Hear the word of the Lord, Ecclesiastes 7, verses
1 through 10. Better is a good name than good
oil. Better is a day of one's death than the
day of one's birth. Better to go to a house of
mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because
that is the end of all mankind, and the living
puts this in his heart. Better is vexation than
laughter, for when a face is sad, a heart may
be merry. The heart of the wise is in the house
of mourning, while the heart of fools It's in
the house of gladness. Better to listen to the
rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to
the song of fools. For as the cackling sound
of thorn bushes under a pot, so is the laughter
of a fool. And this too is vanity. For oppression
gives a wise man over to madness and a bribe
destroys the heart. Better is the end of a matter
than its beginning. Better is patience of spirit
than haughtiness of spirit. Do not be eager in
your spirit to be vexed. For vexation rests in
the bosom of fools. Do not say, why is it that
the former days were better than these? For it
is not from wisdom that you ask this. All right,
it's a lot this morning, so let's pray. Let's
ask for God's favor. Lord God, we come to you
this morning, people burdened by many things,
encouraged by some things as well, but people
created by you and for you. Help us to use our
time wisely this morning to learn from you. Open
our hearts. Open our minds to comprehend the
depths of your wisdom displayed through your
servant Solomon. Use the written word to shock
us, to wound us, and ultimately to guide us and
to heal us towards yourself. We know that beyond
ourselves, the world needs wisdom. Our leaders
need wisdom from above. So we ask for your mercy
upon our government and their leaders that they
would not seek to be wise in their own eyes.
but to pursue the good of others by ultimately
pursuing you. It's no small feat to ask that
powerful people be humbled, but you can do all
things. And we pray that you may soften not only
the arrogant hearts of people in powerful positions,
but also that you may soften the hearts of unbelievers
in our circles of life, friends and family who
have no fear of you. As you conform our hearts
to yours, may your wisdom guide us in our conversations,
our relationships with the unsaved. May we be
gentle and honest, bringing truth and love for
your glory among the lost. So this morning, we
ask that you use the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 7
to deepen our understanding of life, this side
of glory, and that we would ponder things that
truly matter. Use the idea that all is vanity
to teach us and mold us into the likeness of
Christ. We pray this for your glory and for our
good. Amen. Amen. Friends, you may be seated.
Some people thought that Jeff was going to be
here today. I am not Jeff. This is not Titus.
We'll be in Titus sometime after Palm Sunday
and Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I know
he's indignant because I called it Palm Sunday.
You'll hear more about that later, later. The
Sunday before Resurrection Sunday. How about
that? We'll do that when you got a thumbs up
there. So welcome back. Welcome back to our study
in Ecclesiastes. And we are at actually a very
special point in the book. We've climbed the
mountain. We've climbed the mountain of that
argument that is very painful, that all is vanity.
We've listened to Solomon break down everything
under the sun. There is no advantage to be had,
no getting out of the way of his point that we
humans chase soap bubbles. And as we closed chapter
6 last time, several weeks ago, there was a question
at the end. He said, who can tell a man what
is good during his vain time? So essentially,
Solomon has brought his entire argument, the
proof that all is vanity, to this one point.
And he asks the reader, if everything is vanity,
then who can tell you what's good during those
few vain days? Throughout Ecclesiastes, we've
wrestled with hard questions. What is the point
of all of this if we're just going to die? If
the sun rises on the just and the unjust, is
it better just to live my best life now? These
questions show that we've been confronted with
the wisdom of Solomon. He's been forcing us to
consider these things, and now here in chapter
7, we reach the top of the mountain. That's what
these verses are, specifically verses 1 through
10. They're all about drawing us to the turning
point of his argument and the turning point of
the entire argument. And I pray that the slides
are right, because I actually didn't check them
ahead of time. So let's find out here. Testing,
testing. There we go. Hey, that looks familiar.
That's the outline we've been following. Nine
sermons in, and here we are. The turning point
of Ecclesiastes 7. You see the first part of
the book, the problem, all is vanity. The second
part, the proof. From all the way back in chapter
1, all the way through chapter 6, the proof that
all is vanity. Today, we get to start with the
prescription with life as vanity. And verses
1 through 10, that vanity is life's great teacher.
