Balance Under the Sun

Introduction

Solomon ended chapter 6 with the question “Who knows what is good for man in life?” We found a really good answer in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to Timothy in which he said, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Something we can also see Jesus modeling in His life and ministry.

Transition

But Solomon is far from finished. As he continues to write, he shares some thought in answer of his own question. His thoughts take the form of what is good and what he finds is better.

Illumination

Good and Better Under the Sun

Better Than Feasting

Ecclesiastes 7:1–4 (NKJV)

1 A good name is better than precious ointment,

And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

2 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.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,

For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.

4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Better Than Laughing

Ecclesiastes 7:5–7 (NKJV)

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

This also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason,

And a bribe debases the heart.

Better Than Beginning

Ecclesiastes 7:8–10 (NKJV)

8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,

For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

10 Do not say,

“Why were the former days better than these?”

For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

Wisdom is Good

Ecclesiastes 7:11–15 (NKJV)

11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

And profitable to those who see the sun.

12 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.

13 Consider the work of God;

For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,

But in the day of adversity consider:

Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,

So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

15 I have 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.

Moderation is Good

Ecclesiastes 7:16–18 (NKJV)

16 Do not be overly righteous,

Nor be overly wise:

Why should you destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overly wicked,

Nor be foolish:

Why should you die before your time?

18 It is good that you grasp this,

And also not remove your hand from the other;

For he who fears God will escape them all.

Discernment is Good

Ecclesiastes 7:19–26 (NKJV)

19 Wisdom strengthens the wise

More than ten rulers of the city.

20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good

And does not sin.

21 Also do not take to heart everything people say,

Lest you hear your servant cursing you.

22 For many times, also, your own heart has known

That even you have cursed others.

23 All this I have proved by wisdom.

I said, “I will be wise”;

But it was far from me.

24 As for that which is far off and exceedingly deep,

Who can find it out?

25 I applied my heart to know,

To search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things,

To know the wickedness of folly,

Even of foolishness and madness.

26 And I find more bitter than death

The woman whose heart is snares and nets,

Whose hands are fetters.

He who pleases God shall escape from her,

But the sinner shall be trapped by her.

Improvement is Good

Ecclesiastes 7:27–29 (NKJV)

27 “Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher,

“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,

28 Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find:

One man among a thousand I have found,

But a woman among all these I have not found.

29 Truly, this only I have found:

That God made man upright,

But they have sought out many schemes.”

Wisdom is Good

Ecclesiastes 8:1 NKJV

1 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, And the sternness of his face is changed.

Authority and Ruling Under the Sun

Ecclesiastes 8:2–9 (NKJV)

2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. 3 Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”

4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;

And who may say to him, “What are you doing?”

5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful;

And a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment,

6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment,

Though the misery of man increases greatly.

7 For he does not know what will happen;

So who can tell him when it will occur?

8 No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit,

And no one has power in the day of death.

There is no release from that war,

And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it.

9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

Living and Dying Under the Sun

Ecclesiastes 8:10–14 (NKJV)

10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. 11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. 13 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.

14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

Solomon’s Conclusion

Ecclesiastes 8:15–17 (NKJV)

15 So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.

Conclusion

We have moved relatively quickly through these two chapter. What are we to make of Solomon’s conclusion and his meandering—often pessimistic—observations? There is a telling thought in his conclusion: when you get past all the plans of man, you run into the plans of God.

God is sovereign! No matter what our life looks like and no matter what we attempt to make it look like, God is sovereign and has His own plans for us. People under the sun chafe at that thought, but those of us under the SON should not.

It brings to mind the Apostle Paul’s instruction in his letter to the church at Philippi:

Philippians 2:12–13 (NKJV)

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

And just what is God’s good pleasure? As a loving Heavenly Father, His good pleasure lies at the intersection of our greatest good and His greatest glory.

Life can be messy, no doubt. When we forget God’s sovereignty, we end up where Solomon did. When we remember that God is sovereign and has a plan for us that exceeds our own plans, we end up in a much better place!