4/20/24

‭Ecclesiastes 1:18 Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.

Solomon had been greatly blessed by God with much of all a man could desire. One such thing is wisdom another is knowledge. When we look at 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1 we see that Solomon asks God for a hearing heart, wisdom, and knowledge. So God blessed him with these things. Listen to Solomon in ‭Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  

God blessed Solomon with exactly what he asked for. Then Solomon uses what he has received and says in our text today. 'Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." He was given much wisdom (fear/awe/reverence for the Lord) and he says in this there is much grief. Why is this?

When we have awe and reverence for God we see our failures in a new light. This can bring on a major sense of grief for our sins. This is not a bad thing except when we forget to also look at it through faith in Christ. If we don't add faith to it then we live in our grief. However, when we look through the lens of faith we see the forgiveness bestowed on us thanks to the redeeming work on the cross. This will enable us to live in the joy and love of God. Solomon didn't ask God to increase his faith. Therefore he relied on his wisdom, and his faith became weak. All he knew was his grief increased in his wisdom. Then our text says "Increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." As his fear/awe/reverence of the Lord increased without the reliance on faith so did his desire to understand the grief and thus he was blessed by the Lord in knowledge. Remember in Proverbs he says "Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." So he understood God but didn't understand the consequences of sin and thus he struggled in pain. The Hebrew word translated pain means sorrow. He couldn't find Joy. All he knew is the more wisdom and knowledge he gained the more grief and sorrow he gained. Let this be a lesson to us. Any gain of anything without a reliance on faith will not bring joy. However, a reliance on faith with or without knowledge, wisdom, or anything else will produce joy. God designed us to live by faith. It is God's Grace through our faith (which he provides all men a measure of) that brings salvation, and in salvation, JOY.

Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are good but Faith is essential and great.

Love Bro. Scott