Now Solomon asked that question in the close
of chapter 6. Who can tell a man what is good
during his few vain days? And now he is going
to answer. Instead of just asking questions,
he's going to answer. He's going to tell us what
is good. So if you have your Bibles out, get
them ready for Ecclesiastes 7. I promise we'll
be there in a moment. But I want to tell you
a little story. Growing up, I went to a small
little elementary school in Shell Beach, California.
Some of you might not even know where that is.
Some of you might. Anyone know where Shell Beach
is? Yeah, see, that's a very small... Anyone
know where Pismo Beach is? It's right next to
Pismo Beach, so you've driven past it if you've
been on the 101. Now, it was a unique place to
grow up. I went to that elementary school with
a soccer field that overlooked the Pacific Ocean.
We had field trips to the tide pools. Our mascot
was a great white shark. That was pretty cool.
If you want to know what it was like, that's
actually a picture of what our playground was
like. And we didn't have the fence back then
either. It was just wide open. It was before
the safety things today. Now, blessed doesn't
even begin to describe it. Most of us kids, we
took that for granted, but I always loved the
ocean. Years ago, I wanted to work with ocean
animals, so it was a special environment to grow
up within. Now, when I was in fourth grade, we
had a choice of which fifth grade teacher class
we'd like to go into. It was a small school,
right? We had everyone who knew everyone, two
teachers per grade. That was it. Now, usually,
whichever teacher you got for fifth grade would
influence the teacher you got for sixth grade.
That's just the way it worked. Nothing else worked
that way until you got to fifth grade and then
sixth grade. And of course, one of the fifth
grade teachers was known for being fun and entertaining
students with lots of hands -on learning activities,
and the other was known for being tough, but
fair. So as a young student, Which class do you
think we all wanted to be in? Not hard to imagine.
Further, in sixth grade, there was a similar
dynamic. So if you got into that fun fifth grade
teacher's class, you were going to get into that
fun sixth grade teacher's class as well. To a
young person, that felt like the biggest decision
of my life. If I get into Mr. Sharp's fun -filled
fifth grade class, then I'm going to get into
Mrs. Simpson's awesome, activity -laden sixth
grade class, and my life is going to be amazing
and perfect leading into junior high, right?
Yeah, naivety of youth. I begged my parents to
request that fun pathway, and they did. But with
60 students in two classes, half of us would
be left disappointed. Guess which half I was
in? So when the letter came, it was like reverse
Hogwarts. It wasn't exciting. And I was in Mr.
Howland's fifth grade class. Now, poor Mr. Howland.
You could tell on the first day of school, our
class was not nearly as excited as Mr. Sharp's
fun -filled class. That same part, or that same
little... Play structure. The second that the
bell rang to start school, his class was hooting
and hollering, walking in from the playground,
and we were all just walking like, you know,
Charlie Brown. Oh, man. Okay, here we go. Walking
into his class for the first time, and we all
noticed that Mr. Howland's room was very, very
different. Very different. It wasn't decorated
like the other teachers. He didn't have kitschy
motivational posters about being the best you
or awkward affirmations or a bunch of participation
awards. Remember, this was the 90s. Nothing like
that today. No, instead, he had a Darwinian -esque
collection of nature posters. Survival of the
fittest and you try to succeed until you're dead.
That was his motivation. Mr. Howland, he also
had several animals in his class. He had a sarcastic
blue and gold macaw that loved to tease students.
He had a giant four -foot -long iguana and a
very scary -looking seven -foot -long albino
Burmese python. Now, that is all true. You can
check with my mom. All of that is true. It sounds
fantastical. In a public school, nonetheless.
This is not private. Now, throughout the year,
as the other class had fun events outside and
they seemed to learn everything through an activity,
Mr. Howland taught us how to learn. He taught
us how to reason. He taught us how to disagree.
