Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 "I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow."
Sinners cannot find meaning. Man is born seeking meaning but without it become surrounded by guilt and life becomes a mere chasing of the wind. With Christ we find meaning and through evangelism we can bring Christ's meaning to those who live meaningless lives. Apart from Christ we will always search for meaning while denying Christ. You are empty till you are filled up. The man who has his soul set free from sin...he is also set free to think, reason, and find meaning like we are made to do.
The voice of the one writing speaks mainly as one from the outside of the covenant, but every once in a while he will speak with the voice of one in the covenant. It is never the case that we do not take dominion...only what kind of dominion. Either we take dominion or we take dominion by giving it to someone else. The field of Christianity is the world. We are not to compartmentalize...everything on earth is God's. Our task is to take over and dominate as Christ did. Our task is to seek and search out true wisdom. This comes along with education and literature. This heavy burden or task God has laid on men, it is placing God first.
This is just to say that we acknowledge that God is the source and strength behind this task. Seeking and searching out wisdom is a huge task given and gifted to us by God. We have no traction in this task unless we think God's thoughts after Him. God is the cause and the solution of this burden of seeking wisdom.
There is no true wisdom apart from God. What is lacking cannot be counted and what is twisted cannot be straightened. God gives to the lacking and straightens the twisted. Yet, with the increase of wisdom comes great sorrow. It's a sweet melancholy. A bittersweet. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
It is like in C.S. Lewis's book The Last Battle where the dwarves were given a feast, but treated it like straw and stable water...all filthy. This is the life of the one outside of Christ and the covenant. They could only see that glorious food as vanity of vanities...a chasing of the world. And when you are in the covenant and your eyes are opened, seeing them fight and trod on and waste the beautiful gifts, it is very difficult to see that and not be vexed or upset or full of grief and sorrow for God and for the blind ones. At the same time we are to count it our joy that our eyes have been opened and God has granted us both wisdom and knowledge in addition to meaning to our lives.
As an act of response to that, we should always seek more of God, more of wisdom, more of knowledge, and seek to bring God's meaning to those who are living blind and meaningless lives in darkness and despair. That is our task and we are guided by Scripture and strengthened by Christ.
"Man is born seeking meaning in all he goes about,
He desires to understand it all, from beginning to the end,
He labors to quench uncertainties raised by constant doubt,
But apart from God in Christ, it's just a chasing of the wind,
Meaning comes from outside of us, and is never ours to make,
Wisdom is a gift of God, given to those who seek His face,
"The Wise" are ones who handle all for their Redeemer's sake,
Who understand that creatures must keep their proper place."
"That I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 1:17
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