Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 "Funerals are better than Birthdays!"

Some General Observations from Chapter  7

At face value Ch. 7 looks like a disconnected set of Proverbs. But upon closer inspection we  see that there  is  a coherent theme. 

Words are repeatedly used - wisdom and foolishness. 

The way of the wise and the foolish is contrasted. 

Wisdom is better than foolishness. 

There are some  unusual perspectives contained here, and since this chapter contains so many gems, I want to slow down  and use  this chapter to provide us with some ‘home truths’.  

OUTLINE 

• 7:1-10 Wisdom and foolishness with particular application to the  matter  of the facing  of our life and  death.
• 7:14 The   wisdom of maintaining our joy in adversity and prosperity.
• 7:15-18 That enigmatic text  in 7:16
• 7:19-29  Living between wisdom and foolishness

 Ecclesiastes 7:1-10

There is  a  theme  running through  the first 10 verses. Here  we find a series of contrasts  in which the phrase  ‘better than ’ is  frequently  used.

(i)                 A good name is better than  precious ointment (v.1a)

(ii)               The day of death is better than  the day of birth (v.1b)

(iii)             The house of mourning is s better than a house of feasting  (v.2)

(iv)              Sorrow is better than  laughter  (v.3)

(v)                A wise man’s rebuke is better than a fool’s song (v.5)

(vi)              The end of a thing is better  than its beginning (v. 8a)

(vii)            Patience is better than pride (v.8b)

(viii)          Former days are not necessarily better than these days  (v.10a)

Solomon confronts us here with some unusual logic. We will now focus on the first four verses.

“For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow?  This statement proceeds from what   Solomon had said earlier  in  6:12. 

What is good? Is there any good? 

Yes there is, and now Solomon will tell us what is good or what is better (more good). Now remember, that his  great concern is to  show us that  wisdom  is better than foolishness. Be  prepared to have your conventional logic challenged! I have already drawn your attention to the series  of contrasts  found in the first  10 verses  in terms of what is better. And now, in 7:1-4 there are two things mentioned which are good, or better,  and which require wisdom  and mature reflection.

1.       A good name is better than precious ointment

2.      the day of death (is better) than the day of birth

 1.      A Good Name is better than  Eau de Cologne

Fine perfume was a real status symbol in the ancient east, and very expensive2]. This is also true today. 

Many spend a fortune on designer perfumes (or designer clothes), but do not necessarily give the same amount of attention  to the developing of a  good name, or  good character.  It is generally considered more important to ‘look good’ than to be ‘be good’.  But what is it that will be remembered and appreciated when we are dead and gone?  

The fact  that we regularly used  an expensive perfume? 

Or is our good name  more significant after all?

At the beginning of our lives we receive a name, but at the end of our lives we are left with the legacy of  a good or a bad name.  In fact, one’s name has the potential of being more valuable at death than at birth. The good in this case comes therefore at death. 

How will people remember you?

2.      A Death day is better than a Birthday

With that in mind, take note of what follows  in  7:1b- 4: 

“…the  day of death (is better than)  the day of birth. 

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.  

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

“…the day of death (is better) than the day of birth…”. 

How is this for perspective? When we are born into this world under the sun, filled with so much vanity, and often with so much suffering, we are reminded  that  we enter  into a temporal state of existence.  After we have lived for a little while, perhaps 70 or even 80 years, then comes death.[3]  

How is that better?  

This  must be understood with the entire testimony of Scripture in mind. 

Living life in a fallen world is  very challenging  for  most people. There are very few people in this world who are living their dream, and even if they do,  there is always something guaranteed to upset them. But, for  the believer  in Christ, death is not the end. For  them death is the beginning of a better life.  It  is the beginning of  Life and of  real glory  for all eternity!   

With this in mind you will also   begin to appreciate and understand what the apostle Paul meant  when he  wrote  to  the  Philippians  in Ch.1:22-23,

“If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful  labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”   

Let us be clear on this:  Life in this fallen world  was not meaningless for Paul.  

He had no death wish. 

He had no thoughts of suicide. 

On the contrary, he  regarded his life as an opportunity for  fruitful labour. However, if he had to choose  where he would rather be, then he  would prefer to  die. He would prefer to lay aside this earthly tent and to be clothed with immortality  and live in the presence of the Lord, in heaven and  in eternity!

Biblical logic and perspective had taken hold of  Paul. Death was better in order to gain true Life.  

When you meet Jesus, and when you have spent time with Him, your whole perspective  changes from an earthly mindedness  to a heavenly mindedness.  When you have   become a Christian  and when  you have seen and tasted what is before you, this life begins to hold very limited attractions for you. And death holds no fear. 