And though I don't even think he realized it,
he taught us about death. It was no more apparent
than whenever he needed to feed that snake. Now
that was an activity he usually reserved for
off hours, as you can imagine why students would
be screaming. But our class, we begged him. We
begged him to feed the snake in front of us.
So one fateful day, we turn all of our desks
on their side. We tip them so they create a phalanx
barrier, right? Those of you who love history,
Jeff, you appreciate that reference there. A
phalanx barrier like the Romans to keep the snake
on one side and the student safely on the other.
And we all sat on our desks, peering down like
spectators at the Colosseum, awaiting for that
white and yellow python to strike its prey. That's
a reasonably sized, slightly slow white mouse.
And we watched. for a few moments, wondering
how the snake is going to strike. Most of us
had not seen that in real life. And then came
the moment that we all begged for. That snake
slowly began to move towards that unsuspecting
mouse, and the poor creature had nowhere to go.
Our barrier ensured that there was no escape,
and as the mouse realized it can't go around,
it can't go horizontally, it needed to go up
somehow, it crossed in front of the snake. And
as quick as lightning, the snake struck and began
its feeding process. I will not describe that
in detail. If you are interested, ask Zion. He's
really interested into snakes and lizards right
now these days. So he will describe in detail
how all of that works. As a bunch of fifth graders,
we looked on. And that initial glee of getting
to watch the snake feed. slowly began turning
into something else. Now, sure, the boys, myself
included, we thought what we just witnessed was
awesome. That's so cool. And the girls were like,
it's awful. It's terrible. But in that moment,
we also realized that for the snake to live,
something had to die. Now, Mr. Holland, he may
have been a Darwinian environmentalist, an ardent
supporter of the Sierra Club. Talk to me later
about that. But God used him to help a group
of fifth graders come to grips with the reality
of death. Now, I have many more stories about
Mr. Howland, including the time that he let the
macaw out of its cage, the time the iguana escaped.
A lot of animal stories with him, actually. There
are other ones, too. Fond memories of how he
pushed myself and my classmates to think, to
consider, to reason. To grow. And though I didn't
want Mr. Howland the summer before fifth grade,
by the end of the year, I was excited that for
the first time in his 30 -year teaching career,
he would be taking on sixth grade. And I petitioned
to be part of that class. Mr. Howland eventually
became one of my favorite school teachers. Now,
he didn't teach me God's word. He was not a man
that I wanted to grow up. to imitate, but he
was a man who taught me much. And I still remember
many of those lessons today, 30 plus years later.
And I set the stage for us with that story because
today we're going to see that the great teachers
of this life are not our comforts or our pleasures
or our blessings, but our trials are the great
teachers in this life. So now take a look at
your text. Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verses 1 through
2. Solomon makes a statement about what is good.
Or in Hebrew, tov. How many of you have gone
to Ibex? You learned how to say bokeh tov every
morning, yes? Hopefully you did not shame Mr.
Varner. Now tov, the statement there, what is
good. Here it's about popularity, reputation.
How do I know that? Well, look at oil. We don't
use oil the same way as in the ancient Near East.
Some of you may be thinking, hmm, is this olive
oil, avocado oil, seed oil, animal oil? Don't
ask RFK about oil if you want to know what this
passage means, okay? Cooking is not the reference.
The reference in verse 1 is about good oil being
perfume or cologne. Oil for fragrance. So Solomon
is saying here that one's character, not your
name, because your name is not just the letters
that are there and how you pronounce them. That's
not the name. It's your actions, your life. That
is associated with your name. And that is better,
a good name, than just making you smell nice.
That's similar to what Peter says about a woman's
adornment. Many of you know this passage. Instead
of the external, it should be the hidden person
of the heart. 1 Peter 3, verse 3 to 4. Your adornment
must not be merely external, braiding the hair,
wearing gold jewelry, putting on garments, but
let it be the hidden person of the heart with
the incorruptible quality of a lowly and quiet
spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
I think that Peter understood the wisdom of Solomon.
You don't get a good name from good perfume.
