Ecclesiastes 1:7, commentary and pictures

All rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea never fills, because the waters circle back to where they came from in a regular law of nature. Moisture is lifted from the ocean and carried over the land, falling as rain and dew to form brooks and rivers that water the earth for food and refresh living creatures before emptying into the sea again. This circling shows God's controlling power and wisdom in regulating vapor, clouds and rain to keep the sea within bounds while replenishing the earth. Written by Solomon in his last days after seeking rest in luxury, wealth, pleasure and idolatry, it belongs to his picture of the vanity and weariness of human life apart from God, where generations pass and see the same recurring course. What is received is meant to be given again, for created things receive in order to bless others and return gratitude to the Giver, and true wisdom learned by experience is that rest of soul is found only in fearing God and keeping His commandments.

Water Cycle and Vanity Context

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full, and the waters return to the place from whence the rivers come. The return happens as water from the seas and oceans is lifted up and carried over the land surface, falls upon the earth as rain and dew, forms brooks, creeks and rivers, and those streams empty into the ocean again, while the sea continually sends back moisture over the dry land through mists and showers. The purpose of this circling is to water the earth so that it brings forth vegetation for food for people and for the lower animals, and along their course the rivers refresh living creatures and supply their needs, sustaining life throughout the earth. The cycle shows controlling power and wisdom in regulating the conditions that produce rain and vapor, clouds and rain, keeping the sea from filling while replenishing the earth and refreshing people and animals, and study of winds, currents and the ocean has beautifully demonstrated this biblical truth in nature. It is stated as a regular law of nature, which careful observation later revealed.

The book was written by Solomon himself, son of David and king in Jerusalem, in his last days after sad, unsatisfying experience seeking pleasure in luxury and power and wealth and popularity and feasting and wine and women and idolatry. His many wives turned away his heart and led it away. He learned by actual experience that all his wisdom and glory and wealth and popularity would not bring rest of soul.

The verse belongs to the book's picture of the vanity of earthly pursuits and of human life without hope in God, the nothingness and utter uselessness of humanity and of all human pursuits apart from God. It stands among descriptions of the world's vanity and sorrow after transgression and the resulting curse, where life in the present world is marked by wearisome, recurring processes. Generations pass away, yet those who follow see the same things, drink the same stream and run the same course. The passage with the following verses through 1:10 shows that the joys of sin are fleeting, like dreams, thoughts, imaginations and shadows.

Spiritual Lessons for Life

What is received is meant to be given again, for gifts and blessings are not to be hoarded but to flow through those who receive them to benefit others and to return to the Giver in gratitude, just as rivers carry water onward. Created things receive in order to give again, as the sea receives the streams yet is not filled and gives back through mists and showers to nourish the earth in a recurring cycle. Receiving therefore creates a duty to share and to serve.

As the course of the rivers points back to the sea as their source, so when all of a person's duties end in self, self is the underlying principle of what is done. The natural person, not having been brought by grace to deny self and depend on Christ, cannot rise above self. By contrast, the one whose springs are in God draws strength from that source and keeps moving forward through opposition, bringing refreshment and help to others, and like the rivers returns rejoicing to where life comes from. The sea's continual tossing further pictures how affliction can purify the soul, and Christ's endurance of greater suffering encourages those under tribulation.

Nature has a recurring cycle in which water flows to the sea and returns to its source to flow again, but human life has no corresponding return. Life makes only one journey from birth to death, and a person cannot go back to an earlier stage and recover its opportunities. The vanity shown here was learned by Solomon, son of David and king in Jerusalem, in his last days after sad and unsatisfying experience seeking pleasure in luxury and power and wealth and popularity and feasting and wine and women and idolatry, when his many wives turned away his heart. He found by actual experience that all wisdom and glory and wealth and popularity would not bring rest of soul, confessed at last that all was vanity and vexation of spirit and the utter uselessness of all human pursuits apart from God, and came to one blessed conclusion that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments.