I’ve been writing through the book of Ecclesiastes throughout 2020 so far, and we have finally reached the end! Last week, I wrapped up going through the actual text, so this week I want to provide you with a summary of the Teacher’s wisdom from this great book. You can read all of my blog posts on this book here or at the links throughout this post.
Way back in my introduction post, we first needed to figure out who wrote this book and why in order to have a better understanding of its meaning. Ecclesiastes is written by the Teacher (“Qohelet” in Hebrew), who is generally believed to be King Solomon. If that is true, then it was written near the end of King Solomon’s reign and life. It is considered to be wisdom literature, similar to proverbs.
Ecclesiastes 1 starts out on a seemingly depressing note, talking about how meaningless this life is. It first looks at nature and how all of the natural processes just keep on going regardless of what’s going on in the lives of humans. Next in this chapter, the Teacher looks at the chasing of knowledge and wisdom and how it seems meaningless. In both of these examples, the important thing to remember is that God created this world and put us in it to worship and glorify Him, and that is what gives meaning to our lives.
Ecclesiastes 2 starts out with the Teacher’s discussion on pleasure in this life. His emphasis is on how the pleasures of this life are only temporarily enjoyable but ultimately meaningless when we die. These pleasures will never truly satisfy us. The chapter continues with comparing wisdom to folly, very similar to many passages in the book of Proverbs. The Teacher emphasizes that whether we live our lives wisely or foolishly, all of us are going to die. That may sound depressing, but for those of us who believe in Jesus, physical death brings us that much closer to eternal life with Him, if we have made the choice to live our lives out of faith in Him. This chapter concludes with the Teacher’s thoughts on work and how it, too, seems to be meaningless in this life after we die. Work is important because God created us to do it, and our goal should be to glorify God in our work.
Ecclesiastes 3 begins with that “famous” passage of there being a time for everything under the sun. We go through rhythms of good and bad times in our lives, and God is there for us through it all. The Teacher shares his perspective on this concept in the next part of the chapter as he discusses where our focus is, discovering our purpose, and how we react to God and what He has done in our lives. The chapter ends with a discussion on death - a topic we’ve probably all thought about, but most people don’t want to discuss it.
After that depressing note, the Teacher begins to discuss ambition and power in Ecclesiastes 4. Achieving power is meaningless in this world if that’s all we’re living for, so we need to check out motivation on why we live the way we live so that we’re not living meaningless lives. He then moves on to discussing working together for good purposes and being in leadership roles. We’re encouraged in this chapter to work with others for the good of the community rather than to be isolated, and to be a wise leader and to pray for and encourage our leaders.
Ecclesiastes 5 begins with the Teacher reminding his readers that true purpose and fulfillment are only found in God’s presence. Everything outside of fearing God and doing His will is meaningless. Next, the Teacher goes back to addressing the meaninglessness of various topics; next up is money. We need to keep a proper perspective on money, that it’s all from God anyway so we need to use it as He wants us to. The Teacher then addresses the evils of money, and how accumulating wealth can be a distraction from what is really important in this life - glorifying God and trusting in Him for all our needs.
Ecclesiastes 6 continues the discussion on money by addressing our desire for accumulating possessions. We frequently think that having more possessions will make us happier, but the Teacher has learned from his wisdom that this is not the case. Our attitude toward material wealth is important; are we content with what God has given us, or are we always wanting more?
The Teacher switches gears in Ecclesiastes 7 by starting out the chapter with a selection of proverbs, or wise sayings. The chapter then continues by addressing the question of what happens to people who live righteous lives or wicked lives. We all disobey God in our lives, but some people seem to have better or longer lives than others. We are all called to obey God, and it’s up to God how He blesses us or not. The Teacher wraps up the chapter by looking at how to deal with those who appear to be less wise than us. We may become frustrated in such situations, but God calls us to share the wisdom He has given us with others.
Ecclesiastes 8 begins with instructing us on obeying the authorities that are in power over us. We need to respect our authorities, knowing that all of us will answer to God (the ultimate authority) for all of our actions. The rest of this chapter deals with the idea of injustice in this world. We all struggle with this idea of why the world seems to be so unfair, but the key is to remember that God is God and we are not, so we cannot understand His ways.
Ecclesiastes 9 first looks at our destiny - both what we will end up doing on this earth, and where we will end up after this life is over. As believers in Christ, we know our destiny is ultimately to be with Him. That is a certainty, unlike all of the uncertainty we face in this life. We can (and should) always turn to God in every situation we face in this life because He is the one certainty we have. That wisdom is better than physical strength or size.
Ecclesiastes 10 is full of proverbs from the Teacher on a variety of topics. While these proverbs were written many centuries ago in a different culture, they have timeless wisdom that still applies to us today.
Ecclesiastes 11 continues with more proverbs, but these are centered around the theme of how to live in the present with not knowing what the future will hold. The Teacher then discusses the idea of growing up and growing old. We should strive to enjoy the days we are given and always be growing in wisdom and maturity.
Ecclesiastes 12 first continues the discussion on old age and how our life should not be meaningless when we look back on it. We then read the Teacher’s concluding thoughts. I’ll leave you with the ultimate summary of this great book from Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Fear God and keep His commandments; everything else is meaningless under the sun.
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After all the wisdom we’ve read in the book of Ecclesiastes, we have finally made it to the conclusion of this book!
This conclusion section begins by going back to the author of this book, the Teacher. Verse 9 says, “Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.”
It’s one thing to have wisdom, and it’s a completely different thing to give that wisdom to others. When I was in college, I had a few professors who were incredibly intelligent, but they were not good at teaching that knowledge to those of us who didn’t have their level of genius. Just because a person knows something, whether intellectual knowledge or how to perform a skilled task, doesn’t mean that they are able to teach that thing to others. The Teacher is pointing out here that he not only had the wisdom but also shared it with others, through the writing of this book.
It’s clear that the Teacher was careful in selecting his words. The second half of verse 9 contains three verbs in the Hebrew that are all in an intensive form: he balanced, he searched, and he made straight many wise words. The fact that these verbs are intensive shows that the Teacher didn’t just write whatever came to mind but was intentional about choosing the words that make up this book. It’s also interesting that the Hebrew noun for “proverb,” which we know to be a wise saying, comes from the same root as the Hebrew verb for “to rule or reign.” It is implied that anyone who is in authority should heed these wise sayings, and that is clearly true for the Teacher’s life.
