{"id":28193,"date":"2023-10-12T22:00:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-6_1-12-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T15:20:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T22:20:03","slug":"ecclesiastes-7_1-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-7_1-14\/","title":{"rendered":"How Is Sorrow Better than Laughter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ecclesiastes 7:1-14.\u00a0 Of all the chapters in Ecclesiastes that we have read so far, chapter 7 resembles the book of Proverbs the most in terms of its contents and how they are presented.\u00a0 Here Qohelet gives many short, pithy statements, similar to Proverbs, although in some ways harder to interpret.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:1 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 A person\u2019s reputation (\u201ca good name\u201d) is more important (\u201cbetter\u201d) than what perfume that person wears, for that person\u2019s reputation will stick with that person longer than any perfume will.\u00a0 A person\u2019s day of death is better than their day of birth in that what people say about you when you die is even more important than what they say about you when you are born.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-4:\u00a0 To Qohelet, why is sorrow better than laughter?\u00a0 How is a sad face \u201cgood for the heart\u201d?\u00a0 Why is the heart of the wise in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools in the house of pleasure?\u00a0 For Qohelet, the reason seems to be because death and mourning have this way of causing us to reflect, deepen our perspective and become wiser.\u00a0 In contrast, constant laughter and pleasure can keep a person living at a superficial level.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-6:\u00a0 To Qohelet, the song and laughter of fools does nothing to make a person wiser; they\u2019re just the meaningless sound of people who are bound to perish (like the crackling of thorns under the pot).\u00a0 So to Qohelet, it is preferable to listen to a wise man\u2019s rebuke, for though possibly unpleasant, a wise man\u2019s rebuke can actually make you wiser.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:7-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-9:\u00a0 Here\u2019s my summary of verses 7-9 together. Don\u2019t be greedy (v7), impatient (v8) or quickly provoked (v9).\u00a0 That way you can see a matter to its end instead of blowing up prematurely.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 10:\u00a0 Don\u2019t live in the past.\u00a0 When we live in the past, we fail to see today\u2019s blessings and limit God from doing new things with us in the future.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-12:\u00a0 At various points in Ecclesiastes, Qohelet seems to question the value of wisdom.\u00a0 For example, in Ecclesiastes 6:8-9, Qohelet wonders what advantage a wise person has over a fool, especially when that wise person is financially poor (v8)?\u00a0 In Ecclesiastes 2:14-15, Qohelet wonders what is gained by being wise when the wise and the fool both die.\u00a0 Yet here Qohelet espouses the benefit of wisdom, seeing it as \u201ca good thing\u201d that benefits those who live (v11).\u00a0 Qohelet sees wisdom as a more valuable shelter than money because while money cannot save (\u201cpreserve\u201d) a life, true wisdom can.\u00a0 So how do we reconcile Qohelet\u2019s sometimes contradictory views on wisdom?\u00a0 Perhaps this way: Qohelet sees both the value of wisdom as well as its limitations.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-14: Earlier in Ecclesiastes 1:15 Qohelet says, \u201cWhat is twisted cannot be straightened\u201d.\u00a0 Here in verse 13 Qohelet says something similar: \u201cWho can straighten what he has made crooked?\u201d\u00a0 In other words, God is sovereign and we cannot change, add or take away from what God has decided to do.\u00a0 Since God allows both good times and bad times (v14a), and since we don\u2019t know what tomorrow will bring (\u201ca man cannot discover anything about his future\u201d -v14b), Qohelet challenges us to make the most of both.\u00a0 In good times, be happy; in bad times, be humble and reflective.<\/p>\n

Sovereign God, because wisdom definitely has its benefits, I pray for Your wisdom to fill me and every decision I make.\u00a0 Because I don\u2019t know what tomorrow will bring, I rest in Your sovereignty.\u00a0 I trust that You are good whether times are good or times are hard.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ecclesiastes 7:1-14.\u00a0 Of all the chapters in Ecclesiastes that we have read so far, chapter 7 resembles the book of Proverbs the most in terms of its contents and how they are presented.\u00a0 Here Qohelet gives many short, pithy statements, similar to Proverbs, although in some ways harder to interpret.
\n\u00a0
\nEcclesiastes 7:1 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verse 1:\u00a0 A person\u2019s reputation (\u201ca good name\u201d) is more important (\u201cbetter\u201d) than what perfume that person wears, for that person\u2019s reputation will stick with that person longer than any perfume will.\u00a0 A person\u2019s day of death is better than their day of birth in that what people say about you when you die is even more important than what they say about you when you are born. \u00a0
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28193"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28196,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28193\/revisions\/28196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}