Estimation of Wisdom

Introduction: Understanding the value of wisdom as we go through life is an important lesson. Learning to appreciate wisdom and its value in teaching us, clarifying our steps, and reminding us about the futility of life,

In 1862, the Dutch ophthalmologist, Herman Snellen developed a chart to gauge the visual acuity of his subjects. Using the Snellen chart to determine the visual accuracy of a person’s sight, the chart established a 20/20 visual acuity as the baseline for eyesight. Sometime in the 1940’s the phrase “Hindsight is 20/20 became a part of the English lexicon.”

This Scripture provides biblical basis for that statement. As Solomon looks back over life he expresses clarity that has come from living and experiencing many things in life and he understands that much of what he has done and accomplished has amounted to wasted time.

A. The Writer:  Probably Solomon, though he did not sign the writing, there is sufficient information to prove him as the penman.  

B. The Writing: 1) Proverbs - Foolishness 2) Ecclesiastes - Frailty  3) Songs of Solomon - Feelings 

There Are Advantages to Wisdom (2:12-13) 

Wisdom Follows Examples (2:12) - “12 Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what I have already done.”

Ecclesiastes 1:17 (HCSB) - “17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.”

Wisdom is Greater Than Folly (2:13) - “13 And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.” 

Proverbs 4:5-7 (HCSB) - “5 Get wisdom, get understanding; don't forget or turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Don't abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 Wisdom is supreme-so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.”

Malachi 3:18 (HCSB) - 18 So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Matthew 6:23 (NLT) - “23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

Psalm 119:105 - “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”

Ephesians 5:8 (HCSB) - “8 For you were once darkness, but now [you are] light in the Lord. walk as children of light-“

There Is a Light From Wisdom (2:14-15) 

Wisdom Clears Sights (2:14) - “14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also knew that one fate comes to them both.” 

Proverbs 14:8 (HCSB) - “8 The sensible man's wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives [them].”

Proverbs 17:24 (HCSB) - “24 Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive, but a fool's eyes roam to the ends of the earth.”

Psalm 19:10 (HCSB) - “10 They are more desirable than gold- than an abundance of pure gold; and sweeter than honey- than honey dripping from the comb.”

Psalm 49:10 (HCSB) - “10 For one can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others.”

Wisdom Clarifies the Substance of Life (2:15) - “15 So I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?" And I said to myself that this is also futile.” 

1 Kings 3:12 (HCSB) - “12 I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again.”

Ecclesiastes 1:18 (HCSB) - “18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow; as knowledge increases, grief increases.”

There Is a Limit to Wisdom (2:16-17) 

Forgettable Existence (2:16) - “16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man, since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies just like the fool?”

Psalm 88:12 (HCSB) - “12 Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?”

Psalm 103:15-16 (HCSB) - “15 As for man, his days are like grass- he blooms like a flower of the field;16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes, and its place is no longer known.”

Hebrews 9:27 (HCSB) - “27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once-and after this, judgment—“

Frustrating Existence (2:17) “17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.”

1 Kings 19:4 (HCSB) - “4 but he went on a day's journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, "[I have had] enough! Lord, take my life, for I'm no better than my fathers.”

Job 3:20-22 (HCSB) - “20 Why is light given to one burdened with grief, and life to those whose existence is bitter, 21 who wait for death, but it does not come, and search for it more than for hidden treasure, 22 who are filled with much joy and are glad when they reach the grave?”

Jeremiah 20:14-18 (HCSB) - “14 Cursed be the day on which I was born. The day my mother bore me- let it never be blessed.15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, "A male child is born to you," bringing him great joy. 16 Let that man be like the cities the Lord overthrew without compassion. Let him hear an outcry in the morning and a war cry at noontime 17 because he didn't kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, her womb eternally pregnant. 18 Why did I come out of the womb to see [only] struggle and sorrow, to end my life in shame?”

Jonah 4:1-3 (HCSB) - “1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. 2 He prayed to the Lord: "Please, Lord, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from [sending] disaster. 3 And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."