One: Pills, Ibiza, Eternity, and Vapor Using 12-Point Helvetica Font with 1-Inch Margins on 8.5 X 11” Paper, Ecclesiastes Measures in at Only 6.5 Pages
One: Pills, Ibiza, Eternity, and Vapor Using 12-point Helvetica font with 1-inch margins on 8.5 x 11” paper, Ecclesiastes measures in at only 6.5 pages. Not too intimidating when you compare it to series like Divergent, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Tolkien’s records of middle earth in The Lord of the Rings. However, in those six and a half pages, we see an incredibly insightful examination of our world and the human condition. In Ecclesiastes Solomon reached the pinnacle of luxury and found that it lacked the satisfaction he had hoped he would find. He uses the Hebrew word hebel, which is translated as “vanity” (or “meaningless” or “futility,” depending on your translation), around 38 times. Upon further examination of the word hebel, it is clear that it means more than just vanity. Literally it means “vapor,” and figuratively it means “temporary.” Later in Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon says that, “[God] has set eternity into the human heart.” It is the contrast between the temporary and the eternal that creates an incredible amount of tension and frustration throughout the book. Actually, the tension between the temporary and the eternal has created frustration for every human who has ever lived. The song “I Took A Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner speaks of this vanity and emptiness: But you don't wanna be high like me, never really knowing why like me. All I know are sad songs, sad songs. Darling, all I know are sad songs, sad songs. I'm just a singer who already blew his shot.
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