Ecclesiastes 7:5-10

It Is Important To Be Thoughtful. If A Man Is Not Careful There Are Things That Can Make Him Behave Foolishly (Ecclesiastes 7:5).

Further wise sayings about our approach to life. The sensible man is ever ready to listen to admonishment from the wise, rather than to listen to fools (Ecclesiastes 7:5). There are always those who will seek to influence him, either through oppression or bribery (Ecclesiastes 7:7). And impatience and pride (Ecclesiastes 7:8), anger (Ecclesiastes 7:9), and dissatisfaction (Ecclesiastes 7:10) might also lure him from the submissive attitude that is part of the way of wisdom. Thus the sensible man treads carefully.

Ecclesiastes 7:5

‘It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,

Than for a man to hear the song of fools.

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

So is the laughter of the fool.

This also is vanity.'

A quiet listening to the wise, and learning from their rebuke (Proverbs 13:1), is better than continually joining in with mindless and raucous singing, and hearing just frivolity (Amos 6:4). For the laughter of the foolish is like the sound of cooking a pot on thorns. It makes a lot of noise but does not achieve any purpose. It is meaningless to cook on thorns, for thorns crackle but do not make good firewood.

‘This also is vanity.' He is referring to the behaviour of the foolish and those who cling to them. Spending life only in seeking enjoyment is to live a meaningless and empty life.

Ecclesiastes 7:7

‘Surely oppression makes a wise man praise,

And a gift destroys the understanding.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Do not be hasty in your spirit to be vexed,

For vexation rests in the bosom of fools.

Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?

For you do not enquire wisely about this.

Oppression makes a wise man praise. This may be because he is turned in his extremity to God, or because he knows that through it he will learn valuable lessons, or alternatively because he deems it wise to treat the oppressors carefully, giving them the flattery that they desire. He is sensible. He gives them the praise they seek so as to prevent trouble and so as to avoid worse oppression. But he bides his time (compare Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 5:8). His praise is not to be taken at face value.

The ‘gift that destroys the understanding' refers to a bribe. Once someone receives a bribe the way he looks at things and deals with things is very much affected.

So both oppression and bribes make people behave differently from their norm, but in neither case are the people involved to be trusted once the pressure is off. Oppression and bribes do not produce reliable allies. They are a part of the meaninglessness of life (some would attach ‘this also is vanity' to this verse, but the phrase usually comes at the end of a section (compare Ecclesiastes 2:1; Ecclesiastes 2:15; Ecclesiastes 2:21; Ecclesiastes 2:26; Ecclesiastes 4:16; Ecclesiastes 8:14).

‘Better is the end of a thing (or ‘a word') than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.' The thought here is that patience is better than pride when dealing with things, and produces better results in the end. Thus at the beginning of something there may be conflicting emotions, and careless words, as pride rules, but it is better when patience has prevailed in the end, so that, through patience, the right end has been achieved. Indeed patience is always to be recommended. It is the attitude of the wise. For someone quickly vexed can behave like a fool, especially if he allows the vexation to simmer on.

And finally it is not wise to look back and think that things were better in the old days. It is unwise, for it is rarely true and produces wrong attitudes of heart. It is a negative way of thinking, and produces negative results.