You Can’t Catch the Wind with Wisdom

Rev. James Sharp, missionary, teacher, and pastor in Montevideo, Uruguay through the LCMS Office of International Mission, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ecclesiastes 1:12-18. King Solomon describes the way he applied his heart and used his wisdom to see all that is done under heaven. He sees in this life under the sun an endless busyness that leaves man unhappy. Man is unable to make the bad things good. Even Solomon in his great experience of wisdom and knowledge sees the futility of life as a striving after the wind. The wisdom that Solomon has only has increased his vexation and sorrow; only in Christ does life have meaning. “Wisdom for Life Under the Sun” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon’s favorite word in Ecclesiastes paints a bleak picture: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!” Apart from God, life is nothing but vapor that does not last and can never be grasped. Yet Solomon does not leave us in despair. He shows us that life does have meaning in the faith and fear of God, from whom all things come to us as a gift.