As we study Ecclesiastes, we see the Preacher (Solomon) ebb and flow. At times, his cynical nature is strong and bitter, like a cold north wind (Song of Solomon 4:16), and other times you get these glimmers of the middle-aged, soft-hearted Solomon.
This chapter reminds me of Proverbs, even though Solomon's sinful escapades have overshadowed his eternal perspective. In Ecclesiastes 1:12-18, the Preacher argued that wisdom was vanity (aka: meaningless, a vapor, hebel). In this chapter, he's modifying that former thought.
As I look back on my Christian walk, I can point to numerous times where I lacked knowledge or understanding. And, as the Lord worked over my soul, I began to reason and understand differently. Paul would write it this way in 1 Corinthians 13:11:
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
As we study the Bible and commune with God, He reveals His Truths to us. Those problematic areas of our hearts begin are tilled and changed by Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 relays it like this: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." This world can keep its Ph.Ds, and I'll take a new, qualified life in Christ and the title of "Daughter of the King." [Not entirely what Paul meant when he said "one degree of glory to another," but it made me think about all the titles and credentials this world tells us we must earn. God's distinction of grace through Christ Jesus is enough for me!]
1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 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.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
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 for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools.
10 Say not, "Why were the former days better than these?"
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
"Better" is a keyword in this chapter and used seven times. If you read this through the "under the sun" perspective, it seems a bit bogus. Why would one want to go to a mourning house instead of a house of feasting (verse 2)? How is sorrow better than laughter (verse 3)? These verses don't make sense, you say!
Let's take off our worldly lens and apply a Biblical, eternal perspective. While bereavement is deeply painful, it is a more effective prod to growth in spiritual wisdom and maturity than the elation one feels over a newborn child (ESV Study Bible). Think about that for a moment. God is concerned with our eternal welfare, not just our temporal well-being.
Verse 5 is about being disciplined by other believers. The correction process makes us cringe. Being disciplined isn't fun, even though we know God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6). Now and then, I'll read Psalm 141:5 as a prayer for my own heart, so that when it's time for God to discipline me through His Word or via others, I will not refuse it:
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
Verse 8 is a favorite of mine to recall when I'm going through a trial. "Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." You know those situations that are just "yuck." They are painful and filled with the flesh (sometimes yours, sometimes other people's, sometimes both). It can be difficult to "rise above the noise" in those moments. I like meditating on verse 8 to help me remember that the end of the matter will be better than it's beginning as long as I cling to Christ.
11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 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.
13 Consider the work of God:
who can make straight what he has made crooked?
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.
15 In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. 16 Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? 18 It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
Verses 11 and 12 remind us that the bank account balance isn't as crucial as those wisdom-filled stories told to us as we grow up. I can remember car rides and family gatherings where my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others would deposit bits of wisdom into my heart. That's true inheritance.
In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul speaks of God's provision, just as Solomon talks about in verse 14. As Wiersbe puts it, it takes a good deal of spirituality to accept prosperity and adversity. For often, wealth does more significant damage. Job reminded his wife of this truth when she told him to curse God and die: "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil [trouble]?"
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10-13
Verses 15-18 speak of righteousness and sin. Solomon questions the same thing we all question (even as mature, seasoned believers): Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked ones prosper?
This is a tough question to wrestle with, but let me offer some perspective. First, prosperity was a promise of the Old Covenant. Adversity is the promise of the New Covenant. Think about Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. He didn't say, "Blessed are the rich." He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That truth is difficult to swallow. Our call isn't to be comfortable; it's to be the Light of Christ and to illuminate this dark world with God's glory. 2 Corinthians 4:8 gives us this hope: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair..."
Second, we must remember that the wicked appear to prosper when your focus is only on the short game. I talk about the short game and the long game at my job quite a bit. There are quick wins in life, and then there is the marathon. There is the vapor of this life, and then the eternal life with Christ Jesus (if one chooses to follow Him).
19 Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, "I will be wise," but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out?
25 I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. 26 And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. 27 Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things— 28 which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29 See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.
The bottom line of these verses: Wisdom helps make us stronger. There are plenty of things in life we must face head-on and overcome through God's enabling power. Here are a few Solomon calls out:
Sin.
What people say about us. (Ugh.)
Our inability to understand and fully grasp all that God is doing in the world.
The sinfulness of humanity in general.
These are tough topics to wrestle with, just like the earlier one around the wicked prospering. As Solomon warned us in verses 16-17, we can't be prideful and think "we've arrived" in the understanding. We must continue to seek out those Truths through studying the Word and communing with the Lord. And, we must rest in knowing that even when we don't have it figured out, God does.
TIME AND REFLECTION
As you consider what you just studied, which Truths stick out to you the most? What is God's Spirit personally speaking to you through this message? Be still. Ask God to give you wisdom (James 1:5). Be still some more.