Verse 10 emphasizes this fact: “The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.” This verse also begins with another intensive verb for seeking just the right words to write down. It literally says in Hebrew that he sought to find the delightful or pleasurable words, though we know from reading the book that this does not mean that he sugar-coated everything to make it sound good to us; in fact, at face value, this book seems like quite a downer. But he states that everything he wrote is upright and true, which I believe we can verify simply by reading it.
This claim is also verified in verse 11: “The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails — given by one shepherd.” The one shepherd these words were given by is, of course, the one true God. We know that God gave the Teacher this wisdom, and the Teacher has imparted it to his readers of that day all the way through time to us and our future generations. These wise words are to be firmly embedded into our lives to encourage us to honor God with all that we do.
Verse 12 gives a warning against other literature that may not be as full of Godly wisdom: “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” Just do a quick look on the Internet today and you’ll find millions of books available; none of them come close to the wisdom that is contained in the Bible. Some books help us comprehend and apply the wisdom of the Bible to our lives, while some may actually point us away from that wisdom. Studying all of these books, especially those that are not helping us study the truth of God’s Word, will make us very weary, and they will not help us live better God-honoring lives.
The Teacher’s final concluding thoughts are in verses 13-14: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” This is the point of life for the Teacher, to fear God and do what He has instructed us to do. We know that we will be judged for our actions in this life, so we should strive to have wisdom and to do what is right.
But, for us living on the other side of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know that there is more to it. We are still called to fear God and keep His commandments, but we also know that when we have faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death, our judgment will be Jesus’ judgment. God will have grace on us for when we mess up keeping God’s commandments. We deserve death for our actions and our disobedience of God, but through Jesus, we will have life. We will be judged, but because of our faith, God will hand Jesus’ judgment over to us - eternal life with Him instead of eternal judgment.
While this is the conclusion of the text of Ecclesiastes, next week I’ll write a summary of the highlights my study through this book. It definitely has been an adventure in wisdom!
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We’ve made it to the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes! It’s been quite a ride, but we still have a couple more posts to go on this amazing book. It is believed that the Teacher (likely King Solomon) wrote this book toward the end of his life as a culmination of all his wisdom, and in this section of Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, he turns his focus to old age and the frustrations that come with it.
While this section contains many metaphors and descriptions of old age, it starts out in verse 1 with a very simple statement: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.’” Whether you’re young or old as you read this, it’s clear that the thrill and energy of youth will waste away as we get older. Compared to when the Teacher first wrote this, many people today are able to remain energetic in their old age thanks to modern medicine and our modern ways of living. But the body will still start to have physical difficulties as we age, and our energy will decline at least to some extent.
What does the Teacher mean by saying “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”? Some who are young may want to delay putting their faith in God until they’re old since they feel like they don’t need it now. Many teenagers go through a spell of thinking they know everything, so why would they need God? Why would they need to remember the One who created them, when they can do everything themselves? That mentality is exactly what the Teacher is warning against. We need to remember God, our Creator, at EVERY age of life, not just when we’re old and feel like we’ll be closer to meeting Him face-to-face. The reality is that life is uncertain and people can be suddenly taken from this life at any time, so we always need to remember God and strive to live out our faith in this life, no matter our age.
Verse 2 reminds us of the rhythms of life: “Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain.” We see the rhythm of each day with the sun and the moon, and the rhythms of seasons with the sun and light of spring and summer giving way to the cloudiness of fall and winter. The days come and go, and the seasons come and go, and we continue to age in these physical bodies. We need to remember that God our Creator remains the same through it all.
We see metaphors of the body’s decay in verses 3-4: “When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint.” Our strength will gradually leave. Our limbs may begin to tremble as they don’t work as well anymore. Our eyesight may get worse. We will be physically capable of doing less work when we’re old than in our youth. Our hearing may get worse. We will be stuck inside our bodies that can’t do as much as they once did. We may get less sleep at night as we rise early with the birds. Our own voices may get softer and more labored. Basically, every aspect of the body may deteriorate in some way.
Verse 5 deals with fears that we succumb to more as we get older: “When people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home and mourners go about the streets.” We may have no fear during our young years, but those fears develop as we get older and have more life experience, and potentially see our friends experience these dangers in life. The almond tree blooming represents the white hair of old age, as in that geographic area, its blossoms have white tips. The grasshopper dragging itself represents the difficulty we’ll experience in moving around as we get older. We may have less desire to do the things we once did. After all this decay of our bodies, the reality is that we’ll die and go to our eternal homes.
Verses 6-7 go back to the theme of remembering our Creator from verse 1: “Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” We need to continue to remember the God who created us while we are young and before we get old, and before everything in our bodies starts breaking down and no longer working well. The fact of the matter is that these physical bodies will die, whether we experience a long or a short life here on earth. This references back to the words of God to Adam in Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
The familiar refrain concludes this section in verse 8: “‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Everything is meaningless!’” The Teacher has reminded all people, especially those who are young, to make the most of their lives while they’re young, and to remember that God gave us our lives so we’re accountable to Him for them. One day, all of this will stop for us as we experience physical death, which appears to be a meaningless end to this life.
But is our death really meaningless? We need to remember that when the Teacher wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, it was before the time of the promised Savior Jesus coming into the world. He knew of this future promise but it had not yet been fulfilled. For us, that promise has already been fulfilled. Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world to live a perfect life and to die a horrible death so that we could be reconciled to God. While the world we live in is still sinful and everything will decay, physical death is not the end for those of us who believe in Jesus! We will be able to live eternally with God in heaven.
The question for us is, are you making sure your life here on earth is not meaningless? Are you living out the plan that God has for you and living your life to glorify Him and do the work that He has given you before your body decays? Are you constantly remembering your Creator and what He created you to do? If so, then your life is not meaningless, and your physical death will not be meaningless either, as you’ll get to spend eternity praising and worshiping God with all that you are.
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In the previous passage, the Teacher discussed the uncertainties of this life and how we cannot know what the future holds. But in today’s passage of Ecclesiastes 11:7-10, the Teacher speaks of one thing in life that’s almost certain: growing up and growing old.
Verse 7 says, “Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.” Life always seems better when the sun is shining, doesn’t it? All things seem possible on a bright, sunny day. Light and the sun here are compared to our youth when it seems as though your whole life is ahead of you and anything is possible. It’s pleasing to be full of potential like that.
