“I gave my mind to know [practical] wisdom and to discern [the character of] madness and folly [in which men seem to find satisfaction]; I perceived that this also is a searching after wind and a feeding on it. For in much [human] wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” Ecclesiastes 1:17-18 ->me: These set of verses to close out the first chapter of the Ecclesiastes are very reminiscent of Paul’s words in Romans 1:21&22 – “Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].” The thinkers of this world become so frustrated. No matter how much they ponder all things, they cannot straighten out life’s anomalies; they cannot reduce all they see to a neat system. Their wisdom may help in some things, but it cannot solve the fundamental problem of life. The writer of Ecclesiastes is making it super clear that without God (without faith) the world is a hamster wheel that spins and spins. All of creation groans with the hope of when the cycle of decay and corruption end (Romans 8:20-21).
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