Ecclesiastes 7:21

Some extremely good advice is given by Solomon in the nest two verses. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:21-22, “Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:[22] For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.” Many things that are spoken are ill-advised and should have never been said. People say things without thinking. People say things that they do not really mean. Sometimes what people say is a slip of the tongue, and they did not really want to say that. Therefore, be careful how you react to what you hear. A lot of meaningless clatter is what is going on. You do not want to have a major reaction to someone else’s meaningless foolish speech. Solomon makes the point that you have probably also said things that you should not have said. Do not be so quick to condemn others for something that you have also done. This is one of the great themes of the Bible: that all men are the same. All have sinned. God loves everyone. Jesus died for everyone on the cross. Everyone gets to heaven in the same way: by trusting in Christ as Savior.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:23-25, “All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.[24] That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?[25] I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:” Basically what Solomon is saying here is that “common sense isn’t so common.” There are not very many wise people in the world because true wisdom comes from God, and not many people seek God. The majority of people go away from God. It says in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” Lack of wisdom is tied to “wickedness” and to “madness.” If you lack wisdom, you could get it if you drew closer to God. Therefore, lack of wisdom is an indication of spiritual problems and spiritual weakness. When someone is a fool, you cannot reason with them and you cannot put sense into them. That is not much different than someone who is crazy. There is a similarity between being a fool and being insane.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:26-29, “And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.[27] Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:[28] Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.[29] Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” In verse 26 Solomon gives a warning about a loose woman, and how such a woman can ruin a man. Men are so weak, you know. They are easily conquered. The Bible has many stories of men who were ruined by the wrong woman: for example, Samson and Delilah, and David and Bathsheba. Solomon gave a similar warning in Proverbs 2:16-19, “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;[17] Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.[18] For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.[19] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

But then in Ecclesiastes 7:27-29 Solomon gives more thought to what he was saying about women, and he realizes that men in general are no better. Of course, the reason is that when people are without faith in the Lord, they do not become the people that they should be. Solomon says that he examined a thousand men, and was only able to find one out of a thousand whom his “soul seeketh.” But then Solomon said that he was not able to find even one out of a thousand women when he looked for one whom his “soul seeketh.” Solomon was looking for a soul-mate. You will never be happy until you find a soul-mate. Every Christian has Jesus, and He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. And if you want to find a soul-mate for your spouse, then there are a few Biblical instructions to faithfully follow. First, if you are a Christian, then seek a Christian who loves Jesus. Do not consider anyone who is not in that category because believers should never be unequally yoked with unbelievers. And of course, you must pray to the Lord because He must guide you to the one that He has prepared for you. God made Eve and brought her to the man. Of course, if you are praying, that means that you are waiting on God’s will. You must wait for His choice in His time. If you cannot wait on God’s will, then you are in danger of your greatest enemy: self-will.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:1-4, “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.[2] I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.[3] Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.[4] Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” In verse one, by asking the question, “Who is the wise man,” Solomon is saying that it is difficult to find a wise person. But for those who do find wisdom through God, there are many rewards from a practical standpoint. Solomon said, “a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” If you have wisdom, you will be a different person and a better person. You will have confidence. You will be bold instead of being fearful. You will be a strong person of character. And then Solomon gives one primary application in this world once you become a wise person: submission to authority. How can you be submitted to God’s authority, if you are not submitted to the human authorities under which you have been placed? Solomon said in verse 2, “I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.” Solomon ties serving the Lord to obeying the laws of the land. Jesus taught the same thing. It says in Matthew 22:17-22, “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?[18] But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?[19] Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.[20] And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?[21] They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” The same principle is taught clearly in Romans 13:1-7, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.[7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” The Christians of the first century lived under the rule of the Roman Emperor. No matter what form of government exists in our country and no matter who the leaders are, we should follow these precepts carefully. Beware of negative or disrespectful attitudes towards those who are in authority.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:5-7, “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.[6] Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.[7] For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?” In these verses Solomon emphasizes the fact that wisdom not only deals with what choice to make: “judgment,” but it also deals with the “time” to make that judgment or that decision. A good example of that has to do with marriage or some of the normal activities that come with marriage. God not only wants to help you choose your soulmate, but He also wants to be involved in the time that you get married to that one He has prepared for you. You might have a lot of wisdom about many matters, but the question will also be: are you willing to wait upon God for His time? If you do not understand both time and judgment, then the result will be as it says at the end of verse 6, “therefore the misery of man is great upon him.”

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:8-10, “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.[9] All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.[10] And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.” People on this earth strive for power and control in every setting. There are winners and losers in this struggle. But one of the things that no human being will ever gain power over: death. Everyone dies. Today every single person on the earth is one day closer to the day of their death. “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment.” All of the clever schemes that some have used to gain power will do them no good in that day. And thus it says in verse 8, “neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.” Not only are they going to die, but after they die they are going to be forgotten. It says in Ecclesiastes 8:10, “they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.” And so they strive their whole life to gain this power, and then it is all gone in an instant forever. One of the benefits of being a Christian is that we are going to gain the power without striving for it. That is what Jesus was talking about when He said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 8:11-14, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.[12] Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:[13] But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.[14] There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.” Here is a fact stated in verse 11: “sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily.” God is slow to anger. He likes to bless people instead of punishing them: even the wicked. One reason for this is to show how merciful He is, and another reason is to give the wicked more time to repent. God hopes that they will repent. It says in First Peter 3:8-9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.[10] But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Even though it appears from a human viewpoint that sometimes the wicked prosper and the godly suffer, that is only a temporary circumstance. In reality life is very short even for a wicked person who has a relatively long life. Like everyone else, their life is as a shadow. It says in Ecclesiastes 8:13, “But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” It also says in James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Everyone had better get prepared for eternity, and turn to Jesus while there is time.

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