13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task [NIV: heavy burden] God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. (NASB)
Solomon tells us that he spent a great deal of study in the pursuit of "all that is done under heaven." We know from Scripture that Solomon wrote quite a lot of music, that he wrote many proverbs, and that he personally catalogued plant life and animal life including animals, birds, reptiles and fish (1 Kings 4:32-34). The quest for knowledge and for wisdom is something God has placed in mankind, but we can't buy that knowledge. We must learn it, scrap by scrap, deduction by deduction, and we must enter into many frustrating dead ends and cul-de-sacs before we really learn anything at all.
But Solomon is coaching us throughout his book: The pursuit of ordinary human knowledge is a very heavy burden indeed if there is no knowledge of the true God. Without the certainty of the resurrection, all learning would be useless and worthless. Without the gospel of forgiveness, all of life would be an impossible burden.
Has God laid a heavy burden on you? Turn right back to him and lay your guilty conscience and your other troubles at his feet. He will give you strength as he pours out his love, his compassion and his healing into your life. Trust him, and he will carry you.
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