Ecclesiastes #018 - Learn the Bible Broadcast - Ecclesiastes 1:12-13

Bro. Jonathan D. Judy

Antioch Baptist Church
5709 N. Broadway St.
Knoxville, TN 37918
http://www.LearntheBible.org

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III. THE VANITY OF OUR LEARNING (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)

A. The Pursuit of Learning (Ecclesiastes 1:12-13)
a. The Experimenter (Ecclesiastes 1:12)
i. Solomon, King of Israel (Ecclesiastes 1:1,12; 1 Kings 1:39)
ii. Just as Adam represented all men in the temptation and fall,
iii. Solomon represents all men who think to find value in this world.
iv. Solomon had the resources to do this (Ecclesiastes 2:25)
v. No one else could experience life to the extent that Solomon could (1 Kings 4:21-24)
b. The Commitment (Ecclesiastes 1:13)
i. A Serious One
1. For both young and old (Titus 2:1-8)
2. To take heed (1 Timothy 4:16)
ii. A Personal One
1. To study (John 5:39; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15)
2. With diligence (1 Timothy 4:15-16)
a. Paul told Timothy to take the things that he had been taught and “give thyself wholly unto them.”
b. Paul told Timothy that “in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
c. In Solomon’s case he wanted nothing less than a full understanding of all things under heaven. He had a desire to know all things, to know wisdom. Solomon had given his heart to this quest.
3. No true learning is accomplished without serious personal commitment.
iii. Of Seeking and Searching (Ecclesiastes 1:13)
1. The words, seek and search, are close synonyms. They both mean to look for something that is hidden or not at hand. However, both words also have an interesting distinction.
a. To seek (Ecclesiastes 1:13)
i. Means to track down.
ii. The picture is that of one of a hunter following tracks or marks until he finds what he is looking for (Genesis 37:13-17; Psalm 104:21)

b. To search (Ecclesiastes 1:13)
i. Means to look over an area in some form of a pattern (like circles) until the entire area has been checked for that which is hidden.
ii. The picture is one that searches an area for something that is hidden from view
1. The LORD searcheth the heart of man (1 Chronicles 28:9)
2. The Spirit searcheth the heart of man (Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10)
3. Jesus told the Jews to search the scriptures (John 5:39)
c. The contrast of the two
i. The seeker follows a trail
ii. The searcher explores an area
iii. Solomon said that he did both in his quest for wisdom
iv. This is a great example of how we should be
1. Seeking (follow the trails that the Lord has in His word).
2. Searching (looking in the context of God’s word for what a verse and chapter is about).
3. Any serious pursuit of truth includes both seeking and searching. One may start a trail to follow, then switch to search mode, and then jump back over to seeking, then back again. One will do this until the job is complete.
4. Solomon did this very thing. He sought intensely and he searched thoroughly. In fact he went on to “search out” the matter. That is he continued the search to its very end.