Ecclesiastes 7:1-10
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Solomon, in chapters five and six, has been talking about prosperity and
wealth, what it can do, what it cannot do.
He is now going to summarize in Eccl. 7:1-14 by bringing Prosperity and
Adversity into balance in the plan of God for man.
The KEY to this section in verse 14a: ECCL. 7:14 In the day of prosperity
be happy, But in the day of adversity consider.
The point is: Both prosperity and adversity can be mingled together by God
to bring about His highest and best in our lives.
Some observations.
1. Neither prosperity or adversity are inherently good or evil.
There can be ill effects from prosperity.
2. Eccl. 5:17 Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation,
sickness and anger.
3. And there can be advantageous effects from adversity. We will see that
in this section in verses 2-4
4. It is impossible for us to determine the results of adversity or prosperity
in our lives.
5. What may seem good at the moment or bad at the moment can turn out to
be the very opposite.
6. Since we cannot consider, determine, plan the outcome of either adversity
or prosperity, the future is not in view. Not in our view, it is in God's
view because He and He alone knows the outcome.
7. The issue then in either adversity or prosperity is how we are responding
to what God has put on our plate...today.
Ecclesiastes 7:1
A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one's death
is better than the day of one's birth.
Ointment or Perfume is an analogy to HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, PROSPERITY.
Those things are good but there is something better.
A good name or reputation. When is a person's reputation most likely to
be evaluated?
At DEATH: Hence, the day of one's death is better than the day of one's
birth...
Birth is a time of Happiness, the oil is applied to the new born baby, great
predictions are made, father's show off their sons and daughters. But...who
knows?
Hitler, Stalin, Charles Manson, were all once cute little babies who had
parents who bragged about them.
But what really counts is what is said at your funeral or memorial service.
Principle: It is better to come to the end of life with a good reputation
than to have a celebrated and joyful birth.
THAT Principle IS WOVEN THROUGHOUT THE NEXT 14 VERSES.
It sets the TONE as to how we are to respond to what we face in life, prosperity
or adversity.
REMEMBER THE INTRUSIONS INTO HUMAN WISDOM: Death, chance, and evil. If man
lives foolishly, chances are one of these will interrupt his life and then
what?
Well, as a believer we know that death is in God's hands.
He has a plan for us so any luck or chance is eliminated.
And He alone can keep us from evil.
Ecclesiastes 7:2
It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart.
The word BETTER is TOWB and is found six times in this paragraph. It is
a comparative term.
When we study the Bible we come into contact with the absolutes of God and
His Word. But in the world we live in the midst of a lot of relativity.
Often, it is difficult to accept the relativity, the subjectivity, of our
world.
We want the fallen world of fallen man to reflect the black and white absolutes
of God. And it does not do it.
We need to see and to determine the things that are better. To realize that
many of the decisions we must make come at the end of a string of wrongs
and a string of failures and do not have some chapter and verse to make
our decision for us. Hence, we need to see the things that are better.
The house of mourning is the also the house of death. We mourn the death
of those we know. In doing so we do not mourn for them but for us.
Paul was very clear in telling believers that it is all right to mourn.
I Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren,
about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who
have no hope.
The ones who have no hope are the UNBELIEVER who mourn for the one who has
died because they see death as an end.
We as believers mourn or grieve because of our loss, not the loss of the
one who has died. The one who has died in Christ has nothing but gain. We
grieve the loss of a friend, a child, a parent, a loved one.
We will miss them, but they will not miss us.
When we go to the house of mourning, a funeral or a memorial service, or
even an Irish wake, we are called to consider two things.
This is the end of every man: Someday, one day, we will be in the same place
as the one who has died.
Death is a commonality for every man. It is as much a part of life as life
itself. Death cannot be avoided, no one will ever figure out how to live
forever.
You can fast freeze a body, put Disney on Ice, do this and do that, but
you and I and everyone else will die. Life, as we know it under the sun,
has an end.
it has been said that we live in a death denying society. Isn't it amazing
that we are able to deny something that is all around us.
Second thing is that we are to "take it to heart."
Heart is the Hebrew LEB, the inner understanding, the seat of reflection,
and the place of moral decisions resulting in actions.
So we are to take it to heart, IMPERFECT TENSE, curative action but incomplete.
We will never stop learning our lessons in the House of mourning.
What should we consider, what should we learn?
LIFE IS SHORT...and we need to consider that in relationship to how we live.
Do we live in enjoyment of whatever God has put on our plates that day?
The person who lives only for the future may never live because they may
not have a future.
There are times in life where reflection and evaluation are very much needed.
We need to consider our ways, our attitude towards what God is doing with
us.
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to Thee
a heart of wisdom.
That is why the middle step in the process we are involved in is to THINK...Learn,
think, and apply, so that we may present to God, in our relationship with
Him, a heart of wisdom.
Illustration: With you kids, ever have to tell them to stop and think. When
they do not stop and think they do some pretty foolish things don't they.
Well, believer, I wonder how often God looks at us and just says, would
you stop and think. And if we did we would have a heart of wisdom.
HINT: You want to know what keeps us from having all that God wants us to
have with Him? Watch you kids, what they do is so often what we do with
our heaven Father. We go through the spiritual life not thinking and acting
foolish.
Ecclesiastes 7:3
It is because of that need to consider, to think, to reflect that Solomon
says.
Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
The word SORROW is KAHAS and would be better translated in this context
as GRIEF, the grief of going to a house of mourning.
This GRIEF is better that LAUGHTER: Why? Because of the previous statement.
It causes us to consider, to think, to number our days.
Now Solomon is not advocating that we never laugh. Even God laughs (Psalm
2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs). We are told in the beatitudes that
weeping and mourning will give way to laughter.
Laughter, having a good time, occasional times of folly are great. But that
is not our context. Solomon is saying that there are those who live foolishly
and all they have is laughter. He deals with them in v 5-6 as he examines
the vanity of foolishness.
But here, the somber serious heart is better because it is causing a person
to reflect.
Principle OF APPLICATION: We need time to reflect on our lives. To consider
what is really important and what is not. To consider that God is in charge
of our lives and that He gives and He takes away, and what ever He gives
is good.
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
The sad face is a reflection of a serious mood and the serious mood is the
one that considers life in God's plan.
The statement THE HEART MAY BE HAPPY uses a comparative verb which is YAW-TAB
as a Qal Imperfect.
The imperfect in this parsing is future. It looks ahead to what will come
out of this serious reflection that one does.
Principle: Seriousness, somberness, a face that is deep into reflection
is not bad, out it will come great good.
Ecclesiastes 7:4
Where is the mind going to be set?
The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of
fools is in the house of pleasure.
The word WISE is CHA-CAM and when used of a class of men, as here, it refers
to those who are learned and wise.
That is the class of men who attend the house of mourning.
The mind of the fool is in the house of pleasure.
I recently heard someone say that they do not attend funerals and memorial
services because they make them sad. That is just the point, they are intended
to do just that.
Our culture today places emphasis on pleasure, hedonism, and the result
is a selfcentered society.
We need reminders to number our days so that we might present to God a wise
heart.
Ecclesiastes 7:5,6
It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen
to the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter
of the fool, And this too is futility.
Here we have a principle and an Illustration of the principle.
The principle is that there are times that a rebuke is better than a song.
The theme of this passage is that there are times when God gives us prosperity
and there are times that God gives us adversity and since He is good whatever
He gives us is good.
These can mingle together in His plan to bring about His highest and best
in us.
The finite limited mind of man cannot understand this.
But here is something we can understand.
The rebuke of the wise is better than the song of the fool.
If a man does not understand that he is destine for difficulty in life.
Too often leaders surround themselves with YES men and listen to the song
of fools and reject the rebuke of those who are wise.
In the NT rebuke is part of the communication of God's Word.
II Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
Now Solomon illustrates this principle.
Ever have to start a fire in a camp fire or fireplace. You want to put in
a big log and use a little match right. But that won't work. You have to
put in kindling. But kindling alone won't work.
Oh it gives off a great blaze and crackles but then is consumed.
That is the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot. A lot of flare but very
little fire and no heat.
The irony is that at first it appears to be a good fire, but soon it burns
itself up.
The song of the fool is like the kindling, the rebuke of the wise man is
the fire that burns well into the night.
v 7-10 THE TEMPTATIONS OF ADVERSITY AND PROSPERITY.
Now with either there are built in temptations to reject what God has given
for that day and for that time. Both of these offer also the temptation
to abandon wisdom which calls for us to live life wisely because life is
short.
Ecclesiastes 7:7
For oppression makes a wise man mad, And a bribe corrupts the heart.
The desire to have prosperity might even temp a wise man to take a bribe.
He may give in to the pressure of adversity-oppression and end up a fool
or worse, a criminal who takes a bribe.
Why do we have this former CIA operative charged with treason. He was once
a wise man, but gave into the temptation of some easy money and sold out
his country.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; Patience of spirit
is better than haughtiness of spirit.
We all suffer the temptation of impatience. When in adversity we are impatient
for it to end, and with prosperity we are impatient in wanting more and
more.
So many things begin with a bang and end with a whimper. The great hopes
that kick off great plans and then die.
Patience is better...Haughtiness is not.
This is GAW-BAWH which means pride that come from self promotion.
Too much of this, too little of patience.
Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the
bosom of fools.
Another temptation is anger and bitterness. Anger can result from adversity
but also in the midst of prosperity. Prosperous people get angry at not
having enough or having to pay too much in taxes, insurance, etc.
This anger can settle in as a life style of bitterness. This word for anger
can also include grief and frustration.
The FOOL is the one who has anger on the inside. Just there, always under
the surface, a life that is ready to explode.
Ecclesiastes 7:10
Do not say, Why is it that the former days were better than these? For
it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
This is the one that reminds me how relevant this book it. Nearly 3000 years
ago Solomon encountered those who like today long for the good old days.
And the say the good old days were better . . .
But were they, and even if they were we cannot turn back the clock. We are
here today. Yesterday is gone.
WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THOSE WHO live in the future, who live for tomorrow,
here are the ones who live for the past.
IN EITHER CASE YOU DO NOT LIVE for today.
Remember the apostle prayer...give us this day our daily bread.
Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow
Me.
We are to live for this day before the Lord, not tomorrow, and not yesterday.
Solomon adds it is not from wisdom that these things are said.
So we are forewarned, in the midst of prosperity or in the midst of adversity
we will be tempted to abandon wisdom and live the life of a fool.
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