May 5 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 5—Ecclesiastes 1:12–18

¹²I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight,
     and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶I said in my heart, "I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." ¹⁷And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

¹⁸For in much wisdom is much vexation,
     and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Devotional:

One of the general rules of creative writing is that the author should not give away the point of a story before the conclusion. The reader is to be engaged in an imaginative process. Qoheleth pays no tribute to this rule, but tells us right from the start that a far-reaching and deep examination of "all that is done under heaven" (1:13) leads to the inevitable conclusion that "all is vanity and a striving after wind" (1:14).

Of course, in light of our previous studies in Ecclesiastes, the words sound all too familiar. But for now, the Teacher is leaving his theoretical style of talk behind and becomes personal, indeed, very personal. He is telling us the story of his life experience, and he can say, "I have seen it all." 1:12-18 are a preliminary summary of his findings, whereas a full-orbed account stretches all the way through 2:26.

Qoheleth claims he has been uniquely blessed to investigate life. Some people are wise, but also very poor, or they simply don’t have the time to give themselves to relentless study. Others have the means to do so, but lack either wit or desire. But the Solomon of Ecclesiastes has it all. He has means to support his life of leisure and pleasure. He can engage in all sorts of projects and works, and he has the wisdom that goes with it. Learning and scholarship has never been conducted under perfect circumstances. But, for all its worth, this is an ideal scenario. So Solomon goes on a search for the human race to examine all that is done under heaven.

"All" has reference to three basic categories: work, pleasure, and the life of contemplation. Solomon's unique gift allows him to weigh all three of them one by one. 1:15 adumbrates his conclusion about pleasure and work. "What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered." There it is. Wherever we look, imperfection is staring us in the face, and there is no unspoiled value in life. "Crooked things" are things that should not be crooked—in a perfect world. The fall due to sin has changed the nature of the world dramatically. Everything is warped by the curse. Human beings perceive this (whether we acknowledge God or not), and they ask the unanswered question, "Why?" This is a "heavy burden" which God has laid on the human heart (1:13).

Qoheleth also forestalls his conclusion on the issue of wisdom and the life of contemplation: "In much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow" (1:18). Knowledge and proper understanding only highlight the pain of struggling against crookedness and deficiency. It seems better, then, to remain ignorant. Charles Montague (1692) put the idea in his own words: "From ignorance our comfort flows, the only wretched are the wise." So: the more knowledge, the more grief. And yet, Solomon does not reject wisdom, pleasure or work. He resists the conclusion that it is better to remain a foolish brute neither knowing nor caring about God and the world. Ignorance is not bliss after all.

In the present world, wisdom will always be like a bitter-sweet symphony, it is costly, and neither work nor pleasure can keep us satisfied. Nonetheless, wisdom will prove to be a tree of life, if you seek it (Prov. 3:18). Wisdom has the power to restore our relationship with God (and man) in such a way as to bring us back to Eden (i.e., tree of life). Wisdom is, finally, personified in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). He is our example and the one who empowers us. When we fail, he supplies—and will supply—"what is lacking." With him being yours, the search is over. You have come home.

The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.