This summer, we visited the book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon. There was a “genie in the bottle" moment in young Solomon's life where God appeared to him in a dream. 1 Kings 3:5 says, “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?” If God offered to grant any request, for what would you ask? Solomon could have asked for a long life, great riches, great power, death to his enemies. But because Solomon asked for wisdom, and not for any of these other things, God was pleased.
1 Kings 3:12-13 God says, “I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again. 13 In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during your entire life.”
Yet in Ecclesiastes 1:2, Solomon writes, “Absolute futility… Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” Most translations (NIV) read, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” One might wonder, “Did Solomon have buyers remorse later in life? Did gift of wisdom become a kind of blessing and a curse?”
There is an ancient myth about a certain King Midas, whom a god granted any single request he might have. King Midas asked not for wisdom, but that everything he touches turn to gold. Ever hear of the Midas touch? At first it was delightful to turn roses, apples, and brake pads into gold. In an instant, King Midas found himself surrounded by profound luxury and brightness. Yet just as quickly he realized his own peril. Whatever food touched his lips became metal. Even a gift of wine became liquid gold. Realizing he was doomed to die of hunger and thirst, he begged to be set free from his golden touch! Now possessing all wisdom, was Solomon suddenly filled with regret? Did the gift of wisdom, of insight, of seeing value of all things in light of eternity, become a kind of curse?
I remember shortly after my dad died; I began to slip into a rather dark, despairing mood. My dad and I enjoyed many of the same things. For example, we shared a love for fine woodworking and tools. We'd go to wood shows together, share ideas. But when he died, I found myself sitting in his shop alone surrounded by all his tools, and supplies, and his unfinished projects. In an instant, everything began to feel so hollow, so fleeting… it was like I was given a special set of glasses, through which saw everything differently. >The family would gather at holidays, it felt meaningless. > I'd walk into Barnes and Noble and reading felt meaningless.” Depression feels like a death of hunger and thirst, a death of desire, a total erosion of meaning. Did spiritual wisdom and insight (the Midas touch) cause Solomon to despair of life?
Allow me to suggest another possibility. What if Solomon—the master teacher—is baiting his would-be hearers? What if he's trying to get the attention of those who have succumbed to the despairing mood of our age? What if his statement is like a bright lantern, set on a stand, to draw men out of the darkness?
After all these years I still love to geek out. Have you ever heard of that series on TV, “How It’s Made?” I could binge watch those all day/night! Because I've bought an abnormal amount of chainsaws for chainsaw carving, the Echo Chainsaw folks invited me to Chicago to tour their factory. The tech they use was insanely awesome to see. Going back a few years, I started messing around with these programmable circuit boards. Don't try to understand—but I'd go to Radio Shack trying to find these little electric components. I'd search online. I even found a store in St. Louis that had everything you’d ever need. I'd go in there, and rummage through the aisles. Lara would sit in the car rolling her eyes! The owner of the store looked just like Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber; and come to think of it, so did a lot of the customers!
One day I was checking out and the owner looked at me and said, “Don't you just hate life. Doesn’t life just ….” {I can't say what he said; I was so caught off guard}. Then I realized he was just baiting me. I had been walking around his store for ½ hour, my hostile resting face on—and he was trying to trigger a reaction—to see if he should be concerned about selling me the components I selected. I smiled and said, “No sir, I rather enjoy life.” Then he handed me my stuff!
On the surface, Ecclesiastes seems like a depression dirge. In reality, Ecclesiastes is a kind of masterclass on how meaning “full” wisdom and knowledge (especially from God) can be.
From the start, Solomon uses humor and wit to draw us into the conversation. For example, in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18? “I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied. 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. 15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. 16 I said to myself, “See, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind. 18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.”
What point is Solomon trying to make? >To the degree that you realize the profound limitations of human knowledge, you may feel despair. >To the degree that you begin to understand the harsh realities, the darkness of history, of our times, of human nature… to the degree you understand the extent of injustice, suffering, and imperfection, and all that is ill in our world… you may descend into sorrow and grief. >To the degree you realize how powerless you are to be the straightener of all that is crooked, the savior of countless billions who seem to be uncounted, you may descend into madness and despair. *Some of most miserable people are the most educated, and have bumped up against limits of knowledge!
