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In an act of rebellion, a young woman named Rebecca in my church got involved with an abusive man and had a child. She hoped he would become kinder, but the man's abuse got worse and worse. One day he struck her and crushed the side of her face. She had to have reconstructive surgery to repair the damage.
The man left and Rebecca returned to the Lord, serving Him with her whole heart. I recently saw her when she returned from a mission trip to an orphanage in a Muslim country. She had the most wonderful glow on her face. I listened as she told me about her trip. Then I asked her, “Rebecca, what is the passion of your heart?” She looked me in the eye and said with conviction, “Working with abused women.”
An Outline of Ecclesiastes
Following the Logic of Solomon
V. Be Correct in Perspective: 5:8-7:29
Wealth: Don't be deceived when the wicked increase; wealth
won't satisfy (5:8-6:12).
Adversity: Hard times are not bad; they shape us (7:1-14).
Yourself: Be humble; you can't know all things (7:15-29).
“God seeks what is passed by.” Her pain worked for her ultimate good.
Consider Moses, who was rescued when all the other Hebrew male babies were killed. Not only was he rescued, but he was reared in Pharaoh's house. He had the best of everything.
When he was forty years old, he lost it all in a fit of anger and had to hide in the desert for forty years. Why would God allow this to happen to him?
Because God used all of it—even the consequences of his sin and the forty years in the desert—to prepare Moses to set His people free.
Have you ever felt like God is having you do things that seem like a waste of time? Sometimes it may even feel like you are going in the wrong direction. But God has to teach you to trust Him, to rest in Him, and to know that His way is best. You need humility as you walk with God. If you trust Him, you'll be willing to let Him put you through some tough times … and those times will shape you into a better tool for His work.
I wouldn't repeat my painful times for anything, but I wouldn't trade them for anything either.
Solomon gives us another correction for when we go through hard times. To recap, his previous corrections were (1) prosperity isn't always good and (2) adversity isn't always bad. His third correction is for us to trust God even when things don't add up. We are not omniscient.
I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. (v. 15)
Why did Betsy Ten Boom die in a Nazi concentration camp? This holy heroine, who mentored her sister Corrie, died without a husband or children. If I were God, I would have saved that woman, given her a husband, and let her have fifteen kids all greater than she. Here was this ideal woman who died a horrible death in the most atrocious conditions. Why?
Did you ever see the movie Chariots of Fire? Eric Liddell, a godly congregational minister's son, gave up all the wealth he could have earned for winning the 1924 Olympic gold medal in Paris (for the 400-meter race) and became a missionary to China. He was truly a righteous man. And he was a well-loved man. When Liddell left Edinburgh for China the year after winning the gold medal, thousands of people wanting to bid him farewell waited for a glimpse of him as he boarded his ship.
Do you know what happened to Eric Liddell? During World War II, he was taken prisoner with other Westerners and was among the two thousand people crowded into a Japanese internment camp. His cell was three-by-six feet. Before his arrest, Liddell managed to get his wife, Florence, and two children to safety in Canada. (She was pregnant at the time with their third daughter, whom Eric would never see.)
Eric Liddell became ill and died of a brain tumor at the age of forty-two on February 21, 1945.
How can that possibly be? Eric Liddell was a godly man who stood strong for Christ. He loved Christ more than personal gain and stayed devoted to Him even in the face of personal tragedy. If it had been up to me, I would have levitated him up to glory. Wicked men are the ones who should have brain tumors and die at forty-two. Why did it have to happen to Eric Liddell?
That's the way it is sometimes. And if that doesn't stun you, Solomon says that sometimes a person's wickedness is the very thing that prolongs his life. So now we have even more problems with God. But he tells us how we can deal with it.
Do not be excessively righteous, and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? (v. 16)
This is an often-misinterpreted verse. I knew a guy who said he was a Christian but was a very ungodly man. This was his life's verse. He knew it in eight translations. “The Bible says don't be overly wise. The Bible says don't be overly holy.” Hail mediocrity!
But as Augustine said, we should interpret Scripture by other Scripture. Now, obviously, the Bible teaches us to seek righteousness and holiness. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “One thing I [Paul] do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The Bible calls us to be fervent in our pursuit of wisdom and righteousness—to seek them and not to yield.
Solomon is talking in context about an observer becoming so bent on being holy and informed that he forgets the grace of the all-knowing God. He's talking about pharisaical wisdom and pharisaical righteousness.
He is saying that we shouldn't think we are smart enough and wise enough to understand what God is doing. We can't call God to the bar of human reason. Isaiah 40:13-14 says,
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him
understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught
Him knowledge,
And informed Him of the way of understanding?
God owes nothing to us and no one completely understands Him. We can only know what God reveals to us about Himself.