You can't staple fruit to a tree and call it
good. Similarly, no amount of fragrance can mask
an ungodly character. Walking through trials,
according to James chapter 1, produces character.
You don't get a good name. You don't get a meaningful
life apart from trials. A carefree life that's
full of ease and comfort, that's an empty and
shallow life. Now, the second half of verse 1
brings an uncomfortable truth to our doorstep.
It's that pain has a purpose. Pain has a purpose.
Now, in our culture, we do everything we can
to delay and to mitigate death unless it comes
to abortion or physician -assisted suicide. The
only two things. Everything else. We try to slow
the sands of time that affect us all. And the
more means we have, the more capacity we have
to do that, the more we endeavor in such a way.
Every trial, though, do you know this? Every
trial prepares you to meet your ultimate enemy.
Death. Death. That's the emphasis of verse 1b
through verse 2, that every person... must face
the reality of death. That's the house of mourning.
And you must take it to heart. Some of you know
Samuel Rutherford. Some of you were in Rutherford
Hall at some point during your time at Masters.
He lived when Scottish Christians were being
persecuted severely at the hands of the tyrannical
Bloody Mary of England. And he once wrote this.
There are quotes on the screen for you. I've
never heard anyone say The really deep lessons
of life have come through times of ease and comfort.
But I've heard strong saints say this. Every
significant advance I have ever made in grasping
the depths of God's love and growing deep in
him has come through suffering. This is why it's
better. to go to a house of mourning than one
of feasting or celebration. Now Solomon isn't
saying that there is zero occasion to celebrate,
but that it's good to recognize that death is
coming and to live wisely during a fleeting life.
And so help a person not only consider eternal
things, but to also appreciate the small graces,
the little blessings that we all too often miss
and ignore. Trials help us to be grateful for
the many common graces, but trials for the believer
help us to be grateful for God's particular grace
in Christ. Life's hardships are intended to build
godly character. So going back to the first part
of verse one, think about this. The best names
endure the hardest that life has to offer. Names
like Job, Joseph. Ruth, Naomi, Nehemiah, Esther,
Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus. So you know these names.
Many of you have heard these names through preaching
and Bible study, and you know that these names
have meaning. These names have stories about
persevering through suffering. Solomon tells
us if you want a good name, recognize that your
endurance through trials brings about the kind
of name that matters. Because in that, your name
will be more associated with the God who is over
your life than with your attempts to be the God
of your own life. That's what a good name is.
Now, while verses 1 and 2 bring the idea that
trials are the great teachers of life, the remainder
of this section, all the way through verse 10,
underscores that same point, but also warns us
of things that rob us from the right perspective
of life and its meaning. Take a look at verses
3 and 6. In verses 3 and 6, we see various pleasures
as We're going to come back to this topic of
painkillers. Painkillers that help people to
blunt the sharp pains of life. And these two
verses look to that painkiller of laughter. Laughter.
Now in verse 3, there's an implication about
a sad face while yet having a glad heart. And
if you're a believer, you've learned or you're
learning that principle. Things can be rough.
Situations can be hard. Tears can be shed. but
your eternal reality in Christ is more than just
this moment. So on the outside, you can be grimacing
to embrace the trials of life, but inwardly,
you're in agreement with God that he is ultimately
good and will not abandon you, but will see you
through this trial. So if that's true, the opposite
can also be true. If you've ever been to a comedy
club, if you've been to a bar -type environment
in the evening, you will see many smiling, laughing
faces. But that doesn't mean their heart is happy.
People run to laughter to dull the pains of life,
to escape its pressures and difficulties, and
every comedian will tell you that they know that.
The cackling thorns in verse 6, Refer to plants
that explode when they're placed on a fire. Now,
sometimes they'd be used to help start the fire,
like we use kindling, but they're not meant to
last. They're just meant to help start the fire,
get it hot, get it started. Other times, those
popping thorns, they would be a mild form of
entertainment. You know how we use fireworks?
