Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

I have failed in my attempt to be pithy here. Let me explain.

The Hebrew term hebel, translated vanity or vain, refers concretely to a “mist,” “vapor,” or “mere breath,” and metaphorically to something that is fleeting or elusive (with different nuances depending on the context). It appears five times in this verse and in 29 other verses in Ecclesiastes.

The breath of God is no mere thing. Metaphors try to explain things that are not clearly seen.

Exodus 26:31-33 English Standard Version

31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

That veil was a veil of separation. Its appearance kept us from seeing the Most Holy.

Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain (veil) of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

Hebrews 10:20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

Only the high priest was permitted to pass through (or enter behind) the veil of the wilderness Tabernacle and enter the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies), where the Ark of the Covenant resided and God’s presence dwelt.

Allow me my pithy moment here.

His flesh was torn, not to let us into the presence of the Most Holy but rather so that the Most Holy breathes on all of us.

Mark 9:35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

When we start out with nothing, knowing nothing, and see others serving us, how do we become like them?

The key to that is hidden in what Jesus said, “If anyone would be first”. That is a selfish desire.

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Thinking of self is selfish. To be like the one who serves all, we need to become selfless, seeking nothing for ourselves.

Romans 12:6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:

Gifts given are not earned. They are meant to be used to serve others, not ourselves.