|
Some one ask me recently, "What do these verses
in Ecclesiastes 7: 1-12 mean?
This is a "VERY" brief version:
I will highlight some things for
you.... Understand, the Word of God can "only" be
understood through the revelation, and illumination of the Holy Spirit. It
is a spiritual book, and can only be understood through the revealing of
the Word by the Holy Ghost.
Obviously, the author, thought to be perhaps Solomon, is talking here in
chapter 7 concerning wisdom and its virtues...
Lets first look at these first six verses . I will pace "MY"
comments concerning these verses , and all verses in (
), and in "Blue. " so you
will understand the Holy Spirits meaning, or language of the Word, as we
try and explain to you, and answer your question..
1. A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death
better than the day of birth. (this is obvious I
believe, the day of death for the saint of God is a glorious day).
2. It is better to go to a house of mourning (repentance
and brokenness over sin), (see James 3: 7-10, same principal and meaning),
than to go to a house of feasting, (the churches
that take lightly the teaching of holiness and righteousness, their full of
entertainment, levity, and self interest), for death is the destiny
of every man; (we all die at some point, physically
that is). the living should take this to heart. (time
is short, so let us make the most of our walk with the Lord).
3. Sorrow is better than laughter, (he is
referring here to sorrow over our sin, and true repentance, is better than
the folly of the worlds pleasure/s, and the folly found in most
fellowships). because a sad face is good for the heart. (godly
sorrow brings true repentance that leads to life, not a 'literal' sad
face, but a heart yearning for the Lord Jesus, and not the things of this
world, and the harlotry found in so many churches).
4. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, (The
house of mourning, once again, refers to a fellowship seeking God for true
brokenness before him, and has a hunger for him with all their
hearts...This is "WISE"). but the heart of fools is in
the house of pleasure. (the fool says in his heart,
there is no God, they go every Sunday morning, and then live with sin in
their lives, still not dealt with and died to, through the week.
Their church, for them, has become a house of pleasure, fun, games,
entertainment, watered down messages, easy gospel, et).
5. It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the
song of fools. (simply that. It is better to receive
the truth, from one who walks close to God, even if it hurts the flesh
to hear it, than to listen to the council of those who love sin/folly/
the things of this world, and a watered down message to please
flesh, et).
6. Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, (thorns
are a curse), so is the laughter of fools. (it,
all their fleshly works and efforts to "look holy," to "pretend holiness,"
because "false messages" of Peace, safety, prosperity... will in
the end, all burn up). This too is meaningless. (it
was all in Vain, it will have NO spiritual benefit to the hearer, that
they will need in the days of crisis, and calamity).
VS 10-12
10. Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?"
(in other words do not keep looking back to Egypt !)
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11. Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing (the
wisdom of God that is...) look at I
Corinthians 1: 28-30, at this point. 28. He chose the
lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are
not-to nullify the things that are, 29. so that no one may boast before
him. 30. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become
for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and
redemption. (Paul says here "our
WISDOM" IS Christ Jesus, and has become for us, "our
righteousness, holiness and redemption)."
12. Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of
knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. (money
is a god thing to have, and we need it to cover and protect our lives and
families with their needs, but wisdom preserves the whole life of the
possessor of it, which is Christ Jesus, our holiness, righteousness, and
redemption) .
The author of Ecclesiastes, goes on to tell us in vs/s 12-25, we cannot
obtain wisdom apart from God. We cannot try to hard, or not hard enough,
we cannot figure all this out. We need to search for wisdom. (some
scripture for you at this point would be ... Prov 1: 7, Prov. 2:
1-21, Prov 3: 5-8, James 3: 13-18).
Ecclesiastes 7: 26, again warns against the house of the foolish. Those
who play religious games, the Jezebel spirit. (see http://www.bibleword.com/bbj.htm
on my website).
Basically, as in hundreds of other places in the Word, we are being
admonished to not allow the spirit of this world, and the wisdom of this
world to guide us, or ensnare us, or overtake us, but to understand that
God desires a fellowship of believers that seek his face, desire the conviction of the Holy Spirit to their hearts, and to deal with
genuine brokenness, and godly sorrow, and repentance, that leads to
deliverance and salvation. A word from the Lord that will "challenge
them," to walk in the ways of the Lord and obey His commands, and not
forsake his word, for a contrived, pumped up, un-anointed pile of jokes,
and entertainment, and everything else that is offered "other than
Jesus," to keep you hooked, and coming back in the house of death
week after week, et.
Also, in our personal walk with the Lord, to stay before him in sweet
communion, and walk to please him, not our flesh. The "Joy of the
Lord is our strength." The Lord commands us in John 15, to remain in
him, and allow HIS joy to make our joy complete. James, in James chapter
1, tells us, to consider it pure joy, when we encounter various kinds of
trials, et et. et.
But we must understand the "language" of
the scripture, and only by the
Holy Spirit can we do so, in order to "see" what the Lord is
truly saying to
us.....
~Gary R. Kane~
|