Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

Rather than going to our world dictionary to determine the meaning of vanity, let us look at the Hebrew word for vanity is hebel.

vapour, breath

Not just breath, but breath with vapor. In our natural world that is an exhaled breath, not an inhaled breath.

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The Hebrew word for Spirit is ruwach which is also defined as breath.

wind, breath, mind, spirit

The greater meaning shown here is that the breath comes from an external source as the wind is external and is inhaled. Note the remaining and important distinctions that is carried into this inhalation; mind and spirit. Whose mind and whose spirit? God’s of course, it says that right there in Gen. 1:2.

Psalm 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

The word for breath here is nĕshamah and is a spoken breath, not merely an exhalation.

Breath, spirit

Solomon begins Ecclesiastes expressing his frustration that we all inhale the spirit but so few of us exhale the spirit. Where else in scripture is this frustration expressed?

Psalm 32:1-4 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

When I kept silent and did not breathe the Word of life.

Jeremiah 5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

Do you expect blessing from the Lord? Do you expect them because of who He is or what you are? So many times I will quote Old Testament truths and people reply with comments like, “That OT stuff has passed away, we live in grace by faith.”

I get this image of people being hung by their feet over a fire pit. God is holding the end of the rope and has secured their safety in that he will never let them down. They praise God for knowing they will never be dropped into the fiery pit.

Does that sound like the abundant life He promises in John 10:10?

How would you feel if you replace the fiery pit with a pool of blessing? A pool of healing? A pool of whatever you truly need in your life? Would you want God to let you down? What prevents God from doing that?

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

If this is true and you are not consumed, then Jeremiah 5:25 is also true for God does not change. So the blessings that are not coming your way are because you will not let go of your sin. Do not blame God who does not change, accept that it is we who must change.

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

OT truths are still true. The fact that you do not want to accept that does not change them.