God will disappoint our expectations sometime, and we will go off the deep end to our ruin. We will make stupid decisions and abandon our families, throw away our careers, and turn our backs on our good friends—all because we think we are righteous and wise enough to accuse God.
In verse 17, Solomon shows us the peril of going to the opposite extreme.
Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool.
Why should you die before your time?
Bernard, one of my assistants at church, lives on a busy street. Late one night he heard an awful crash and went outside to investigate. He found the wreck of a car that had been carrying three teenagers. They were out late one night, got liquored up, and then flipped their car.
One of the young men wasn't wearing his seat belt. Why should he obey the law? After all, he knew everything and was invincible. When the car flipped, he bounced around so that his head came out the window. The car turned over on him and beheaded him.
Bernard came out to the street and was shocked when he saw the body. He said, “There was this marvelous eighteen-year-old body and it was dead.” This young man could have been a husband, a father, a businessman, or a homeowner, and could have enjoyed Rocky Road. He could have gone to the opera. Here's a kid who could have taken a ride in the gondolas of Venice and enjoyed a splendid sunset. He could have married a dear girl and sat in a swing with their child on his lap and listened to the toe-tapping tunes of Bill Gaither.
Instead, he was dead at eighteen, trapped underneath a car with a belly full of beer.
What do you say to that, Solomon? Stupid, that's what he says. So don't think you're smart enough to understand God, but also don't just chuck it all and be a fool. If you make stupid choices, you'll end up suffering the consequences. Now read Solomon's conclusion.
It is good that you grasp one thing, and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them. (v. 18)
The “one thing” that you're to grasp is the teaching of verse 17. “The other” thing that you're not to let go of is the wisdom of verse 16. In other words, it is good in life to grasp verse 17—don't be wicked and foolish and blow life; be holy and wise. But at the same time, remember verse 16—you are a finite sinner who can't control God or even understand what He's up to. Obey God in what you know. Trust Him in what you don't.
Isn't that great? Solomon says that in a life of inequity, you need to live in godly fear of the Lord. While you are growing in faith, make sure that you don't become wise in your own estimation. You need to remember that no matter how righteous you are, you're still a sinner saved by the grace of God.
Jesus Christ came to give us His wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Outside of God's grace, you and I haven't got the sense to come in out of the rain, as my momma used to say.
John Newton, the former slave trader and author of “Amazing Grace,” said, “When I get to heaven, I will be amazed at three things. I will be amazed at those I thought would be there who are not there, those I did not think would be there who are there, and the fact that I am there at all.”
Early in the ministry of the apostle Paul, he called himself the least of the apostles. Later on he said he was the least of all Christians. Then he said he was the chief of sinners. The older he got, the more he saw of God, the lower he became in his own estimation.
So Solomon has given us three corrections. Correction number one: Prosperity is not always best. Correction number two: adversity is not always worst. And correction number three: realize that you don't have the last word on knowledge.
Now Solomon is going to show us how to apply this information.
Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. (v. 19)
The wisdom of God is better than surrounding yourself with the ten best men you can find. It's been said that a man with a Bible could stay in a cave for a year, and at the end of that time, he could know (from his reading) what everybody else in the world was doing.
There is no greater blessing than wisdom. There is no greater activity than walking with God and revering Him. But watch out that you don't let your good behavior go to your head.
Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. (v. 20)
When I was in college, we would occasionally have visiting preachers speak to us. Many times, these preachers were into the holiness movement, so they did not sin. We knew they didn't sin because they told us they didn't sin.
They would call all the guys drunks and all the girls whores and declare that every one of us was going to hell. And it seemed like they were glad of those facts.
Even though they did not sin anymore, they looked suspiciously arrogant to me. In fact, if you hear people claim they are the incarnation of wisdom, you can put away your notebook because you won't need to write down any of their “insight.”
Solomon says it is good for you to be in the Word. Stay in the Bible and you'll be on a path to joy and peace, walking with God. It's good to be wise in that way.
As a matter of fact, no matter how many degrees you have, if you don't soak in the Bible, you're stumbling through a minefield. If all you know is the wisdom of the Bible and you don't have a degree, you'll still have a joyful, happy life. Now, you may not have a jet ski, but can you live with that?
Wisdom is better than ten rulers. You can surround yourself with the greatest men, but if you know and fear God, you're ahead of the pack.
So it's good to be wise, but make sure you temper it by being downwind of yourself. Don't focus on the fact that you are rising above the people around you. Look at Jesus Christ and let Him be your standard.
One of the most important aspects of wisdom is being able to deal with sin in a fallen world.
Also, do not take seriously all words which are spoken, lest you hear your servant cursing you. (v. 21)
Solomon says to not be amazed or go into a depression when you encounter your sin. Don't be surprised that some people don't like you. And don't be surprised that, because of your sin, some of them have a good reason to dislike you!
