The Book of Ecclesiastes - Part 7

Greetings, brethren. Happy Sabbath. Yes, thank you very much. Long time, no see. Very happy to be back, be able to be a little bit healthier and able to breathe a little bit easier. So, good to see all of you. We had a great feast down in Florida, and I trust that you did as well. It's just been a really nice year, and this past week has been insane.

But, as was mentioned, how we feel about it, I guess I would say I feel a little relieved that the worst possibility didn't happen, but I'm still quite wary. Still quite wary, but I'm also greatly relieved. I will just say that. Hopefully we'll be able to continue to preach God's truth to this world in a powerful way, and warn as many people of the calamities that are coming, but also, of course, telling them the good news about the kingdom that is coming to this world to transform it and make it the really better place we can look forward to.

Then we'll find ultimate and true relief. And we've been talking about that in the series of messages we've been going through. I do want to continue with Ecclesiastes. I noticed that the past message I gave, the last one, on chapter 6, I think it was part 6, so we're kind of even with parts and chapters where we are in the book, is not currently online. Maybe it is there somewhere, but we'll try to get that fixed for hopefully when if anybody's listening to this, that other one is already up there.

But we'll see what we can do about that. Well, anyway, I do want to continue where I was. If we have the outline that I gave, we're right now in the third part of the book out of 4. This third part that runs from chapter 6, verse 1, up to chapter 8, verse 15. And the first part of that is 6.1 through 7.15. And actually, we've only gotten through part of that. And on the outline, you see it's a proper evaluation of man's outward fortunes helps explain the apparent inequalities of divine providence. You look at some of these bad things that are going on.

You think, is God really in control of this? And what's happening here? Is there really a plan being worked out? Well, we have to understand the circumstances here. And the first part of this, as we saw in chapter 6, is that things that seem bad are not necessarily the worst thing that can happen. Actually, sometimes bad things are allowed by God for very good reasons in our lives.

God is working things out ultimately to our benefit. And sometimes things that we think are really great that we want to happen are not necessarily the best things. If we just had a life of ease and everything was so great, we would all fall away from God and be ultimately destroyed. That's not the good outcome that God is seeking. So we have to look at these circumstances. It's not just how we perceive them as far as what we think might be good or what we think might be bad. We have to remember that God is the one who knows ultimately what's going on.

In fact, one thing that we saw, and I'll just mention it here, because I'm going to get back to this in just a second, is at the end of chapter 6, Solomon wrote in verse 12, For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life, which he passed as like a shadow, who can tell him what will happen after him or actually what will come in his future in his days under the sun?

Who knows that? Only God knows that. That's the key. God is able to take what's going on and work it out to the best possible outcome, and only he can do that. But people stress about this and think God is not really in control. In verse 10 here in chapter 6, it says, Whatever one is, he has been named already, for it is known that he is man. We might remember that the word here was Adam, and it's talking about which comes from the red earth from the ground.

Man is of the ground, of the earth. He is earthy, and he cannot really of himself rise above. And it says that he cannot contend with him who is mightier than he. In fact, the very fact that he is named Adam, he is named by God, showing that God is the one who is in control of man. And there's no point in arguing with God and saying, well, why can't it be this way? God knows best. And he's the only one who could possibly know this. So we just need to submit ourselves to that fact in faith and trust, believing that God has things well in hand, and that he's going to be able to take care of any situation.

And then, of course, we come now to chapter 7. We're going to continue on here. And in chapter 7, what we're going to learn is that because we think, well, bad people experience good things and good people experience bad things, but people are not necessarily as we perceive them either. We might think, oh, these people deserve something good. Do they really deserve something good? Does anybody deserve something good? What is really the nature of people? That's what we're going to talk about a little bit here in this chapter, chapter 7.

But let's start with what I've titled this part of it. I've titled this is verses 1 through 15, In the Day of Adversity, Consider. And actually, that's what we find down in verse 14. It actually says that. I gave a preview of that last time I mentioned where this is headed. It says, In the Day of Prosperity, be joyful, but in the Day of Adversity, consider. We have to think about this. Both come from God.

That's what we're told here. Both come from God. Now, I want us to go ahead and read verses 1 through 12 here and get some perspective on this. It says in starting in verse 1, A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men, and the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It's better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart. And the beginning of a thing is better than its end.

Excuse me, the end of a thing is better than its beginning. The patient and spirit is better than the proud and spirit. Do not hasten your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. Do not say, why were the former days better than these, for you do not inquire wisely concerning this. Wisdom is good with an inheritance and profitable to those who see the sun. For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense. But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. Well, why is all of this here? This is something I want, you know, we need to understand this in context.

I appreciated Mr. Kubik's sermon that he gave at the feast that we all heard about the Book of Ecclesiastes. And he got through the whole thing in one sermon. That was amazing. But here, and he actually even made the point, you know, commentators find this an immensely difficult book. And he said, in reality, it's sort of a simple book in its premise. And I would agree that in its overall premise, it is quite straightforward. You see these repeater of frames, you see the conclusions.

