Ecclesiastes 6:10-7:14

Review

Imagine a final week of class before Christmas break. The teacher is trying to prep the class before a final exam. Rather than his prep being one of clarifying what to study, the teacher is talking out loud about what seems to be confusing about the material. Finally the teacher comes to a conclusion and states:

I tell you what, here is what we are going to do

The whole class holds their breath as they anticipate the teacher canceling the test because of the confusion.

We are going to go through with the exam

The whole class groans and begins to mumble.

Upon hearing the groans, the teacher says with a somewhat satisfying grin (but not spiteful) on his face

Class dismissed, see you on exam day.

This is what I picture as we listen to the teacher in Ecclesiastes. In his teaching he seems to be vacillating back and forth between certainty and uncertainty. He is looking at oppressions, death, and limitation and seemingly throwing his hands up. He almost seems to tell us how to make the best of a bad situation- Enjoy God’s gifts, be careful in your interaction with God whose ways are high above you.

I confess that it seems hard to pin down exactly what the author’s perspective is at times. It is easy to kind of throw the hands up about the uncertainty. However, God in His divine wisdom is using the provoking teaching style of this teacher in a very wise way. As we travel with the teacher, come with this unsettling humility before the text this evening is a posture that I think is very helpful for what God wants to teach us in this passage.

Pray

Introduction

An Inquisitive Man was one day met by a friend who cordially hailed him:

"Good morning, my good fellow! And where do you come from?"

"From the Museum of Natural History, where I have just spent three hours. I saw everything there was to see and examined it carefully. It was all so astonishing that honestly I am not clever enough to describe the half of it. Nature is certainly wonderful in her rich variety! There are more birds and beasts than I ever dreamed of—not to mention the butterflies dragonflies and beetles—some green as emeralds and others as red as coral! And there were tiny little gnats too—why, really, some of them are smaller than the head of a pin!"

"And of course you saw the elephant? What did you think of him? I'll wager you felt as though you were looking at a mountain!"

"Elephant? Are you quite sure that they have an elephant?"

"Quite sure."

"Well, old man, don't tell anybody—but the fact is that I didn't notice the elephant!"

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_argosy_of_fables/Russian_fables

The common use of the elephant in the room has come to represent situations in which people are avoiding the obvious. The phrase can also be fitting for situations in which one is so convinced of his thoroughness and correctness that he misses the obvious.

That is what this passage would say to us this evening

Don’t ignore the hard realities or act as though you understand them all

Transition: First of all why do we at times try to escape from confusing realities or act as though we understand what we are talking about?

You are a person with limits

So what are the limits?

Ecclesiastes 6:10 NKJV

10 Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he is man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he.

What has come to be is known and controlled by someone else

Man as the weaker one cannot dispute with God who is the stronger one

What options does man face when dealing with the limits?

Ecclesiastes 6:11 NKJV

11 Since there are many things that increase vanity, How is man the better?

The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man?- ESV

Man is unable to speak before such limitation. Speaking is of not advantage to man.

There is an advantage of wisdom over foolishness (6:8; 7:11-12); however mortals do not have an advantage over God.- Provan

Transition: In question form he turns to two more inabilities and a troubling realities that man faces

Ecclesiastes 6:12 ESV

12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

Man doesn’t ultimately know what is good for him and doesn’t know what life after this life is like.

The unpleasant realities that hang over his head are the brevity of life and the certainty of death.

Transition: An easy response to the limitation can be found in the lyrics of the song:

When I was just a little girl I asked my mother, what will I be Will I be pretty, will I be rich Here's what she said to me. Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be The future's not ours, to see

The song would suggest a haphazard attitude to what can’t be known. The teacher would tell us:

Don’t ignore the hard realities or act as though you understand them all

Don’t party in order to ignore the hard realities of life

This may seem to contradict the repeated theme of enjoying God’s gifts in the short and troubling life. These truths however complement one another. We will see this in the last two verses of our passage tonight.

Ecclesiastes 7:1–6 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. 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.

Death has been the arch enemy that has led to so many of the teacher’s frustration throughout the book. Here he points out that death and the house of mourning is a teacher that we need to sit under and listen to carefully.

Why is this so?

The day of death is more revealing than the day of birth. At birth everything is about potential. At death the character of the person that has lived is what speaks (v. 1)

It cause us to reflect on something that we will face if Christ does not come back (v. 2)

How should we sit under this somber teacher?

It is not a gloomy response that despairs over the inevitable, for this is not a learning response. (V. 2)

“Wisdom does not use sad things to avoid life. Wisdom uses sad things to learn from life.” - Eswine

Death is taken seriously. It does deep work in the soul.