Verse 8 is somewhat of a contrast to that: “However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless.” We should enjoy however many days and years God gives us in this life. Just as the sun sets and night falls each day, the light of youth will dwindle as we get older. Just as light was compared to youth in the previous verse, here darkness is compared to old age. We have youth, then we get older; this is simply the rhythm of life.
The word “remember” here in referencing the days of darkness does not mean remembering as in reflecting on the past but to reflect on the future and keep it in mind. The days of darkness could also refer to death. The time we will spend after our physical death is likely greater than the time we spend alive on this earth, so we need to remember that our time here is short compared to being dead for the rest of eternity.
The phrase at the end of this verse, “Everything to come is meaningless,” refers to the idea that we do not know for sure what happens to us as after we die from this life. It cannot be explained by anyone who is still living on this earth. While we as followers of Jesus know that we have eternal life to look forward to, we do not know exactly what that looks like - and we won’t know until we get there. Everything to come after this life is still somewhat of a mystery to us.
Verse 9 goes on to say, “You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” This verse emphasizes the theme from the previous two that we should enjoy life while we’re young, and experience as much joy as we can in this life.
This verse may seem foolish when it says to “Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see,” and that by itself is foolish. The next phrase gives the caution: “but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” This is the idea of God’s natural law, that we can essentially do what we want, but there will be consequences, whether good or bad. Sure, follow your sinful desire and commit that sin - but know that God will judge you for it, and be prepared to accept those consequences. We need to have a sense of responsibility for our actions, both while we’re young and while we’re old (and anywhere in between).
Verse 10 concludes this section: “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.” Whatever age you’re at, we should not be anxious about anything. Our bodies will have trouble because of the sinful world we live in, but we shouldn’t worry about them. Philippians 4:6-7 echoes this: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
When the Teacher says that “youth and vigor are meaningless,” he does not mean that those years are not worth anything. On the contrary, the years of our youth are very formative and often set the path we’ll follow as we get older. The idea of “meaningless” here could mean simply that we do not fully understand the world as young people, so we have the vigor to accomplish much but may not understand the big picture well yet.
The reality is that after we are young and don’t know much (even if we think we do), we will grow older and hopefully become more mature. We should strive to enjoy all our days, no matter what our age, but knowing that there will be consequences if our enjoyment disobeys God. If we are following God and His ways, we’ll experience true enjoyment of life, not just temporary happiness in the pleasures of this world but the true joy that only He can bring.
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It has been said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. I believe every person realizes that the future is definitely one thing that falls into the category of being uncertain - after all, who could have predicted just 6 months ago that the first half of 2020 would look like this? As we move into Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, the Teacher has already discussed right and wrong at length, and now he begins to move into a discussion of how to live in the present with the future being uncertain.
In Ecclesiastes 10, we saw a lot of proverbs, sayings for wise living. Chapter 11 looks like it continues that theme of proverbs, but these wise sayings are more related to each other thematically than those of chapter 10. Here, the theme is giving the reader wisdom for an uncertain future.
Verses 1-2 start out with discussing investments: “Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”
This brings to my mind something that my dad often says: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It’s risky to ship your grain far away across the sea, but if you don’t try it, you definitely won’t gain anything from it. It can be risky to invest in certain ventures, but again, if you don’t try it, you won’t gain anything. It’s also important to invest in a variety of ventures; an individual one may fail, but if you have investments in multiple places, it’s less likely that they will all fail.
This also brings to mind the Parable of the Talents (or the Parable of the Bags of Gold) that Jesus told, recorded in Matthew 25:14-30. The servants who invested their money received gain from their investments, along with rewards from the master. But the servant who did not invest it lost even that bit he had been given because he did not act wisely. Even if you only have a little, it is still wise to invest it; nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Verses 3-4 use the weather as another analogy for the uncertainty we all face: “If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”
We do know that we can count on the laws of nature to function in the way that God created them. When the clouds get heavy, it will rain. Trees will fall and stay there, they won’t move somewhere else on their own. But in spite of that, we can’t wait for things to be certain before we act. Farmers cannot wait for the exact perfect weather conditions before they plant their fields or they’ll likely miss the opportunity. We can become too focused on the weather conditions or the planning for something that we miss the opportunity to actually do the thing we’re trying to plan.
Verse 5 reminds us that we know so little compared to God: “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.”
Today’s modern science does know a lot more about how wind works, how a baby is formed in the womb, and many other things compared to in the time of the Teacher, but we still do not know everything. Much of it is still a mystery to us. This verse really sums of the theme of the whole book of Ecclesiastes - we can’t understand how God works, but we can still follow the rules God has given us and trust that He will work everything out.
Verse 6 gives a summary of this section regarding the uncertain future: “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”
The fact of the matter is that we do not know the future, so there are risks we must take. While some things we do will fail, others will succeed. These teachings are specifically focused on trade and farming, as that was the business of the culture in which this book was written. Many of us do not deal with those tasks as our occupations today, and if we do, technology has drastically changed things, but the principles in these verses are still important. It is important to invest wisely and in multiple different ventures. It’s important to know that there will be uncertainty in life. It’s important not to miss a great opportunity because of indecision over the risks involved due to uncertainties.
So, how does our faith as followers of Jesus fit into all of this? Because of the relationship that we can have with God because of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection, we can communicate with God about the everyday things in our lives. Whether it’s deciding where to invest our money, if we should relocate our family for a new opportunity, if we should take this job or that one, or whatever we’re facing, spend time in prayer over it. Don’t just tell God what’s going on (He already knows, but it is good to tell Him anyway), but make sure you listen for His voice as well. Sometimes God will clearly tell us what to do; other times it’s more subtle and we need to recognize clues that He gives us. Sometimes He will open up opportunities for us, or shut them down, in order to guide us along the right path.
We need to trust that we do not know everything and that God does; that’s why it’s a great comfort to know that He is God and we are not. Allow Him to guide you, and trust His guidance in your life.
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Last week, we discussed the first part of Ecclesiastes 10 and examined the proverbs there. This week, we’re continuing with the rest of the proverbs in Ecclesiastes 10:12-20.
“Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips” (verse 12). These first few verses of this section all have to do with wise and foolish talk. This proverb shows the difference in speech between being wise and gracious versus being self-centered. If we speak words of grace and love toward others, we are practicing wisdom; if we only talk about ourselves and what matters to us, that is foolishness.
“At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—and fools multiply words” (verse 13-14a). The words “beginning” and “end” are used here to show inclusiveness - that everything a fool says is foolishness. They multiply their words and say a lot of things, but there is really no substance to any of it. Whatever a foolish person says should be regarded as nonsense.
