Ecclesiastes 1:12-15

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered.

Solomon (v.12) … was ideally and uniquely qualified with both the position and resources to seek out all there was to know about all things “done under heaven.” — Grace, page 1168

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“Exercised” (v.13) means “humbled.” “Vexation of spirit” [grasping for the wind] (v.14) may be translated “feeding on wind.” — Williams, page 440.

The basic meaning of the word “exercised” (v.13) is “occupied with,” “busy with,” “troubled by, “afflicted with.” Solomon seems to have been saying that it is man’s lot in life to seek answers for his existence. I’ve heard this idea summarized by three questions: “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” “Exercised” also has the meaning of “humbled.” Any search for the answers to those questions that doesn’t include God will reduce man to pointlessness. In other words, since God is the true answer to all those questions, any answer that doesn’t include Him is nonsense.

The task of wrestling with the crooked and reasoning in the face of an oppressive cyclical world is God’s gift to His creatures who live in the fallen world. The task exercised (v.13) man to the point where he confesses vanity and vexation of spirit (v.14) as his daily lot. Thus exercised, man lifts his eyes to look beyond the crooked creation and view the Creator. — KJV Commentary, page 737.

In verse 14, I think Solomon was saying that the things that men come up with to give their lives meaning are vanity. I’ve long believed that God has given us a purpose—to do His will. Men consciously or subconsciously feel that they’re here for a reason. Failure to fulfill their purpose leads to frustration, but without God, they can’t achieve it. So they either create a purpose, such as politics, activism, art, or achievement; or they take up a vice to hide from themselves the reality that they have no purpose. Solomon stated unequivocally—”cannot” (v.15)— that the answers are unattainable.