Ecclesiastes 1 The Quester
1 These are the words of the Quester, David’s son and king in Jerusalem:
2-11 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke. What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up and the sun goes down, then does it again, and again—the same old round. The wind blows south, the wind blows north.
Around and around and around it blows, blowing this way, then that—the whirling, erratic wind. All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again. Everything’s boring, utterly boring—no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear.
What was will be again, what happened will happen again. There’s nothing new on this earth. Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”? Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody’ll remember them either. Don’t count on being remembered.
I’ve Seen It All
12-14 Call me “the Quester.” I’ve been king over Israel in Jerusalem. I looked most carefully into everything, searched out all that is done on this earth. And let me tell you, there’s not much to write home about. God hasn’t made it easy for us. I’ve seen it all and it’s nothing but smoke—smoke, and spitting into the wind.
15 Life’s a corkscrew that can’t be straightened, a minus that won’t add up.
16-17 I said to myself, “I know more and I’m wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I’ve stockpiled wisdom and knowledge.” What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind.
18 Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt.
Well! If you were looking for uplifting inspiration this morning, don’t read the first chapter of Ecclesiastes! Here’s King Solomon, the richest and wisest king who ever lived, courted by rulers from the ends of the earth, living in unimaginable splendor, and he’s BORED OUT OF HIS MIND!!! AND FRUSTRATED!!! Did I say frustrated?
Here’s a guy who literally has it all, and now he’s finding that it’s not enough. Look at some of these statements:
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke. What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
Everything’s boring, utterly boring—no one can find any meaning in it. Boring to the eye, boring to the ear.
Life’s a corkscrew that can’t be straightened, a minus that won’t add up.
What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless—nothing but spitting into the wind.
What’s wrong with this guy? He has everything others envy and he’s not satisfied. The big problem is that Solomon is looking for meaning and satisfaction in the wrong places. As we continue through this book, Solomon will give us more details, but it’s simple: Solomon needs God and he’s trying to fill a God-sized hole in his heart with something less.
Solomon’s complaints are eerily echoed in a poem by Edgar Arlington Robinson.
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
It’s been said that “A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package.” Forget the bling, the palaces, the entertainers, the wealth, and the learning. Solomon is wrapped up in himself. And we can make similar mistakes!! May God help us to seek Him above everything else.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to realize that You are our greatest treasure. Help us to realize that our hearts will always be restless until they find their rest in You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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