The problem is, even for us, not even just for commentators who don't know the ultimate truth, is understanding how all of these statements that he makes through the book fit into his argument. Well, why does he say a lot of these things? And sometimes there seems to be some contradictory points. But of course, we can interpret those in light of the overall objective. That's why we read the end of the conclusions to find out what he's aiming at with these various things that he says. But again, why does he throw all these things? Why are all these proverbs thrown in here? What is he getting at in the course of the argument? How does this make the case that he is building? Despite the book's several recommendations of enjoying the pleasures of everyday living, including fun and good times with others within the boundaries of God's law, there are times when we need to get serious, particularly in facing the hard times of life, as we see in this section. Remarkably, as bad as many of the negative circumstances here are, bringing suffering, they can be beneficial. Recall that the last chapter ended with the question of who knows what's really good for man, and they understand the answer being God. Dr. Kaiser notes that that question of what is good, Dr. Kaiser, Walter Kaiser is the one who's outlined, we're following in this book, and I think it's a good outline, but he says that that question about what is good, quote, becomes the hook on which a series of proverbs giving us some good or better things is hung. Things that will prove to be more salutary or beneficial than prosperity. In fact, this is, as one source says, the longest sequence of better than sayings in the Bible. So we're not in the book of proverbs, but we have a series of proverbs here, the longest sequence of better than sayings in the Bible. Now let's look back at these verses. In Ecclesiastes 7.1, we're told that a good name is better than precious ointment. With poetry here in the Hebrew for name and ointment or perfume, shem and shemen for the perfume or ointment, respectively. Some contend that this line doesn't fit the context that follows of sadness and hardship being better than laughter and celebration. But it actually does. A good name is a reference to a good reputation established through the development of good character, which comes through trials and tests of character. Precious oils and scents were valuable commodities, luxuries for those of means to enjoy. Remember that back in chapter 5 verse 19 said it was right for the wealthy to enjoy the wealth that God blesses them with. But while that is true, godly life is not all fun. It's also hard work and building character and faith or trust in God through the hard times. And this is by far the more valuable treasure. I'll just reference Romans 5.3-4. It says that trials develop perseverance, which develops character. That's the plan. That's how it works. I'll also reference for you 1 Peter 1, 6-7, which says that the genuineness of your faith, tested by fire, is more precious than gold that perishes. That's the real treasure. That's the real value, is going through these difficulties and being shaped into the people that God wants us to be. Then note the second part of Ecclesiastes 7.1. And the day of death is better than the day of one's birth. Just what is meant here. Possibly as many think that the day an individual dies is better than the day that individual was born. Now, some who accept that reading see it as wholly pessimistic, in line with thoughts that one's better off dead than alive.

Actually, Ecclesiastes 9.4 says the opposite. It says it's better to be a live dog than a dead lion. It's better to be alive. Yet we might consider this latter part of 7.1 in the context of the first part. So that the day of death would parallel a good name. I mean, look at those two phrases together. Good name better than precious ointment. Day of death better than the day of one's birth, that this is sort of paired together. At the day of one's birth, there is no established reputation, only a clean slate. But at the day of death, one has an established reputation. And that could go with verse 8, where it says the end of a thing is better than its beginning, as there is an accomplishment. Now, if one has gained a good name by the end of his life, this juncture is better than birth, because of what has been achieved. And the one who dies now rests from trials and will be rewarded in the future resurrection. So that would be good. But on the other hand, if one has done evil and incurred a bad name, then the point of death can also be seen as better than the day of birth, since this fruitless, futile life is brought to a close. And the person will be raised up in a better world to face judgment and have the opportunity to make better choices.

So either way, in that sense, death ends up being a better juncture in life than birth. But some read this latter part of verse 1 quite differently, as referring not to the experience of one's own birth and death, but to social observances of the birth and death of others. That is, what one experiences when someone else dies, a time of mourning and a funeral, is better than what he or she experiences at someone's initial day of birth or an annual birthday. That is, a time of celebration. That's quite reasonable. The line within parallel, the lines that follow. Look at verse 2. Better to go to the house of mourning, either literally a house where someone has died, or figuratively a funeral or a mourning period, than to go to the house of feasting, a party, or celebration. For that, that is the former, the house of mourning, is the end of all men, and the living will take it to heart. That is to say, a funeral or mourning period has the benefit of making other people think about their own mortality. The contemporary English version renders the last phrase here, funerals remind us that we all must die. The Tyndale commentary notes on this verse, every funeral anticipates our own. So that is the end of all men. That's what it's saying. This is a valuable reminder for everyone. In Psalm 90, verse 12, Moses prays to God, saying, so teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Thinking about our mortality, not unduly so, as it said in Ecclesiastes 5.20. Remember, God wants to keep us busy with the good things so that we don't unduly focus on the few days of our lives. But in balance, thinking about our mortality can motivate us to get right with God and make the best use of our time in this life. So I think that is what's being talked about here. It does make a lot of sense in that sense. Let's look here again at verses 3 through 4. It says, sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Stating that sorrow is better than laughter and sadness makes the heart better, which is transitioning into wisdom versus foolishness.

This goes beyond the observance of a funeral or a mourning period. While the passage does include that, it's speaking of life more generally. That is not to say that laughter is bad. Proverbs 1722 says, a merry heart does good like medicine, and laughter is part of that. But laughter in the wrong context is not helpful. Remember that Ecclesiastes 3-4 said that there is a time to laugh and a time to weep. There are many mournful things in the world and in our own lives that should move us to sadness. We are not to be to stoically bottle up or stuff down our feelings in this regard. God expects us to sigh and cry over the abominations of the world. We're told that in Ezekiel 9-4. To cry out over the pain that all must go through and for relief. We are to be remorseful and repentant over our own sins and we are to be sorrowful over sufferings, our own and those of others. This will actually help us to feel better as long as we don't become despondent.