It's been said that great men are never great to their valets. Servants always know the worst side of their employers. Who do we tend to treat in a special way? People who are above us in power, prestige, or rank. Who do we treat like dirt? People who are beneath us in some sense.
And when you discover that someone (servant or not) has said something negative about you, note your initial reaction. Is it to get defensive and angry with the other person? Or do you consider that, even though the person was wrong to gossip, there may be some grounds for what was said?
And the reason you can be sure that someone is talking about you is that you have talked about others. We all have dark sides.
For you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others. (v. 22)
You have cursed many people in your lifetime, haven't you? Do you know why you've said things to them and about them? Because both of you are sinners.
Solomon is telling us this fact about ourselves and others to substantiate what he said about how to live in a fallen world. Here's how: Realize that we don't know everything, then strive for holiness and hold on to the fact that we're sinners just like the rest of humanity. That's why we talk trash about others. We know no perfect people.
We have to go beyond just saying we are sinners to really believing at our core that we are completely dependent on God's grace. If you knew about me what God knows, you wouldn't have bought this book. And if I knew of you what God knows, I probably wouldn't let you read it. We're all sinners.
Solomon brings this point home through his personal experience.
I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it? I directed my mind to know, to investigate, and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her. (vv. 23-26)
Solomon takes a turn here and talks again about his own experience. He says that he made a commitment to be a holy man, but he couldn't come close. This is a precursor to Romans 7:24, where Paul asks, “Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Solomon is saying that he could not find righteousness on his own.
Nothing is more comforting than the doctrine of total depravity. In fact, the doctrine of total depravity is the most emotionally freeing doctrine in all of New Testament theology. It states that my whole person has been radically tainted by sin. Everything I can do, think, or say on this side of glory will be tainted by sin. In our fallen state, our entire will is oriented against God. We are bent on our own ways of evil from the get-go.
Augustine said the only reason you think a baby is good is that he hasn't got power enough to show you how evil he is. He said, “If a baby had the strength when he emerged from the mother's womb, he would seize the mother by the throat and demand his milk.”
The only way any of us can be saved is if God makes a radical change in us from the inside out. So Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Then the Spirit of God changes our nature by abiding with us, keeping us, sanctifying us, and raising us by His power.
The doctrine of depravity is comforting because it means sanctification is not up to me. You may be surprised that you're evil, but it is no revelation to God. Hallelujah!
Solomon says that the past is unknowable by us, but it is part of God's sovereign design. We cannot know the mind of God. It is exceedingly mysterious. We don't have a clue as to what God is doing.
In verse 25, Solomon says, “I want to prove it to you.” He investigated and sought out any explanation for these matters. And he learned that it is better to be wise and righteous than to be a sinner. He gives a practical example of being smart and holy in verse 26. Mind you, he's warning both sexes to watch out for people (not just women) whose hearts are snares and whose hands are chains.
Human sexuality has been an area of temptation and sin since the Fall of man. Even though God doesn't tell us everything, He does tell us to be sexually pure. So many people today are not willing to experience short-term frustration to achieve long-term pleasure. Instead, they hop in the sack with anyone that says a kind word to them and end up destroying their lives and families.
Believe me, I understand that sex is fun. But I also know that outside of marriage, sex is playing with fire. It will burn down your house and consume you. Don't buy into some short-term pleasure that will leave you a lifetime of pain.
If you are single and reading this book, you may long to experience physical intimacy. If you are married, you may want your sex life to be better than it is. In either case, you may wonder why God doesn't fix things and make everything OK.
Don't let what you can't understand negate what you can do right now. You don't have to figure out the universe. Solomon says that even though he can't understand God, here is one thing he is sure of: It's better to do the right thing. Be pure.
You don't have to be omniscient to be happy. What you do have to do is defend your six square feet of ground with the wisdom you're given.
To figure out life, I don't need to know what God's doing. What I do need to do is avoid evil and do right and please God. For everything else, let the chips fall where they may and don't worry.
God will do His job in directing the universe; we can be sure of that. The question is, Will you do your job? Your job is to be honest, holy, loving, and righteous and to die well.
In verses 27 and 28, Solomon explains another discovery. Even though we seek righteousness, we need to remember that no matter how good we get, we are sinful. All of us. Men and women both. We need to remember that no matter how good we get, the only reason people tolerate us is that we have learned how to tame our public evil as opposed to our private evil. Does that disturb you about yourself? Here it is again: The only reason that you're a likeable person is that you have learned to distinguish between your public and private obnoxiousness, and you are smart enough to keep your lustful, hateful, wicked thoughts contained in your brain. In your public treatment of people, you have remained basically hygienic and nonviolent.
