Ecclesiastes 7:1 Commentary and Bible Study

Solomon preaches to a lost world, reasoning with souls and advancing argument which are couched in the most ingenious parables. At the same time, he furnishes preachers in all ages with rich and varied sermon material, designed to use surprise to break through human preoccupation with the here and now. We must not take his parables at face value; he is presenting gospel arguments right through the book. In Ecclesiastes as in Proverbs, every literary device is used with unequalled originality. Chapter 7 is the chapter of surprises, full of unexpected sayings. If you like, it is a chapter of upside-down wisdom, only it is not Solomon but his hearers that have their wisdom upside down. When dealing with matters of the soul, all that God teaches us comes as a surprise to us, because our understanding is so confused.He first makes an unusual contrast between two things that we would not normally compare with each other. Ointments were rare and expensive. Precious and fragrant ointment was worn by both sexes in those days. It was soothing, yes, but its effect was short lived, and it had to be put on each day, and it was applied to cover something unpleasant. It was used in everyday life, and it was used particularly at death for embalming to preserve the body. In this case, although it would temporarily overcome the smell of deterioration, it could not prevent putrefaction indefinitely. But whether in life or in death, it wasn’t much good doing all this if you have no name, no reputation. Ointment made the body beautiful, but what was the use of all that when the person concerned had a bad reputation? Was anyone really taken in by this? No, they remembered the man or the woman – that they had no standing in society and they were not straight in their dealings. A good name – that was far more important. But the only truly good name comes from God and this is what Solomon means. A good name with God is equivalent to a good character. Salvation is an invisible transaction which gives us standing with God.Similarly, the day of death is better than the day of birth. Does this mean that Solomon hated life? No, but he hated vain life, and since the fall, this is what every life has become. The beginning of life brings with it all sorts of false optimism about the future, and encourages human beings to forget their final destiny and how little life without God really achieves. It is a day of vain parental dreams about imagined adult potential and illusory prospects in life. All the fuss at the start doesn’t guarantee anything in life. The growing child nurtures hopes of excelling all previous generations, and makes itself an exception to the universal pattern. As time goes by, those early dreams turn into cynicism and bitterness until finally old age and imminent death assert their pessimistic stranglehold over human aspiration. This last stage brings man closer to reality and what Solomon is saying is that we would do well to learn the lessons that death has to teach before we actually get there. Death is the great equaliser, the great leveller. It helps us measure the value of things by whether they can survive death. It forces us to be dependent on God alone who can raise the dead. It reminds us that we belong to a world which is perishing and we too are subject to the same corruption. It excludes all hope other than that which is based on the promises of God. Death is no doubt a punishment for sin, but in God’s kindness it is also a warning that ought to bring us to our senses. It is a great teacher put by God at the end of life to place the whole of life in perspective. Let us listen to that teacher and not ignore it.