Being sad over problems can help us to face them, to heal and to move forward in life. Jesus said, blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. That's in Matthew 5-4. That will ultimately come in the kingdom of God. But God gives us comfort today as well.

The heart of the wise being in the house of mourning, we see here in verse 4, concerns the appropriate response to life's sorrows or trials. The day of adversity, as we see in verse 14. This is in contrast to the heart of fools being in the house of mirth in verse 4. Here again is something undesirable that's actually beneficial. While what we prefer at that time is not really good for us. This is true of trials in general that God lets us go through. They should not be viewed as some kind of proof that God is not ruling the universe and has no plan being worked out or that he doesn't care about us. Rather, they should be kept in proper perspective as being within God's wise and loving purpose. Tommy Nelson comments on Ecclesiastes 7 in his book, A Life Well Lived. This is a quote on pages 94 to 95. Trials always have a very beneficial purpose.

Trials show you what you are and that you can't make it on your own. Trials perfect you. Trials bring you to the end of your physical intellectual rope. Trials make you pray. Trials make you go to the word. Trials make you trust. Trials also prove you, testing your character. Trials also humanize you. I interject, making you sympathetic to the sufferings of others. They do good things in us. The only problem is that these trials are things we don't necessarily want to experience.

So trials are valuable, but we we prefer not to have them. Looking back to verse 1, he points out, Solomon says that God wants to give you a good name, not just a good time. Pain is an integral part of that purpose. Why? Because good times can fool you. The house of Mirth in verse 4 could refer to just good times with friends, to parties and entertaining guests, or to visiting people and celebrating happy occasions, but when serious matters need attending to instead. It could even refer to a tavern or going there to drink and laugh and ignore the pain. Yet this just masks it temporarily. So the mirth or laughter here is a kind of denial of reality, not facing up to problems, engaging in escapism, or drowning sorrows. As Nelson writes, quote, plenty of people in America are having a good time, but they are deceived. They use pleasure to dull the pain so they don't have to acknowledge the deep needs of their souls, that is, of their hearts and minds.

Why is sorrow better than laughter? Because, the text says, a person who is laughing is not really facing reality. He's not learning anything about the nature of life. He's just pretending that happiness will make him whole. But man's highest purpose is not simply to enjoy life, but rather to know God, to become like God. Of course, none of this is to say that we shouldn't laugh and have fun in life, that we should just avoid feasting and pleasure. The repeated refrain of ecclesiastic is that we eat and drink with companionship and enjoyment of the fruit of our labor as God's good gifts. This definitely has its place, and not just a little, for we need it often and regularly.

But this life is not, nor was it meant to be, one long party. That would not serve us well.

We often need to get serious, to have life punctuated with sober reflection. Consider that we routinely eat and drink, but that we should have times of fasting, to draw near to God and contemplate what's most important. And we should have far more times of serious meditation to stop and think. You don't just go along, having a good time. That would be disastrous.

In verses 5 and 6, let's look at them. Verses 5 and 6, it's better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity. So we get two proverbs here that draw further contrast between wisdom and foolishness in reacting to life's difficulties. The first in verse 5 says it's better to hear the rebuke of the wise than the song of fools. Solomon's father David had written of the strike or rebuke of the righteous as a kindness and valuable oil, not to refuse. That's in Psalm 141 verse 5. So Solomon had a good teacher in this regard. Solomon laid out other proverbs about the value of accepting rebuke and the harm in disdaining correction. I'll just list a few from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 13, 18. Proverbs 15, 31 and 32. And Proverbs 27, 5 through 6. I mean, these say that as well. Regarding the song of fools, we're told in Amos 6 verses 3 through 7, there it later decries the Israelites who were living it up, including with idol singing while the nation was about to be invaded and the people deported. This was a distraction, a way to keep people from facing up to the real problems. So, you know, that's what we're talking about here. This doesn't mean singing is bad. It's that this is being used to distract from the real problems. Nelson writes, you probably had someone you... this is on page 100 of his book.

You've probably had someone you respect approach you and say, we need to talk. Then he drops the bomb on you about some blind spot or area of sin in your life. Is that an enjoyable thing? Of course not. Wouldn't you rather listen to some random guy in a piano bar? Or maybe just put your earbuds in and just listen to your pop music or whatever, drown everything out? Then you wouldn't have to deal with it. Wouldn't that be better than having some wise men tell you of sin in your life and direct you to change? Nobody enjoys an experience like that. But we won't ever be truly happy if we don't have some wise folks who come alongside us and give us a good rebuke. If we can't take that rebuke, we'll be failures. Absolutely true.

Again, what seems objectionable can be helpful, while that which seems pleasant can detract from fulfilling life's purposes. Again, I want us to note this. We're given all these proverbs, and they stand alone in one sense, but they're making the argument of the book. That's what I also want us to follow as we go through this. Now, verse 6 compares the laughter of the fool to the crackling of burning thorns under a pot. There's some alliterative poetry in verses 5 through 6 with the Hebrew words for song, pot, and thorns being sheer, seer, and serene, respectively. So it's pretty sounding in Hebrew. The Moffat translation attempts to reflect this in English in verse 6, which it renders, for like nettles crackling under kettles is the cackle of a fool. It's kind of this poetry going on there. What does this meant to show? As the NKJV study bible points out, burning thorns will provide quick flames, little heat, and a lot of noise. Just like the sudden outburst of laughter among fools, there is more noise and substance.

