Ecclesiastes 7:5 Commentary and Bible Study

Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, mankind is divided very sharply into the wise and the foolish, and in the way Solomon uses these terms both here and in Proverbs, the wise are always those with moral and spiritual wisdom, men and women who know God and who obey him, and the foolish are those who may be intellectually very astute but who reject the gospel. The rebuke of the wise must therefore be understood as a correction that reflects the truth, while the song of fools is a call to a lifestyle of unbelief. They certainly had songs in those days, probably far more than us. They were people of song, and they would sing during repeated physical exertion, such as pulling on oars. They had fictional songs about human heroes which boosted people – what our armies can do. And they had bawdy songs to convince them that everyone did this, and so it was all right for them to do it. These songs were designed to talk up this world and human achievement, and to make light of sinful behaviour. It was no challenge for a wayward person to be in their company, because they were going to be accepted for what they were. But of course, man needs correction. Solomon’s assumption and the Bible’s assumption is that we are fallen by nature, and therefore we need a rebuke from God. That may be delivered from the word of God, through preachers, via Christians we encounter, or through the voice of conscience. It is the rebuke of the wise, and the wise are called to be salt in the earth and not indifferent to the evil that goes on around them. For our part we must hear. That means we do not thrust away the rebuke when it comes by justifying ourselves or arguing against it, but we think honestly and humbly about it, and we let it enter deep into our souls. We receive it as true and necessary, and though it is painful to hear it, we do not shrink from that pain, because if we prefer the song of fools and the message of this world, we will never come to know God. Far better to hear the rebuke of people who say we are fallen and depraved, than to listen to fictional twaddle – ‘You don’t have to have God, you can make a success of life without him.’ You listen to that and it will destroy you. Sadly however, we like it the other way round. We like to hear the flattery, those who think well of us: ‘You are a great person.’ That is a disaster for the soul, leaving us with no power, no help, no friend in heaven. Much better is to be told the truth. Before conversion we don’t like the Bible; it tells us the truth about ourselves and this world.