Tag Archives: Ecclesiastes 7-12

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2023 Bible Study — Better to Go to a Funeral Than to a Party

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

Solomon continues to write about the meaninglessness of life, while showing us that serving God gives it the only meaning possible.  He writes that it is better to go to a funeral than to a party because everyone is going to die and we need to face up to this fact.  If we recognize that nothing we do will keep us from dying at some point, he tells us that we will not over emphasize righteous and/or wise behavior nor will we become wicked and/or a fool.  Those who fear God will avoid extremes.  While we live, he writes, we should enjoy our lives, because the day will come when we will no longer be able to do so.  After discussing how everything is meaningless without God, Solomon concludes that we should remember our Creator, fear God, and keep His commandments.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2022 Bible Study — Everything In Moderation, And Keep It All In Perspective

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

Near the beginning of today’s passage the writer tells us that the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning and the heart of the fool is in the house of pleasure.  Yet later in the passage he also writes that there is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and be glad.  This might seem to be a contradiction, but the writer also writes that we should not be too good nor too wicked.  The wording there seems to me to suggest being neither too concerned with doing what is right nor too willing to ignore the rules.  In light of that, I think he means that his teaching about mourning being better than pleasure means that we should keep everything in perspective.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2021 Bible Study — Consider What God Has Done

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ecclesiastes 7-12.

I am not sure where I am going to go with today’s blog.  I want to write about a couple of things which the writer says in today’s passage, perhaps as I do some sort of theme will emerge.  The writer tells us that we should be happy in the good times, but remember that the bad times are part of God’s plan as well.  Or, as Job said, God both gives and takes away.

Further on the writer tells us not to be over-righteous or over-wise.  On the other hand we should not be over-wicked or a fool.  That last bit gives us an insight into what he means by “over-righteous” and “over-wise”, because he does not write that we should not be over-foolish, just that we should not be a fool.  We can try to hard to do what is righteous and what is wise.  There comes a point where in an attempt to be righteous we do what is wrong and in an attempt to do what is wise we do what is foolish.  We need to recognize that we will not always get it right, and act anyway.

 

The final thing I want to touch on is a saying which I do not actually know what it means, but which I like to claim explains why I lean towards the political right:

The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
    but the heart of the fool to the left.

Make of that what your will.

1I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2020 Bible Study Moderation In All Things, Including Being Good and Behaving Wisely

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 7-12.

I want to start with a verse which seems strange, chapter 7 verse  16, where the writer tells us that we should not be too good or too wise.  What does he mean by that? Is it possible to be too good or too wise?  Since I believe the answer to the second question is “No”, the answer to the first must be something other than the literal meaning of what he wrote.  I think the answer here is not acting as if you are better, or wiser, than other individuals.  Don’t try to run other people’s lives for them because you think you are better than they, or wiser than they.  Perhaps the writer also means that we should not present ourselves in a way which leads others to be afraid of acting naturally around us for fear of appearing wicked or foolish.  When we look at verses 16 through 18, it seems to be advice about doing all things in moderation.

The writer also warns us that no one can know everything that God has done and is doing in the world.  We may witness the wicked thrive and the righteous suffer, but the writer assures us that those who fear God will be better off than the wicked.  Everything is in God’s hands and we should strive for contentment in the lot which He has given us.

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2019 Bible Study — Everything Seems Meaningless, But God Will Judge Our Actions

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 7-12.

Today’s passage consists of many separate thoughts on life and wisdom which make it hard to write about a single theme.  However, I am going to try to link them together in a kind of theme.  We will see if I can pull it off.  The writer tells us that everything is meaningless, yet advises certain courses of action.  Since no one always does good and never sins, we should not destroy ourselves trying to always be good and always be wise.  Of course, that does not mean that it is OK to be wicked and foolish.  Seek to do what is good and wise, but do not belittle yourself when you fail in this. 

From there the writer turns his focus slightly.  As we look at the world around us we will see wicked people who succeed by our standards, and good people who suffer.  Nevertheless, those who fear God are better off for doing so and those who are wicked will not truly prosper.  Even though he knows this is true, we will see good people treated as if they are wicked and wicked people treated as if they are good.  So, we should have fun, eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves. 

The writer concludes by telling us to remember to fear and obey God.  He reminds us to remember our Creator while we have the strength to serve Him.  We should seek to do God’s will, but enjoy ourselves while doing so.  Seek God’s will, but do not allow yourself to believe that you do no wrong.  And as said by others, moderation in all things, including moderation.  In the end God will judge us for everything we have done, even the things which we thought were secret.  

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2017 Bible Study — Moderation In Everything, Even Doing Good

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 7-12.

    The writer advises us to do everything in moderation, we should even be moderate in being good and being wise. I am not sure that he truly means that it is possible to be too good, or too wise. My understanding of what he means here is colored by the fact that later in this passage he encourages us to enjoy ourselves. There comes a point where our desire to do the good thing, or the wise thing (or both), becomes so intense that it saps all joy from our lives. At that point we have taken those things too far. On the other hand there are other activities which will weaken us, or shorten our lives. Things which, while perhaps enjoyable, when taken to excess give us pain and suffering in the long run. We should be moderate in those activities as well. God intends for us to enjoy our lives, even though they involve struggle and effort. Another point the writer makes, which goes along with the theme of moderation in everything, is that we should diversify our efforts to supply our needs. Do not work at just one thing, find multiple ways to earn your keep.

Daily Bible Study

July 19, 2016 Bible Study — Moderation In All Things

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Ecclesiastes 7-12.

    There is no one who never sins, and no one who always does what is wise. These two statements are the central insight to today’s passage. The writer tells us to work at doing what is right and what is wise, but we should not let that make us afraid to have fun. God intends for us to enjoy our lives. We should strive to always do what is wise and never sin, but we must accept that we will not be completely successful. If we try too hard to be wise and too avoid sin we will become self-righteous and arrogant. In like manner, we should study to become educated and wise, but we can study too hard and too much. We should study in order to better serve God, but we should not make study an end in itself.