Ecclesiastes 7:23 Commentary and Bible Study

The purpose of these verses is to magnify wisdom and to sing its praises. It is something which goes on and on. We do not study wisdom for a few years and then graduate, having learnt all there is to know. On the contrary, though the study of knowledge begins on earth with conversion to God, its end lies far beyond us in heaven, and even there we will still be advancing and growing, ever deepening in our insights into the marvels of what God has done. In searching for wisdom, we are searching for something which in its perfection is far off and hard to obtain. Even though Solomon had put such energy into his quest, he had progressed only a small way, and he was aware that there was still much that he did not understand and that lay out of reach. In taking hold of wisdom, we have taken hold of something that is infinite. The same wisdom which dawns on us at conversion, when the we catch our first glimpse of the rays of truth that come from the cross of Christ; that same wisdom disappears into the distance and lights up the sky ahead of us and we sense its blinding brilliance. Solomon’s efforts to obtain wisdom had been anything but superficial. He wanted to have an answer to the many aspects of human existence and to be able to understand the mysteries of life, but it proved too deep for him. He saw how unattainable perfect wisdom was, which only God possesses. We live face to face with profound mysteries yet most of us are unaware of them. Solomon who had advanced beyond all others of his age, nevertheless had to admit that he could make only slight progress towards his goal. He refers back to the searches described so far in the book. He had proved this much: that his original ambitions (Ecclesiastes 1:13) were impossible to reach; wisdom was far greater than he first imagined.