Ecclesiastes 7:23 - Exposition

All this have I proved by wisdom ; i.e. wisdom was the means by which he arrived at the practical conclusions given above ( Ecclesiastes 7:1-22 ). Would wisdom solve deeper questions? And if so, could he ever hope to attain it? I said, I will be wise . This was his strong resolve. He desired to grow in wisdom, to use it in order to unfold mysteries and explain anomalies. Hitherto he had been content to watch the course of men's lives, and find by experience what was good and what was evil for them; now he craves for an insight into the secret laws that regulate those external circumstances: he wants a philosophy or theosophy. His desire is expressed by his imitator in the Book of Wisdom (9.), "O God of my fathers,… give me Wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne …. O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me." But it was far from me. It remained in the far distance, out of reach. Job's experience (28.) was his. Practical rules of life he might gain, and had mastered, but essential, absolute wisdom was beyond mortal grasp. Man's knowledge and capacity are limited.