Ecclesiastes 7
Today's Passage: Ecclesiastes 7
This chapter goes through a comparison between wisdom and folly, and the poem ends in verse 13 saying, “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?”
When we truly consider the sovereignty of God, we can take comfort in knowing we will never be given all wisdom, and folly isn’t always the cause of the bad things that occur in our lives. If God has decided something, then it will happen, and because He is holy we can trust that it is for our good.
In the book Holier Than Thou, Jackie Hill Perry says, “If God is holy, then God cannot sin. If God cannot sin, that means God cannot sin against you. If God cannot sin against you, then He is the most trustworthy being there is.”
Therefore, when we experience prosperity or adversity as described in verse 14, and we understand that God is in control of everything, we can experience comfort in our suffering. Verse 20 says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Solomon was right, there had not been a man like that… until Jesus.
God the Father sent Jesus to be both fully God and fully man, to be the one that lived a perfect life, was good and never sinned, so that He could pay the price we couldn’t pay for our sins and make a way for us to be in a relationship with God forever. He defeated sin and death so we don’t have to be slaves to them anymore.
What verse stood out to you from this chapter? How have you experienced peace in the midst of suffering?
Written By: Kaitlin White
This chapter goes through a comparison between wisdom and folly, and the poem ends in verse 13 saying, “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?”
When we truly consider the sovereignty of God, we can take comfort in knowing we will never be given all wisdom, and folly isn’t always the cause of the bad things that occur in our lives. If God has decided something, then it will happen, and because He is holy we can trust that it is for our good.
In the book Holier Than Thou, Jackie Hill Perry says, “If God is holy, then God cannot sin. If God cannot sin, that means God cannot sin against you. If God cannot sin against you, then He is the most trustworthy being there is.”
Therefore, when we experience prosperity or adversity as described in verse 14, and we understand that God is in control of everything, we can experience comfort in our suffering. Verse 20 says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Solomon was right, there had not been a man like that… until Jesus.
God the Father sent Jesus to be both fully God and fully man, to be the one that lived a perfect life, was good and never sinned, so that He could pay the price we couldn’t pay for our sins and make a way for us to be in a relationship with God forever. He defeated sin and death so we don’t have to be slaves to them anymore.
What verse stood out to you from this chapter? How have you experienced peace in the midst of suffering?
Written By: Kaitlin White
2 Comments
"Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart."
The commentary in my Bible says that a bribe "encourages the corruptions already in the human heart." This is something to think about when we offer children bribes for good behavior, instead of explaining the core reason for sinful behavior and how this goes against God.
"Don't long for 'the good old days.' This is not wise.... Accept the way God does things" (vv. 10 & 13). I think it's hardest to accept the way God does things if/when I'm longing for the good ol' days. But when I remember that God is perfectly-wise, all-powerful, and always supremely-loving ... and then when I look at what I can know (even in my limited understanding) about how things are good the way they are ... that's when I feel more of God's peace in the middle of suffering. Just like Much-Afraid learned in Hinds' Feet on High Places, "In acceptance lieth peace."