The Solomon Project: Ecclesiastes 7:7-14

This blog is written for those who struggle with addiction and compulsivity. It is a blog that attempts to apply the ancient book of Ecclesiastes from the Bible to the struggles of addiction and compulsivity. The attempt is to seek to apply it to a broad range of religious beliefs. However you may perceive God I hope that you will find in this blog some measure of wisdom in dealing with addictive and compulsive behavior. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

Today we continue on in chapter 7. We will look at verses 7-14. This section is part of a proverb section that goes back to the question of 6:12 "For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow? (6:12a NIV)

Let us turn to the text to see what Solomon has to teach us about what is good. We have seen that Ending life with a good name and observing with respect the lives of those who pass has a refining influence on us in verses 1-6 in this chapter. The author begins with a series of proverbs about life.

Verse 7:7 says: "Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart." (Eccle 7:7 NIV cf. Ps 15:5) Even if the wise are superior to the fools, referring back to verse 6, they are susceptible to bribery. Why? because fools probably are not going to be put in places of authority, but the wise generally will be placed in such positions as the judges and city officials as in Solomon's time.

Bribes can take many forms we think generally of monetary bribes, but sex can be a form of bribery, as well as the adulation from someone. Bribes blind and they bind. Extortion has the idea of oppression here. Even with wisdom people will face both adversity (oppression) and prosperity (bribery). The wise person will find a skillful way to walk uprightly between these two temptations.

Verse 7:8 says: "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." (Eccle 7:8 NIV) Patience will usually provide a better outcome than pride. Pride could easily be a snare for one facing either adversity or prosperity and make one susceptible to extortion or bribery. It is far better to have patience in dealing with these two entrapments. Patience shows maturity and wisdom.

Verse 7:9 says: "Do not be quickly provoked in you spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." (Eccle 7:9 NIV) The metaphor here provides the concept clearly. When something is in your lap, it is held. The lap is a precarious place thus you will always have to be aware of it. residing means that is has made a home with you. We are warned other places to be "slow to anger and slow to speak" (James 1:19) This surely is a strong admonition fitting in with verse 6:12 concerning what is good for a man.

Verse 7:10 says: "Do not say, "why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions." (Eccle 7:10 NIV) May father who grew up in the depression says "The old days were all that good" He is a wise man. Those who face adversity might pine for the old days. Living in sentimentality only ties you to the past. Quite frankly outside of perhaps wishing to be younger (although I feel 35 mentally ans psychologically) I do not wish to return to what might be termed the good old days because they weren't that good for me either. Wistful pining for a past time ties one to that era. It no longer exists. You can't go back. A healthy objective historical perspective can guide our present lives but nostalgia is only good for the connection of emotions to a former era.

Verse 7:11 says: "Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun." (Eccle 7:11 NIV) The "like" here should be understood as "with" Early on Solomon talked about inheritance (2:21). Wisdom with an inheritance is a good thing in that coupled together they are of benefit. Both can be used to strengthen or enhance the life of the possessor.

Verse 7:12 says: "Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor." (Eccle 7:12 NIV). The reverse of this corollary is that wealth will not preserve the life of its possessor. However the conclusion of this proverb is that wisdom has a preservation effect. Living life skillfully surely can help one to live a long and fruitful life. shelter here had the idea of shade. In other words its provides a respite from the adverse effects the environment brings upon us. Money can do this but more so wisdom.

Verse 13 says: "Consider what God has done; Who can straighten what he has made crooked?" (Eccle 7:13 NIV) This hearkens back to 1:15 "What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted." (Eccle 1:15 NIV) Consider what god has done. Do not try to change it, do not attempt to live in the past, do not act or respond foolishly to adversity, God mixes both prosperity and adversity, good and bad. It all works together to become a beautiful tapestry of life.

Verse 14 says: "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future." (Eccle 7:14 NIV) There is an immutable and inscrutable nature to life. We don't even know the future how can we change it? We enjoy life as it is and we "consider" both are from God. Job rhetorically asks the question "should we not accept good from God, and not trouble?" (Job 2:11). In "considering" We can learn from both the good and the evil. This hearkens back to the passage we have referred to before Ecclesiastes 6:12 "For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless day he passes through like a shadow" Who can tell him what will happen under the sun after he is gone?" (Eccle 6:12 NIV)

In addiction and compulsivity there are many facets here that apply. We all face prosperity and adversity. Addictive and compulsive behaviors are used by all of us to one extent or another to control emotions. In prosperity we "think" we have the right to celebrate. In Adversity we "think" we have the right to use and abuse because we need it to cope. Either way the behavior is pathological. Here steps 1-3 enter in. If we are in recovery we can and must return to seeing how powerlessness and turning our lives and will over to the care of God. The key element that is here is as we understand him. We can understand him but not fully. This takes an act of faith to throw ourselves fully into the arms of the creator submitting our lives and will to his care. Recovery is a spiritual exercise. When we are able to accept both good and evil prosperity and adversity in our lives then we less likely to attempt to reorder the universe to fit our addicted minds and personalities.

Our time is up for today. So until next week, keep coming back it works if you work and you are worth it.