“Behold, I have discovered this,” says the Preacher, “adding one thing to another to find an explanation, which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these.” (vv. 27-28)
If you are a woman, don't throw this book in the fireplace and use it for kindling. Let me tell you what verse 28 means. Solomon is using hyperbole. He doesn't have anything good to say about men or women. It's a poetic statement. Among a thousand men he's found one good guy but hasn't found a good woman yet. It's hyperbole for the fact that we're all a bunch of sinners. Recall Romans 3:23—“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Ecclesiastes 7:29 says Solomon may not have discovered all the answers, but he has discovered this: Men are definitely fallen.
How do we live in light of these truths? Apply wisdom where you are. Seek God to know Him. Trust Him. Grow in Him; but remember that you are a sinner, you live among sinners, and you have no wisdom in yourself.
You wouldn't even recognize God unless He provided Christ and the Holy Spirit drew you and converted you. You'd still be dead in sin unless Christ's righteousness was imputed to you. It's only on the basis of His death that God forgave you. And it's by His grace that He keeps you.
He did not choose you because you moved an inch toward Him but because you're the weakest of all people. “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us” (1 John 3:1). He did not give us what we deserve. He bestowed mercy. That is a freeing doctrine.
You need to grow. Don't do things to shoot yourself in the foot. You can't control the sovereignty of God in this universe. But you can control whether you are an obnoxious person nobody likes. Seek God, defend your ground, be holy, and don't worry about Him; He'll take care of you.
As you grow, do not let the grace of God go sour on you. Let me explain what I mean. I had a buddy who was one of the first guys to share the gospel with me. In high school, he talked to me about Christ. I didn't get it until years later when I finally trusted Christ.
This friend of mine got married. Then he went through a divorce. He turned his back on God and fell into sin, repented, and got married again. We were still friends through all this. In fact, I was the best man at his second wedding.
Then you know what he did? He left his wife and lived with another woman. I sat him down and rebuked him. He protested, “I finally met a woman who can teach me how to love.” I looked at him and said, “You don't have a brain in your head. What are you thinking?” I did everything but punch him out. I loved him but I was so mad at him. He knew I loved him, so he listened to my preaching at him.
Later on, he went on some retreat, had a religious experience, and came back as a “spiritual man.” He'd learned the secret truths of what it meant to be a real Christian and he had “arrived.” I was still stuck in Getting It, Texas, with a Bible.
You know what he did? He preached at me. It seems he knew it all. He was the self-righteous player on the varsity team, and I was only JV.
You know what I said to him? I put my hands on his shoulders, looked him in the eyes, and said, “I liked you better when you were an adulterer. At least you were humble.” A wise man is righteous, but he doesn't let go of the fact that he is a sinner. Don't ever think you've arrived, or God's grace will go sour.
I've seen men and women who don't know much about theology start reading about it. They read a little Francis Schaeffer and C. S. Lewis. They learn a little baby Greek. All of the sudden, you can't stand to be around them and their pontificating.
They go rancid. They sour. It's called grace going putrid. They've gotten so high toward God that they can't see anything but themselves.
“God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get” (Luke 18:11-12). The Pharisee didn't say one lie in his prayer. Everything he said was true about himself and about the other man. But there's something about that prayer that stinks: He forgot who he was before God. That's grace gone sour.
I've seen guys who start reading their Bibles and then pick up Jonathan Edwards, R. C. Sproul, and John Owen. All of a sudden, they have a theological epiphany. Before you know it, they're condescending toward every mortal Christian.
Don't let grace go sour on you. C. S. Lewis says that God always gives us struggles in life. He makes sure that we always are facing things we can't quite figure out. And the reason He does it is so we will remember that this world is not our home. If you have a good meal, if you have an enjoyable recreational activity, if you have a sweet time with your spouse, that's good. But God will always let you know that this world is just an inn. We are just passing through. It's not a destination; it's a motel. God will not let your life get so solid that you can trust in your family, your health, your talent, your friends, or your church— not completely. He wants us to enjoy those things but to put our trust completely in Him.
A good question to ask at this point is, What does it look like to trust in God in hard times? That's exactly what Solomon covers in the next section of Ecclesiastes.
1. Why do you think it is so easy for us to have a higher opinion of ourselves than we should? What are some of the motivations that lie behind this?
2. Has there been a time in your life when you were overwhelmed by someone's sin against you? Does it help to remember that you have also sinned against others? Why or why not?
3. What does Tommy mean when he says, “Don't let what you can't figure out deter you from what you already know to be true,” particularly in the context of verses 25 and 26?
4. Why does Tommy say that total depravity is one of the most freeing doctrines in the Bible? Is there a wrong way to take this? What would that look like? What is the right way to understand it?