Proverbial Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

The Jews believed that God was the fount of wisdom for His people and that God used wise people to convey that wisdom. The Proverbs were considered gems of wisdom from God. It was understood that these proverbs and wise sayings were not enough individually for giving a complete picture of God’s wisdom to us, but collectively they painted that picture beautifully. The wise person could discern the truth by comparing these sayings.

This is what the Preacher begins to do now in this portion of his teaching, Ecclesiastes 7:1–14. He shows how the collective wisdom of the sages demonstrates the points he is making.

Facing Reality

[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 better.

[4] The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is the latter part of that first proverb that the Preacher wants us to notice. He wants us to remember and face the reality of death’s certain arrival in our lives. The wisdom of the sages of God tells us, he is showing, that to focus on death rather than avoid it is the wise thing to do. Death is the great teacher, the reality that brings home just how frustrating and futile it is to seek a guarantee of a positive future. There is no ultimately positive future if we are going to die.

Embracing Wisdom

[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 [extortion] 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.

[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.

Though there is no guarantee of a positive future, it is still best to live one’s life wisely, which for the Preacher means according to God’s law, in obedience and faith. Each of the proverbs he has collected testify to this. But even the wise experience the futility of life as they witness extortion or oppression, fools and the proud, the longing for earlier days, and the possibility of no inheritance.

God’s Role in Making Life Crooked

Ultimately, God is the source, the Preacher once again reminds us, of this basic futility to life. This is no accident. To recognize the futility and the impossibility of hope for the future apart from God is the ultimate wisdom that will enable us to navigate both the joyful and mournful days ahead. Enjoy the good; be reminded from the bad that He alone is our hope.

[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.