In Ecclesiastes Solomon uses powerful action words: I’ve Examined. Explored. Seen. Found. Counted. Grasped. Applied. Known. Pursued. Considered. Observed. Concluded. No matter how great the human mind, we can only go back into the past so far. We can only go so deep in the present. We can only travel so far into the future. Our scope of knowledge is shackled.
Yet Solomon sees quite a bit of value to wisdom and knowledge. In Ecclesiastes 2:13 he says, “I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.” In Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 he says, “Wisdom is as good as an inheritance and an advantage to those who see the sun, 12 because wisdom is protection as silver is protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.” In Ecclesiastes 7:19 he says, “Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city.” And in Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 he gives this example and makes a profound point: “13 I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me: 14 There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it. 15 Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. 16 And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” 17 The calm words of the wise are heeded more than the shouts of a ruler over fools. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good.”
What makes wisdom and knowledge deficient isn't its inherit value. What makes wisdom and knowledge deficient is that men despise wisdom! Fools raise their voices and shout in the streets, drowning out the quiet voices of wisdom. One sinner, with their folly, can reap untold destruction. Back in 1 Kings 3:12-13, when God grants Solomon wisdom, in verse 14 God says, “And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” That's a conditional clause! Wisdom only has value IF its quiet voice is heeded more than shouts of ruler over fools!
I love Ecclesiastes 8:1, “Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A person’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.” One of the untold reasons there is so much depression, anxiety, and despair today is we've jettisoned wisdom. We are more attuned to the shouts of a ruler over a foolish follower… to the shouts of what politicians, entertainers are shouting over their foolish followers… than heeding true wisdom! If some politician, or influencer says it, we accept it without any curiosity or investigation on our own part. We neither Examine. Explore. Seek. Find. Count. Grasp. Apply. Know. Pursue. Consider. Observe. Conclude. We’re transfixed by the Tik Tok, the click bait, were hypnotized by the steady glow of content on our devices. We're like lemmings marching off edge of cliff one after another because we’re told to do so by loud influencers, and because everyone else is doing it.
Do you ever consider that wisdom might brighten your face in a way the glow of your phone never will? Wisdom will rescue you from depression, anxiety, despair. It will light up your heart and mind from within. The contrast of God's wisdom is the contrast of day and night, sunshine and darkness… if heeded!
Solomon's key point regarding wisdom, is that when it comes to wisdom, we need God's help. God's intervention. God's revelation! Consider a few more verses. Ecclesiastes 7:23-25, “I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me. 24 What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it? 25 I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and examine wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.” *If you really want to know what’s going on in your heart, you need God.
Ecclesiastes 8:16-17, “When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), 17 I observed all the work of God and concluded that a person is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a person labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; even if a wise person claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.” If you want to understand the mighty workings of God in His word. If you want to understand God's purposes and ways. If you want to discover God's capital “P” Purpose for your life… you need God!
Ecclesiastes 12:9-11, “In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately. 11 The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.
Wisdom is like a cattle prod in the hand of a Great Shepherd! What a powerful image. Reminds me of Psalm 23, where the Great Shepherd uses his rod to comfort, protect, guide, feed, care for his sheep. The sheep aren't inherently wise—in fact they are quite vulnerable… but they are shielded, protected, and guided by wisdom to the extent they heed the voice of the Great Shepherd! Solomon says, “the sayings are given by One Shepherd.”
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 he continues, “12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body. 13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.”
Life is following the wisdom of the Great Shepherd. Life is not found in following the loud voices of politicians, nor their foolish followers. It's not found following the Influencers, Entertainers, and Rulers of our age. Nor is life found following our own tastes, preferences, whims, opinions, feelings, sentiments, or sinful impulses. You know the wisdom of God is so powerful it needs no amplification, no adornment, no sizzle… It proves itself true not just in life, but ultimately even in judgement.
In 2 Peter 1:19 Peter says we'd do well to pay attention to the word of God like a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day (of the Lord) dawns and morning star (Christ Jesus) rises in our hearts. Paul tells us in Colossians 2:3 that in Christ are hidden all the mysteries of wisdom and knowledge. Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 1:24 Paul tells us Christ himself IS wisdom from God. Jesus is way, truth, life, our great Shepherd. He is the light of the world.
Life comes down to our fear, our posture of God. In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul says, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
In John 3:19-21 were told how our lives will ultimately be judged: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”