Part 1 of 3
In this and the next two articles, we will be looking at Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 under the theme, “Allowing Death, Sorrow and Adversity to Teach us.”
Some weeks ago, I mentioned a movie that I had watched many years ago entitled, “The Bucket List.” For the benefit of those who may not have read what I wrote, the movie is about two hospital room mates, one a humble car mechanic and another a wealthy billionaire. Both men were diagnosed with terminal cancer and given about six months to a year to live. They became good friends during their hospital stay and wrote down a list of things to do together before they died. When they were discharged from hospital, they went around the country and the world doing those things on their list.
The show ends with the passing away of the car mechanic and the billionaire saying a few words at his friend’s funeral. He began by saying that he didn’t know what most people said on such occasions because he had always tried to avoid them. He went on to say that the last months of his friend’s life were the best months of his, and that his friend had saved his life.
In the movie, the billionaire went on to live many more years but his whole life and perspective on life was radically changed because of his own experience with cancer and because of the death of his friend. This man had allowed death and sorrow and adversity to teach him important things about life and living.
Indeed, as Solomon says in our text, it is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart…The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
I’ll like us to consider this passage in three parts.
First, two serious issues in life (vv. 1-6), second, various miscellaneous proverbs (vv. 7-12) and finally, a consideration of God’s works (vv. 13-14). We’ll look at the first part in this article.
Two Serious Issues in life (vv. 1-6)
Verse 1, “A good name is better than precious ointment…” This sounds similar to Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
A good name refers to one’s reputation. Solomon says that it is better to have a good reputation than to have precious ointment or fine perfume, something that was extremely expensive and valuable in the ancient world. If a person had to choose between the two, he should choose reputation rather than a precious commodity or great riches. This is because reputation represents what a man is in his inward nature, namely, that he is a man of integrity and honesty and trustworthiness. A good name tells us something about the real person.
On the other hand, precious ointment or perfume is superficial. It is worn on the surface and is transient. After a while, the aroma is gone. So, between a good reputation and nice smelling perfume, we should choose the first.
Verse 1 goes on to say, “and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” So a good name is better than perfume, and the day of death is better than the day of birth. This phrase “the day of death” refers to the many days of bereavement and loss which we will encounter throughout our lives. This proverb is essentially saying that funerals are better than birthdays. Why? He will go on to explain in the next few verses.
But first, notice the connection between the two parts of verse 1. It is between that which is deep, inward and lasting, and that which is outward, superficial and transient. Reputation is something that has to do with the real person, i.e. who he really is on the inside, whereas perfume is only cosmetic, superficial and temporary. Similarly, the day of death tends to touch a person on the inside whereas the day of birth tends to be superficial and outward. Why is that so? Verse 2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.”
Or if you like, it is better to go to a funeral than to go to a party. Now there is nothing wrong with organising or going to a party, be it a birthday party or a wedding dinner or a house-warming party or some other event to celebrate something. It’s just that, in general, such events tend to be light hearted and superficial, and do not normally lead people to think and reflect about life in a deep and serious way, unlike funerals and places of mourning.
A funeral calls a person to think about the realities of life and death in a way that a party never will. The death of someone, especially if he or she is a close friend or relative, will inevitably remind us that we are mortal as well, that life is short and that the time of death is uncertain. Who knows when our time to die will come? As someone once said, “every funeral anticipates our own.”
Solomon goes on to say that death is the end of all men. All men are mortal. The author of Hebrews reminds us that “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Death is an appointment that all of us will have to keep. It is not a matter of whether it will come but only a question of when.
The phrase “the living will lay it to his heart” simply means that those who are alive will consider his own life in light of the death of someone else. Death is something that will touch his heart or his inner most being. In contrast, a person who goes to a party is not likely to be touched in this way as compared to a person who goes to a funeral.
In verses 3 and 4, Solomon goes on to say, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” Here again is another strange and paradoxical statement. Just as we don’t normally think that a funeral is better than a party, so we don’t normally think that sorrow is better than laughter and the house of mourning than the house of mirth.
