Wise Up (Ecclesiastes 8:1-17)
Big Idea: Wisdom helps us navigate life while recognizing that, although we cannot fully understand God's ways, we can trust in Jesus.
One of the most valuable and rare commodities in life is wisdom. Wisdom is valuable to those who possess it. "An unusual amount of common sense is sometimes called wisdom," says one person. Another person says, "Years make all of us old and very few of us wise." When dealing with the absurdities and complexities of life, one thing that is sure to help is wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 8:1 says:
Who is like the wise?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
A man’s wisdom makes his face shine,
and the hardness of his face is changed.
Wisdom enables us to meet challenges in life that defy easy answers and quick fixes. But even wisdom has its limitations. Even wisdom can't solve all our problems. Are you wise? An old Persian proverb says this:
He who knows not, and knows not that he know not is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child; teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise; follow him.
Ecclesiastes is a very realistic book. It deals with life as is, and is honest about the struggles that are part of life.
In Ecclesiastes 8, Solomon magnifies the value of wisdom but is honest that even wisdom has its limitations. You and I both have to deal with difficult situations and people. In other words, we both need wisdom. We would do well to listen to Solomon, the wise king, as he teaches us about wisdom.
There’s something else we need to grasp: wisdom itself has boundaries. The tragic RAF Nimrod crash at Lake Ontario air show nearly two years ago occurred because the pilot ignored the aircraft's limits, leading to fatal consequences. We grow wiser when we recognize not only the value of wisdom, but also the necessity of respecting its limits.
Two Sides of Wisdom
This passage explores two perspectives on wisdom. First, it gives us a case study of when we need wisdom. Then it tells us that wisdom has its limits and it's not enough.
A Case Study of When We Need Wisdom (8:1-9)
One of the most difficult tasks in life is knowing how to relate to difficult people. I've heard of an annual contest to find the world's worst boss, and the contestants are always unbelievable. When the preacher wrote this passage, the king's power was absolute. The Eastern rulers of that day had absolute power over their subjects' lives. They were not elected by the people, nor were they answerable to them. They had the power of life and death, and they often used that power. You think your boss is bad? History shows that some kings ruled as benevolent dictators. For the most part, however, kings were tyrannical despots who always had their own way—no matter what. I don't think there could be a more challenging career than serving as an officer of the king's court in that day. The expectations would have been high, the pressure immense, and if you failed? There goes your head!
The preacher asks a question in this passage. How can a subject relate to such power? How does a wise person cope with a powerful tyrant? Today’s question is: how do we deal with those who hold power over us and make us feel powerless?
Solomon asserts in verse 1 that only a wise person can size up a situation like this and act accordingly. Verses 2 to 4 suggest that a wise person would understand that in this case, the best approach is obedience to the king.
I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” (Ecclesiastes 8:2-4)
Is it wise to provoke a king with absolute authority who cannot be challenged? Absolutely not! As one person said, "Action is what you don't take when the other guy is bigger than you are." I might add, "or more powerful."
What was Solomon's wisdom on the matter? "Obey the king's command." Don't be in a hurry to leave his service and stand up for a bad cause. A truly wise individual recognizes this truth. Instead of leaving the palace in anger or openly opposing the king, Solomon proposes a different approach in verses 5 and 6.
Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6)
The wise understand both timing and approach—knowing what to do and when to do it. Consider Scripture's examples: Joseph withheld revealing his identity to his brothers until precisely the right moment. Nathan used a parable instead of directly accusing David of his sin. Nehemiah was deeply concerned about Jerusalem's broken walls but patiently and prayerfully waited for the right moment to ask the king for help, knowing it could cost him his life. Wisdom recognizes the right approach and timing.
Many of us face relationships with difficult or powerful people that require careful navigation. This demands wisdom, doesn't it? James 1:5 gives us hope: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." While God offers no formulaic solutions or instant fixes, he provides the wisdom we need for these challenging relationships.
This shows one aspect of wisdom's great value. Yet wisdom, for all its value, we must face an important truth: even wisdom has its limits.
The Limits of Wisdom (8:10-17)
Even wisdom has its limitations. There are some things that even the wisest person can't understand. Verse 9 says that Solomon applied his mind to everything done under the sun. His conclusion is in verses 16 and 17:
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
We may solve some mysteries, but no one can fully understand life or claim to have figured out everything God has done. As Winston Churchill said about something else, "It is a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma." No one can understand it! Even wisdom has its limitations. Historian Will Durant concluded that "our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance."
Solomon observes that, in the short term, neither good nor bad people seem to receive what they deserve.
Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity. Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 8:10-14)
Solomon is coming to terms with reality and refers to a common experience that we've all seen. Somebody who is wicked dies, and at his funeral all his wicked deeds are glossed over. Have you ever attended a funeral where everyone praises the deceased, and you felt like asking a friend, "Am I at the right funeral?" "Are we talking about the same person?"
Sometimes it seems that bad people get ahead and good people suffer. Why is it that a Bible college student is swarmed at the Jane subway station rather than brutal murderers? Why is a youth pastor killed in a tragic sporting accident? Why does a drunk driver walk away unharmed while a Christian family traveling the highway is killed?
We understand the question that Rabbi Harold Kushner poses:
There is only one question which really matters: why do bad things happen to good people?… Like every reader of this book, I pick up the daily paper and fresh challenges to the idea of the world's goodness assault my eyes: senseless murders, fatal practical jokes, young people killed in automobile accidents on the way to their wedding or coming home from their high school prom.
These are mysteries that defy explanation. No one can understand God's providence. That's why he says:
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. (Ecclesiastes 8:17).
Solomon closes his section of the treatment of these enigmas by acknowledging our ignorance of God's ways. Solomon is emphatic and repeats it three times:
- no one can find out
- he will not find it out
- he cannot find it out
Even if we expend all our energies, even if we're wise, we can never really understand the mind of God. As Scripture reminds us:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:9)
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33).
How do we face life's mysteries? Chuck Swindoll puts it plainly:
We must each admit, "I am only human" – and admit it daily. We should say it to ourselves first thing in the morning, a couple of times a day, and just before we go to sleep every night. And we should do that week in, week out – until it sinks in!…We must each admit, "I don't understand why – and I may never on this earth learn why."
Solomon gives more instruction on how to handle the mysteries of life. For the fourth time, he writes that we should enjoy life and delight in the fruit of our labors:
And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
Solomon teaches us to enjoy life. Accept life as a gift from God who gives us "all things richly to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17). We can't control life, but we can enjoy it, and savor God's gifts whenever we receive them.
The gospel reminds us that while wisdom is valuable, it is not ultimate. True wisdom starts with a reverence for the Lord (Proverbs 9:10) and is fulfilled in Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Ecclesiastes highlights the limits of human understanding, while the gospel shows that God, in his wisdom, allows us to know him through Jesus. When life becomes overwhelming, we can find comfort in knowing that God's wisdom is perfect, his plans are good, and his love for us is unwavering.
Even more, the gospel addresses the deepest questions that wisdom alone cannot answer. Why do bad things happen to good people? The cross of Christ shows us that the ultimate "good person," Jesus himself, suffered unjustly for our sins so that we might be reconciled to god. In his suffering, we see both the wisdom and the love of god on display. His resurrection gives us hope that the most confusing and painful aspects of life will be redeemed. Trusting in Christ means relying on his perfect wisdom and care rather than our own understanding. This is the wisdom that changes everything.