“No one knows what is coming—who can tell someone else what will happen after them?” (verse 14b). The Teacher has already written at length about mankind not knowing the future or what will happen; only God knows that. He is repeating that thought here in this shortened proverb form for further emphasis on this idea.
“The toil of fools wearies them; they do not know the way to town” (verse 15). If a person is truly foolish and not wise, then their work likely has no real benefit to the greater society. Even a foolish person will eventually get tired of doing work that is meaningless. The fool not knowing the way to town may be intended literally, as in the foolish person is that unintelligent that they can’t even find their way someplace. But, more likely this is a metaphor for not knowing where he is going with his life overall. A wise person follows God’s leading, whereas a foolish person will try to follow their own leading, which will likely not be where God wants them to go. Therefore, the foolish person really doesn’t know where his life is going.
“Woe to the land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning” (verse 16). These last few verses of the chapter focus on leadership. This verse does not imply that being a servant then rising to a leadership position makes that person a bad leader; instead, the word “servant” refers to one who is inexperienced. A king without experience will likely bring difficulties to the land because they will make mistakes and likely not know how to correct them well. The princes feasting in the morning implies that the king is not in control over those who serve under him, which is another sign of bad leadership. If the princes are doing what they want instead of respecting the king’s leadership, that too will likely bring difficulties to the land.
“Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness” (verse 17). This verse contrasts with the previous one, in that this king is clearly born to be a leader. The king has been born into the noble family, so he would have experience leading (or at least observing good leadership) from a young age. The princes are eating at the proper time, meaning they’re following the king’s authority. They are eating for the purpose of having strength to do what is required of them, not for the purpose of getting drunk and being foolish. They have the appropriate amount of self-control to assist the king rather than working against him.
“Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks” (verse 18). While this verse appears to have more to do with home maintenance than leadership, this is really about the attributes of a good leader. If the king is lazy, the kingdom may not fall to pieces yet, but it will start to “sag,” potentially beyond repair. If the king is not proactive in doing good for the kingdom, it will “leak” or start to have problems. Just like a leaky house, if these problems are not caught, a major disaster could occur.
“A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything” (verse 19). This verse is likely written tongue-in-cheek, as we know from the rest of the book that the Teacher firmly believes that feasting, wine, and money are not the answer for everything; he’s said before that they are all meaningless in the grand context of life, though we should enjoy the life that we are given. Lazy rulers are preoccupied with feasting, wine, and money, whereas wise rulers are more concerned with running their kingdom well.
“Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say” (verse 20). Most of the people to read the Teacher’s writings are not those in authority, so it is important for the rest of us to respect our authorities - whether they are good or bad leaders. The Teacher advises us to not speak badly of those in authority, even in private, because our words may be found out. We should either remain silent with our criticisms or be prepared for those in authority to hear them and act on them in whatever manner they see fit.
These proverbs give us two pieces of wisdom for today: 1) speak words of wisdom rather than foolishness, and 2) respect those placed in authority over you, whether they are good or bad leaders. We can take these one step further and turn them into things we should pray about. Pray for the Spirit to guide your words so that you are not showing yourself to be foolish but to have the wisdom of God. And pray for those in leadership over you so that they would act as good and wise leaders rather than foolish ones, which will make them easier for us to obey and respect.
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At the end of chapter 9, the Teacher gave an example of how wisdom is better than strength or size. This leads perfectly into chapter 10, which is a set of proverbs as we saw in chapter 7.
The structure of proverbs, especially in the Hebrew, has interested me for many years. A while back, I spent over 4 years (slowly) reading through the book of Proverbs in both Hebrew and Greek with a group of language nerds friends, and we learned a lot about the structure of proverbs through that journey. Proverbs are typically divided into two phrases and they employ various kinds of parallelism. The two most common are synonymous parallelism (where both phrases say essentially the same thing in a different way) and antithetical parallelism (where the phrases say the opposite thing). Both of these prove the proverb’s points in a slightly different way. Watch for these as we go through the proverbs of Ecclesiastes 10:1-11.
“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (verse 1). Perfume is supposed to be a good thing, as are wisdom and honor, but even a little foolishness makes wisdom and honor go bad just like dead flies would do to perfume. This reminds me of the saying that one bad apple spoils the whole bunch; just one very foolish act can ruin many wise and honorable ones.
“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left” (verse 2). This could be an easy verse to misread with our lens of today’s political climate. It is not saying that Republicans are wise and Democrats are foolish; remember that the Teacher wrote this book likely in the 900s B.C., and today’s political parties in the U.S. definitely did not exist 3000 years ago. The words “right” and “left” are used metaphorically here to mean “good” and “bad,” respectively. So, this proverb is simply saying that wisdom is good and foolishness is bad.
“Even as fools walk along the road, they lack sense and show everyone how stupid they are” (verse 3). In everyday life, a foolish person will show how foolish they are. When a foolish person encounters someone with more wisdom, they will undoubtedly show their foolishness in some way.
“If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great offenses to rest” (verse 4). When we encounter someone in authority over us, we need to submit to them (see this post for more on that). If we disagree with them, we should not get riled up but remain calm. When we take the time to examine the situation and not act rashly, we may find that what seemed to be a great offense is really just a minor thing.
“There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler: Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones” (verses 5-6). Piggybacking on the previous proverb, we see that those who are in authority may not be there because of their wisdom. If a foolish person rises to a high place, they will likely fill the roles surrounding them with similarly foolish people. Those who may have been influential will be humiliated because they are not of the same mindset as the authority.
“I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves” (verse 7). This seems contradictory to how things should be; princes should be riding horses in honor and their slaves should be on foot. So how does this happen? Sometimes people are manipulative enough to rise to high positions even when they shouldn’t be there. This world is fallen, and we know that people don’t always get what they deserve, whether good or bad.
“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake” (verse 8). This proverb warns us to be careful with what we do. You may dig a pit with the intention of capturing someone else, but you yourself may fall into it if you’re not careful. If you break through a wall to try and get someone else’s property, that may backfire on you if a snake is on the other side. We may do things with the best of intentions, but they backfire on us if that’s not what we’re supposed to be doing.
“Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them” (verse 9). Again, even actions done with the best of intentions may backfire on you. Quarrying stones and splitting logs are actions needed for building materials, but even essential activities can be dangerous.
