The fifth idea is that wisdom does not bring satisfaction. You might say, "I wish I knew more. Then I would be satisfied." Solo mon says that such an objective has no "golden pot" at the end of its rainbow for true and lasting sat isfaction (1:18). It is often true that the more you know, the more con fused you become. Sometimes it is true that ignorance is bliss. Almost inevitably when you begin to study any area, you will find it is quite complicated. You have to be cau tious as to how you deal with the issue. Solomon was disturbed be cause wisdom did not satisfy him (2:15). Wisdom cannot really solve our thirst as to how God operates (8:16, 17). The sixth element is that death taints all of life. It weakens the privilege of wisdom. It puts man on the level of animals (3:19, 20). There is no hope here of eternal life after judgment by God (3:21). Solomon felt that it would have been better never to have been born (4:2, 3). For him, life was nothing more than sheer anguish and agony. Here are six positive reasons why, apart from Christ, life is empty. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:13 that life would be vain or empty without the anticipation of our res urrection and the fact of eternal life through our risen Lord. This truth should be borne out in our lives as well as we turn to the Saviour for the victory which is assured in Him. Solomon's practical advice in the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that we ought to enjoy our work, turning drudgery into satisfaction (2:24; 3:22). Basically the writer thought that we have only this life Page 36
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