It might be that in context, this is what the New American commentary says, the smirking laughter of fools is their response to the advice of the wise. They laugh because in their eyes the wise man's rebuke is empty. They think he has no idea what he's talking about. Or the verse might just be a more general statement about the fool trying to laugh off some problems where he won't be laughing for long. New American commentary says again, the simile portrays the fool as both worthless like thorns and about to be destroyed, burning under a pot. So the burning thorns are also a symbol of judgment and swift judgment as the thorns flare up as short-lived. I'll quote for you Psalm 58 verse 9. Psalm 58 verse 9 says, Before your pots can fill the burning thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind as in his living and burning wrath.

So again, a symbol of judgment. As Jesus said in Luke 6.25, Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

And that's something to remember. The next verse, this is Ecclesiastes 7.7 here, says, Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, but a bribe debases the heart.

This might seem out of place amid the surrounding proverbs. How does it fit in context? Let's first note that other forms of this maxim occur elsewhere. God said through Moses in Deuteronomy 16.19, I'll quote for you Deuteronomy 16.19, You shall not pervert justice, you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe. For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

And this is something like that is also in Exodus 23 verse 8. Here's a way that people can have their resolve broken and be turned off the right track. And that does relate to what's being said in Ecclesiastes 7. Recall that verse 4 mentioned the heart of the wise being in the house of mourning, while the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. The mourning involves trials and learning from them. But verse 7 may be warning that if the pressure or oppression by circumstances is too great, a person might crack. The wise man's reason being destroyed could refer to a wise person, his own thinking being twisted, or to wise advice that's been given to someone being abandoned.

The person accepting a bribe surrenders to what is desired. And it seems likely here that this is to be equated with the escapism and denial provided by the foolish laughter and fun in the house of mirth. The verse thus serves as encouragement to stay the course against the pressure and enticement to give in and go along with the foolishness of the world. You think, oh, I could just give in and I'll have a good time. That's giving into a bribe, you see.

But you don't want to do that. You want to resist the bribe that's there, that's offered to you by the devil, frankly. He's offering us all that bribe and we have to resist. So that fits well with the perseverance spoken of in verse 8, which says in verse 8, the end of a thing is better than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

This does not mean that it's better for something to be over and done because it was bad.

This is talking about the end of anything being better because of results. What has been achieved? The beginning has nothing to really show for it, being mainly talk and perhaps boasting even. But the end reveals the outcome. Just so in our lives before God with its hardships, we need to persevere to the finish. Jesus said, Matthew 10.22, Matthew 24.13, he who endures to the end will be saved. In the face of life's difficulties, we need to patiently hold out for the final outcome. We need to consider that the trials will eventually conclude and that there will be some accomplishment. In fact, we should recognize that the plan of God is progressing toward something in each life and in the world at large. To endure, we need to be patient, not proud, not self-focused on getting our own way against consideration of God and others, thinking we know best and laughing at wisdom as in verse 6. We need to trust that God knows best.

Now, verse 9 tells us not to go the opposite route from patience and lash out.

At life's difficulties in anger. Look at verse 9. Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. It could be anger at the world, even anger at God, for things being bad. Yet, we must never rush to anger, allowing ourselves to be vexed and exasperated, in which case we will act foolishly. As we're told in Proverbs 14, 17. We must wait it out. You know, James, the apostle James said, James 1, 19-20, he summed it up.

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. That is the wrong way to react. The next verse, verse 10 here instructs us, do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

Some take this to mean that we should not be glorifying the past, or imagining the good old days, when corruption was not so common as such never existed. Yet, sometimes in history are indeed better than later times in various respects, and certain times in a person's life may have been better than later times. And it could well prove instructive to consider why the shift happened.

In fact, Solomon's own life is a case in point. Why did it devolve? We know why.

What of the verse, then? Consider the context of going through trials and hard times. That's what we're talking about here. The questioner is reflecting back to before the difficulties, and is really asking, why can't things be the same as they were? Why do these hard times have to come along? That's what he's really saying. Why was it better before? He's really saying, why did this change have to happen? Why does it have to be the way it is now? Why couldn't it stay the way it was? But this is actually an accusation against God's wise rule, asking ultimately why God wouldn't keep life the way it was. This kind of thinking is what Solomon calls unwise, for God is doing something of vast benefit. He is working out a great plan that is just mentioned, is progressing toward an end result. We can't know all that it entails, but we should trust the work that God is doing in our lives and in the lives of others. Keeping things the same, sparing us from all trials, would be to our great detriment and ultimately destruction. That's where it would lead.

You don't want things to be kept the same as they were. That would be the end of you. It would be the end of us all. Look at verses 11 through 12 now. Wisdom is good with an inheritance and profitable to those who see the sun. For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense, but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. So the verses here continue the discussion of reacting to life's difficulties with wisdom and also return to the matter of wealth by way of comparison. The first part of verse 11 is probably better rendered, a little bit different way to translate it. Wisdom is good in common with an inheritance. In other words, wisdom is good as an inheritance is good. That's what it's maybe probably saying. Tyndale says that. That is, it's good to have wisdom as it's good to have an inheritance, both being profitable.

The first part of verse 12 literally reads, to be in the shadow of wisdom is like being in the shadow of silver or money. That is, behind a shield or a protective wall. Thus, the defense, the NKJV translates. Wisdom and money both give help and protection in life. But where knowledge or wisdom excels above money is in giving life, preserving life, giving direction in how to live, and showing the way to eternal life. Money, though helpful while we have it, can dry up and disappear.

