# 13 2024 Dev. Ecclesiastes 7:7. Life, a Serious Matter! Read all of chapter seven first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Ecc.7:20 “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”
Ecc.7. Ecclesiastes is a difficult book and there are different ways to deal with it. One way is to look at the plain meaning of the text. The “teacher” tells us that life is a serious matter. And asks; “Why were the old days better than these? ‘For it is not wise to ask such questions.’” And he says; “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”
Vs.1-6 The teacher wants to impress upon us the meaning of life from the perspective of the future. Although there is no indication of an afterlife here, the book as a whole does confirm it. Here he points to death as a reality of life and the end of a person on earth. Is death better than to be born? Is the end better than the beginning? Yes, that could be true, but it depends if you look to the future or not. Many live in the past and many live in the present, of course we live in the present but that does not control the future. There are times of mourning and times of pleasure. That is real, but not if you pay more attention to one over the other. New Testament Christians look forward to the future and live in the present by faith.
V.7 Is a proverb that stands alone but is a commentary on living in the present only. “Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.”
V.8-14 We have mentioned this above, “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Again this puts the emphasis on the future. V.10 asks about the past, the teachers says; don’t live back there, it is not wise. “Wisdom is a shelter”, as well as money but only “wisdom preserves those who have it.” God is in control; He blesses us, sometimes He does not. God is in control of our lives, forming us to be who He wants us to be.
Vs.15-22 The next seven verses are proverbs to direct one’s life.
We live in a broken world, life is not always fair but we as Christians participate in that brokenness with our short comings and sometimes outright sins. Can we be over righteous? Yes, it leads to self righteousness and to condemnation of others. Can we be overwicked? Yes, it is foolish, willful and destroys the future. “Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” Righteousness is hard to come by and sins come easy. Do not believe everything you hear or what you read but have a discerning heart.
Vs.23-26 “All this I tested by wisdom and I said,” “Whatever exists…who can discover it?…and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly…I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare… a trap…The man who pleases God will escape her but the sinner she will ensnare.” Most commentators put Solomon as the author and if that is the case he may want to take his own advice. “This only have I found: God created mankind upright but they have gone in search of many schemes.” He does not mention God’s grace that he himself has experienced. We thank God for His grace in our lives! Amen!
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