What happens when the house of mourning is the teacher?

There is a goodness and a wisdom that is produced when sadness is received and contemplated well.

Before we consider some practical way for allowing sadness and death to teach us, let’s consider why the house of feasting is not such a good teacher

Worth and purpose is easily measured by one’s possessions rather than one’s character

In parties and laughter, one does not have to think about whether he is living life wisely.

In verses 4-6, foolishness is associated with laughter and songs.

The confusing imagery in verse 6 comparing a fools laughter to crackling thorns under a pot has at least the clarity of something not being effective. It could be annoying or have quick flames and no heat. The fools laughter is worthless in light of the questions of life.

Application: I don’t know that it is profitable to turn this time into a morbid service whereby we starting telling stories of terrible deaths. Upon hearing the admonitions the living lay things to heart. Start from the ending and work back toward the present

Illustration of carrying 2 liters of water in the Grand Canyon

Being in Christ, we don’t have to sit here and think about how performance will gain us a better entrance into heaven. Discuss Union with Christ.

Practically, it would be helpful to take time regularly to think what should be written on your tombstone or read at your funeral. May this not be a selfish exercise in which you think of ways you will be honored for all your accomplishments.

Come into God’s house to praise, listen, lament, and repent

Don’t let parties, movies, and games crowd your whole weekend. Take time to reflect, pray, and prepare for days ahead.

This actually allows you to enjoy God’s gifts even greater.

Transition: So our teacher gives us wise ways to live with the enigmas and brevity of life, so then can we now go into life with this “I’ve got this” attitude

Don’t fight fire with fire

As one learns how life should be wisely lived while still living in a world of oppression it is easy to succumb to foolish methods to try and fix this broken world. He lists 4 such responses here

Ecclesiastes 7:7 NKJV

7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, And a bribe debases the heart.

The first foolish method is succumbing to the pursuit of wealth like the oppressive world around me. This would be a solution that joins the foolish cause.

Under this heading I think it would be appropriate to consider verses 11-12

Ecclesiastes 7:11–12 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.

Wisdom can be compared to wealth as providing protection in the hard realities of life.

Wisdom provides a far greater security than wealth (Pr. 4:5-7)

Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV

8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

The second foolish method is impatient pride. Pride attempts to control things now. Patience knows that the end outcome of God’s plan has not come yet, thus he will wait on it.

Even when you are aligned with truth, is your manner humble with others?

Do you argue to win or give truth in compassion?

Ecclesiastes 7:9 NKJV

9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

The third foolish method is related to the former. It is hasty anger. Anger is pictured as something taking up residence in a heart. The more it is used the more addicting it becomes. It starts to become part of one’s nature.

This is that attitude that Jesus rebuked in James and John. Christ Himself did warn of judgment, but His emphasis was that now was not the time for judgment.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 NKJV

10 Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

The fourth foolish method is longing for the former days.

An impatient spirit looks at the calamities of today and calls the former days better.This is not a wise response to the calamities of the day.

This does not mean that former days were not better; but to question the fact is unwise because it is not considering God now.

Nostalgia looks back longingly at something lost, and sees it as beautiful.However the longing is actually for something other than the past place or person, or event.

The nostalgic longing is actually for something more glorious than you have ever known. This ties in with Ecclesiastes 3:11. God has put eternity in the hearts of men. They long for something beyond what they can see today.

Don’t ignore the hard realities or act as though you understand them all

Don’t Party to Escape the Hard Realities of Life

Don’t Fight Fire with Fire

Consider the Work of God

What does this look like?

Ecclesiastes 7:13 NKJV

13 Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

There is a humility in recognizing that we can’t change a lot of things

However we can respond to hard realities in light of God’s character and work. Certain characteristics of God are mentioned in the next verse.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 NKJV

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.

Rejoice and be thankful for the good gifts that God gives. Don’t live for these gifts.

When you receive adversity, consider it rather than try to avoid it or control it. There is a needed place for grief, wrestling, and questions.

“Solomon doesn’t attempt to answer what we cannot know. Instead, he focuses on what we do know. Both good things and bad things happen to us. God is within the thing either way. This means that something larger than our prosperity and something larger than our adversity has a hold on us.”- Eswine

“But never forget that it is God who controls the times. It is God who rules the universe. And so although you can live well, and die well, and know some things truly, you cannot know all things completely. But God does. So trust him—​​​and do not make an idol out of wisdom.”- Gibson