Ep 460 – Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

In today's episode, we're going to cover verses 12-18 of chapter one. In this passage, Solomon is going to address three primary topics: Wisdom, madness and folly. He'll bring them up repeatedly throughout his book, describing his relentless pursuit of them and his frustrated experience with them. It is important to remember that Solomon is most likely writing this book at the end of his life, long after he has walked away from God, having succumbed to the influence of his many wives, and having erected idols to their false gods all over the nation of Israel. As he peers back over the decades, he sees some disturbing patterns and trends. He has made the pursuit of wisdom a life-long endeavor. Keep in mind, God had graciously given Solomon wisdom when he had asked, but it seems that Solomon wanted more. Greed and a tendency toward conspicuous consumption had left him with an insatiable hunger that left him constantly dissatisfied. He operated by the philosophy of more is better. More wisdom. More money. More power. More wives. More palaces. But it all proved futile and meaningless. The lie of "just a little bit more" was always followed by the sobering and disappointing reality of "enough is never enough." So, the cycle continued, day after day, decade after decade, with Solomon concluding that it's all so much chasing the wind – an exercise in futility. And yet, Solomon's dissatisfaction stemmed, not so much from a lack of money, wisdom, power or pleasure, but from failure to find his satisfaction in God.