Verse 1
Some scholars see this chapter as an attempt to answer the question implied in Ecclesiastes 6:12, "Who knoweth what is good for man"? However that verse may be read as a declaration that, "No one knows what is good for man." Many of the assertions in this chapter reveal that Solomon himself, in spite of all his vaunted research, experience, and searching had by no means solved the problem with any degree of completeness.
God supernaturally endowed Solomon with great wisdom; but that cannot be a guarantee that everything Solomon either said or did was invariably correct. Like many another person, Solomon's experiences, at least many of them, were of a nature to confuse and deceive him; and, here and there in his writings, one finds unmistakable evidence of that truth. We do not proceed very far into this chapter before we encounter examples of it.
THE DAY OF DEATH BETTER THAN THE DAY OF ONE'S BIRTH
"A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."
This paragraph deals with that second clause of Ecclesiastes 7:1. It is true in a number of ways, but not in others. When some promising young person is the victim of some terrible accident and is thus cut down in the prime of life, the day of such a death is not better than the day of his birth.
However, the death of Christ was better than the day of his birth; because his Church celebrates his death, not his birth. Paul declared that, "It is better to depart and be with Christ (Philippians 1:21-23), Also; "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalms 116:15). In spite of these scriptures, we find it very hard to believe that Solomon had anything like that in mind.
His viewpoint here seems to be like that of a tribe in Thrace mentioned by Herodotus, "Who bewailed the birth of a child because of its entry into the trials of life, and celebrated death as a joyful release from life's trials."[1]
"A good name is better than precious oil" (Ecclesiastes 7:1a). This simply means, "Honor is better than vanity."[2] Some renditions have attempted to duplicate the alliteration found in the Hebrew: "Better is name than nard;"[3] and, "Fair fame is better than fine perfume."[4] We might paraphrase it by saying, "A good reputation smells better than the most expensive perfume."
"It is better to go to the house of mourning" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). In Biblical times, funeral celebrations lasted several days; and the `house of mourning' here refers to such celebrations. Why should this be called 'better' than going to the house of feasting? As Psalms 90 eloquently states it: "So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom" (Psalms 90:12). "The solemn and necessary thoughts that come to one at a funeral are far more uplifting and beneficial than those that result from attending any kind of a feast."[5] "Going to the house of mourning is useful because the living are confronted with the fact that death is also their own destiny; and it is certain."[6] Every funeral is a prophecy of one's own death and burial.
"House of feasting" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). What is this? "One of the Qumran scrolls reads this as `house of joy,' `place of amusement,' as in Ecclesiastes 7:4."[7]
"Sorrow is better than laughter" (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Solomon is still contrasting the house of mourning with the house of joy; but this does not mean that Christians should not attend such things as wedding feasts and other joyful celebrations. Christ attended a marriage feast in Cana and made eighty gallons of wine to aid the celebration! In this connection, it is good to remember that:
"We should not take Solomon's words either literally or absolutely. They are not laws of invariable truth. To treat them this way is to err in their application."[8] "The warning here is for those who wanted only the parties and the good times, and who studiously avoided all sad and sorrowful occasions. The wise man partakes of both."[9]
"The heart of fools is in the house of mirth" (Ecclesiastes 7:4). As noted above, the Qumran manuscript in this place makes the house of mirth here the same as the house of feasting in Ecclesiastes 7:2. Grieve was certain that the reference here is to something like a tavern with its, "Licentious and vulgar tavern songs (Amos 6:5; Ephesians 5:4)."[10]
The "better ... than ... etc." pattern in the first half of this chapter is exactly the same as that followed by Solomon in his Proverbs (Proverbs 15:16; 8:11; and 3:14).
Many of the statements in this part of Ecclesiastes are very similar to sayings of Solomon in Proverbs. Proverbs 22:1 is like Ecclesiastes 7:1, here.
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