“If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (verse 10). Anyone who has cut anything knows that it works better when your ax, scissors, knife, etc. is sharpened. This is a metaphor for wisdom, in that when we have wisdom, are actions are “sharper” and we’ll be able to accomplish our goals better. But even if we aren’t blessed with wisdom, working harder and acquiring more skills can still provide the same result of success.
“If a snake bites before it is charmed, the charmer receives no fee” (verse 11). I’m not all that informed on snake-charming, but the idea behind this proverb is engaging in life or death activities. The wisdom here is to just do it and not keep putting something off just because we’re afraid of it. If a snake charmer’s victim dies, there’s nothing more that they can do, so they should go ahead and charm the snake rather than putting it off out of fear.
While these proverbs are written from the worldview of life in the 900s B.C., you can see that the principles in them still apply to today. Some prove their point with two phrases saying the same thing (synonymous parallelism), while others give contrasts (antithetical parallelism) to make their point. The key point to remember is that wisdom is always better than foolishness, and we can obtain that wisdom from the wise words of others such as the Teacher of Ecclesiastes.
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Uncertainty is a feeling that many of us have dealt with lately. These last few months of the coronavirus pandemic have brought a lot of uncertainty into many people’s lives. Will that event actually happen? Will I be able to keep my job and provide for my family? Is my ill family member going to live through this? Uncertainty has definitely been a theme for many recently, and it is also one of the themes in today’s passage of Ecclesiastes 9:11-18.
Verses 11-12 say, “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.”
Just because you’re fast doesn’t mean you’ll win the race. Just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you’ll win the battle. Just because you’re wise, wealthy, or learned doesn’t mean you’ll get all the good things. The world doesn’t work in black and white like that, but there is uncertainty in our lives. We never know what is going to happen. None of us could have predicted in January that by April, many aspects of our daily lives would be shut down or at least look significantly different. Even today, we cannot predict what life will look like a few months from now.
This is a time when it’s especially important to understand God’s character, especially how He never changes. Our lives and the things that happen to us in this world are not certain, but God is. His plans and purposes remain certain. He created us, He loves us, we messed that up, and He rescues and redeems us - that will never change, even when our immediate circumstances don’t feel so certain. In this world of changing times, we need to continually ask God how to respond to our changing circumstances to continue to glorify Him and live out His plan.
In verses 13-15, the Teacher gives us an interesting example. This may be something he personally experienced; we don’t know for sure. It’s a brief story of the underdog accomplishing what seemed to be impossible. A small city was threatened by a powerful king, and one man who was poor but wise saved the city through his wisdom. This sounds like a great plot for a movie, right? We don’t know any details of if this actually happened, and the Teacher does not provide much more detail, but he uses this example to prove his point from verses 11-12.
The small city likely felt secure in their position, as who would bother to attack them when they’re so tiny? But their certainty was shattered when they did get attacked. But, the battle was not won by the stronger forces, but by this one poor man from this tiny city. Wealth and material possessions were clearly not what made him victorious; it was his wisdom. This proves the Teacher’s point that wisdom is clearly of higher value than any material possessions.
But then the tables turn a bit, as we see that “nobody remembered that poor man” (verse 15). This may seem meaningless, right? The poor man was a triumphant underdog and defeated their enemies through his wisdom - just to be forgotten. Perhaps the king didn’t want to admit that he had been defeated by a “nobody.” Or perhaps this is just a fact of our self-centered world, that even amazing things are soon forgotten because we move on to the next best thing.
Either way, this example is summarized in verse 16: “So I said, ‘Wisdom is better than strength.’ But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.” While wisdom may be better and of more value than brute strength, even wisdom is lacking when others choose not to follow it. But, it’s important to use whatever gifts we have, especially when life becomes uncertain. It was right for the poor man to use his wisdom to save his city, rather than sit back and do nothing. Even if he had known he would be forgotten, it was still the right thing to do to use the wisdom he had been given.
Are we doing that in our own lives? What gifts have you been given by God that you should be using to help those around you? It may seem insignificant, like a poor man from a small town, but it can have great results. Maybe just one phone call or text message to a friend to see how they’re doing will brighten up their day and help them cope with life’s uncertainties. Maybe cooking a meal for a neighbor will bring them the hope and relationship that they need. When we have been given gifts by God, we should use them, no matter how insignificant they seem, because we never know what God has in store.
This chapter of Ecclesiastes ends in verses 17-18 with a couple of proverbs based on this story: “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” The wisdom that comes from God is more important than anything a leader says out of his own strength, and that wisdom is greater than any possession or weapon we may have.
Where do you turn when you face uncertainties in this life? I encourage you to turn to God who is always certain and who can always be counted on. Ask Him for His wisdom, and be prepared to apply it when He gives it to you. You never know what big things God may work through you.
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What is your destiny? When you’re asked that question, do you think of something that relates to your life here on earth, or your eternal destiny after this life? Perhaps you think of a certain job or career that you’re destined to have. Perhaps you feel depressed that you may be destined to end up alone. Or, perhaps you think of your destiny as living for eternity praising God.
In the section of Ecclesiastes that we’re looking at today (Ecclesiastes 9:1-10), the Teacher addresses the destiny of humankind. The Teacher first begins by examining the motives of the righteous people - they try to do what God wants them to do, even though they do not know whether the result will be good or bad (verse 1). If you claim to follow God, then you should be following what God commands of you, right? Often, we’re guilty of only doing what God commands when we think the outcome will be for our immediate benefit, but the wise should always follow what God says no matter what because they know that God knows more than even the wisest person ever will.
In verse 2, the Teacher reminds us that every person will share the same destiny of death. He’s written on this before. Whether you are righteous or unrighteous, whether you do certain religious practices or not, we’re all going to experience physical death at some point. He quotes Job 9:22 here: “It is all the same; that is why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’” Even Job, who God considered righteous, experienced death.
People often try to use their circumstances as evidence of God’s love. Do you feel like God loves you more when things go the way you want them to and life seems good? Do you feel like God loves you less when tragedies happen in your life? We as humans like to quantify things, and that’s a way we feel like we can quantify God’s love. But that is not how God’s love works. It’s not a reward system for doing good or something that is taken away as punishment for doing bad. God always loves us simply because He created us.
But it seems from this passage as though death is the final “reward” that everyone gets (verse 3), no matter how they live this life. You were a bad person? You’re going to die. You were a good person? You’re going to die. We all have the same destiny of dying a physical death. So when our hearts are naturally inclined toward evil, what’s the point of working harder to do good in this life?