The 4th of July, not in L .A. County, but anywhere
else, like where I grew up, near the beach. Those
sparklers that you run around with, some of you
remember. They're so much fun. They're beautiful
for a moment, but they die pretty quickly. And
the newer ones are worse than the older ones,
too, because they have all the safe chemicals
in them. Those cackling thorn bushes that Solomon
speaks of in verse 6, those were ancient fireworks,
ancient fire starters, amusing for a moment,
useful for a moment, but no more long -lasting
than soap bubbles. Friends, no amount of laughter.
can dull the pains of life. So if not laughter,
maybe we dull the pains of life through entertainment.
That's what verse four points out. Now again,
Solomon references the house of mourning from
verse two, and he's contrasting this idea of
comedy shows and party venues with funerals and
death. Now honestly, honestly, Don't answer it
out loud, but which would you rather go to? You
may know that it is better to go to a house of
mourning because you read it and you say, that's
God's word. But doesn't our heart prefer to avoid
the sad realities of the brevity of life? Wouldn't
we prefer the simple escapism that entertainment
provides? Now, let me be clear. It's not just
party goers and people who love events who can
be guilty of pursuing the painkiller of entertainment
or the house of gladness. Think of the person
who never let sorrow break the threshold of their
home. The person who only watches uplifting programming
with happy endings and resolution at the end
of every movie and episode. I'm sorry, Hallmark
Channel, that's just who you are. The person
who prefers books to people because... Fictional
characters, they're just more entertaining, right,
than real people. The person who orders their
life according to what they want and not what
the Lord wants. The person who hears the weighted
words of the Lord on Sunday mornings and lives
Monday through Saturday as if those words were
never spoken to them. As much as it would be
great to hear you all saying amen to these timeless
truths, there is a joke that we have. about responding
to hard truths, and it goes like this. You don't
have to say amen, but at least say ouch. Feel
it. Let God's words pierce you. And I think that's
going to happen this morning, friends. I'm sorry,
but I'm not sorry. Several of these warnings
from Solomon are going to touch our comforts
and our pleasures, our preferences, and in showing
us what is good, we are going to be confronted.
So that's my disclaimer. Let me continue. The
foolish person follows things that distract them
from eternal realities. And depending on the
person, those distractions can be quite varied.
Solomon pushes the reader to the funeral over
entertainment because one of those teaches about
the brevity of life while the other, like soap
bubbles, distracts you from this truth. So now
you look at verse 5. Maybe you don't appreciate
the comedy club. Maybe you're not much for TV
shows and entertainment in general. But maybe
you appreciate music. Grant, take it easy. He's
giving me eyes. Just kidding. I'm not attacking
music in general. Solomon is. Let me make that
very clear. It's not me. No, I'm just kidding.
Look, the reality is, whether it's Grant or any
of our elders, we would encourage you with the
same truth from God's word. So here, to the music
lover, Solomon points something out. First, he's
referencing a specific kind of music, the song
of fools. Music that is not created to honor
God. Now, it could be subjectively beautiful
or even enjoyable. I said subjectively. But its
intent is not to give glory to the creator. Secular
music. for secular purposes. And to this, Solomon
says, the rebuke of a wise man is better to listen
to. Now, let me acknowledge my friends who enjoy
all kinds of music. I'm not going to pick on
Grant. That's too on the nose. From Metallica,
sorry Jeff, to Journey, I know there's some people
in here who don't want to stop believing, to
Anne Berlin, That one's for you, Ben. To 21 pilots,
is Whismur in here? No, but everyone knows how
he feels about that. And even the Swifties. I
went there. I went there. Even the Swifties need
to hear this warning. But before that, if you
have a problem with anything I'm about to say,
jeff at oakhillbible .com. That's who you can
complain to. Now, think about this. Think about
the music that you may enjoy that's not inherently
gospel praise music. I appreciate many bands.
I have been to more concert venues than I'd like
to admit. Don't take this as a clarity from God's
word that there's a line in the sand about what
you can and can't listen to. That's not what
Solomon is even saying here. The point is this.
As much as any secular song can bring feelings
to you of various kinds, emotions, through a
song, it changes nothing about your life. Nothing.