Now take note that Solomon is not speaking about all kinds of sorrow and all kinds of laughter. Rather, he is talking about a particular kind of sorrow in contrast to a particular kind of laughter. The kind of sorrow he is referring to is the sorrow that comes from a serious consideration about the problems and issues of life, while, the kind of laughter referred to is the laughter of a fool. The fool tries to laugh off the problems of life. He takes a frivolous attitude towards reality. He fills his thoughts with comedy and jokes and amusing things. He has no time for serious reflection on weighty matters.
But Solomon tells us that it is better to be sorrowful about the problems of life than to simply laugh them off because such sorrow will actually make a person better. The person who just laughs and jokes all the time, and who adopts a frivolous or light-hearted approach to life will never enjoy the benefit that comes through serious contemplation and meditation. He will be utterly unprepared to face the realities of life in this fallen world, especially death, whether his own or those near to him. Those who are wise contemplate their own death while those who are fools live as if there is no end in sight.
Now we should understand that it is not merely going to the house of mourning that will make a person wise. There are many people who go to a funeral but who derive no benefit from that experience at all. Why? Because they do not lay it to heart. They do not have the heart of the wise but the heart of the fool. They do not take time to reflect upon their own mortality, and they do not take their mortality into account when forming their view of life. And even if they had been momentarily affected in the house of mourning, once they leave, they quickly put it out of their minds and replace it with something else.
In contrast, the wise person regularly remembers that death is a fact and takes that into serious consideration in the way that he lives. He will ask himself things like, “When it is my turn to die, will my life have been worth living?” Or “What will they be saying about me while I lie in the coffin?”
Next, Solomon moves from the consideration of death to another serious and important reality of life, namely, rebuke or admonition. He writes, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.” The contrast is between a wise rebuke and foolish songs. Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of a rebuke, regardless of whether it is justified or not. Even when we know that we are in the wrong and the person who is rebuking us is right, we will still feel the pain and hurt of it. And more often than not, we will want to justify ourselves.
The fact is that a rebuke or admonition hurts even at the best of times. Still, Solomon tells us it is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man than to hear the song of a fool. The rebuke of a wise person and the wounds of a friend may hurt for a while but they are certainly good for us in the long run. Such rebuke and wounds serve as warnings and wake-up calls to us to change our current course of action before it is too late.
And as long as we are imperfect and still troubled by the remnant of corruption, there are going to be blind spots or things in our lives which are not right and which we do not see, and thus we are going to need the counsel and admonition of our brethren and those around us. Do you really believe that and do you live by it? Or do you just pay lip service to what our text says?
So, while it is not easy or pleasant to receive the rebuke of a wise man, it is much better than hearing the song of fools. This phrase “the song of fools” refers to things that desensitize us by means of distraction or escape. Rather than helping us to focus on problem areas in our life, which need to be addressed, the song of fools takes our mind off these things and turns our attention to things which are interesting, entertaining, and amusing.
Anything can become a song of fools – music, toys, games, books, vacations, parties, social media, movies, eating, drinking especially strong drink, merry-making and so on. These things may or may not be sinful in themselves but they become “the song of fools” when a person turns to them as a means of escaping reality.
So the contrast in verse 5 is between something that is unpleasant but good, namely, a wise rebuke, and something that may be pleasant to the senses but is ultimately harmful to our souls because it desensitizes us to what is truly important.
Then in verse 6, Solomon gives us a reason for what he had just said. “For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.” The crackling of thorns under a pot refers to a situation where a person tries to use thorns or thorn bushes as fuel for the fire under his pot. His food won’t cook very well because while thorns provide quick flames, they give insufficient heat. They also generate a lot of noise when they burn.
This is foolishness and meaningless. The same is true of a person who prefers to hear the laughter of the fool rather than the rebuke of a wise man. The fool’s laughter and talk may provide great noise and entertainment, but it accomplishes nothing. It is worthless and useless. If we had to choose between hearing a wise man enumerate our faults, and hearing a comedian tell silly and worthless jokes, the choice should be clear.
And so in this first section of our text, we’ve seen Solomon talk about two very important and serious matters. The first has to do with a serious consideration of one’s own mortality in the face of the death of others. The second has to do with hearing and receiving the rebuke of a wise man. In both cases, it is better to confront reality head on rather than take a frivolous and light hearted approach to the problems and issues at hand.
A serious approach to life is what is called for. This does not mean that there is no place for laughter and fun but it does mean that we do not substitute laughter and fun for matters of great importance and moment.