Road trips are exciting. Many of us have childhood memories of packing the whole family in a car, traveling to a beach or campground, and enjoying a nice family vacation. There’s always a mix of emotions at the start of a long road trip. The kids are excited, the parents are usually overwhelmed, and mom is always nervous. If you’ve ever been on a road trip, then you know it’s vital to prepare. You need snacks, gas, money, directions, clothes, and extra socks. The book of Ecclesiastes is like a long road trip. Solomon is on a quest for the meaning of life. The first chapter lays out the map, introduces the guide (King Solomon) and the supplies for the journey. Last week we looked at Solomon’s introduction where he pointed us to the vanity of this world. As we noted, Solomon is hinting at the fact that the meaning of life can only be found in God. Today we’ll discuss Solomon’s first stop on his journey for the meaning of life in Ecclesiastes 1:12-18.
Solomon had all the resources he needed to complete this quest. He was the king of Israel. Under his reign, Israel experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity. Certainly, if anyone could find meaning and fulfillment in this life, a king could. He used his resources to experience everything this world had to offer. Ecclesiastes 1:13 says he applied his “heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven.” As a king, Solomon had the money, power, and time to do anything he wanted.
In verses 13-14, He gives the conclusion of everything this world has to offer – it’s all vanity. He says, “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.” Man has an insatiable desire to find meaning in the things of this world, but this desire only leads to frustration. God gave humans the desire for purpose. That desire has been corrupted by sin resulting in frustration and anxiety. Because of sin, mankind is so arrogant that we live our whole lives trying to escape death and God that we waste our lives on a futile task. Our efforts to know everything and to fix all our problems are constantly foiled. This world is full of vanity. The king saw enough to know that man doesn’t have the answer to the problem of death. Solomon describes this vain pursuit as “striving after wind.” This is a graphic picture of wasted effort and pointless striving. Nobody can grab the wind. It would be insane to chase the wind and try to catch it. Likewise, it’s irrational to try to find meaning in the empty things of this world.
This world is vanity because it cannot be fixed by man. People are broken, culture is crooked, governments are corrupt, families are torn, and man can’t fix these problems. We can’t escape this vain world with wisdom or knowledge. We need a Savior. We need Someone who is powerful enough to fix all things, loving enough to help us in our brokenness, and faithful enough for us to rely on. We need God.
Solomon continues by describing the different tests he used to reach his conclusion. First, Solomon tested wisdom and experience for the answer to his problem. Solomon’s wisdom surpassed everyone else (Eccl. 1:16). Remember, God blessed Solomon with wisdom and fortune. He was smart, wealthy, and powerful. Wisdom is the ability to discern right and wrong. Knowledge is understanding facts, skills, and reasons. Solomon had both. He was brilliant. In modern terms, Solomon had a Ph.D. in the study of life.
Solomon was so thorough in his research that he even tried the opposite of wisdom by testing folly and madness. These were also vanity (Eccl. 1:17). He pursued both reason and foolishness for the meaning of life, but both were empty. Whether he sought the answer by knowledge or ignorance, both efforts were futile.
Interestingly, Solomon doesn’t tell us how he tested wisdom and folly. We can speculate that he tested these by going to the people that employed such lifestyles. He probably went to the smart and sophisticated crowd to see what they had to say about the issue. After being disappointed, he moved on to the outcasts and wild crowd to see if they had the answer, but they weren’t helpful either. He ran with the nerds and the fools but neither of them had the meaning of life. Man’s wisdom and knowledge falls short. The “wisdom” from politicians, celebrities, or professional athletes will fall short. Man’s wisdom is vanity.
The irony is the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know (Eccl. 1:18). When we study the world around us, we realize how small and insignificant we are. When we search out knowledge, we’re led to more questions than answers. As you learn about life, you realize there’s no escape from death. The wise man gains insight into the problems of the world and is more aware of his inability to fix those problems. If you take life seriously, then you can’t take it lightly. More knowledge means more frustration.
The fact is education, knowledge, and experience are not the meaning of life. Science can’t fix our problem with death. You can prolong your life with medicine and machines, but in the end, you will die someday. Knowledge is good, wisdom is helpful, but neither can give you meaning or purpose. A life full of experiences will not satisfy your soul. No amount of education, science, or good times will stop death from coming. So once again, we’re challenged to humble ourselves and look beyond this vain world. The meaning of life must be eternal, universal, and personal. Knowledge, wisdom, and experience are too inconsistent and inconclusive to solve your problems. That’s why we need God. Only He can fix our problems.