Kaleo San Diego Church

INTRODUCTION

When I was a non-Christian I lived under four very common myths;

First, I lived under the myth that I shouldn’t care about what other people thought of me, I should do what I think is best without regard to the opinions of people, even friends and family should be ignored if advice from them contradicts what I think is best for me.

Second, because I was strong and young, the chances of me dying was very slim and therefore, any talk about death and the after life was meaningless and will be dealt with when I get older and get closer to death.

The third myth was that I should pursue earthly, worldly pleasure with as much vigor as I can because sorrow is something to be avoided. Sorrow was considered bad, and temporary pleasure no matter how short the duration was considered good.

And the fourth myth was that I should acquire as much information and knowledge as possible so that I can use that knowledge and information to keep death at bay and help me to pursue my earthly pleasures as efficiently as possible with as little effort as possible.

When I became a Christian and began studying the Bible, I was extremely disturbed when I started to realize that my assumptions and perceptions were not only unbiblical, but simply unwise and even foolish. Moreover, my assumptions were going to lead me to destruction rather than to joy and satisfaction in this life or the next.

Solomon is doing for us a great favor in teaching us the character traits of a wise person. He is teaching us in the form of proverbs or sayings. This passage is called the “better-than” passage because he says in contrast this thing is “better-than that.” A wise person realizes that these things are “better-than” and lives out of wisdom to follow certain character patterns.

If you are wondering whether you are wise or a fool, pay close attention to Solomon’s instruction and check your jersey to determine from what God has to say through Solomon which team you’re playing for.

STUDY

Ecclesiastes 7:1-12

Verse 1- A good name is better than a good ointment, And the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.

In Hebrew literature and culture, it was absolutely critical that one left a good name as a heritage to those that would bear it in future generations. It was considered a disgrace to die “nameless.”

Mark and I were watching the movie Troy Friday night and there is a comment that Achilles, who is Brad Pitt’s character, makes to a small boy who has come to fetch him to battle. The boy was sent by the king to wake Achilles up from his sleep and to get him to front line and fight their enemy’s toughest warrior. The boy, having seen the enemy’s mighty warrior, tells Achilles as he’s getting on his horse and putting on his armor, that he wouldn’t want to fight this massive man. Achilles looks right into the boys eyes as says “that is why no one will remember your name.”

I thought about that, and that is certainly true. Only those who suit up for battle and mount their horse to speed, not stroll, into battle fight the fiercest enemy will be remembered.

This is why the name of Jesus is so profound. Instead of putting on His armor, He emptied Himself, took on the form of a slave, and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

Unlike perfume, which is a scent on clothing, a good name is the mark of good character and of wisdom. It lasts even when the scent of the perfume has ceased to linger. Only a fool would ignore the benefits of leaving a legacy attached to their name. Only a fool would live so recklessly that they would die nameless.

Just like it is better to have a lasting name that conjures images of wise character over fleeting and temporary pleasures, the day of our death is better than the day of our birth.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that death is the last enemy. He also tell us that people are held captive by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Death is our enemy and we live in ways each day that demonstrates our fear of death and slavery to avoiding it.

Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

Job 33:19-30 "Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; 20 So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. 21 "His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. 22 "Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death. 23 "If there is an angel as mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a man what is right for him, 24 Then let him be gracious to him, and say, 'Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom'; 25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor; 26 Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. 27 "He will sing to men and say, 'I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me. 28 'He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light.' 29 "Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, 30 To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

How would you live, if you knew you were never going to die? No matter how much you sinned, no matter what you did to you body, you were not going to die. Do you think you would live different without the threat of death?

The scriptures tell us that because of sin, death came to all men, and all have sinned. I also believe that this is a gift from God. Why? Because death, more than anything else sobers you and wakes you up, at least it should. Since we know that we are all destined to die we have to make choices to live wisely because we know that one day we are going to breathe our last breath and we will die.

