{"id":28199,"date":"2023-10-13T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-7_1-14-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T15:32:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T22:32:12","slug":"ecclesiastes-7_15-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ecclesiastes-7_15-29\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does It Mean to Not Be \u201cOverrighteous\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 \u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ecclesiastes 7:15-29.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise– why destroy yourself?
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool– why die before your time?
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes].<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-18:\u00a0 It is difficult to know how to take these verses.\u00a0 What does Solomon mean by \u201cdo not be overrighteous\u201d and do not be \u201coverwise\u201d ?\u00a0 If we want to give Solomon the benefit of the doubt, we could say that what Solomon means by \u201cdon\u2019t be overrighteous\u201d is don\u2019t become so obsessed with piety and religion that they become idols that you worship, where your focus is now so much on yourself and your religious performance that you lose sight of the bigger picture, the point of faith, which is to love God and love people.\u00a0 This is what happened with the Pharisees.\u00a0 Their \u201coverrighteousness\u201d was not actually righteousness at all, but a misguided faith.\u00a0 When Solomon says, \u201cit is good to grasp the one [i.e. righteousness and wisdom] and not let go of the other [i.e. wickedness and foolishness]\u201d (v18), Solomon doesn\u2019t mean \u201cit\u2019s okay to sin a little sometimes, just not too much\u201d.\u00a0 Rather Solomon means that we should, on one hand, maintain devotion and piety to God while at the same time still valuing freedom and enjoyment of life.<\/p>\n

Another way to take this verse is to say that Solomon is still in his jaded, disillusioned state and that he does not see the value in a person going \u201call the way\u201d in fearing God, that for Solomon wisdom and religion are a means to an end, which is a joyful, long life, so \u201clive in moderation\u201d as they say.\u00a0 If that is what Solomon means, then it would seem to run counter to Jesus\u2019 words when he says that he would rather that we would be hot or cold instead of lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 19:\u00a0 This sounds more like the Solomon of Proverbs.\u00a0 He\u2019s thankfully still hanging onto the value of wisdom.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 20:\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 Because all of us are sinners, that is why we need a Saviour.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you–
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 21-22:\u00a0 There is wisdom in these words.\u00a0 It is wise not to obsess over what people say, whether good or bad.\u00a0 For if you anchor your worth in what people say, you\u2019ll never be satisfied.\u00a0 Only God\u2019s Word is worth putting our hope in.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:23-25 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise”– but this was beyond me.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound– who can discover it?
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 23-25:\u00a0 As much as Solomon values wisdom, he also finds it so elusive.\u00a0 That\u2019s because no person can attain or acquire wisdom in their own strength.\u00a0 Wisdom comes from God, so look to God for the wisdom You need, and He\u2019ll give it to you.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:26-28 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Look,” says the Teacher, “this is what I have discovered: “Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things–
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0while I was still searching but not finding– I found one [upright] man among a thousand, but not one [upright] woman among them all.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 26-28:\u00a0 Here Solomon speaks from personal experience.\u00a0 Ensnared by a lust for women, Solomon married 700 wives in addition to keeping a harem of 300 concubines.\u00a0 Given the way he objectified and used women, it\u2019s not a surprise that verses 26-28 are his experience.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:29 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 29:\u00a0 We can say amen to this.\u00a0 God made us to be good, upright and holy, but we all choose to go our own way.\u00a0 Sin, like gravity, weighs us all down \u2013 it\u2019s one of the big themes of Ecclesiastes.<\/p>\n

Father, thank You that by Your grace it is possible to, on one hand, be devoted and faithful to You while at the same time living in the freedom and enjoyment of life that You make possible.\u00a0 May I not be all about one or the other, but both, for that is where Your glory is at its brightest and best.\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 7:15-29.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 (NIV)
\n15\u00a0\u00a0In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
\n16\u00a0\u00a0Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise– why destroy yourself?
\n17\u00a0\u00a0Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool– why die before your time?
\n18\u00a0\u00a0It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes].<\/p>\n

On verses 15-18:\u00a0 It is difficult to know how to take these verses.\u00a0 What does Solomon mean by \u201cdo not be overrighteous\u201d and do not be \u201coverwise\u201d ?\u00a0 If we want to give Solomon the benefit of the doubt, we could say that what Solomon means by \u201cdon\u2019t be overrighteous\u201d is don\u2019t become so obsessed with piety and religion that they become idols that you worship, where your focus is now so much on yourself and your religious performance that you lose sight of the bigger picture, the point of faith, which is to love God and love people.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28199","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\/28199","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=28199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28202,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28199\/revisions\/28202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}