Today’s Passage Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
I remember as a child there were few names worse then know it all. Today I wish that term could be applied to me more often. Yet in all of my wisdom I have gained today, I simply understand I don’t know it all. A few days ago, I found myself even closer to knowledge; I shook the hand of a man who knew Albert Einstein. Einstein was one of the smartest men this country has known, yet Einstein could not understand all the work of God. Around 3000 years ago, Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Solomon may have been the most intelligent man to ever walk the planet. Yet even Solomon could not discover all the things of God.
Today as we close out Chapter 8 on our quest for meaning in Ecclesiastes, Solomon address this particular issue of knowledge. Let’s look to Ecclesiastes 8:16-17:
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.
It’s humbling to think, if I were to go back to college full time now, at 30 years old, and attend full time continually until I passed away at 80 years old, I would only possess a fraction of the knowledge available to the people of this earth. And if you took all the knowledge of this earth, it is but a small fraction to the knowledge God possesses. I’m not sure there is a better argument against the belief that we are all "little gods", because it doesn’t matter what we do we can’t know all the works that God does under the son, we cannot know it all.
So what does it all mean, as he often does Solomon leaves us on rather depressing notes, yet there is a great upside to all of this, because although we can never know it all, we can have someone on our side that does? When we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus Christ into our lives we open up a line of communication with the Creator of the universe, the One who does know it all. And He wants us to do just that, He wants us to come to him with all situations. James: 1:5-6 tells us:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
The one with all of the wisdom wants us to come to Him for it. Yet He wants us to ask in faith, He wants us to believe in Him, to follow Him, and believe that He can do what we ask.
Today lets look to the Lord, we can’t know it all, nor should we, Do you have an important decision to make today, ask God. Facing a problem today, ask God. Are you lost in this life not knowing where to go, ask God. Let’s look to the Lord today, and stop leaning on our own earthly abilities.

A healthy fear of the Lord is not often talked about in today’s Church. But here again the preacher (Solomon) leads us to those thoughts. Let’s take a look at the second part of today’s passage, verses 12-13.

















