If I want to learn something I am going to seek a reputable source. I want a source that has a great deal of wisdom from study and experience. Experience that produces wisdom usually comes from trial and error, i.e., success through failure. The deepest points of my own wisdom have come from failure, poor choices, and the lament they caused.

King Solomon was credited in 1 Kings 4:30NIV as having wisdom “greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.” He wrote most of the book of Proverbs, which is full of wisdom on a variety of topics. The knowledge I gain from him right now though comes from a different book he wrote: the book of Ecclesiastes. In that book, Solomon philosophically reflects on what he has learned in his time of forsaking God in earthly wisdom and embracing folly and pleasure.

I love words. I love what they mean and how they are connected. I love little tiny words and big giant nerdy words. I am a student of God’s Word so especially love how those words are recorded and used and emphasized to bring clarity and truth. If a phrase is repeated in Scripture there is a reason for it. It is being emphasized for us to learn something important. The phrase “under the sun” (or sometimes “under the heavens”) is used more than 25 times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon used that phrase to speak of all the things that are seen, learned, and done from an earthly perspective for earthly results. (Unfortunately that may describe some or most of our day to day living). Another phrase he used quite a few times is “a chasing after the wind”. That phrase is used as Solomon’s concluding remark on each of the things he had done on the earth (or under the sun). An example of this is Ecclesiastes 2:17, “So I hated my life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

King Solomon was in a place of desolation and failure and was reviewing his life and the things he had done. He looked at his accomplishments, wealth, knowledge, and huge mistakes and found them all meaningless. His God-given wisdom had not left him though for he made a remarkable conclusion at the end of the book. In Ecclesiastes 12:13, he said, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Those may have been the wisest words ever uttered from the wisest man that ever lived! He used his prideful failures to gain the sweetest of truths: it really is all about God and if we put our eyes on Him and listen to His calling and directing, life will have meaning, purpose, fulfillment and peace.

To me, those repetitive phrases spoken by Solomon are like a warning bell for us that keeps ringing until they have our attention. We now live in a world with a myriad of sources for the 24-hour news cycle. There is no topic under the sun (see how I did that?) that we can’t Google and have immediate knowledge of. We are bombarded with an edited slice of socially accepted (and expected) norms of behavior on social media. Our ears and eyes are chocked full of the world. We are looking down and what we see are our own two feet firmly planted in the world. I want to learn from Solomon. I want to spend my time and efforts on the things that will have eternal value. I don’t want my thoughts, words, feelings, or actions to be “chasing the wind”.

God is who He says He is. God will do what He says He will do. Let’s turn our eyes from under the sun to on the Son. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us (but lets grab hold of it anyway)!