Wisdom in a Meaningless World

Ecclesiastes 12 says Solomon’s intention in this book is to shepherd us with these words (12:11). Thus, Solomon exposes us to the brokenness of the world—a brokenness that really hurts and brings emptiness—for the positive outcome of causing us not to build our lives on things or people other than God. Ecclesiastes is God’s goodness to us because He refuses to allow us to wallow in our broken futility. In His love He frustrates us (Dever, “The Ungodly”). Our frustration over the absurdity of life drives us to God and His gospel. That is the answer to brokenness and meaninglessness.

Ecclesiastes encourages faith in God and His gospel in two ways here in Ecclesiastes 7–11. First, it reveals that God is in control and working things out according to His timing and plan. Therefore, Ecclesiastes 7:14-18 exhorts us to fear God.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

In my futile life I have seen everything: there is a righteous man who perishes in spite of his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in spite of his evil. Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

There is much we could dig into in this passage, but let’s focus on the big points. As we saw in Ecclesiastes 3, God’s plan for our lives includes both our prosperity and our adversity. He mixes both together to bring about something beautiful, even though we cannot see what that is right now from our small vantage point (cf. 3:11-15). Our wisdom is limited (cf. 8:14-17), so we need to trust God. That is the point of the book. After all, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7). As Ecclesiastes 7:14-18 points out, the one who fears God will avoid both self-righteousness and foolishness. That is the way we are to live life—trusting in Almighty God.

Tim Keller explains that this approach is helpful for people who deal with the problem of evil and injustice at an intellectual level. If, theoretically, evil and suffering are a problem for you, then there has to be a big God out there with a plan for everything that happens (“Search for Justice”). If there is a God, then evil is a problem. But if there is no God, then evil is not a problem because if there is no God, then there is no such thing as evil. The idea of justice is a cruel mirage. Solomon gets at this reality inEcclesiastes 9:4 when he says it is better to be a scoundrel like a dog and save your skin than noble like a lion and dead. If this life is all there is and if there is no God, then there is no right and wrong. There is no reason to work for justice or fair treatment of others. Better to be a utilitarian and save your own hide than risk it to save others and be dead.

Bob the atheist is concerned with the survival of the human species and with humans being good to one another. He writes of the importance of his atheism:

I came to realize that the stakes are terribly high, as high as the very survival of our species. Pascal’s wager says that if there is no God, the worst possible consequence is that I won’t go to heaven when I die. The real world says that if there is no God, but we act as if there is, then we as a species might well drive ourselves to extinction. This is not a remote hypothetical, this is a definite, looming threat. (Roberts, “Journey”)

My question for him is, Why do you care? What does it matter? Why is it good that we survive as a species? Why should we be nice to one another? Should we not let the strong survive and the weak die off? If evil and suffering are a problem for you, then you must believe in God. There at least has to be a God out there big enough for you to get mad at. However, that answer to the problem of evil and suffering is a kind of intellectual answer that does little for people who actually suffer.

The good news is that Solomon does address injustice at the personal level. He tells a story in Ecclesiastes 9:13-16.

I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me: There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it. Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

These verses tell the story of a poor, wise man who saves the city but is rejected. The passage is deeply puzzling because the people were indifferent to the hero who saved them. Sinclair Ferguson calls this passage a prophecy. He writes, “Whose name most naturally comes to mind when we hear of a poor man, full of wisdom, who became a savior but whose life and teaching have been rejected?” (Pundit’s Folly, 51). The answer is obviously “Jesus!” Jesus is the Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24,30) and the Savior we scorn.

Not only is Jesus the designer behind creation, but He is also the one who enters creation and lives out that design. He took on flesh (John 1:14), and He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52). He is greater than Solomon because he never faltered from His wisdom (Matt 12:42). He is the answer to the limited knowledge of mankind. Since we could not go up to God to get wisdom, God sent His Son to us with His wisdom (Prov 30:1-4). Wisdom is ultimately not a thing, not an idea, and not a concept; wisdom is a Person. We are sinful fools who will never be wise apart from Jesus Christ.

The gospel teaches that Jesus took on our sin, our folly, and our death to save us from them. In a world filled with suffering and injustice, He suffered the greatest injustice the world has ever seen—the murder of God the Creator! God did not remain distant from the problem of evil and suffering. He became part of it so that He could one day do away with it. We can hold on to our faith in times of pain because we serve a God—a Savior—who has experienced rejection and pain. This is so beautifully seen in Edward Shillito’s poem “Jesus of the Scars.”

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;

Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;

We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,

We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;

In all the universe we have no place.

Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?

Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace.

If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,

Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;

We know to-day what wounds are, have no fear,

Show us Thy Scars, we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;

They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;

But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,

And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

Jesus is the Savior who rescues us from brokenness. Jesus is the wise man who makes us wise. Jesus is the poor man who makes us rich. And yet He was rejected too! Mark Dever points out that Isaiah 53 explains the wisdom and foolishness of Ecclesiastes 7–11. The righteous man got what the wicked deserved, so the wicked could get what the righteous deserve (Dever, “The Ungodly”). The poor, wise Savior who rescued the world is rejected and despised because the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world and the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God (1 Cor 1:18-25). It pleased God to save through a cross that looked like foolishness. Turn to Jesus, and He can free you from your brokenness and meaninglessness. Let Him turn your foolishness into wisdom.

In Christ we get to recover and pursue God’s design for our lives. That means living out the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, which looks like contentment with what you have, kindness toward others instead of anger, the ability to control your tongue, a good work ethic, patience rather than arrogantly demanding what you want, and rightly submitting to authority. When you follow God’s design in this fallen world, things may not always work out immediately, but they will work out ultimately. God will make all things new in the end, and He will set all things right to His original design. Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 and 12:13-14, among other texts, say there will be a final reckoning where all is set right and made new. The wicked will not prosper forever, and the righteous who are in Christ will not suffer forever.

We can trust these things are true not simply because we fear a ­sovereign God who is in control, but we can trust these things because we also trust in a God who suffered in order to end the suffering and chaos of this cursed world one day, a God who was treated unjustly to end injustice one day, a God with scars! So repent and believe the gospel. Allow God to empower you to live out His wise design for the world by the power of His Spirit!