Practical Wisdom
May 15, 2020
Commentary
Solomon, the wisest man the world has ever known confesses how difficult it has been to act and think wisely. He emphasizes that no matter how much we know there are always mysteries we will never understand. He urged his readers not to be over righteous “lest they be confounded or astonished.” He meant that they should not depend on their righteousness or wisdom to guarantee God’s blessing or they may be disappointed as some people he had known (v. 15).
Solomon’s advice should not be interpreted that he believed in halfhearted obedience to God’s commands (vv. 16-18). He never advocated folly as wickedness. Instead he advocated living life in the light of God’s judgement (11:9; 12:14). His only uncertainty about God’s judgement was the timing. Wisdom will help a wise person more than ten rulers can help a city (v. 19). No one is truly righteous and no one does right and never sins (v. 20). Don’t take everything that people say to heart (v. 21). Your conscience knows you have cursed others (v. 22). It is good to persistently pursue wisdom, but one must confess that the perfect achievement of such a goal is far from every man. He had already demonstrated the limitations of wisdom from his own experience (vv. 23, 24).
Wickedness is stupid and foolishness is madness (v. 25). The writer describes a woman whose thoughts are like traps and and hands are like chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin (v. 26). He is seeking for a reason for things but has not found any (v. 27). The more man employs his creativity, the prouder he becomes of his intellect and the less need he feels for the creator. Consequently, he draws further and further away from God. Solomon suggests that one man in a thousand has discovered the way of wisdom and profit (v. 28). God made people descent but they look for many ways to avoid being that way. This infers that the path that leads to wisdom is narrow and found only by a few (Matthew 7:13).
Application
Thinking that I have enough wisdom is a sure sign that I don’t.
Ecclesiastes 7:15– 29 (NET)
15 During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.
16 So do not be excessively righteous or excessively wise; otherwise you might be disappointed.
17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool; otherwise you might die before your time.
18 It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.
19 Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city.
20 For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins.
21 Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you.
22 For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times.
23 I have examined all this by wisdom; I said, “I am determined to comprehend this” —but it was beyond my grasp.
24 Whatever has happened is beyond human understanding; it is far deeper than anyone can fathom.
25 I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.
26 I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter’s snare; her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27 The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item.
28 What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them.
29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes.