Reading the Word
Ecclesiastes 7:23–29 (ESV)
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.
24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness.
26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.
27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—
28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
Understanding and Applying the Word
Solomon starts these verses by saying, “All this I have tested by wisdom.” He is referring to all he has said previously. He has tried to understand life and its meaning and purpose. He has especially tried to reconcile the meaning of life with the reality of death. He tells us that he is unable to understand these things even though he has sought to do so. The answers are far from him and too deep to find.
After this opening statement Solomon goes on to tell us what he has learned about mankind. People are sinful. Our lives are filled with wickedness and foolishness. He speaks of women whose hearts are snares and nets. Before you think Solomon is anti-woman, he tells us that men are no better. He sought out to find an upright man and found only one in one thousand. Solomon’s point is that such a person is rare. God created mankind upright, but we have sought out many schemes. We have gone our own way and we are sinful.
Solomon’s observation about the sinfulness of mankind is echoed throughout Scripture. We are told that every one of us is a sinner and separated from God because of our sin. Our sin deserves punishment and condemnation, but God, who is merciful, has given his Son as a sacrifice for our sin. All who trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be saved and inherit eternal life. It is an amazing thing to look out at the world and see the evil of the hearts of mankind and then realize that God is at work to save us from our sin. That is the wisdom that we need and it comes through the message of the gospel.
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