The Contrast of Wisdom And Folly
February 27, 2020
Commentary
The theme of this passage is getting our priorities sorted out correctly. Once we have objectives we want to accomplish we must identify the priorities for reaching them.
There are five basic contrasts relating to priorities in the first fourteen verses of this chapter:
l. The contrast between reputation and riches – “A good name is better than fine perfume” (v. 1). The kind of credibility you have, whether people believe in you and trust your word is more important than money. In other words reputation has priority over riches.
2. The contrast between mourning and feasting – “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting (v.2). The author is saying that death teaches us more than life. Death brings us face to face with reality.
3. The contrast between sorrow and laughter – “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure” (vv. 3-4). Sorrow is better than laughter for the same reason that death is more important than life, because it makes us face the facts.
4. The contrast between praise and rebuke – “It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools” (v. 5, 6). If a fool offers you praise, you are getting nowhere, but if a wise man rebukes you and you listen you could be a better person for it.
5. The contrast between adversity and prosperity – “God has made the one time as well as the other” (vv. 7-14). They both bring many temptations (vv. 7-9). They also cause people to live like a fool (vv. 10-14).
Application
I need to see my struggles in this life as great opportunities to learn from God.
Ecclesiastes 7:1– 14 (NET)
1 A good reputation is better than precious perfume; likewise, the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.
5 It is better for a person to receive a rebuke from those who are wise than to listen to the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling of quick-burning thorns under a cooking pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This kind of folly also is useless.
7 Surely oppression can turn a wise person into a fool; likewise, a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning; likewise, patience is better than pride.
9 Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these days?” for it is not wise to ask that.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing; it benefits those who see the light of day.
12 For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
13 Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent?
14 In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.