We saw that back in chapter 5 verse 14. We also see it in Proverbs 23, 4 through 5, which talks about, you know, with wealth having wings and flying away is gone. You can't hold on to that.

Verses 13 through 15 of Ecclesiastes 7 appear to conclude the current subsection.

That's these parts. I guess we're just in the middle subsection here. Let's look here at verses 13 through 15. It says, consider the work of God. For who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity, be joyful. But in the day of adversity, consider. Surely God is appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after. And that's the better wording here. I've seen everything in my days of vanity. There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

And looking back over what's been stated so far in regard to the troubles of this life, we're told again here in verse 13, consider the work of God. For who can make straight what he has made crooked?

It was stated in chapter 1 verse 15 that what is crooked cannot be made straight. Things are so bent out of shape in the world at large and in our personal lives that they can't be put back humanly. We need God's intervention. Moreover, as part of judgment and teaching man lessons for a hopeful outcome, God is actually the one who has subjected the world to frustration for the time being just as we're told in Romans 8.20. He has subjected it to futility because he's working out this plan. We must understand that the hard times we experience are ultimately from God's hands as well as the good times. This does not mean God causes all the bad circumstances, but he allows us to go through them for his all-wise reasons. This is also another caution against human arrogance and thinking that we know better than God and how he should have the world be at present.

Harking back to the foolish question in verse 10 of why things can't be as they once were and the idea of a man contending with God back in chapter 6 verses 10 through 12 when only he knows what is best and what the future holds. Verse 14 here in Ecclesiastes 7 tells us even more directly that both good and bad times come from God, that we should be joyful over prosperity but in adversity consider and recognize that it's from God too, as whatever happens is ultimately because he allows it and sometimes directly brings it to pass. Remember what Job said to his wife in the midst of his trial. This was back in Job chapter 2 in verse 10. He said, shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? Think about what happened to Job. He endured terrible things from Satan because God allowed it. In fact, God even prodded Satan into this, but it was for a transcendent purpose. God is shaping all of us to be part of his kingdom forever and he knows what is truly needed and best for all of us. Notice further that Ecclesiastes 7.14 is another instance, though an abbreviated form, of the book's refrain telling us to be joyful in prosperity. So let's look at it again. This line, in the day of prosperity, be joyful. That is actually a short form of this repeated refrain about enjoying the life that God gives and all the blessings that he's given. God wants us to enjoy the prosperity he blesses us with, but this encouragement is here presented with another focus that God is in charge of the bad times, too. Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, it says. Jeremiah would later write, this is in Lamentations 3.38, Lamentations 3.38 says, is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed?

It's what God has ordained. God has his reasons, but they're often inscrutable. Man can't know all that God is working out, especially in an overall sense, as we saw in Ecclesiastes 3.11. We just can't figure it out, what God is doing from one end to the other. Therefore, as the NIV renders the end of 7.14, no one can discover anything about their future. Life's happenings are not just formulaic, just do good and be blessed, or do bad and suffer. Life is unpredictable by design. Nelson comments, this on page 108 of his book, if you're in a time of pain and adversity right now, be patient. A day of prosperity is coming. And if you're in a time of prosperity in which everything is great, start preparing. A day of pain and adversity is just around the corner.

End of quote there. But God is working things out for the best. We see that in Romans 8.28. All things work together for good to those who love God, and they're called. And ultimately, God is going to bring the whole human race into that. Nelson goes on to mention Moses, who was miraculously rescued as a child to grow up amid wealth and splendor, only to lose it all when he killed an Egyptian abusing his people and had to hide in the desert for 40 years. He asks, why would God allow this to happen to him? Because God used all of it, even the consequences of his sin and the 40 years in the desert to prepare Moses to set his people free. And realize that God is preparing all of us for the future. We think all these things happen to us in life. What's it for? God knows what it's for, even if we don't. He's preparing all of us to be rulers in the kingdom.

Ecclesiastes 7.15. Let's look at that again. I've seen everything in my days of vanity. There's a just man who perishes in his righteousness. There's a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.

It's thought by some to go thematically with verses that follow, and it may. But it does naturally go with what was just stated being the extreme example of not being able to predict what this life will bring in terms of moral choices. Solomon says he's seen it all in his frustrating life, reflecting here on a just man perishing and a wicked man's life being prolonged. This goes against what we might assume would happen. But we don't know what God is doing here, or in which cases this will happen and why. We just have to trust him, not relying on simple this leads to that reasoning that will be confounded. Recall that this was the wrong reasoning of Job's friends in assuming the worst of Job to explain his suffering.

Life is just not as simple as that. The Tyndale commentary notes on these verses that the believer must quote, "...face life in this world as it really is." Forewarned is forearmed.

And it cites 1 Peter 4.12, where Peter said, Beloved, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you.

This is common, and it's for a reason. However, Solomon still has more to say on all this. He will point out in the next subsection that no one is really innocent.

And if we skip ahead to verse 20, that's what we're going to see. There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.

No one is really innocent. And near the end of the current major section of the book, he states that even though the life of the wicked may be prolonged, things will ultimately be well with those who live life with a proper fear of God and will not be well with the wicked. Let's uh, let's say let's cheat a little bit.

It's not really cheating. Let's skip ahead here and look real briefly at chapter 8. Where is this argument going? Chapter 8 verses 12 through 13.

It says, though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his days are prolonged, that's what he saw. Remember back there where we just were.

Yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before him, but it will not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God. So we can't take these verses alone. We have to see the whole argument. Yes, this is how it looks, and it seems mighty bad, and we don't know why it's working out this way. But in the end, it's going to work out as the way God has promised.

The psalmist and seer Asaph, who was a music leader during the reign of Solomon's father David, had earlier lamented over the prosperity of the wicked.

In Psalm 73, remember, he said, why did the wicked prosper? And he said, I nearly lost it all. He nearly blew it. He said, but then I understood their end. He came to see that.

So he gained proper perspective. Now concerning the death of the righteous, because we see that here, you know, this righteous person perished in his righteousness, Isaiah would later write that people failed to consider that this was a way to spare them and bring them peace. We read that in Isaiah 57, 1 through 2. They go to the grave, it brings them peace, their future resurrection being in view. They got it made in that sense. The righteous in the grave is a person who's ready for the resurrection. Of course, that can be a trial for others still living. But as this section shows, adversity is not always the worst thing. God uses trials to better us for the great goal he's working toward. Think about the fact that the foremost just man died young in perfect righteousness and total innocence, Jesus Christ. While the wicked, the rest of the world at large, live on in sin. But Christ's adversity, horrific as it was, was for the best, the ultimate best. Amazingly, both God the Father and Jesus Christ went through the greatest trial of all time for the benefit that would result for them and all.

The wicked are prolonged sometimes to give them opportunity to repent. But more often in this age is to serve as lessons to themselves and others, including the righteous. They go along and see how bad things can get. Yet the wicked are not always prolonged and the righteous do not always perish early. It's often the other way around. We just can't find out what God is working out. Not yet while we're in this life under the sun. We don't see where it's all headed.

Let's see what time it is. I have a little bit more time, so I'm going to continue on. Otherwise, I'll never finish. I want to continue on here into the next part of this chapter, which I've titled True Righteousness and Wisdom Illusive today.

Because I said we're going to get into this point of, you know, it's not just a proper perspective on the circumstances and how things we think are good are actually bad. Things that we think are bad are actually good. But that, you know, people that we might assume are deserving of something good really aren't. We're going to get into that very directly here in this last part of this chapter. But there's some strange things stated here, too, that we definitely want to look at.

Under the current major section of explaining and applying the plan of God, again, that's from the beginning of chapter 6 up until 815, we find that seemingly unjust circumstances for people are just that, seemingly so. We've already seen in this section's first part an evaluation of the circumstances themselves, that prosperity is not always best, adversity is not always worse. Now, in Ecclesiastes 7, 16, 13, 14, 15, in Ecclesiastes 7, 16, through 29, we see an evaluation of the people who are supposedly suffering unjustly under God's overall sovereignty as he works out his plan here on earth. The fact is, they are not innocent, but are all guilty of sin, every single person. We just read that in verse 20. So those considered deserving of blessing and prosperity actually aren't. Yet God is merciful and helps those who properly strive to serve him, and those who say the wicked should receive the punishment they deserve need to realize that this would include every person, including those perceived as righteous.

It is not entirely clear where the new subsection begins here. Let's say verses 15 through 18.

Again, we just saw, verse 15, there's a just man who perishes in his righteousness, is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. Verse 16, do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise. This really trips people up, by the way, this passage here, and we're going to come back to this in a second. Why should you destroy yourself?

Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

It is good that you grasp this and also not remove your hand from the other.

For all who fear God, for he who fears God, will escape them all.

In verse 15, Solomon spoke of the righteous perishing, the wicked being prolonged. We read this, you know, that was part of the previous subsection in following Kaiser's outline of the book, as the verse demonstrates that life choices bring unpredictable results today.

Yeah, you just can't plan that the person does good, all the good things are going to happen, they do bad, all these bad things are going to happen. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what God's working out. As was noted, some believe that this verse fits better with what follows, as the next few verses also discuss righteousness and wickedness.

It could be that verses 15 through 18, with the latter's conclusion about fearing God, which is in line with the book's overall conclusion, fear God and keep his commandments, are all part of the previous subsection. So these verses could go with what we've just read.

Then again, verse 15 is distinct from what follows. It concerns an observation by Solomon that fits with what was previously discussed, while verses 16 through 18 that we just read give instruction from him on how to live. The latter verses concern not just righteousness and wickedness, but also wisdom and foolishness. And this discussion continues through the rest of chapter 7, though we did see a contrast between wisdom and foolishness in the previous subsection. So we've seen a discussion, but we see this all through the book. Many of these themes keep coming back. They just have a comment in a different context. It could be that verses 16 through 18 are transitional between the previous subsections focus on proper evaluation of circumstances and the current ones focus on proper evaluation of the people in those circumstances. So maybe that's what we have here, a bit of transition. Don't know, but it certainly all fits in the overall argument, as we're going to see. The moral instruction that Solomon gives in verses 16 through 18 has been the subject of debate. He starts out saying, do not be overly righteous, nor be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, nor be foolish. Why should you die before your time? Yet being righteous before God means being in line with His will, and all His commandments define righteousness, as we're told in Psalm 119-172. So just what is Solomon talking about? You know, later he says, fear God and keep His commandments. So why does he make the statement, don't be overly righteous if righteousness is the commandments?

