Wisdom of the World - Ecclesiastes #4

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
And what is lacking cannot be numbered.

16 I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

18 For in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

About twenty years ago, a neighbor of mine would occasionally ask me if I was smart. It didn’t matter how I answered the question, because all he wanted to know is if I could fix a weed trimmer, a chainsaw, or something else. Music, math, computers: I could probably help; and even if I would have been able to help him fix his lawn equipment, he would have been able to fix it himself! My neighbor defined smart like Solomon defines wisdom in this passage: practical. Wisdom isn’t simply of the mind, we show wisdom by our daily decisions and utilizing common sense and the knowledge we’ve gained from past experiences (could be ours, could be others!).

To get the full meaning of this passage and others in Ecclesiastes, we need to peek at the end of the book. We’ll see that all true wisdom originates from one source, whom Solomon calls “one Shepherd” (Ecc. 12:11). The instruction from the Source is practical: Honor, respect, and obey God beginning as young as possible (see Ecc. 12:1, 13-14). Honoring God is far from “grasping for the wind.”

When we hear something that seems like wisdom, we should search out the Scriptures to confirm whether it passes muster as true wisdom. Regarding this passage, we see that worldly wisdom doesn’t make the crooked straight, but God does through His Son Jesus Christ (v. 15, Isaiah 40:4). Increased knowledge may heighten our sorrow, but through Christ our mourning is turned to dancing and in eternity there will not be any more sorrow or grief (v. 18, Psalm 30:11, Revelation 21:4).

In Christ Alone,

Dan

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