Ecclesiastes 7:10-14

Ecclesiastes 6:10 - 7:14

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

10-12a

Ecclesiastes 6:10–12 “Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow?”

Verse 10 reminds us of 1:9, Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

naming something implies ownership of it, as in Genesis when God led all the creatures in front of Adam so he could name them and have dominion over them. But now everything has been named and we know that man failed and is cursed through Adam’s sin and our own, “and it is know what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he” God has cursed man and we, with our own weak sinful will, cannot fight against God.

We can see the heart of the questions here in verse 12, who knows what is good for man in the short time we have here on earth? The short answer of course is God, but he lists several proverbs in chapter 7 to illustrate this fact.

12b

Ecclesiastes 6:12 “For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”

The next question is basically how can we know the future or who can tell what will happen to us in our short lives here. Again the short answer is God, and in 13 and 14 of chapter 7 we see this answered.

7:1-4

Ecclesiastes 7:1–3 “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.”

These first proverbial answers to who knows what is good for man at first glance may seem a bit strange and we may initially think that these statements are referring to one’s own death, in essence saying that death is better than life. But the picture painted here is not our own death but the death of another and being at the funeral. Taken that way they still may seem strange, as then they are saying it is better to be sad than happy, but compare them to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”

“Blessed are those who mourn”

It is better to make a good name for ourselves an glorify God than being able to purchase expensive ointments, lotions, and perfumes. This is very similar to Proverbs 22:1 “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”

It is better to realize the temporary fleeting nature of life, and this is much better done when confronted with death at a funeral, than only indulging in earthly pleasures at a feast or party. At a funeral we will be better suited to analyze what is important in life and see that we don’t have much time left, as none is guaranteed. What good life decisions are made when we are only celebrating what we perceive as the good things?

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. It is not always a bad thing to be sad, and contrary to almost every movie and show, we are not promised a happy ending. We are better suited and geared toward really thinking about what is real and really important, serving God and giving him all the glory, when we are low than when we are happy and seemingly content and fulfilled.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Verse 4 acts as the bridge between the first and second proverb points as the next section’s better thans are comparing wisdom and foolishness. While we are in the funeral home and mourning our loss we can see the vaporness of this life as apposed to living it up at the party.

5-6

Ecclesiastes 7:5–6 “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.”

What is more useful and beneficial, listening to a lecture or a sermon or most everything that is said in the top 40 pop songs right now? These next better-thans compare the benefits of wisdom over pleasure and foolishness. The burning of small twigs and thorns may make a lot of noise as they crackle and pop when burned but produce little heat and substance, such is the laughter of meaningless comedy and jokes. It makes a good noise and a short bit of light but leaves us with nothing lasting in the end.

Should we never laugh or have fun? I don’t think that is what is being said here just that we need to not let trying to always be laughing and never serious in living our lives be the pattern of our lives.

7-8

Ecclesiastes 7:7–8 “Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”

Being desperate and pressured can lead some to contemplate doing things that they normally would not do, like taking or offering bribes. If you do not have the rock solid foundation of Christ then when hard times come and everything becomes shifting sands morality will shake and crumble as well. It is better to have the solid foundation in Christ that can be trusted and relied upon than relying on the world and its shaky foundations. Seeing things to the end will give satisfaction rather than giving up during the hard times at the beginning. This also can call back to a few weeks ago and talking about following through on what you promise.

I think we all at some time have probably asked or and prayed for patience, if not for ourselves for others.

Proverbs 15:18 “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.”

Proverbs 16:32 “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

and many more.

1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

We could spend weeks taking about all the verses in the Bible that talk about patience and pride. This last part of verse 8 can be seen as the central point of this section of better-thans, be patient in seeking God’s will rather than thinking that you know all and can do all.

9-10

Ecclesiastes 7:9–10 “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”

Following up after being patient is not to be quick tempered, anger has a tendency to flare up in all of us at sometime or another. Lean on the Holy Spirit for help and for help that any anger we have does not take up long term residence in our hearts.

As we get older we may have a tendency to say, times were better when I was younger. We tend to look back with rose colored glasses and look down on how things have changed. I know music was better in my day, that’s just a fact. But remember, there is nothing new under the sun, what is has already been, and at risk of spoiling a later verse, God has made all things, and orders all things, including what is happening now.

11-12

Ecclesiastes 7:11–12 “Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.”

We must be wise if we have a sudden influx of money, most lottery winners go bankrupt not too long after they get their winnings. Having money is not inherently evil, the desire to obtain more and more is, to not be grateful and content with what God has generously given you. And there are advantages to having money, but being wise with it. But not having money is not the ultimate life preserver, God is.

13-14

Ecclesiastes 7:13 “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?”

Now we get to the answers for the second question in 6:12 “For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”

God has made everything, he owns it because he is the one who created everything from nothing but the power of his voice and will. Who orders all things, and knows all things in heaven and on and under the earth. Short answer is God knows what will be after we are gone, God and God alone. The statement made in 13 is not who can make crooked what God has made straight, it is who has the audacity to think that what they would do is better than what God has already made and done and will be done in the future. All things work in the end for good and God’s glory, what we see as the good times as well as what we might say in our limited knowledge and temporary fleeting life experience as the bad times. God has made them all and they are all good as he is good all the time.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”

Rejoice always that God is in control, that he and he alone is sovereign over everything, he has put eternity into our hearts but we cannot comprehend the totality of it, or understand God’s plan from beginning to end. Even if we are the wisest of all man and know all of history from the beginning up until today, we do not know what will come tomorrow and how God’s plan will unfold. We can see some and guess at much, but only God can see, comprehend, and order the whole. Trust in God and his sovereignty, have faith in the sending of his Son so we may have life everlasting.