In grade school we were given a test and told simply to follow all the instructions given on the test page. There were a couple of dozen lines requesting that you do all sorts of things like draw boxes in the corner, underlines certain words, and so on. But when you got to the very last line of instructions, it simply stated, “Go back and read the first instruction”. It was shocking because the first instruction was, “Do not do anything until you’ve read all the instructions first”. In reality, we weren’t supposed to do anything commanded after the first instruction.. Ecclesiastes is lot like this in that if you don’t read it to the very last line, you will never understand the proper context of the whole book.
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It’s very important to always maintain the correct context of Scripture. This does not say that ALL writings and books is “wearying“, but “excessive devotion“. As with most things in life an obsessive devotion to something not only negates the possible benefits of moderate attention given them, but replaces what could have been beneficial with yet another thing which hinders not just our knowledge but our spiritual walk.
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This can be a very perplexing verse to residents of the modern, civilized world in the 21st Century. But to ancient peoples this illustration instantly created an image and corresponding spiritual meaning. Not being an agrarian society any more, it’s difficult for us to imagine a time when one flooded their fields or got into a boat when the river was at its flood stage to cast seed so it would take root in fertile ground as the waters receded.
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I know that this verse is often used to motivate ourselves or others to better pursue the entrepreneurial spirit and increase the quality of our work ethic, but I don’t think this strictly applies to material success. I have not doubt it applies to such, but I can’t help applying this to both the believer individually and the church at large corporately.
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I wonder how the myriad of false teachers presently deceiving the flock with their Faith-Prosperity gospel would explain this verse. They maintain that because we’re “King’s kids” we are entitled to an excess of physical and material blessings if we simply claim them by faith. In fact, they assert that not doing so indicates a weak and defeated faith. It’s important to note here that only the highest caliber of believers are addressed — “righteous men” and “wise men” and “their deeds“. And what is the guarantee for being the elite of the elite? None.
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Allow me to rephrase this a bit. What Solomon is saying is that no matter the IQ or the intensity of curiosity of the human mind, it will never be able to definitively provide all the answers to the reasons for this life. As it is so often repeated throughout the whole of Scripture, this life is not a test of knowledge, but faith.
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For the past few weeks I have have been tossing back and forth a thought shared by someone simply in the course of a passing conversation, that one of the core problems in the church today is that we rarely if ever teach about the fallen nature of man. Something about this rings true with me, that the church today has become as tolerant of sin as the world has. Like the repeated formula of the myriad talk shows aired daily, nothing is ever solely the problem of the individual because they’re just a victim. It’s the age-old refrain that no one is ultimately responsible because, “The devil made me do it.”
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