Ecclesiastes 7:25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

These words were penned by King Solomon. He was blessed with wisdom by God for having a heart to serve his people. In many ways we think of Solomon in this way and take to heart much that he says without questioning the wisdom of those actions. Here is a prime example.

Sun Tzu in The Art of War is often misquoted as having said “know your enemy”. What is excluded is the line “know yourself”. In this quote from Ecclesiastes that same mistake is made. So often we look to the momentary quote, the line that sounds right and have ignored much that went before.

v1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

We have left the warning far behind, not even a distant memory because what we seek is what we want. The real dangers of following this 7:25 approach is hidden from view.

Look to the last verse from chapter 7. “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

The end result of studying “the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:” is judgment. What is it that our Lord said to us?

Matthew 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Victory comes from knowing who we are in Christ.