Ecclesiastes 7: Wisdom for sinners facing death
Begin in prayer
Before we read about the sin in every human heart, let us ask God to humble our family, and to help us see Christ, the righteous One, in this chapter.
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.
Genesis 6:5
Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Make us willing to learn from sorrow and wise correction. Expose our pride, teach us to fear You, and show us Jesus, in whom we find mercy. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.
See where we're going
The Preacher commends a good name, mourning, wise rebuke and patient endurance above perfume, feasting, foolish laughter and pride. Extortion corrupts wisdom, bribery destroys understanding, and quick anger belongs with folly. God makes both prosperous and adverse days, beyond our power to straighten His work. The righteous may perish while the wicked live long, yet proud claims to righteousness and foolish wickedness bring destruction and early death. No righteous person on earth does good without sinning, and remembering our own cursing restrains resentment at others. The Preacher finds a trapping woman more bitter than death and reports finding one man among a thousand, but no woman. God made people upright, but they have sought many schemes.
As you read Ecclesiastes 7, look for the answers:
- What should the living take to heart in a house of mourning? (verse 2)
- Who made both prosperous and adverse days? (verse 14)
- Is there a righteous person who never sins? (verse 20)
Reflect together
Key truth
God made people upright, yet all have sinned and need the wisdom that teaches reverence for Him.
Mourning makes us face the death we might forget at a feast. Under the sun God appoints both prosperous and adverse days, so we cannot force life to follow our preferred pattern. He says “All this I have seen in my days of vanity” (verse 15), when the righteous perish and the wicked live long. The warning against excessive righteousness challenges proud religious display and confidence in our own wisdom. Every person sins, so remembering our own wrong words should restrain anger at another person’s speech. The woman’s heart traps and her hands bind, but whoever pleases God escapes while the sinner is caught. Her sexual enticement is more bitter than death, and the Preacher’s search does not make every woman like her. God made humanity upright, and the final verdict blames human schemes for our crookedness. No one is righteous in himself, which is why sinners need the righteousness of Jesus (Romans 5 verses 18 to 19).
How does Ecclesiastes 7 show us that God made people upright, yet all have sinned and need the wisdom that teaches reverence for Him?
God uses sorrow and correction to teach wisdom.
A house of mourning reminds the living that death is their end. Wise rebuke gives more help than a fool’s passing laughter. Patient humility receives what proud anger resists.
God’s rule calls for reverence in prosperity and adversity.
We cannot straighten what He has made crooked. Righteous people may die while wicked people live long. Fearing God guards against proud self-confidence and the folly that brings early death.
God made people upright, yet every person now sins.
The Preacher’s search does not discover a class of sinless people. Even our own speech gives reason to be slow to resent another person’s words. The chapter ends by naming humanity’s many schemes against God’s upright beginning.
Memorise
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn’t sin.
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Looking to Jesus in my life
Ask yourself in your heart, will I admit my sin and receive the righteousness found only in Jesus?
The Preacher says no righteous man on earth “does good and doesn’t sin”. Wisdom can expose this guilt, while sorrow and death show how little our proud claims can achieve.
Jesus was tempted as we are, yet remained without sin (Hebrews 4 verse 15). His perfect obedience supplies the righteousness sinners lack. He went to the cross for His people, accepting their guilt and giving His own life to answer for it. His sacrifice accomplished everything needed for their peace with God. He rose from death as the living Savior whose obedience brings righteousness to His people (Romans 5 verses 18 to 19).
Turn from sin and trust Jesus. Those who rely on Him receive forgiveness and a right standing before God. The Preacher found no one on earth who never sins, but Jesus never sinned, and His righteousness is given to all who trust Him.
Parent's note
Tell your children that no one is righteous by his own goodness, and each one needs the righteousness Jesus gives. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and come to Jesus in faith. Pray for new hearts that receive His mercy and welcome wise correction.
Pray together
Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for wise correction and for the sinless Savior who receives guilty people. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.
As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.
Romans 3:10
Holy God, You made people upright, and we have followed sinful schemes. Forgive our proud claims and careless words. Use sorrow and wise correction to humble us. Please lead each one of us to Jesus for righteousness and pardon. Teach our family to fear You in prosperous days and in days we cannot understand. Amen.