Some think he's advocating some kind of middle-of-the-road approach to life wherein we should not try too much to obey God, while at the same time making sure to avoid being too wicked. That is, it's fine to be a little wicked. The preaching the word commentary points out regarding such a mindset. This is from page 166. This kind of thinking would have been right at home with ancient Greek and Roman philosophers who often advocated a life of moderation. Do not be too good or too evil, they said. Too much piety or too much iniquity will lead to an early grave. This also happens to be the way many people think today. They know better than to live a life of total wickedness because deep down they believe that God will judge people for their sins, yet secretly they suspect that trying to be holy will take the fun out of life.

Generally speaking, they try to be good, they hope they're good enough to get by on the day of judgment, but their consciousness are troubled too little by their sins. As long as they're not overly righteous or overly wicked, they're happy with the way they are." It is that what Solomon is calling for here. Such thinking goes against a great deal of other biblical instruction and to the conclusion of Solomon's own treatise as well. He will end by telling us, fear God and keep his commandments for this is man's all. That's in chapter 12 verse 12. The same commentary asks, after all, if God's standard is perfection, if we are called to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind and strength, then how could anyone ever be overly righteous? The fact is, one cannot be. Jesus Christ was perfectly righteous, and we're to strive to live as He did, even though we stumble. So again, what is being said here? The Tyndale commentary states that the translation to or overmuch or overly goes somewhat beyond the Hebrew, raba, which means greatly and does not express the judgment implicit in too great or overmuch.

It concludes that, quote, do not be greatly righteous, must be taken ironically, and must refer to the way a person thinks about himself and presents himself. This view is confirmed in the next line, where the Hebrew for do not make yourself overly overwise contains a Hebrew, hithpael, that is a word form showing the subject acting on itself, which may mean to play the wise man, as in Numbers 16, 13, to play the part of a prince, and 2 Samuel 13, 5, to pretend to be ill. This is the way that word form is used. Play-acting righteousness delights in the reputation of wisdom, Tyndale says. It should be pointed out that the word overly in overly wise is not translated from raba. In overly righteous, it's raba, but in overly wise, it's another word, yaw there, with the sense of redundant, hence over and above, better or more, it says in Strongs with some of the different helps combined with that. One possible meaning of the phrase is that we not be wise beyond what is actually wise, in which case, greatly righteous, though using a different word, might have the parallel sense of being supposedly righteous beyond what is actually righteous. The similar phrasing of verses 16 and 17 support this, and these may be proverbs. So with these two proverbs being put together, showing that they're basically saying something similar. Some believe Solomon's warning here is to avoid legalism, such as that of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus's day. Jesus pointed out that they were very meticulous about lesser aspects of God's law while ignoring the weightier matters of the law, says that in Matthew 23, 23. Worse still, they promoted commandments of men, whereby they made the commandments of God of no effect. We read that in Matthew 15. While this gave them a great deal of self-importance and awe of their supposed holiness from others, Jesus said that such righteousness was not enough for the kingdom of God in Matthew 5.20. Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Thus, this focus on a great pretense of righteousness at the expense of true righteousness would lead to such destruction as Solomon mentions. But how does this fit in the context of Ecclesiastes 7? It could conceivably be a response to the righteous people perishing in verse 14 to say that they were not really righteous. However, Solomon seems to be referring to people who truly reckoned as righteous, perishing in that verse. When he's talking about, I say a righteous man perishing his righteousness, he doesn't seem to be talking about self-righteous Pharisees. He seems to be talking about actually righteous people. Another possibility along similar lines that would fit more with the overall message of Ecclesiastes, maybe not in this particular context, we're going to come back here, but this would fit in the overall message of Ecclesiastes is that greatly righteous denote an attempted maintenance of a state of so-called holiness and higher thinking beyond what God requires and thus is actually against what God desires for us in contradiction to the message of the book. Now, what did I just say? Solomon repeatedly commends enjoying the physical blessings that God gives, but that is rejected by those who consider such indulgence to be wrong. People think, oh, that's hedonistic.

The German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer called such people the moralists, stating, and I think you stated this well, this is quoted in James Lindbergh's Encountering Ecclesiastes on pages 49 through 50, he says, they, the moralists, assume that a man must continually be doing something decisive, fulfilling some higher purpose, and discharging some ultimate duty. This represents a failure to understand that in historical human existence, everything has its time. Ecclesiastes 3, eating, drinking, and sleeping, as well as deliberate resolve and action, rest, as well as work, purposelessness, as well as fulfillment of purpose, inclination, as well as duty, play, as well as earnest endeavor, joy, as well as renunciation. Their presumptuous misjudgment of this creaturely existence leads either to the most mendacious, that is lying, hypocrisy, or else to madness. It turns the moralist into a dangerous tormentor, tyrant, and clown, a figure of tragicomedy. You know, that was the whole monkish hermits and all that kind of stuff that you just are not to have enjoyment of life. This ascetic existence. Bonhoeffer further wrote, I believe that we ought to love and trust God in our lives and in all the good things that He sends us, that when the time comes but not before we may go to Him with love, trust, and joy. But to put it plainly, for a man in his wife's arms to be hankering after the other world is in mild terms a piece of bad taste, and not God's will. We ought to find love and love God in what He actually gives us. If it pleases Him to allow us to enjoy some overwhelming earthly happiness, we must not try to be more pious than God Himself and allow our happiness to be corrupted by presumption and arrogance and by unbridled religious fantasy which is never satisfied with what God gives.