In fact  you know that  the day of your death will be your crowning day!

This what David thinks of when he  writes  in Psalm 73:25, 

“Whom have I in  heaven but you? And there  is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

This is what Solomon, the son of David  sees, and it is on the basis of this understanding that he says, 

“It is better to go to the house of mourning  than to go to the house of  feasting” ;  and “sorrow is better than laughter”.

What  good is  it that we learn in the house of mourning  which we  will  not learn anywhere else? 

What good do we learn when we look into a coffin and see the lifeless face of an acquaintance, friend or loved one? 

Consider  these 6 things:

(i)     We learn  that  death  is the  result  of the fall  (Gen.3;  Rom. 6:23)

(ii)   We are made to face the fact that this life is brief and  that eternity is long.

(iii)  We are led to ask the question, “what have I done with my life so far? Will mine be a good name after I die?”

(iv)   We will ask ultimate  questions  about our future state. Where will I spend eternity? 

(v)    We have the opportunity to  repent  or recommit ourselves in the face of death and in the light of eternity.

(vi)     We  prepare  to die ourselves.  Every funeral anticipates  our  own.

 “…for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” (v.2b). 

I regularly remind the mourners at  any given  funeral,  that  the death of  a loved one must not fail to have a good effect upon themselves. In that sense no death must ever be seen as meaningless. Even when the worst and most hardened sinner dies, the living must take this to heart, and  learn  from this. If we do this, and if  we regularly meditate  on the  reality  of our death and how we should face that day with full confidence in our Saviour, then our death day will be better than a birth day.

And so, frankly speaking, there is more reality at an open grave than at a birthday party! 

There is more reality in the face of death than  at  a feast.

Both happened on the ship, Titanic. Life on board of the Titanic was a party until an iceberg got in the way!  

There is a story told in this regard.  A wealthy woman found her place in a lifeboat which  was about to be lowered into the icy  North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed and so she asked permission to return to her cabin before they lowered the boats. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her. She ran through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her cabin  and quickly pushed aside her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges  as  she made her way back to the lifeboat.  

Now that seems incredible because a few hours earlier  she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond in her possession. But, you see, death had boarded the Titanic,and that fact had instantly transformed all her values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.[4]  The music changed from, “I could have danced all night” to “Abide with me”. Death provides us with that sort of wisdom.

And now you will  remember that  wisdom and folly are the themes of this chapter.  

What will be really  important  to you when  you lie on your deathbed? 

What will be important to you as you must face ultimate reality?  

As Solomon surveys life under the sun, he has suddenly lost an interest in the silly side of life. All of a sudden earthly logic is eclipsed  by a greater  logic! Do you know what he is talking about?   

And so, Solomon’s conclusion here  is this, 

“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”  (4b)

What does this sort of logic teach us?  

Two things:

(i)    The wise consider death and prepare for it.  They will prepare to meet their Maker.

(ii)     The fools will continue to treat life as one big party. They will  also meet their Maker, but they will  not inherit the kingdom of God.

Blessed are they that have understood that  God in Christ has taken death captive.  

They do not fear death. 

They embrace Christ, and they go through with Him into eternal life. 

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[2] Matt  26:6-13

[3] Death is the result of the fall  (Rom 6:23  cf. Genesis  2:17; Chapter 3) 

[4] Charles Swindoll : Living on the ragged edge, p. 195 

ECCLESIASTES 6 : POSSESSING EVERYTHING; ENJOYING NOTHING!

‘Ecclesiastes’ is a sermon about ultimate satisfaction, about ultimate meaning in life, about ultimate fulfillment, about ultimate fullness, about ultimate significance, about ultimate happiness and ultimate blessedness.  

You might be thinking – “but that’s not what I am hearing. Those aren’t the words that the Preacher, Solomon uses.  His frequent references to “vanity” and “striving after the wind”, and the lack of satisfaction expressed  in the pursuit of  things in life, gives me   the impression that he is cynical   about  life under the sun.”

This shows us how we tend to read scripture and how we listen to sermons. It tells us how we listen in general.  We tend to engage in selective listening.  We may hear the first thing and quickly come to conclusions, but we do not necessarily hear the rest, and in so doing, we come away with a skewed understanding of the actual message.  I am amazed at times, at what people can come up with after I have preached a sermon!  Did I really say that?  