I think God was gracious in bringing death as a punishment so that we would seek life in Him. No matter how much money, we will die. No matter how much fame, we will die. No matter how many friends, we will die.

As it said in Job, God does all these things with men to bring back his soul from the pit. That he may be enlightened with the light of life, who is Christ.

Perhaps someone asked you a question when you were an unbeliever in Christ that sounded like this; do you know what is going to happen to you when you die?

That’s a sobering question. It has a wakening effect on our minds. It forces us to ask whether our faith is real, substantial, biblical. It forces us to deal with whether our faith is in an objective, external reality outside ourselves, namely in God, or whether our “faith” is in mere subjective experiences of feelings and thoughts inside ourselves that function as an emotional cushion to soften the ride of life. Facing eternity helps us to keep God as the center of our lives by testing to see whether we are more in love with this world than we are with God himself.

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Paul says, …to die is gain. Do we believe that? Do we live in such a way that our lives look as if death is gain for us?

But here is the first part of that verse, “to live is Christ.”

As good of a question of where you are going to go if you die, is this; what are you going to do tomorrow if you live?

Christ isn’t supposed to be a fire escape and nothing more. Christ is as important to us in this life as He is in the next.

We should live facing death, and we should live facing life. Eyes wide open, bible soaked, God intoxicated, Christ savoring, spiritually awake, and deeply passionate for life in Christ. We should be able to say “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

That is wisdom. Wisdom doesn’t try to keep away from the house of mourning, it actually prefers it over the house of feasting. Solomon loves to contrast wise people from fools. This is one way he does it.

Verse 2- It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes it to heart.

It is better that we are willing to go to a house of death and mourning than it is to go to a party. Why? Because we are all going to end up in the same state as the one we see in the coffin. We are all going to have people mourning our death.

Wise people go to funerals and pay attention. Wise people see the Tsunami horrors and watch and think carefully. Wise people know the days are few and each day they live is an opportunity to learn and to grow in wisdom and should invest in those things that are most profitable for them, and they constantly uncover those hidden treasures of the heart. For you and I this should be Christ.

Verse 3- Sorrow is better than laughter, For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

Fools want to laugh at everything. Solomon tells us in chapter 3, that there is a time to laugh and a time to cry. There are times that the wise person must go through times of sorrow and it is better than laughter.

There is a necessity of sorrow since sorrow is often ordered by God for the destruction of sin, which is the chief problem of the Christian. Sorrow comes as a great destroyer of callous speculation, or flippant and half-hearted affections for God. Sorrow will bring to the surface the depth of the delight in God they possess, so that the man or woman affected by it will know how shallow their joy in God or how rich it is and how thankful they are for temporary troubles which will produce greater trust, greater faith, greater dependency upon the all-sufficient grace of God, great desire to arrest God with all our strength and not release Him.

Sorrow will often produce repentance. And though repentance of sin is deeply painful it is required as necessary to salvation, and the very nature of it results ultimately in delight. Repentance of sin is a sorrow which comes from the vision of God’s glory and mercy, and our awareness that we fall short of His glory and don’t deserve His mercy. But this sorrow should result in sustaining and lasting pleasure since not only do we find pleasure in seeing the glory and mercy of God in Christ, we find pleasure when we repent and sense God’s grace acting upon us to satisfy us, to purge us of pursing other things above Him, and to land us safely into the hands of our Savior.

Repentance is sweet sorrow, so that the more of this sorrow we possess, the more pleasure in God that we attain.

True sorrow over not having holiness is sorrow over the sin of not enjoying God as much as we should. It is a sorrow for not having God as our all-satisfying treasure. But to be sorrowful over not having something in a way that honors it, you must really want to have it because it’s precious in itself. It must become a delight to you. This means true gospel sorrow in repentance must follow the awakening of a delight in God. It means to weep sorrowfully over not possessing God as your treasure

Sometimes the only way to receive joy is to go through sorrow and pain. Sometimes the only way we can laugh is when we have come through a painful and sorrowful period of time.

A man that knows true sorrow will be able to laugh hard.

It’s ok to have sorrow as long as that sorrow is directed at and not away from God. In repentance it is called godly sorrow…

2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Verse 4- The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, While the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.

A wise persons mind resides in the house of mourning. A wise person doesn’t hid behind bars and buffet’s. A wise person is willing to lay themselves in the path of sorrow because they realize that it is good for them to contemplate the weight and gravity of the pain, grief and sorrow in this world.

Foolish people, get drunk, go to nightclubs, graze at a buffet line, because they refuse to go through the hard stuff of life and try to ignore it by throwing a party.

Getting drunk, eating, going to mall, going to a club, is not what we need when God ordains sorrow in our life, that would be foolish.

When God sends sorrow to our door, he expects that we will drink the cup of sorrow and instead of being drunk on pleasure they immerse themselves in God and are intoxicated in Him.

Diversions don’t help us to be shaped into the kind of man or woman that is God honoring in wisdom. Wise people know that the house of mourning will produce a true joy and a lasting countenance because the house of mourning should lead us to Christ.

Verses 5-6 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man Than for one to listen to the song of fools. 6 For as the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool; And this too is futility.

How do you pick your friends? A wise person is willing to listen to the tough words of a wise man than it is to go to a friends house who tries to help by telling pull-my-finger and knock-knock jokes.

Fools not only stay away from the house of mourning, ignore death, don’t care about their reputation, but also pick friends that are just as foolish if not more so than they.

But a wise person who walks with the wise, grows wise.

In the times of Solomon, when they would build a fire, if you placed thorn bushes under the pot, it would flame up quickly and with loud noise, but it would last and would burn out just as quickly as it flared up. So is the counsel of the fool. It is loud, quick, and has no lasting benefit.

Proverbs says: Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

A great friend may greatly hurt you, but if he is wise and so are you, their wounds will help you and you will ultimately thank them for it.

My wife is my friend. How do I know this? Because her counsel hurts sometimes, but is true. The other night, I went to bed without finishing the setup of Madison’s desk and shelf in her school room so that it would be easier for Grace to home school her. I forgot that I had promised Madison earlier in the day that I would get it done that day and she was, and so was my wife, looking forward to having the room finished.

It’s about 11:30 PM and I’m getting ready for bed and talking with my wife and very matter fact, as I’m speaking about why I didn’t get it done, she says you shouldn’t promise what your not going to finish. Ouch!!!!

Man was I ticked. As she climbs in bed, I huff into the closet, put on some clothes and storm off to Madison’s room and as I’m walking out I grumbled- fine, you want it done? I’ll go do it right now!

Now, for whatever reason at the time I thought I was saying something important and really getting her in my storming off to complete the room. I was foolish. First, she was right and I should have simply ate humble pie and asked for her forgiveness, and two, because working till 2:00 AM to do something that my wife wanted anyway probably wasn’t a good way to “show her” that I meant business. That’s what a fool does. A fool ignores the wounds from their friends and charges headlong into stupidity and they end up setting a trap for themselves.

Same with Drew. How do I know that Drew is a good elder and friend? Because his counsel hurts and it’s true. There are times when Drew will bring something up that I simply don’t want to hear at the time. But I know that Grace and Drew are telling me these things because they love me more than they fear my response. Those are friends.

Can you even imagine what I would be like if it was never rebuked? Some of you shudder at the thought. If I didn’t have a faithful wife who knew me and loved me, and if I didn’t have a faithful elder that was willing to be honest with me when I needed it, I don’t think we would exist. We need wounds from friends, but first we have to pick friends who are wise, and who are close enough to us to wound us. If your friends are close enough to you to wound you, their not really your friends. If your friends aren’t wise enough to bring you biblical conviction, they perhaps you should examine why you choose to allow them the time attention you do when their counsel does not help.

Cont’d next week.

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