The book of Ecclesiastes describes Solomon’s search for meaning and happiness in life… Many Bible expositors consider Ecclesiastes to be a written testimony of Solomon’s repentance for the serious (and very sad) moral failures of his old age… According to 1 Kings 11… ‘King Solomon loved many foreign women (700 wives and 300 concubines)… and when Solomon was old… his wives turned his heart after other gods…’. SOLOMON refers to himself as ‘the Preacher’ – Ecclesiastes is written as a sermon, that could be titled, ‘A Vain Man’s Pursuit of Happiness’ …or… ‘Life Without the Reality of God.’ Solomon uses a kind of “literary pessimism” to teach the true meaning of life… He writes as a skeptic and sometimes even as a fatalist… He uses the word ‘vanity’ {heh’bel} 29 times… The Heb. word means—vapor, worthless, useless, empty… Theme: Life without God has no real meaning… A person may have a lot of things (in Solomon’s case—everything)… but if God isn’t a reality in your life—you have nothing… Nine times, Solomon uses the very descriptive expression – “grasping for the wind.”