Digging Deep for Wisdom
A Florida construction crew working on a $42 million drain project unearthed a valuable treasure. Deep in the soil, they found a well-preserved fishing boat from the 1800s. The vessel contained interesting artifacts, including part of a kerosene lamp, drinking cups made from coconut shells, and coins. The ship is being studied with the hope that it will provide details of what life was like in that region more than one hundred years ago. “[It’s] more than just the vessel itself. [It’s] this reminder of everyday people,” said one maritime archaeologist. By digging deep, knowledge and wisdom were gained.
Ecclesiastes contains great treasures of wisdom as we study it—ancient wisdom reflecting on the everyday events of that time and ours as well. Solomon reveals how a “wise heart will know the . . . proper time and procedure for every matter” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6). He wrote that wisdom is found in remembering “all that God has done” (v. 17) and who He is (12:1). God alone provides meaning to life that—apart from Him—is “meaningless” (8:14). His wisdom allows us to experience a contented, joy-filled life in His presence (v. 15).
Ecclesiastes reveals that people will “come and . . . go” (1:4), as evidenced by the ship found in Florida. But God’s wisdom leads to real and lasting life and purpose (John 10:10). Let’s dig deep into the Scriptures to find the ancient wisdom He provides.
By Tom Felten - Bread Ministries
Ecclesiastes 8:14-17
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth—people getting no sleep day or night— 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.
