Ecclesiastes 7 ~ an advantage to those under the sun

Study of an Old Man in Profile — Rembrandt van Rijn


Study of the head of an old man, Peter Paul Rubens

Ecclesiastes 7

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 bosom of fools.
10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
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.

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.

Ecclesiastes is written by a son of David, King over Israel. One wouldn't think a king over Israel would sit at the end of his life to think of his vain life.

Catherine II, the Great, of Russia was woman who died with regrets; one of her earliest and more important goals was to improve the life, of most of her subjects, out of the terrible serfdom they experienced. She was unable, the nobility supporting her reign didn't want their serfs to have advantages. Her life was one of cruelty under her predecessor Empress Elizabeth. Her husband Peter III was a fool, he was deposed and later murdered. In legality, Catherine's reign was illegitimate. Her life became centered on fearsome politics and self-indulgence. Her country had terrible rumors about her children and her morality still circulating about her today. A lot of her accomplishments are unknown, although the Empire's administration became improved as land accumulation continued.

What would the writter of Ecclesiastes have as an advantage? Solomon began his reign with the blessing of God. His mistakes came from his own choosing, circumstances did not push Solomon. We see from Solomon's words, he had his own problems. And his advice is sometimes circular. Solomon had too many wives to care deeply for them and dismisses women, surely this is blaming his own problems on someone else.

In the midst of all of the advice to seek wisdom and to back away from wisdom, we see that everyone under the sun has circumstances they would like to better control and improve.

So, the advantage available to us? The study of life and its situations from the Holy Spirit. People around us have their own issues. No one is perfect. Fear God, be compassionate. Use the deliberation of wisdom to make choices. The portraits, above, were used as an example of decisions made during our lives leading to the fulfillment of life. Choices made to strengthen life and the application of the Holy Spirit to have the compassion, self-examination to lead and guide us.

FatherGod, let us each day put out our hands to do the work and have the choices You would have us make. Strengthen us each day to have the gratitude of a life well lived and not the bitterness of self-indulgence. Continue to bless Your children, not for self-righteousness, but for the honor and glory of Your name. We pray in the highest name of Jesus. Amen.

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