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Ecclesiastes, Part 19, Wisdom Sayings

In Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Koheleth turns decisively from observation to comparative wisdom, re-educating the reader’s instincts about what is truly “better” in light of man’s mortality. This section forms a list of “better-than” sayings (ṭôb min), but unlike normal Proverbs, these maxims are corrective, designed to wean the reader from superficial optimism.

Verse 1 says,

¹ A good name is better than a good ointment [shemen, “fat, oil, ointment”],
and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.

Reputation outweighs one’s anointing, or calling, because many have callings that they misuse. For instance, a king or priest is anointed, but not all of them have “a good name” in history.

Philosophy of Death

Death teaches us more than birth. We feast when a child is born and mourn when he dies. While feasting brings joy, mourning imparts wisdom. Why? Because death makes us reflect on things that truly matter. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 explains this further:

² It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,
because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.

³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
for when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

⁴ The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Wisdom is formed not by escaping from pain, but by paying sober attention to mortality.

Ecclesiastes 7:5, 6 continues,

⁵ It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
than for one to listen to the song of fools.

⁶ For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fool,
and this too is futility.

Koheleth, the Preacher, shows the contrast between correction and amusement as well as between truth and noise. The metaphor of crackling thorns under a pot suggests that “the song of fools” is loud, brief, and useless for real heat. Entertainment that avoids truth produces sound without substance.

Power Corrupts Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 7:7 says,

⁷ For oppression makes a wise man mad,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.

This verse breaks the rhythm to warn us that wisdom is fragile. Power can be used to oppress, and even a wise man might go “mad” with power, especially if he feels threatened. Likewise, moral compromise erodes mental clarity and can lead to a loss of wisdom. Even the wise are not immune to systemic corruption. Was the Preacher referring covertly to Solomon himself? Recall that Solomon thought it was wise to marry the pagan daughters of foreign kings in order to secure alliances of peace. Scripture, however, says that they “turned his heart” (1 Kings 11:3).

Patience Over Nostalgia

Ecclesiastes 7:8-10 says,

⁸ The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.

⁹ Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
for anger resides in the bosom of fools.

¹⁰ Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
for it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

In verse 8, patience is contrasted with haughtiness. Ego tends to destroy patience and insert haughtiness which becomes angry or indignant when confronted or insulted. Verse 9 builds upon this, telling us that angry people are fools. Those who are motivated by ego and self-interest are easily angered.

In his comparison in verses 8 and 10, the preacher targets two temptations: first impatience (pre-judging) and then nostalgia (romanticizing the past). Both are distortions. Nostalgia is not wisdom; it is often selective memory fueled by dissatisfaction with the present.

When America celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, it stirred up many people who suddenly realized that the country was far different from what it was in 1776. The Constitution had long been abandoned through the use of national emergencies and executive orders. Government power had replaced people power. Morality had degraded. It was the real start of the culture divide between Christians and Babylonians.

Yet most Christians forgot that even in 1776 conditions were not perfect. Immorality was kept hidden. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed (for the first time since Moses) that all rights came from God—not governments—yet men immediately began to ignore this. It was not even mentioned later in the Constitution itself. Slavery was endorsed, which meant that not all men were created equal. (The term “men” legally applied only to one race, allowing them to break treaties with others.)

On a financial level, the Constitution made silver and gold “money” but failed to outlaw usury in the banking system. Hence, a century later, God enslaved the entire nation to the Babylonian banking system through the Federal Reserve Act. This was a mortal system of banking and credit that has now reached the end of life. Have we learned from our mistake?

On a judicial level, the Constitution failed to lay the proper foundation of justice that was prescribed in Scripture—that justice is not done until full restitution has been made to all the victims of injustice. Instead, men are imprisoned, where the innocent public are forced to support the warehousing of thieves instead of putting them to work to repay their victims. Have we learned from our mistake?

The solution, says the Preacher, is not to try to reinstate the past but to move forward toward a better solution. After 200 years of hard experience, we ought to learn from the past and make appropriate corrections, based on greater knowledge and wisdom. Today, the opportunity exists for the end to be better than the beginning, as the Kingdom of God is established.

Wisdom’s Advantage

Ecclesiastes 7:11, 12 says,

¹¹ Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an advantage to those who see the sun.

¹² For wisdom is protection just as money is protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.

An inheritance is good, if accompanied by wisdom. Like money itself, wisdom offers protection. Yet wisdom preserves life. Money can shield temporarily, but wisdom prevents squandering and preserves meaning and direction.

The Sovereignty of God Over Time

Ecclesiastes 7:13, 14 concludes,

¹³ Consider the work of God, for who is able to straighten what He has bent? ¹⁴ In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider—God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.

This is the theological anchor of the passage: Koheleth insists that not all crookedness is fixable, not all hardship is accidental, and not all seasons are adjustable. Verse 14 balances joy and adversity: “God has made the one as well as the other.” Adversity in the book of Job came from Satan, but it was authorized by God Himself (Job 1:12). Why? To give Job a higher level of wisdom, as we see at the end of the book.

While man has been given authority, God has always retained sovereignty. This is shown in verse 14: “so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” Human control is limited by design. Wisdom is in understanding and accepting this.

Ecclesiastes 7:1–14 teaches that true wisdom is forged through sobriety, correction, patience, and reverent acceptance of God’s sovereign ordering of both joy and adversity.