Ecclesiastes 1:12-15

Rachel Workman: ¹² I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. ¹³ I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. ¹⁴ I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

¹⁵ What is wrong cannot be made right.
    What is missing cannot be recovered.

Maybe Solomon is right. We have been dealt a tragic existence. Because of Christ's sacrifice it went from tragic to beautiful. I have no doubt when you fill your life with the meaningless thing that he speaks of here it is tragic.

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John Burnett:   I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I set my ^[a]mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is ^[b]a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. ¹⁴ I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is ^[c]vanity and striving after wind. ¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted.  Solomon is talking about worldly wisdom.  Today’s scientist looking for the origin of life would be a perfect example.  Here is the wisest man on earth with the most resources and he sought and explored for wisdom and came to the conclusion that it is like striving to catch the wind, a worthless effort.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Ecclesiastes 1:16-18

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” ¹⁷ So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

¹⁸ The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
    To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.