You can feel it. You can enjoy it. It changes,
though, nothing. The song wasn't written to you.
I'm sorry. And any perceived application is just
that, perceived. It's indirect instruction at
best. disastrous heresy at worst. That is why
it is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise
person. At least then you would be particularly
and personally challenged to change. You would
have an opportunity to respond in faithfulness.
So now the next time Jeff plays Metallica, he's
going to have a witty comeback for me. I know.
I'll be patiently waiting. It's coming. Any of
you Swifties, it's fine. Talk to me later. But
the truth is this. You can appreciate all kinds
of various music, all kinds, but appreciate words
of wisdom more than emotive escapes. Appreciate
words of wisdom more than musically emotive escapes
because only one of those instructs you for your
life. Now, if I have somehow managed to not offend
everyone yet, Jeff at Oak Hill Bible. If you
have remained unscathed so far, just wait. Verses
7 through 10, Solomon's going to cover a range
of additional painkillers that we pursue. I put
them on the screen with some categories, alliteration,
to help us remember this. So the previous painkillers
with laughter, entertainment, and music, they
were pleasure painkillers. These ones now are
preoccupations. Things that we occupy and busy
ourselves with. Verse 7, taking advantage of
others. Verse 8, taking shortcuts. Verse 9, being
triggered easily. And verse 10, being tethered
to nostalgia. So consider verse 7. Trying to
cope with the difficulties of life without God's
help. A person could try to exercise their authority
in an unhelpful, oppressive manner. Think about
the discontent father or husband or wife or mother
or teacher or boss who uses their authority as
a miserable, grump, and insufferable person because
things aren't going their way in some aspect
of life. And in doing so, then they take advantage
of others. It says even a wise man can be driven
to madness. under repressive circumstances. Further,
a person might even anticipate a bribe to help
them cope with some kind of evil. How many documentaries,
how many movies and novels have included a circumstance
like that where a seemingly innocent person was
drawn into an evil plan through a bribe? Friends,
a bribe is not a gift. A bribe expects something
in return. It's actually the core of my concern
about the concept of love languages. If they're
used to expect something rather than as an observational
tool. Because love freely gives and does not
demand something in return. And every believer
should be mindful to not take advantage of others.
What about taking shortcuts in verse 8? Sometimes
people try to blunt the pains of life by jumping
ahead to the end. Think of the person who always
rushes through their difficulties, who ignores
the painful moments, who always says, it'll be
fine, it'll be fine, but you know it rarely is.
Patience is learned through hardship. The nature
of patience implies waiting, and sometimes that
in itself is a hardship. But we're called to
patiently endure through our trials. The Hebrew
word for patience literally means to become long
and stretched out. That's what patience means.
So it's better to be stretched than to be highly
exalted. That's what Solomon means. And we understand
it as believers when we look at a passage like
Romans 8, that 828, that stretching is conforming
us. to the image of Christ. That's what the stretching
is. And so his work brings his exaltation, not
ours. So if we're seeking to be exalted, we're
missing the point of being brought low. There's
no shortcut to Christlikeness. Sanctification,
big word, being made holy, is unlike salvation
in this way, being saved. Sanctification takes
place over time. Salvation is immediate. So we're
saved at the moment of conversion, but we're
sanctified over time and especially through our
trials. So we shouldn't be preoccupied or distracted
by taking shortcuts to avoid dealing with our
difficulties. Well, now what about verse nine?
It says, don't be vexed. And I labeled this being
triggered easily. And Jeff and I have talked
about this on multiple podcasts. Don't rush to
be irritated. Don't rush to be offended. Don't
rush to be angry. Our society needs to hear this
caution. It seems like anything and everything
can trigger an angry response, even if God's
word says it. I'm so thankful for some advice
that Jeff and Tanya gave me early on in my ministry
here at Oak Hill. They might not even remember
it, though they said it early. That encouragement
was to have thick skin. To have thick skin. That's
right here in the text. Don't let things bother
you more than they ought to. And I've had many
opportunities to exercise that principle over
these last 16 plus years. I've not mastered it.