This brings up the question to the Teacher of what is the real purpose of life? He reflects in verse 4 that anyone who is living should have hope. Even a person who seems to have an awful life is at least alive and can have hope for a better life, but when you’re dead, you lose that hope.
We see this contrast between living and dead played out in verses 5-6. Essentially, the living still have hope, even with the knowledge that they will die, while the dead do not know anything. We do not know what kind of consciousness we’ll have when we die, how the judgment will be played out, and what state we’ll be in for how long between this life and the end of this world. But we know that we can only have the rewards of this world while we’re still living in it. Anything that we have accumulated for ourselves becomes meaningless to us when we die, and even our reputation will fade away.
So, what should we do with that depressing thought? “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart” (verse 7). God has given us things to enjoy in this world, so we should enjoy them while we are here. We should make the most of this life while we have it. We should enjoy each day as if it’s a special occasion (verse 8). We should enjoy this life, even if its days seem meaningless in the grand scheme of God’s plan (verse 9). If God has given us the gift of family, we should enjoy those people while they are here with us.
The summary of this passage comes in verse 10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Whatever our purpose is in this life, we should do it to the best of our abilities while we’re able to, because that’s what God has created us to do. This is an echo of Jesus’ teaching in John 9:4: “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”
So, our destiny if really twofold: what we do on this earth, and where we end up after this life. Unlike the Teacher of Ecclesiastes, you and I are living in the world after Jesus Christ came in human form, lived His perfect life, then died and was raised so that we might be in good relationship with God once again. We have the certainty that this life is not all there is! We know that as believers in Jesus, this world is only the beginning. The things we do in this world are important to carry that message to others and to fulfill God’s mission in this world; that is our destiny here. But our ultimate destiny is to spend eternity in the heavenly paradise, praising God for the rest of our lives. Turn to Jesus in faith, and you can be certain that your destiny is not simply death but to live forever in perfection after this life is over.
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Do you believe that humans are inherently good, or inherently evil? While I’d like to believe we’re all inherently good, I know that humans are full of sin ever since the Fall. As Psalm 14:1-3 tells us (also quoted by Paul in Romans 3:10-12), there is no one good in this world. It is only through God working through our lives that we’re able to do good.
The Teacher of Ecclesiastes looks at this idea too in today’s passage of Ecclesiastes 8:11-17. In verse 11, we see the idea of being willing to commit crimes if we can get away with it, which clearly shows the sinful and rebellious nature of humankind. If we’re not punished for our crimes, why not just go ahead and commit them? Verse 12 continues that idea, with those who are of God knowing that the evil people in this world will often escape punishment - at least temporarily. We see in verses 12-13 how at that time, they compared long life to being blessed by God.
In verse 14, the Teacher says, “There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.” The opening and closing of this verse with the idea of meaninglessness places extra emphasis on it, and shows just how disturbed the Teacher is by this concept. It seems in life that bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. In spite of knowing that God is just, injustice clearly exists in this world.
It’s hard for our minds to reconcile this concept, of the just God allowing so much injustice in this world. Why are there so many people starving in this world? Why are so many struggling to survive? Why is there so much abuse that happens? Why are there natural disasters and diseases that kill so many? It all seems so unfair in light of a loving God. But the fact of the matter is that God is perfect, and this world (and all of us who live in it) are not. We are sinful human beings, and when the first humans sinned, all of creation was also thrown into sin. Our bad choices often cause evil in this world. When there seems to be no direct choice linked to something evil happening, it’s because all of creation is fallen. But, God is still just! Even if we don’t see His justice playing out in this world, we will see it on Judgment Day.
Fortunately for us, God’s justice also includes His grace. We often think in the context of someone who has wronged us deserving punishment and hoping that they get their just desserts. But have you thought about what it would be like if someone is thinking that about you? There could be someone who is hoping to see you get punished for a sin that you have committed. We like to think of God’s grace for ourselves, but we need to remember that God’s grace is available to all - even to someone who has sinned against you or who you wish would get punished for something they’ve done. Read the story of Jonah (especially the end) to see how God’s grace can play out, and how we often react to His grace being shown to others.
What should we do when we’re struggling to understand the injustice that exists in this world? Enjoy life! “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun” (verse 15). We should experience pleasure in the good things of life, like eating and drinking, but we should also experience pleasure in the work that we have been given to do, simply because that is what God has ordained for us. God has not created us to be depressed, bogged down by the heavy burdens of this life, but He has created us to experience joy in Him and in the good things He has created for us to enjoy.
Verses 16-17 go on to explain how we cannot understand the ways of God: “When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the labor that is done on earth —people getting no sleep day or night— then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.” The Teacher is actively applying his mind to understand how things work in this world, even to the point of losing sleep over it. But, he comes to the conclusion that the human mind cannot understand the things of God. If anyone who claims to know the mind of God, we know they are not being truthful as no human can know God fully. If we could, then He wouldn’t be God anymore; we would be.
We will never be able to understand the things of God, except maybe when we get to heaven with Him. But even then, God will still be greater than us, and He will still deserve all of our worship and praise for all eternity. We humans may be inherently evil because of the sinful world we live in, but everything about God is good and just. That is one thing that we truly need to understand and take to heart. No matter what happens with people in this world, no matter what we can fully understand or not, God is good!
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When I came to this section of Ecclesiastes with the title in my Bible of “Obey the King,” my first thought was that this doesn’t really apply to us today; we don’t live under a monarchy with a king. But many of the principles in this section do apply to our leaders in general, so let’s take a look.
Verse 2 starts out by showing us that we should obey the authorities over us because we desire to honor and obey God. As a follower of Jesus, we have pledged ourselves to follow Him, which means we should also follow those in authority over us because that honors God. You can read more about this idea here or here.
Verse 3 tells us that we should obey our authorities even when it’s something we don’t want to do. We shouldn’t rush to leave their presence, but stay to make sure we are following their orders and ready to do everything they ask of us. We are serving for the authority’s pleasure, not our own. Verse 4 echoes that idea, reminding us that the authorities over us don’t have to answer to us. They may respect us enough to hear our opinion, but it is ultimately up to them and not us.
Verses 5-7 tell us that we would be wise to do what the authority wants, at the right timing, and in the right way. We don’t necessarily know the whole picture, so we cannot know the full purpose of what we may be asked to do. Sure, I could question the actions of the President of the United States, but I don’t know a lot about what’s going on in our government, so I don’t have the full picture of the situation.
