pleasure, or anything else “under the sun.” Those who live in unhappiness or emptiness should read and meditate carefully on Solomon’s treatise and ask themselves, “Am I just chasing bubbles?”