Ecclesiastes 7 (2)

Pray Psalm 49.13, 14.
This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings.
Selah
Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them…

Read Ecclesiastes 7.2-4.

Prepare.
1. Who is the wise person? Why?

2. What do all people have in common?

Meditate.
Death is the common experience of all people. Not everyone can feast abundantly; nor is everyone able to make merry or know much happiness. But everyone will die.

The wise man shares this plight with everyone else. He knows how to sympathize with others, and he is not consumed with gratifying all his own lusts. “Think about others, son; think about all your people and how you can serve them best as long as they and you live.” This seems to be the thrust of this part of Solomon’s admonition to Rehoboam. It was the starting-point for Solomon’s own reign, and led to his having great wisdom (2 Chron. 1.7-12).

This is not a call to moroseness; rather, it is a call to compassion, to suffering with others rather than being occupied only with one’s own concerns. As such it foreshadows the work of Jesus Christ, as Paul outlines that work in Philippians 2.5-11. He came to die, so that all who believe in Him might live.

Verses 1 to 4 form an inclusio – they begin and end at the same place – the day of death – and so encompass a single idea. Solomon skillfully blends his images from verse 1 to verse 4. Beginning with the idea of one’s own death, he branches out to the death of all people, and thereby changes the focus of his image – from self to others – and suggests the object of his lesson – to think of one’s legacy in terms of the needs of others.

The measure of a wise man’s heart, Solomon suggests, is in his ability to feel the suffering of others and not merely to focus on his own pleasure. The wise man nurtures a compassionate heart and thereby finds true happiness in living. But for Rehoboam, “it’s a lesson too late for the learning.”

Reflect.
1. What’s “better” about mourning? Does this mean we should never enjoy happiness and the good things of life?

2. If we occupy the “house of mourning”, what will be the ultimate focus of our lives? Why?  

3. The writer of Hebrews (2.15) says that people fear death? Why? Should we have more sympathy for those who fear death? What can we do for them?

He who enters the house of mourning indeed weeps for the departed, even though he is an enemy. Do you not see how much better that house is than the other? For there, though he is a friend, he envies; but here, though he is an enemy, he weeps. John Chrysostom (344-407), Homilies Concerning the Statutes 15.5

O Lord, use me today to bring life to those who are perishing, especially as I remember…

Pray Psalm 49.10-14.
Scripture teaches that people fear dying (Heb. 2.15). Pray for the lost people you know, that the fear of dying might lead them to the hope of life in Jesus. Pray that God will use you to share His life with them.

Sing Psalm 49.10-14, 15.
Psalm 49.10-14, 15 (Sagina: And Can It Be, That I Should Gain)
See how the wise and senseless die, and leave to others all their gold.
Vainly forever they longed and hoped to have their names and glories told.
Man in his pomp will not endure; like any beast his end is sure.
Refrain v. 15
My God redeems my soul from hell!
His grace and mercy let me tell!

Thus go the foolish on their way, and all who approve their deceitful words.
Meekly like sheep to death they go, and meet destruction afterwards.
See how the righteous overrules the fleeting forms of dying fools!
Refrain v. 15

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).