"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness" (Ecclesiastes 2:11-13).
We covered verse 11 in the previous Ecclesiastes post. I include it here for the first part that says, "Then I looked".
Before chapter 2 verse 11 Solomon was talking about all that he had done. He really hasn't gotten into his full rant yet. Everything before lays the foundation for everything to come. It is in chapter 2 verse 11 that Solomon begins forming Ecclesiastes in his mind. He's looking back now at all that was before this verse. From here on out everything is a review, with more elaboration, of everything already said.
Solomon turns to look back at everything. In verse 12 he turns himself to look back upon his actions. In Ecclesiastes 2:10 I stated, "I am convinced he delved into the deepest darkest sins any of us can imagine". I think Solomon saying, "what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done." is another hint that he did everything we can imagine somebody totally rich, totally powerful, totally in control, and totally in charge can, could, and/or would do.
Notice in verse 13 that it is after everything is said and done he realizes that "wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness". Isn't that the way we are? When we are walking in darkness we are blind. We can't see! At best we can only see what is right in front of us.
When we keep company with folly then folly is all we will know. Everything will be ridiculous. Not ridiculous funny either. Ridiculous as in nothing will make sense. There is no meaning to life in folly. It's all for the moment with no vision beyond that moment. It's when we repent of our ways and turn to the Lord and His wisdom in His Word that we find ourselves looking back at where we were and saying, "Wisdom is better than foolish ways".
If you are like me you have suddenly walked into the light several times and found out just how far in the dark you were. Darkness is always a subtle thing. It creeps in as the light fades but light is always a sudden thing. Light banishes darkness in an instant but darkness will never banish light.
Though I may choose to walk in the Light of the Lord I have often found myself in the dark and wondering how I got there......usually just after the Lord brings me out.
Where are you today?
7 comments:
Very good post!
"Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness."
It is interesting that he uses the comparison of Light and Dark to illustrate Wisdom and Folly.
Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is?
You measure the amount of light present. Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present.
Folly too, is only defined in contrast to widsom. Folly is simply what is left in the absence of Wisdom, see 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."
Great points Magi! THANKS!
Michael,
You are doing a good work with this study.
The comments of MDM are also quite good.
Light banishes darkness in an instant but darkness will never banish light.
This is good.
Good article. Solomon refers to the things he writes about as under the sun. That is referring to all that is earthly. It is ALL vanity! This is why we should seek those things which are above. Keep up the good work.
wow Michael, such wisdom in this post. Where am I? At this point I feel like I am stumbling around.
As I was leaving today, I stopped at the kitchen counter and a thought came to my mind, "the answer is in Him." And as I read your post tonight I think I see where I am at. I am stumbling around trying to do this on my own and it is not possible.
Thanks Michael!
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