Ecclesiastes 7:1-29

Chapter 7 It Is Good To Be Aware of Death, To Listen To Rebuke, To Behave Wisely, Even Though Life Is Unfair. But The World Is Full of Wickedness.

The emphasis of the book from now on includes the thought of living wisely and of man considering his ways and being wise. It is as though having convinced himself of the purposelessness and transience of things (which he will still on the whole maintains) he wants to make men behave with wisdom. The thought of the vanity of life is not to be allowed to result in folly. His position as a wisdom teacher comes to the fore.

The chapter commences with a return to full pessimism. Life is so meaningless that death is to be welcomed. Meanwhile man should be wise and recognise that he can learn more from mourning than from jollity. It is the fool who makes merry all the time, for life is sombre, and needs to be considered seriously, keeping in mind the brevity of life.

This seems to contrast Ecclesiastes 5:19 where the godly find joy in their labour because God responds to them by giving them joy. But it is not a contradiction. He is not suggesting that men should be mourning all the time. He just wants them to remember that they should live their lives keeping in mind its brevity. Then indeed they will be better placed to joy in God.

He then continues to deal with the things that can make a man foolish and advises him to follow practical wisdom. Man should hold on to wisdom so that he is not led astray, and indeed so that he might not die prematurely. And above all he must not think that he can fathom God or alter His ways. He must accept what comes from the hand of God.