In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon pulls no punches. Though he has access to more wealth, prestige, experiences–though he has more accomplishments than most humans ever will–he finds the end result of them all severely lacking. “Vanity,” he says. Meaningless. A striving after the wind.

In chapter 5, he notes there is a difference between having wealth and possessions and “power to enjoy them” (Eccl 5:19). The whole book seeks to answer the question, how do we, as finite humans who all face the certainty of death, get the power to enjoy the imperfect lives we have?

The only answer, which we’ll trace through the major movements of the book, is to live with a perspective that is beyond the sun, rather than under the sun. To have our eyes set on the eternal, not the earthly.