So, is Solomon really cynical about life? This is what you might  think from reading Solomon’s sermon  superficially. In recent weeks I have  spent  time  trying to persuade you  that  the Bible needs  careful meditation and  prayerful thinking. This is especially  true for the book of Ecclesiastes. The message of Ecclesiastes is not that all is vanity and a striving after the wind. It certainly expresses those thoughts repeatedly, but this is not the message of Ecclesiastes, any more than  the message  of the book of Jonah is about a big fish  that swallowed a man.

Solomon’s ultimate goal is to show us that life under the sun ultimately only makes sense when God occupies the center of our thoughts and actions. This is a very difficult task for fallen people like us. The fall has had a devastating effect upon us all. The truth is that we look for happiness and fulfilment everywhere else before we look to God. So, what Solomon ultimately addresses in his sermon is  the  matter  of idolatry. The pursuit of  life  for the sake of pleasing oneself  is  idolatry, for it substituting of things for  the place  that  God  should occupy  in our heart.  This is vanity and a striving after the wind, for  our idols do not ultimately satisfy us.

This is what Solomon has shown us, again and again, in the first 5 chapters. He speaks from personal  experience.  He tried to pursue the way of wisdom (philosophy) for its own sake, but he found that this was meaningless.  He tried the route of pleasure (hedonism) as a life style, and it left Him feeling hollow.   He immersed himself in all kinds of work, and   this too proved to be a dead end.

His conclusion is that none of these pursuits in themselves can  provide lasting satisfaction. The bottom-line is that  life in this  fallen  world, with all its challenges  and  perplexities, can only  be meaningfully lived  with  God at the center. That is the conclusion of the sermon.  The reason why  Solomon  weaves thoughts of  “vanity“  into his sermon  is because he wants you  to  become dissatisfied  with the mere  pursuit of  things,  and having become dissatisfied  with  the pursuit of things  for their own sake, he wants  you  to learn to live from the center by  focusing   on the happiness  in life  which  you derive from pursuing life in all its  dimensions  through a real fellowship with your  Creator. 

So, proper perspective  is important.   Have you understood this? Are you persuaded that this is  the way that you need to think about your life?

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 is about dissatisfaction.

This chapter builds on  the previous  chapter  (5:18-20)  -  the matter of money and possessions. In 5:19  we read, “Everyone also to whom God has given possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil – this is the gift  of God”. From this, we had previously  traced  a theme  in Ecclesiastes,  “Enjoy what you have, when you have it!”[1]

Now, in 6:1,2  we find  an enigma  (something that defies  explanation).  “There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil”.

There is a common theme between  these two texts. Wealth, possessions and power are given  by God, …either to enjoy (5:19) or not to enjoy (6:2).  In 2 Chron. 1:12  we read  that Solomon was given “wisdom and knowledge … riches, possessions, and honour, such as no kings before him or after him  had“.

The one enjoys… the other fails to enjoy! In Chapter 6  we read  that God does not give  this man  the  power to enjoy his wealth, possession and honour – in fact,  we read  here that a stranger enjoys them. 

How are we to understand this? 

Wealth, possessions and power – whether we are enabled to enjoy them or not, are not necessarily an indication of God’s favour or dis-favour upon us.  In certain countries Christians are economically discriminated against and therefore poor. In other countries Christians have freedom to   become wealthy and prosperous.   Is God not the God of both?  Are the countries in which these  Christians live in not in His sovereign hands?

The ultimate point is that true satisfaction does not come from being rich or not being rich. The ultimate truth is that in actual fact we own nothing. As naked as we come to this earth we shall depart (see 5:15).   Stop and think! You own nothing in the end! Therefore our possessions should be viewed as temporary  gifts  from  God. Therefore we need to know that, just as easily as God gives material things, so too God may take it away, and give it to others.  His purpose for us in these things is  what matters. Wealth is not an ultimate advantage. We cannot say that the rich are more blessed than the poor. That sort of thinking is the curse of the current prosperity  cults who have so many  churches in their  grip. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that wealth may be a great hindrance.James says, “God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith…”  (Jas 2:5)

Who knows what God is teaching us through giving and taking away? This is deep stuff! The great wealth and possessions that my  father’s  family possessed in Germany at the end of the 1800’s and into the 1900’s  is no longer our wealth. Two world wars in Europe have seen to that!  There are no guarantees in life when  it comes to one’s possessions and wealth. And from our passage  we learn that  firstly  that a  full treasury does not satisfy. Only God satisfies!

We learn secondly  from  verses 3-6 that a prosperous family man  with  a long life  is not necessarily  a satisfied man.  “If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life's good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

Did you see that? Here is  a man  who has “a hundred children and lives many years” (v. 3), but   he lives  a life in which he enjoys neither his children nor his  wealth; worse still, says Solomon  he may not even receive a proper burial.

