Ecclesiastes 1:8-18
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Important messages
Nothing is new; nothing satisfies
8. All things are full of
weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the
ear filled with hearing.
9. What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the
sun.
10. Is there a thing of which it is
said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before
us.
11. There is no remembrance of
former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
I wonder if a person can
understand the insufficiency of human language, if he has not studied the
Bible. Because the Scripture is devoted to an attempt to put spiritual,
heavenly thoughts and matters into earthly languages, we continually see in it, the limitations of man's communication. I need not belabor the obvious, but only to clarify, what the
preacher means, when he says, “A man
cannot utter it”, I offer a few examples. Who can put the love of God into
words? Who can express or comprehend eternity or infinity? Of course, above all
else, who can describe Almighty God and His uniqueness, the incomprehensible
trinity and the endless wonder of omnipresence and omniscience. All this goes
far beyond expression.
If we try to approach the
things of God with earthly intelligence, we will weary ourselves to the edge of
insanity. Because man is created in the image and likeness of God, a living
soul, placed within a body made of clay, the eye continually seeks to see
beyond its capabilities and the ear listens for the inaudible world of the
spirit. Therefore, no matter how much it has seen, the eye is not satisfied,
and wants to see more. The ear that has heard the absolute best sounds
available, is listening for something better. Progressively, more powerful
telescopes and more accurate microscopes will be built; sonar devices will
constantly be improved, because the human eye and ear will never be satisfied.
There is no satisfaction for them in the realm of cycles, in which they exist. We
have to continually remind ourselves that Solomon is limiting his discourse to
the mundane, the earthly, the natural life under the sun.
Nothing is new. We can
expect nothing in the future that did not exist in history. Nothing will be achieved
that has not been achieved. Solomon is using a very basic reasoning in these
arguments and not the sophisticated superficialities that have been built upon
the foundations. All the complex fusions, which have produced modern synthetics,
were made from elements that have been present in the earth since creation. The
laws, which were used to form them, were placed in the universe since the
beginning of time. The human intelligence, which contrived every invention, has
existed always in the human brain. It has only developed these basic abilities.
If it appears that man has made progress in his physical world, he has
digressed horribly in a moral and spiritual sense.
The essence of Solomon´s
argument is simplified in verse 10. Basically, man exists in the present,
without the wisdom to learn from the past or plan the future. True, there are
memorials to the past, but they are not given the same priority, as current
events. National debt is probably one of the greatest evidences of lack of
consideration for the future and the misuse of nature is another. Man relegates
the past to different circumstances and cultures, which are not relevant today,
and the future is filled with uncertainties that cannot be predicted; and so he
struggles on in the present tense, doing the best he can to cope with things as
they are. As men act today, so they have always acted and so will they continue
in future generations.
Solomon gives personal testimony
12. I
the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13. And
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.
14. I
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.
16. I
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."
17. And
I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived
that this also is but a striving after wind.
18. For
in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases
sorrow.
Solomon
begins to give us his personal testimony. He reveals openly his past thinking
and endeavors, then contrasts them with a new mentality and heart. “I used to
apply my heart to seek earthly wisdom,” he says, “but now I see that it is an
unhappy thing, with which to be busy. I previously sought to view everything
under the sun, but now, I see all is vain striving after wind. I acquired great
wisdom and knowledge, but I now know that it only increases vexation and
sorrow.” Can there be any doubt that King Solomon has been brought to repentance?
He
states his position as king in the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem. He speaks
in the past tense… “I was king”. He
does not mean that he is no longer king, but only that his former mentality and
lifestyle have come to an end; he has put it in the past, because he now sees
things on a much higher level, as a transformed human being.
Solomon
was no common king, but a mighty ruler from the Euphrates River to the border
of Egypt. Read the account in 2 Chronicles, chapter 9. There it states, “King Solomon excelled all the kings of the
earth in riches and in wisdom” (2 Chr.9:22). Other kings looked to him for
counsel: “All the kings of the earth
sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom” (23). The statement of
the queen of Sheba is particularly significant: “I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen
it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass
the report that I heard” (6). As to his wealth, the chapter continues to
state: “Solomon had 4,000 stalls for
horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen… And the king made silver as common in
Jerusalem as stone” (25, 27). It reports that he received 666 talents of
gold annually… about $17 million. He made shields of pure gold, a throne of
ivory, coated with gold, six steps and a footstool of gold, all of his drinking
vessels were gold, etc., etc.
God
does not choose at random or ever settle for second best. The believer will
take into account that every writer of Scripture has been inspired to write by a Person of the
trinity, the Holy Spirit. God has chosen and prepared a man, who deserves an
audience, regardless of how secular and skeptical that audience may be. His
word carries authority on the basis of personal experience, beyond that which a
man on the street could give. If he is the one to tell us that the search and
accumulation of wisdom and knowledge increases vexation and sorrow, then, at
the very least, we ought to hear him out. If he tells us that he has learned
that life under our sun, that is, earthly life, is vanity, we ought to
seriously consider it. So please, let us be sensible enough to follow him
through these twelve chapters.
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