The Futility of Knowledge (Ecc 1:12–18)
The Preacher, King Solomon, has made a statement that life is futile. He is looking for something that will last, something that will impact the future and leave his mark. He wants to fill the void in his life with something that promises fulfillment.
He turns first to knowledge and learning. As a king, he had access to the best teachers and all the learning that day had to offer. Imagine a full-ride scholarship to any university in the country! Anything that Solomon wanted to learn, he had only to give the word, and the best instructors in that discipline would come to teach him. So the Preacher “gave his heart to search out wisdom” (1:13). He studied everything available to him, but it did not satisfy.
His conclusion was that knowledge and education are “vanity and vexation of spirit” (1:14). Learning did not satisfy. Simply learning about man’s problems and being able to categorize and label them did not fix anything (1:15). Education accomplishes nothing by itself. Learning without application to life is entirely futile.
It was not that the Preacher wasn’t smart— he was! His knowledge superseded all who had gone before him (1:16). He was quite literally the smartest man in the world (cf. 1 Kgs 3:11–12). His conclusion was that learning is a never-ending endeavor: there is no end to knowledge. Education is a “vexation of spirit,” or better, striving after wind. Never in our lives will we attain to the vast storehouse of knowledge (1:17). Furthermore, the more we know, the more we see the problems of ourselves and others.
Education and knowledge was not the answer to the Preacher’s quest for life’s meaning. We, too, cannot solve the riddle of life’s purpose by learning more and more things. There must be a purpose to that learning, or else it is a futile endeavor.
He turns first to knowledge and learning. As a king, he had access to the best teachers and all the learning that day had to offer. Imagine a full-ride scholarship to any university in the country! Anything that Solomon wanted to learn, he had only to give the word, and the best instructors in that discipline would come to teach him. So the Preacher “gave his heart to search out wisdom” (1:13). He studied everything available to him, but it did not satisfy.
His conclusion was that knowledge and education are “vanity and vexation of spirit” (1:14). Learning did not satisfy. Simply learning about man’s problems and being able to categorize and label them did not fix anything (1:15). Education accomplishes nothing by itself. Learning without application to life is entirely futile.
It was not that the Preacher wasn’t smart— he was! His knowledge superseded all who had gone before him (1:16). He was quite literally the smartest man in the world (cf. 1 Kgs 3:11–12). His conclusion was that learning is a never-ending endeavor: there is no end to knowledge. Education is a “vexation of spirit,” or better, striving after wind. Never in our lives will we attain to the vast storehouse of knowledge (1:17). Furthermore, the more we know, the more we see the problems of ourselves and others.
Education and knowledge was not the answer to the Preacher’s quest for life’s meaning. We, too, cannot solve the riddle of life’s purpose by learning more and more things. There must be a purpose to that learning, or else it is a futile endeavor.
Labels: Ecclesiastes
posted by Mark Perry at 7:09 PM
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