Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

THE CONTRAST OF WISDOM AND FOLLY (Part #2) - "In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness. And I find something more bitter than death: the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her. Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes" (Ecclesiastes 7:15-29).

At times when we read a passage of Scripture, there is temptation to quickly disregard and brush past verses which are difficult to wrap our minds around.

Be encouraged though, for even the greatest Biblical scholars the world has ever known have personally come to a point where they could not reconcile all the mysteries of God through mere intellect.

Why? Because the Bible was never intended by God to answer every question and address every issue in life, otherwise we would have no need for faith. We would have all the answers and be God's equal, for we'd know as much as He does.

No, God's Word was given to man by the power of the Holy Spirit in order to provide assurance that God is almighty, sovereign, loving and just.

We trust the Bible because it is the cornerstone of our faith and the foundation of truth which reveals God's sovereign will for mankind to be reconciled unto Himself. That is why we believe, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1), because it acknowledges that we choose whether we believe what the Bible says or not.

Those who place faith in Jesus trust in His Word cover to cover because "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Those who are skeptical remain distant from God, risking eternal separation through prideful arrogance. That is why the decision of faith is the most important decision in every human's life, for it sets the stage for how selfish or selfless we truly are.

Assuming we've reconciled our need for salvation, we must direct our attention toward understanding how to live for Christ by seeking divine wisdom and resisting foolish temptations.

Ecclesiastes 7 is a prime example of how we can begin shaping our thoughts and decision-making by recognizing God's wisdom and man's foolishness. In this particular 15-verse section, we are confronted with specific scenarios Solomon presents to contrast wisdom and folly.

He begins by warning those who are consumed with being proven right (not "righteous" as we would assume) to relinquish their obsession so as not to destroy one's psyche. For it is undoubtedly true that in many cases the wicked prosper, but that fact is held within the sovereignty of God's omniscient control.

We may struggle and question God at times just as the prophet Jeremiah did, but in the end God works all things according to His will.

"Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart" (Jeremiah 12:1-2).

In all sincerity, we must remind ourselves we are not God. We cannot see what He sees nor bear the infinite weight of knowledge that transcends time, but we can choose to admit our knowledge is limited and our fate determined by recognizing our sinful nature, receiving forgiveness through repentance, and accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

Scripture reminds us, "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil" (Proverbs 3:7). There is infinite wisdom to understanding that wisdom is a gift God bestows upon His children to guide them in their decision-making throughout life. Wisdom is not intended to inflate man's ego and consume his heart with pride. For with great strength comes great responsibility to ensure that God's favor is not being abused or used for evil.

"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48b).

When we lose sight of who we are and who God is, we begin to live independent from Him and transition into a state of comfort and laziness. Our guard is lowered, making us susceptible to temptation because we think we have complete self-control over all circumstances.

As Solomon reminds us though, only a fool looks in the mirror and has the audacity to believe he is universally righteous without a single fault. We all sin and make mistakes, but the wise never lose perspective that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7).

Self-deception lingers when the word of man supersedes the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Solomon paints a picture of a man who is consumed by what he hears others saying about him, while at the same time living hypocritically by gossiping and tearing down others. The key takeaway is that those under our care and supervision are influenced by our words and actions.

Therefore, it is imperative we set a good example for those we lead/manage in our daily lives (i.e. children, employees, etc.), guarding our hearts, taming our tongues, and ensuring we are drawing others closer to Christ rather than the alternative. Yet in many cases, we are drawn away by our own self-deception to taste the poison our flesh desperately craves.

We fall victim so easily to the blunt reality, "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly" (Proverbs 26:11). Do we recognize though what Solomon describes as the hand of the temptress in our lives? Are we aware of the devil's schemes? Are we spiritually blind to our own blindness?

The Bible reminds us, "As it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one'" (Romans 3:10-12). Not a single man, past or present, can proclaim he is/was without fault or blemish. For only one man was worthy and able to make such a claim, and that was superseded by the fact that He was the Son of God Himself!

Why then is man so obsessed with figuring out alternative routes to heaven? For the most part, pride and lust play a predominant role in luring our allegiance away from God to trust in the empty promises the world manufactures at an alarming rate.

That is why Scripture warns, "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:16-17).

When we place our eternal fate in seeking salvation apart from placing faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we choose to be held captive by our flesh. And when the day of judgment comes, blame-shifting and creating excuses will fall on deaf ears. God will separate wheat and weeds, the righteous from the unrighteous, even though He allows both to live together on this earth till the day of our impending judgment.

"Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn'" (Matthew 13:30).

That is why the Bible is full of warnings for us to repent of our sins and seek first the kingdom of heaven so that we would be made righteous through the shed blood of Jesus on our behalf. Pride will destroy from within and our love of self hinder us from receiving the absolute truth of the Gospel if we hold fast to foolishness and resist wisdom the Lord freely gives to those who place their eternal hope and trust in Him.

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3).