Verse 8 reminds us that as humans, none of us are really in control, even those in authority positions. Just like we can’t contain the wind, we can’t know when someone will die.
This analogy of obeying the king also shows us how to obey God. We do not know anywhere near the whole picture that God knows - His knowledge is infinite, and He knows the entire past, present, and future of our time, and even beyond time! There’s no way we can compare with that. Even the smartest among us have zero knowledge of the future, and we only know what has been recorded for the past. We cannot even know everything that is happening in the present time when we live. But God knows all of that.
Because of God’s vast knowledge, we should always obey Him as our supreme authority. We may think we know better than Him at times, but we never really do. He ultimately knows what will happen in the future, so we should trust His guidance. He may tell us to do things that we don’t want to do, but because He is a loving God, we should trust that He does have our best interests in mind at all times.
Verse 9 continues, “All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.” When someone lords it over others and exercises his authority to the detriment of others, that will ultimately hurt himself. If you are in any kind of authority over others, acting wrongly toward them will end up hurting yourself. If you don’t trust in and follow the ultimate authority of God, then you will likely end up acting selfishly, which will come back and bite you in some way. The only way to fully rule in a just manner is to follow God’s ways.
Verse 10 concludes our section, “Then too, I saw the wicked buried — those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.” Even wicked and oppressive rulers would often receive lavish funerals, even being honored in their death. This does not give a good example to the people, however, as it shows them that they may still be honored and praised even for wicked actions.
How do you relate to the authority figures in your life? Authorities in your life may be your parents, teachers, work supervisor, or those holding government offices. Do you honor God by honoring the authorities in your life? Do you respect authorities, realizing that they know more of the big picture than you do? Give God glory and honor by honoring His authority most of all, and also by honoring the people who He has placed in authority over your life.
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Have you ever had an experience where you feel like you’re surrounded by people who aren’t as smart as you are? Perhaps you feel like you’re the only one who can do the job well and your coworkers keep messing up. Or perhaps you feel like you’re the only person who is holding your household together. In today’s passage to finish up Ecclesiastes 7, we see that the Teacher clearly feels that way.
If the Teacher is King Solomon as many believe, this is somewhat true. In 1 Kings 3:1-15, God appears to Solomon in a dream and says he can ask for whatever he wants. Solomon asks for great wisdom to govern God’s people well, and because of that wise and unselfish answer, God grants his request and gives him so much more. God tells Solomon, “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be” (1 Kings 3:12). So in Solomon’s case, he really was always surrounded by people not as wise as him.
In today’s section of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher is frustrated with people in general. In verses 23-24, he implies that people really do want to be wise, but wisdom appears to be hard for them to come by. People often do not act in wisdom, and that makes it appear that they are not wise at all.
Verse 25 says, “So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.” If he is the wisest man to ever live, surely he can figure out this problem, right? He’s trying to seek wisdom, which he can do in part by trying to understand the opposite of that. If he can understand why people are wicked and foolish, perhaps he can help guide them toward wisdom.
In verse 26, he turns toward the lack of wisdom in relationships. He specifically calls out women who are not truthful and try to ensnare or trap men. He states that men who are seeking God will escape women like that, but sinful men will be caught in their traps. While our culture today is definitely different than in Solomon’s day when women were treated more like property, this is still true of both genders - our sinfulness and lack of wisdom does cause people to try and ensnare each other in traps, and to play games with relationships rather than being honest and loving.
In verses 27-28, the Teacher seems to say that wisdom among men is quite rare (1 in 1000) but he has yet to find a wise woman. Again we see a cultural difference between today and back then. Women were not permitted to be educated back then, and they were considered “less than” men. Their thoughts, feelings, and opinions were not often taken into consideration in any situation, so of course, women would not generally be considered as wise. While our culture may still be somewhat male-dominated, as an educated woman I am personally thankful that we women have basically the same opportunities today for wisdom as men do.
But why is humankind so lacking in wisdom? In verse 29, the Teacher does not blame this on God who created us but on humankind for making foolish choices. He writes, “This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” We know from Genesis 1:26-27 that God created us in His own image and likeness, which would include a measure of wisdom. But humans desired to have more wisdom (Genesis 3:6) and thus fell into sin. Since then, we have all proven that we’re great at making choices that are foolish and do not honor God. It’s our fault that we lack wisdom, not God’s.
This section ends in Ecclesiastes 8:1 which says, “Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.” After the pessimism about the lack of wisdom at the end of chapter 7, this verse starts to give some hope. There are some people who are wise! While we need to be realistic that true wisdom can be hard to come by, this thought does not need to make us depressed, but we can have joy when we do find it.
We may easily get frustrated with those around us when they don’t act with the wisdom we feel they should have. But take a look at yourself; I’m sure every one of us can call out times when we didn’t act wisely either, and other people would be frustrated with us. We cannot change others and make them wiser, but we can seek out more wisdom for ourselves to live out in our own lives.
How do we do that? Go to the source of all wisdom: God. He has given us His Word that includes much “wisdom literature,” including Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. All of the Bible is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We have the Bible and it is so accessible; we just need to use it by reading it, studying it, and applying it to our lives.
We don’t need to be the person who frustrates others with our foolishness; instead, strive to be the one who lives out wisdom and shares that wisdom with others for the benefit of humankind and for the glory of God.
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The idea of karma is that if you do good things and are a good person, good things will happen to you; on the flip side, if you do bad things and are a bad person, bad things will happen to you. The idea of the Prosperity Gospel goes along with that - if good things happen to you, then it must be because you did the right thing, but if bad things happen, well that’s because you just weren’t good enough. But, all of that goes against what the Teacher shares with us in today’s passage of Ecclesiastes 7:15-22.
The Teacher shares in verse 15 that he has seen righteous people perish while wicked people live long lives. That’s essentially the opposite of karma; the good die young while the wicked are blessed with long lives! What’s the deal with that? We live in a world that is subject to the problem of sin, and bad things seem to happen to good people. Things aren’t as clear-cut as karma may make them seem.
Verse 16 instructs us, “Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself?” The idea of being overrighteous was addressed by Jesus many times in His interactions with the Pharisees, for example in Matthew 23. They were trying to be overly spiritual to show their righteousness by doing and not doing certain things; Jesus warned them that no matter what their actions showed, they’re all sinners. Pretending to be righteous with outward actions is pointless if inwardly they are selfish and conceited.