I'm not the expert at it. But I can tell you
that things that made me indignant early in those
ministry days are far less bothersome now. It
takes a lot more. to rattle me. People that get
triggered easily will often use that anger as
an escape to avoid dealing with the real issue,
which is their heart. They'll say things like,
I can't believe so -and -so said that. I'm so
upset, and you might have had that reaction with
me about the music. Hopefully not. Hopefully
not. What were they thinking and doing or saying
that? I'm so hurt. I don't want to talk to them.
Or how about this? That person is so annoying.
I want nothing to do with them. See, being triggered
easily is a sign of foolishness, not wisdom.
But the distraction from dealing with our own
heart, that is probably the most destructive.
And so finally, we look at verse 10. What about
being tethered to nostalgia? Being tethered to
nostalgia. I know for those who have lived longer,
who have seen more, This principle may be hard
to hear, and I will be gentle, but remember that
wisdom is teaching us, and we must listen. Some
of you are familiar with a famous science fiction
writer, H .G. Wells. This is a colorized photo
of him when he was younger. He once wrote this.
When you go through contemporary life, fudging
and evading, indulging and slacking, never hungry
nor frightened, nor passionately stirred, your
first real contact with primary and elemental
necessities will be the sweat of your deathbed.
Friends, I think this is similar to the reality
that many Christians pursue. I think many Christians
pursue an easy life, free from difficulty, free
from strife. And I said Christians, I did not
say American Christians. I think it is a human
condition that we face. Solomon knew the same
struggle. He wrestled with the same tension and
he ultimately realized that such a pursuit to
avoid strife and hardship robbed him of life's
meaning. So why does looking back at the good
old days make someone foolish? Shouldn't it be
seen as good to look fondly on the past? Think
about that statement for a moment. Don't we often
just or only look fondly on the past? Do we often
look critically on the past? Solomon's helping
us to understand that human memory is invariably
self -serving. When you think about the past,
you forget all the problems, the difficulties,
the pain points, and you often only remember
the good times. We love to remember our lives
as if the best moments are the only ones that
matter, like the family that has beautiful portraits
all over the walls, yet meanwhile, their lives
are full of dysfunction and strife. This fondness
for the good old days, it doesn't add any significance
to our lives. And if you only remember the good
times and in a way that whitewashes the trials,
then you learn nothing and you have nothing to
share with others about navigating the difficulties
of this life. The point in verses 7 through 10
is that if we're not trying to blunt the pains
of life with laughter or entertainment or music,
then we're going to use our own preoccupations.
These painkillers of taking advantage of others,
taking shortcuts, being triggered easily, and
being tethered to nostalgia. So what is better?
What is the good life that we should pursue this
side? of glory. It's here in chapter 7 that he
makes it clear. At least he begins. He's actually
going to talk about it for quite some time. So
the next however many years it takes me to get
through this, we'll get through it. But he begins
to say some things. Going back to verse 1, pursue
a good name. Pursue the kind of name that is
associated with Christ likeness. Walking through
difficulties with the help that God gives. Remind
yourself that trials, vanity is the great teacher
of this life. And I dare say that these things
are actually good. How does God cause all things
to work for good? All things means all. Even
the trials, even the vanities, he causes them
to work for good for those whom he loves and
who love him in return. We need to face the reality
of death. Facing the reality of death prepares
us for life. Put it in your heart. The living
take this to heart is what he says. Take it to
heart. The reality of death prepares you for
life. To avoid death, to avoid the reality of
the end, robs you from living this life and appreciating
the little graces that God gives. And be aware
of the thieves. I listed them out. Here you go.
I'll put them on the screen if you want them
all really clear. Be aware of these thieves.
