Ecclesiastes 7 (10)

Pray Psalm 30.11, 12.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Read Ecclesiastes 7.16-18.

Prepare.
1. Trying to be “overly righteous” is clearly not a good thing. What would be an example of trying to be “overly righteous”?

2. Allowing ourselves to become “overly wicked” is just as bad. What would that look like?

Meditate.
Taken by themselves, these are some of the most perplexing verses in Ecclesiastes. Why would any believer settle for less than more righteousness? And why would any righteous person want to be wicked in any degree, much less “overly”? And what is “this, and…the other” (v. 18)?

But if we keep these verses in the context of Solomon’s own experience, and his understanding of the sovereignty of God, we can make good sense of them.

Solomon’s pride began to be his destruction when he considered himself wiser and more righteous than any man alive. He had prayed for wisdom appropriate to his need (2 Chron. 1.8-10). He stumbled when he decided to become the wisest man alive, and then congratulated himself on his achievement. If your goal in pursuing righteousness and wisdom is to boast about your achievement, Solomon says, give it up; it will only lead to your downfall (v. 16).

Moreover, Solomon seemed to think he could dabble in folly and still remain wise (Eccl. 2). This happened because he failed to realize the power of sin, and thought he could “handle it”. His advice in verse 17 should thus be understood as, “Don’t give sin any more length in your life than it will take of its own accord; but don’t be content with any sin in your life.” Solomon was wicked enough when he was growing in wisdom; his dabbling in sin, then rushing headlong into it, was an act of folly, and destroyed his kingdom.

How can we apply this to ourselves? We must learn to live in the tension between righteousness and wisdom, which we are called to seek (“this”), and the sin we cannot escape, but which we must not allow to rule us (“the other”). At the same time, we must always be on guard against sin, whether of pride in our righteousness and wisdom, or corruption in our thinking we can handle a little sin.

Christians live in a time of tension between the “already” of the Kingdom of God and its “not yet”. The course of wisdom is to keep our eyes on the Lord in the midst of everything we do, lest we be overcome by the travail and folly of our age, and sin that yet abides to our own souls (Col. 3.1-3; Heb. 2.9; 12.1, 2).

Reflect.
1. What would be some differences between wanting to be overly wise and wanting to be appropriately wise (which is what Solomon sought at the beginning of his reign)? Which is less likely to lead to pride? Why?

2. What might cause someone to become overly wicked or foolish? How can we avoid this?  

3. How would you counsel a new believer to prepare each day for living in the “now” but “not yet” of the Kingdom of God?

It is right to place a bridle even on charity and to permit it freedom to roam only insofar as it does not rush headlong over a cliff. Scripture says, in Ecclesiastes, “Do not be righteous in excess, nor think yourself more than you are, lest perhaps you should be struck dumb.” Following this, I can say something similar. Do not love a man “with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with all your strength.” Do not love an angel “with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with all your strength.” In accord with the Savior’s words, keep this command in respect to God alone. Origen (185-250), Homilies on the Gospel of Luke 25.6

Help me to love You, Lord, and to hate sin; and help me to seek Your Kingdom today as I…

Pray Psalm 30.4, 5.
Remembering God’s Name can keep you from giving in to temptation and falling through it to sin. Praise God just now by recalling as many as you can of the names that are applied to Him in Scripture. Let those names go with you throughout the day.

Sing Psalm 30.4, 5.
Psalm 30.4, 5 (Madrid: Come Christians, Join to Sing)
Lord, we extol Your Name!
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Thanks we with joy proclaim –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!
Anger shall not prevail; grace will for us avail.
Day frees us from travail –
            You have lifted us, O Lord!

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).