Part 3 of 3
We have been studying Ecclesiastes 7:14-29, which contains two parts. First, Solomon’s search for balance, verses 14-22, and second, Solomon’s search for wisdom, verses 23-29. I’ll like to draw our attention to three lessons from this passage as we conclude our study of it.
First, we learn that there is no way we can arrive at true wisdom and the sum of things apart from the revelation of God’s word. Solomon tried very hard but he failed. Solomon is not alone. Countless others throughout history have also tried, by their own human wisdom and ability, to discover the true nature of reality and the deep meaning and purpose of life. And none have or ever will succeed.
O that we, who are mere men, might know ourselves to be just that – mere men. Wisdom and truth are found not in us but in God. And God has revealed all the most important things that men need to know in His Holy Word. Without it, all we are left with are opinions, theories, guesses and judgments. There is no absolute certainty and no ultimate foundation of knowledge apart from the revelation of His truth.
As believers, let us lay hold upon the precious Word of God and thank Him for it every day. Let us seek to know more and more of His wisdom and will for our life by studying it and hearing it preached. Let us resolve to bring all the opinions and ideas of men to the Word and test it against God’s standard of truth. And then seek to bring God’s truth into every part of our life so that we may live and walk in the light of it.
And if you are an unbeliever, may I urge you to turn away from all foolishness and vain searching for wisdom and truth outside the Bible. If you would get beyond the under-the-sun perspective, and to see things the way they should be seen, then seek to know and believe what is written in God’s Word, for there is no other way.
The second lesson is that the fear of the Lord is the key to true wisdom and a truly balanced life. The fear of God will keep us from all manner of sin and foolishness, and from going to dangerous extremes. In Genesis 20:11, Abraham told King Abimelech that he was afraid that the people in his land would kill him and take away his wife, and the reason was because he thought that the fear of God was not in that place. In other words, Abraham knew that when men do not fear God, they are capable of doing terrible things.
I mentioned in the previous article about Joseph and how the fear of God led him to flee from the continual temptation of Potiphar’s wife. He told her in Genesis 39:9, “how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Joseph did not want to sin against God because he feared Him and wanted to do what was pleasing in His sight.
In Exodus 18:21, Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, advised Moses to choose men who would be able to assist him in ruling and judging the people. The very first qualification is that they be men who fear God. And then he goes on to say, “men of truth, hating covetousness.” If a man fears God, he will also be truthful and not be covetous.
Truly as we live in this world, we need much wisdom to navigate through all the complexities of life and to avoid the many pitfalls on every side. But without the fear of God in our hearts, we shall surely lose our way and fall. And so, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the key to true wisdom and a truly balanced life.
But third and finally, we learn that apart from Christ, there is no one who is perfectly righteous and who can save us from our unrighteousness.
Solomon is right when he says that there is not a just man upon the earth who does good and sins not, and that God had made man upright but men have sought out many inventions. But thank God that almost a thousand years after Solomon, He sent His Son into this world in the form and likeness of man to live a perfectly righteous life and to die a cursed death upon the cross in order to save unrighteous men and to make them righteous again.
Indeed, the Lord Jesus is the only perfectly just and upright man to have ever lived and walked upon the face of this earth. And because of that, He is the only one who does not deserve to die or face the wrath of God. But still He died, and He did so so that we who are His people might live and not die. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Here is the greatest exchange that ever took place in human history. On Christ’s part, He takes our sins upon Himself and gives us His righteousness. On our part, we give our sins to Him and receive His righteousness to ourselves.
On the cross, God the Father treated Christ as if He lived the kind of life that we live with all its sins and transgressions. And at our justification, God treats us as if we had lived the kind of life that Christ lived with all its sinless perfection. What an amazing thought!
If you are an unbeliever, please remember that apart from Jesus Christ the righteous, you cannot escape the just judgment and condemnation of God for your sins. Your only hope is to acknowledge that you are a poor and wretched sinner, and to earnestly and urgently cry out to God to have mercy upon you for Christ’s sake. But if you are a Christian, what a great salvation you have received in our Lord Jesus Christ. What! God treating you as if you have lived His life and God treating Him as if He lived yours? May we never lose our sense of awe and wonder for what our Saviour has done. And may that drive us again and again to sincere worship, grateful obedience, and godly fear. Amen.