The Bible normally  describes a man  with many children  as a blessed man  (e.g. Ps 127:3–5). [2]  But here,  Solomon  says that a  stillborn  child  is better off[3] than this  dissatisfied man with a hundred children. A still born child, he reasons, knows nothing of the frustrations, disappointments, and enigmas of life under the sun. He reasons that such a child is comparatively better off than  such a man  (see  this thought also expressed in 4:2 concerning the dead who are better off than the living).

How are we to  understand this sort of logic?

The truth is  that anyone who makes too much of possessions, whether it be wealth, or his children, or long life (v.6), BUT   who does not include God in his worldview - he  will inevitably be sadly disappointed. He will feel empty,  because God is not at the center of his pursuits.

Vv. 7–9: “All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.”

This is a  repetition  of what he has been saying since 6:1 -  the key word here  is,  “no satisfaction”.  So,  let us repeat this. A person living as a mere human being, merely for their sensual appetites, without God in their life,  will never find satisfaction in possessions, wealth, children, or years of life.

V.8 contains   two rhetorical questions:  

(i) For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? 

(ii) And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 

The answer to both questions  is, “there is no advantage“.  Being wise and being street wise (as the poor man might be, who knows how to conduct himself before the living) may have temporary advantages. However,  without God at the center there is no advantage  in being  a Plato, a Socrates or an Aristotle  or any great philosopher you might care to mention. And there is no advantage  being  a penniless, streetwise  teenager (see also  2:12-17). Having wisdom of any variety or sort  in itself is no guarantee  for a happy life.  But wisdom  that delights in God  is a wonderful gift ( see Proverbs 2)

V. 9  “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite”. This proverb is the equivalent of  the English Proverb,  “a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Dreaming about something does not mean that we have it! It is better to be content with what I have than to waste my life desiring what I do not have. It is futility  and a striving after the wind. Living in a dream world,  allowing one’s  senses to rule one’s appetites, without considering  the God who has given us these wonderful senses, only   leads to profound dissatisfaction.

Let your words be few … (vv. 10–12)

“Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?”

There is a great danger in life. Very often we think that we are the first one’s  who  experience such enigma’s and dissatisfactions. You may be tempted to think,“No one has ever experienced  my lot!” 

Now listen  to Solomon: “Whatever has come to be has already been named. “ You are not the first one  to whom these things have happened … and don’t argue about that: “… he(you) is (are)  not able to dispute with one stronger than he(you).”  Don’t see yourself as hard done by. You cannot dispute with God. God is in charge here. He is the one who has set everything in place and who has named everything, including Adam a word that comes from the word for earth[4]. Man  is earthly.  You are earthly.  You are created for God’s glory and purposes.  Stop pursuing your dreams  and start asking,  What has God put into this lump of glorified dust? That puts all mankind in their proper place. So how do I live before this great Being  called  God?  Answer: Eccl. 5:1-3 ;  6:11  Let your words be few.

Conclusion

V. 12  says it all! God “knows what is good for a man during his lifetime.” [Note: Ch 7:1  will begin with what is “good“ ] 

You fallen  creature  do not ultimately know  what is good. Your ‘hard disk’ has been corrupted. Trust God to fix it. With God  you are in  good hands. He knows  what He is doing. Rest in Him. Let Him use you just as you are. Stop being dissatisfied with your lot.   

And so we see that  Solomon carefully demolishes every question, every observation, that  we might  be tempted to use  in the process of questioning our  Creator’s wisdom.

How then shall we live? 

From Ch. 6 we learn  that being  content in what  we  are  and have  is more satisfying than wealth or non- wealth.

We learn that doing God’s will is more important than gaining goods.  

In Mark 10:29–30 Jesus speaks clearly concerning this  matter.  Life’s abundance does not lie  in possessions, family, and long life. 

God knows what we need on a daily basis (Matt 6:25ff).    

May we learn these lessons well and continue to look up, beyond the sun, to our Creator.  

 

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[1] 2:24-26;  3:12-13;  7: 14; 8:15 ; 9:7-10 ; 11:8,9.  We thus  observe  a regular pattern  of this thought  in  Ecclesiastes.

[2] Remember here that Solomon had a numerous offspring

[3]  See also Job 3:16 where Job  says that  he would have been better off as a  stillborn child  than to have suffered the loss of all of his children, possessions and  health.

[4] ’adamah: see  Gen 2:7; 3:19; Eccl 3:20; 12:7