Ecclesiastes chapter 7

vs 1

Some of this chapter, especially the first part, sounds awfully depressing. But it is the wisdom of one who looks through the whole of life and sees meaninglessness when everything is seen without God.

I think these first two sayings are almost held up on their own - the idea that good character will be more pleasing to those around you than you smelling nice is certainly just a little wise quip on its own. But they are together, like a proverb of a proverb - just as the first mini proverb is true, so is it true about death being better than life. As we will see when we read, the reason death is better is because it is the ultimate reality of life. You might have heard the saying, "Everyone dies; not everyone lives." This is sort of the Christian version, "Since death is certain, be sure to prepare for it."

vs 2

We have to be aware, and to an extent comfortable, or at least cognisant, about death and its reality, and its reality for us.

vs 3

This is perhaps one of the most jarring of the verses here - the idea that laughter is somehow bad or wrong. Note that this isn't what it is saying. What it's really saying is that suffering is unavoidable, so better your heart is exercised for it.

vs 4

Death should figure constantly into our thinking. Not morbidly, like goths or whatever. Soberly, like evolutionists or athiests. Or at least, how they are meant to. They think death is the end, though, and so most people who think that way tend to remove their mind as far from the house of mourning as they can - if life is fleeting, best to spend it in the house of pleasure as long as possible! Or so their thinking goes. But if athiests are all about what they say they are - that is, truth - then death should totally be their focus, because it is inevitable and incredibly close. Death is of course no less inevitable for the believer, but since it's something we more or less look forward too, it's not so big a deal.

vs 5

This little sub-proverb reminds us that wisdom and correctness are actually valuable, even in a life that is bookended by non-existence on one hand, and death on the other. More valuable than skylarking songs of foolishness that might take our minds off it. After all, if death were really the end, who cares about right or wrong? There is only life and then death, right? But no, there is still truth.

vs 6

I take it that thorns are useless, so you burn them under your pot to try and make something of them, and so they make noise. In the same way, fools make noise, which proves their uselessness. Quite harsh, really. We all laugh, of course, and it's not always foolish to laugh. But to live a life of laughter, I think, is what is foolish. And no, I'm not bagging out comedians either.

vs 7

Morality stuff now. See, if death is the only cert, then why is corruption or extortion wrong? Because we also have to remember judgment.

vs 8

I actually really like this proverb. In our society, we have big parties at the start of things now. We like to celebrate vision and direction and hope, and also parties are a good public relations exercise. But the celebrations of success are most often far smaller, more private affairs, that we don't often see. The 10th year of a business is not really a success thing now - it's more just a reason for another 5% off sale. Perhaps it's because people never really feel like they've "gotten there", to the end. Things need ends. It's healthy.

vs 9

My bad. I obviously sit in the fool's lap from time to time.

vs 10

Amen! In the context of Ecclesiastes, of course it's not wise - he's spent the whole book saying that things basically don't get better, and that they just continue in a cycle of weary meaningless fappery. A verse worth memorising.