Each time I read Ecclesiastes some of the verses throw me, like 3:18-21 where Solomon states that humans are just like animals and who knows where their spirits go? It makes you wonder (as I did with the psalms) if people at that time didn't have a very good grasp on the afterlife (although it turned out with the psalms that people did have a good understanding of the afterlife) or if Solomon had a weak faith at this point.
What's going on, however, is Solomon is writing from the perspective of one who sees life without knowing God. Ecclesiastes can actually be split in half with the first half being the "under the sun," or earthly, perspective, and the second half seeing things in the light of knowing God. Of course the first half is more dreary and sees life as meaningless.
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