These thieves that will rob you of life and its
meaning, that will rob you of walking through
what God has for you. So you have the pleasure,
painkillers, of laughter and entertainment and
music. You have the preoccupation, painkillers,
taking advantage of others, taking shortcuts,
triggered easily, tethered to nostalgia. So if
you've been hanging in there throughout this
series, waiting for Solomon to give some relief
in all the vanity, here it is. Don't look at
the vanity of life as something to be avoided,
but embrace vanity as life's great teacher. Early
on in our series, I asked everyone to pause for
a moment, to breathe in and out, to consider
what a breath is. We even did a hand span exercise,
like what could you hold in your hands? And just
trying to think about, you're going back to the
breathing. How many times did you breathe while
you're in here? How many times are you going
to breathe during this day? How many times are
you going to breathe during the week? How many
times are you going to breathe in the month?
How many times are you going to breathe in the
year? What about this decade? What about this
century? If you live that long, we'll see. Our
lives are like a breath. A breath in the scope
of God's everlasting and wise plan. And it's
important to remember how small that is. Not
so that you think that life is insignificant,
but so that you see the significance of even
one breath. Embrace it. Number your days, like
Psalm 90 says. Number your days and ask God for
satisfaction in him, that he would satisfy us
in the morning. that we would sing for joy and
be glad even in our days of affliction, which
the next part of Ecclesiastes 7 is going to remind
us yet again. There is God -given value to the
trials and the hardships of our lives. May God
grant us the same kind of wisdom that he gave
Solomon, the same kind of wisdom that we would
apply the principles from his word that we've
seen in our daily lives. That should be our prayer.
In light of viewing vanity and trials as the
great teachers of life, I have some specific
questions for you today that are up on the screen.
As always, I encourage you to copy them or take
time to meditate on God's word this upcoming
week. But think about these questions. What needs
to change in my perspective so that I see trials
as a teacher? How can I grow to appreciate and
even seek out the blessed rebukes of wise believers?
What pleasure painkillers do I most often pursue?
laughter, entertainment, music? What preoccupation
painkillers am I most prone towards? Taking advantage
of others, taking shortcuts, being triggered
easily, tethered to nostalgia. Instead of running
to painkillers, how can I learn to embrace the
lessons God is teaching me through life's trials?
Take a moment, think about the questions, and
I'll close this in a word of prayer. Lord God,
we need your help, not just this morning, but
in our hearts and in our thinking. The world
constantly tells us to avoid every difficulty,
every strife, every pain point. We've built whole
systems around safety and comfort. But according
to your word, you remind us that trials, are
our teachers. That they are not things that we
can avoid. We need wisdom. Not to ask for more
trials for the sake of struggle. Not for being
unwise. But we need your wisdom to wisely embrace
the trials that you bring to us that we cannot
and should not avoid. God convicts us of wrong
thinking. When we try these various means to
blunt the pains of this life, help every single
one of us to see the foolishness of painkillers
in light of eternity. Help us to turn to you
for help and for hope. God, we ask that you help
us to consider death so that we would appreciate
life, that we would long for eternal glory. that
far outweighs anything we see on this side of
eternity. Help us to gladly receive rebukes that
we will learn. Help us to be more patient in
our hardships, to be less irritable when things
bother us. Help us to hold loosely to this world,
remembering these are or like cackling thorns
under a pot, like soap bubbles and like sparklers
in the summer. But we can only hold loosely when
we are looking to you. So God, give us eyes to
long for eternal days more than the good old
days. And help us to appreciate the good days
that you give. Use our hardships to build godly
character in us. Make our names good by conforming
us to your son that we would be remembered for
honoring you, living for you. Help us to recognize
the vanities of this age. They teach us about
life. Help us to see the prescription for living
with vanity is living with you, walking in your
ways, practicing your wisdom. So lift our hearts
to praise your name this morning. Help us to
recognize that you are glorified in spite of
all the vanities of this life. Help us to give
you glory because that is the ultimate good.
It's better to give you glory in our pains than
to avoid our pains and to lack your sustaining
and reviving grace. So draw us. Draw us to the
throne of grace this morning. to sing praises
to your name as we conclude our time together,
that your word would not return void, that you
would confront us and then conform us to the
image of your son, Jesus Christ, in whose name
we pray. Amen.