Being overwise is the idea that knowledge is more important than wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a lot of facts, which is definitely a good thing. But wisdom is knowing the right way to use that knowledge. I’ve heard it said that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. Similarly, having knowledge of God is useless if we do not have the wisdom to have a relationship with Him as well. We can memorize every word of the Bible or be able to quote hundreds of theologians (knowledge), but if we do not have saving faith in the work of Jesus Christ that we live out in our lives(wisdom), all of that is pointless.
The Teacher cautions here that we will effectively be destroyed if we are either overrighteous or overwise in our lives. He builds on this in verse 17 by saying, “Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool—why die before your time?” Being overwicked is not the idea that a little wickedness is okay as long as you don’t overdo it; we should truly strive to not be wicked at all, nor should we be foolish in our actions. Either one could easily lead to an early death, and neither will lead to full and abundant life.
Verse 18 shows us what to do with all this advice: “It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” We need to act on all of this advice, not just knowing it but actually doing it. If we fear and trust in God, then we will not go to any of these extremes - we will not be overrighteous, overwise, overwicked, or foolish. When we put our faith in God and the saving work of Jesus, we have freedom; but that does not mean we have the freedom to sin and live our lives however we want (see Romans 6).
We see how important wisdom is in verse 19: “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.” Having wisdom that comes from God is more powerful than any civil authority you may have. Mere power is nothing when compared to the wisdom we get from fearing God with our lives.
It is important for us to remember that there never has been nor will there ever be a person who never sins (verse 20). Of course, we know Jesus never sinned, but He was also fully God. We may not see obvious sins in another person’s life, and thus when we compare ourselves to them we feel inferior. But, know that even that person who looks like they’re living the perfect life is still dealing with sin of some kind. Everyone is guilty of sin, no matter what their lives look like on the outside.
Verses 21-22 continue with this idea. A person may look perfect in their public appearances, but those closest to them (such as a servant) will likely see their dark side. The Teacher reminds the reader to think of the times that they themselves have sinned in private. Just because other people don’t see our sin doesn’t mean we don’t do it.
We all sin, and in the Teacher’s time before Jesus came to earth to live His perfect life to restore our relationship with God, there was only the hope that people could be good enough or have enough faith in the coming Messiah that God would accept them. Now, however, we know what Jesus has done for us. While we will still mess up, we know that when we truly repent of our sin, we will be forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice that paid the debt for our sins.
Our lives will not be perfect, but we trust in the God who is perfect and who is sovereign over everything. Whether we sin or not is our choice, but the length of our lives is in God’s control. Live your life in such a way that honors God, so that while you’re on this earth, more people around you can come to the saving faith of a restored relationship with Him.
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This section of Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 is a little bit different from much of the rest of the book, in that it contains a series of proverbs. These proverbs provide wise advice for daily living, both for the people of the Teacher’s day and for us today.
“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth” (verse 1). A “good name” here is not just the name people call you by, but it refers to a person’s reputation. A good reputation is very valuable, as it means people can trust you and count on you, and they will want to have work with you, whether in business dealings or for friendship. At birth, we have no idea what we will accomplish in life, but at our death, we will have accomplished everything we’re going to in this world. Make your day of death better than your day of birth by leaving the world a better place than when you came into it.
“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (verse 2). As the Teacher has discussed previously, every person who lives is going to die. Because of this, we need to remember what’s really important in this life. It may seem counterintuitive to go to a house of mourning rather than feasting, but when we mourn we are more likely to pay attention to the eternal things. When we are feasting, we’re only focused on the short term things of eating, drinking, and being merry.
“Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart” (verse 3). This proverb continues the theme of verse 2, that it can be good for us to be frustrated and sad. Those are both emotions that we should experience and work through, rather than simply blowing them off with laughter for the sake of avoidance.
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure” (verse 4). Again, this proverb is continuing the theme of the previous two. We are wise if share our sorrows with others, but we are foolish if all we seek is pleasure in this life.
“It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools” (verse 5). If we know what’s good for us, we’ll listen to those who have more life experience than us. If a wise person rebukes us and tells us we’re not doing something well, then we should take their advice because they know more than us. The song of fools may sound more pleasing to our ears than a rebuke, but in the long run, it’s more important to heed wise advice than foolish.
“Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless” (verse 6). A foolish person may laugh at anything, and they gain no wisdom from it. All of this foolishness is meaningless and serves us no purpose. We do not gain any wisdom from it.
“Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart” (verse 7). This proverb clearly tells us not to extort money from others nor to give or receive bribes. This goes back to verse 1, where we saw how important a person’s reputation is. Extortion and bribery easily corrupt a person and can ruin your reputation in just one moment.
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride” (verse 8). This goes back to the idea of verse 2, where the day of death is better than the day of birth. It is important how we begin things, but it’s even more important how we complete them and see them through. Patience can be vitally important here, depending on what your task is. We often start things in the pride of thinking we can do it, and then we lose interest in them if we do not have the patience it takes to fully complete the task. Patience is essential so we don’t stop what we’re called to do because of some discouragements.
“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (verse 9). This verse shows us what happens if we do not possess the patience recommended in verse 8 - we quickly get angry, whether with ourselves or with others. It is foolish to easily get angry when things go wrong.
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” (verse 10). Have you ever wished for “the good ol’ days”? Clearly, even the Teacher did, but he realized it is wise to not envy the past. Hindsight always makes things seem better than they really were, and if we did not live through a certain time period, we may not realize the full extent of the struggles that were experienced then. We do not gain wisdom from longing for the past.
“Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun” (verse 11). Wisdom is what’s important here, and if we act wisely then it will benefit not only us but others around us. But, like an inheritance, we need to use our wisdom properly.
“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it” (verse 12). Having money can give us financial security, but having wisdom gives us even better security than that - wisdom is more of a guarantee of having a good life. Money can be fleeting, but if you continually seek and obtain wisdom, then you will be more secure than having large amounts of money.
“Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future” (verses 13-14). The first 12 verses of this chapter give advice for living, even if a person does not believe in God. But if you do follow God, the Teacher goes one step further than the aforementioned wise proverbs. God is in control over all things; no person can change what God has done.
It’s easy to blame God for bad things and neglect to thank Him for good things, but we need to remember that God is in control over it all. We need to have hardships and difficult times in life, both so we appreciate the good times more and so we learn from them. We need to accept both good times and bad times from God out of the faith that we have in Him. We won’t be able to explain everything, and that’s okay, because we trust the God who can.
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