Everything has its time. It's presumptuous to want to have everything at once, matrimonial bliss, the cross, and the heavenly Jerusalem, where they neither marry nor are given in marriage.

For everything there is a season. So He's saying, all these people, you think you've got to have this this holy righteous mindset at all times. I mean, it's kind of bizarre thinking. It's not what God is advocating through the book of Ecclesiastes, even though, as I mentioned before, the book of Ecclesiastes gave her highs to this hermit movement of the monks, which is never intended to support. With no relief through earthly joy, such unbalanced people, this is, I'm saying this now, would surely exhaust themselves in this vain pursuit of piety and also meet with destruction. Still, this is likely not what Solomon is talking about in Ecclesiastes 7.16, but it's certainly important and worth thinking about in regard to the overall message of the book. So I did want to mention that, and it could be what's being talked about here, about not being overly righteous and overly wise, but I don't think it's exactly what is being talked about. So again, what did Solomon probably mean here? Considering what we already saw about the translation of the second part of verse 16, perhaps it should be understood to say, don't set yourself as wiser. Don't set yourself as wiser, either than you are, don't set yourself as wiser than you are, or looking back to verse 14, than God, who has set up things the way they are. In fact, the latter aspect here seems the best way to understand the verse in the immediate context of chapter 7. Likewise, the idea of being greatly righteous in the bad sense of setting oneself up in judgment of God, the worst manifestation of self-righteousness. Recall that the iniquity of verse 10, sorry, the inquiry of verse 10, which was iniquitous, about why things must be different from the way they were, implied an accusation against God's sovereignty and plan. And in verse 15, it was just mentioned that righteous people perish while the wicked prosper. The immediate reaction of many is to call God unfair. God is unfair. It appears that Solomon, therefore, issues a warning in verse 16 to not set ourselves up in our own eyes as being so righteous and wise as to be able to call God unfair. You know, we see in Proverbs 3, 7, don't be wise in your own eyes. We're effectively more righteous and wiser than God, where we think we know better than Him how things ought to be handled.

The preaching the word commentary says on pages 166 and 167, our real problem is thinking that we are more righteous than we really are. Somehow, there never seems to be any shortage of people who think they're good enough for God. This leads commentator Leopold to suspect that a peculiar type of righteousness was beginning to manifest itself in Israel, an overstrained righteousness which lost sight of the ever-present sinful imperfections of men and felt strongly inclined to argue with God and to find fault with Him because He was apparently not rewarding those righteous men as they deemed they deserved to be rewarded. In response, the preacher warns us not to be self-righteous. We should not think that trying to be more righteous will save us on the day of judgment, nor should we think that we are so righteous that we don't deserve to suffer any adversity, that it's unfair. When we think too highly of ourselves, resting on our own righteousness, then it's easier for us to say, I don't deserve to be treated like this. Doesn't God know who I am?

It's also a very short step from there to saying, who does God think He is?

So the preacher cautions us to not be, as it were, too righteous for our own good. And saying this, he's warning against a conceited righteousness that stands ready to challenge God for His failure to reward as much as we think that we deserve. Verse 17 that we see here, again, do not be overly wicked nor be foolish, then answers another reaction that some would have to the quandary of the righteous perishing and the wicked prospering. They might be tempted to decide, well, there's no point in being good and give themselves over to unrighteous living, libertinism, or outright lawlessness. And telling us not to be overly, again, greatly wicked.

Same commentary says, his point is not that it's okay for us to be a little bit wicked, as if that were some acceptable level of iniquity. When it comes to sin, even a little is too much. His point, rather, is that there is great danger in giving ourselves over to evil. It is one thing to sin from time to time, as everyone does. The preacher will say as much in verse 20, but there is a world of difference between committing the occasional sin and making a deliberate decision to pursue a lifestyle of theft, deception, lust, and greed. Don't be fooled, the preacher is saying. If you live in sin, he will perish. That is not the way to go either. So verse 18 then says that in the face of the apparent inequities of the unfolding of God's plan, we need to keep hold of both cautions of verses 16 and 17. See verse 18 says, it is good that you grasp this and also you not remove your hand from the other.

Both the things he's just mentioned, for he who fears God will escape them all.

Again, he put these two proverbs together, I think, and is making a comment that you need both of these things. You need to hold on to both of these things to avoid destruction. Not becoming self-righteous against God and not giving up on doing right is not worth it and turn to evil. Notice especially that the last part of verse 18, for he who fears God will escape them all. Again, previewing the conclusion of the entire book. It is the proper fear of God that will keep us from self-righteousness and from turning to evil. In both cases, preserving us from destruction. The same thing was said by Solomon in Proverbs 3.7 when he said, Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. That's the key. And again, it's giving us a preview of the whole book. So now he's going to say more about the human condition and the verses that follow. There's a lot to take in here. And again, a few disturbing things. One preview is, I'll give you, is that he says in verse 27, that he says, One thing that I found, verse 28, my soul still seeks, I can't find. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I've not found. Is he saying men are better than women? He's not saying that. We will talk about what he's saying here. What he does conclude with, as we'll see, is truly this I found, verse 29, that God made men upright, but they sought out many schemes. People, all people, have gone straight from God, men and women, and they're not deserving of great blessings. In that sense, they're deserving of nothing. It's God's mercy that gives us all. So we can be grateful for that. We'll continue this next time.