Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 NO NEW WISDOM There are many things we call “new” that have been around for a long time. There is the new year, the new moon, a new generation and such like. When it comes to moral things and fundamental standards, these are things that are not new. People talk about the “new morality,” that allows legislatures of government to pass the will of fallen sinful man into laws. But the new morality is the same as the old immorality. Or “new truth” is similar to the old deception. All the new things that have been “discovered” were always there, but have been uncovered by the inquiring minds of smart people. Old things have been found and arranged in new ways to produce “new things.”
The Preacher, the king over Israel, applied his “heart” to find the answers he sought. He was a wise man it is true, but human wisdom apart from divine wisdom will find that the wisdom of man leads to vanity and vexation of spirit. It is unfulfilling and leaves us with more questions than answers. The Preacher’s high position in society, and human wisdom were directed to an earnest, serious and unrelenting inquiry into trying to straighten out things that were twisted. This was a real burden to him. He wanted to be able to explain things that happen to people, and why they happen. But instead he ended up with a burdensome load on his heart as a result of trying to grasp what cannot be grasped by human intellect. To him it was like trying to capture and control the wind. That is impossible, as are those things that people try to explain when they leave God out of their lives, minds and hearts.
Problems in the world are more than we can count, let alone try to sort out and straighten out. Things that are crooked will remain twisted. Even if it seems like one thing has been done that worked out okay, there are hundreds more waiting. Without God, there are no solutions to the twisted webs of man’s making because of sin. Human goals and hopes have to take account of the fact that there will always be unsolved matters in life. We have to accept reality for what it is. Human problems and aspirations that are not dealt with in harmony with the sovereign will of God, will never be achieved.
Solomon was no novice when it came to the experiences of life. He had been given human wisdom from God. He was an able leader. He had great wealth and could make wise decisions when he chose to. He was no insignificant person and he knew that. He was intrigued with learning and carefully investigated everything he could think of. But at the end of it all he concluded he was trying to catch the wind. So why was this such a disappointment? He thought he could find the answers on his own with his own self-opinionated human wisdom. He had expended all that effort without God. He did it with his “heart,” but without the Lord revealing truth to him.
A lot of study without the right motives leads to frustration and is wasted effort. The opposite of wisdom is “madness and folly,” and so-called wise people are as susceptible to those two things as are those who are far more limited intellectually. The more you understand, the more difficulty you are faced with, and the less able you are to explain the inexplainable with which you are confronted. Also, the more you know and see, the more evil all around us will become evident. There is a high price to pay for wisdom and understanding. In themselves they do not make a person happy or satisfied. The wisdom that comes from God does bring peace to our minds because it allows us to see things from God’s perspective, and anticipate God’s solution. Human reasoning, philosophy and wisdom is burdensome, and usually brings frustration, anger and sorrow.