Ecclesiastes 7 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Ecclesiastes 7 Short Summary:
Solomon concludes that wisdom is a benefit to men living “under the sun.” It can give a man advantages on earth, but that man will also have to come to grips with the reality that all of life is meaningless. Wisdom can be pursued, but it will never be fully grasped.
Ecclesiastes 7 Bible Study
ECCLESIASTES CHAPTER SUMMARIES
Ecclesiastes 1 - Solomon declares that life on earth is vanity. Earthly pursuits are largely meaningless. Men are born and men die in the endless cycle of the earth’s spinning. History is forgotten and repeated generation after generation.
Ecclesiastes 2 - Solomon tested the offerings of the world and found them empty. Physical pleasure, wine, laughter, entertainment, accomplishing things, riches, making a name for himself, they were all vanity. Solomon discussed the fate of the wicked vs. the foolish, and lamented the short-term value of hard work.
Ecclesiastes 3 - The cycle of the earth repeats continually, and everything happens at its appointed time according to God’s design. God created mankind with knowledge of eternity, although much of His work is still hidden from them. Injustice is prevalent on the earth, but a time for judgment is approaching.
Ecclesiastes 4 - In Ecclesiastes 4, Solomon expands on his reasons for calling all of life “vanity.” Life is oppressive, and the weak are victims of the powerful. There is vanity in hard work and in laziness. Companionship is preferable to solitude, even high-achieving solitude. Fame and power are fleeting.
Ecclesiastes 5 - Solomon continues his discussion on vanity, bringing up at least 3 areas of life where vanity is observable. Solomon saw vanity in the way some people worshipped, when they offered empty words and promises to God. He goes on to describe the vanity of greed and the vanity of wealth.
Ecclesiastes 6 - Solomon contemplates the vanity of a life of riches, wealth, and honor when the possessor never gets to enjoy them. Solomon warns men that their life’s work could all be meaningless, because nobody knows what will happen to their work after they die.
Ecclesiastes 7 - Solomon concludes that wisdom is a benefit to men living “under the sun.” It can give a man advantages on earth, but that man will also have to come to grips with the reality that all of life is meaningless. Wisdom can be pursued, but it will never be fully grasped.
AUTHOR:
Ecclesiastes was almost certainly written by Solomon (Ecc 1:1), the son of David, the 3rd king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah.
His palace and the Temple of God were located in Jerusalem.
Solomon became king in approximately 1015 B.C and reigned for 40 years.
OUTLINE:
THE PURSUIT OF WISDOM, A WORTHY BUT ULTIMATELY EMPTY GOAL (7:1-29):
As Ecclesiastes 7 opens, Solomon appears to be answering a question he posed towards the end of Ecclesiastes 6, namely, “For what advantage has the wise man over the fool?” (6:8).
Solomon said that there were advantages to acquiring wisdom, it came with earthly benefits, but ultimately, wisdom was a sobering gift that forced a man to acknowledge the vanity of life.
A wise man lived in full awareness of life’s meaninglessness.
Solomon’s wisdom had led him to the conclusion that the day of death was better than the day of birth. It was better when it was all over.
A wise man sits in the house of mourning rather than the house of joy. Mourning tragedy and the loss of life teaches him his own fate.
The fools who do not grasp life’s emptiness are those who enjoy life the most. Their enjoyment is vanity, and it is only their ignorance that permits them to relish in life.
But even a wise man isn’t immune from falling into life’s vanity. A wise man can be corrupted through bribes and oppression.
Solomon instructed his readers not to reminisce about the old days, as if the world was a better place a generation ago. The world was as vain in previous generations as it is in the present. There is nothing new under the sun.
Solomon said that wisdom was a good thing, and it was a protection for those living under the sun.
One of the key lessons a man could learn through wisdom was that no one could make straight what God made crooked. No one could change God’s world. God designed the world, put humans in it, and the only things humans could do was to learn to make the best of it.
Wisdom taught Solomon that life wasn’t always fair. Sometimes the righteous died young and the wicked lived long lives.
He encouraged people not to be overly self-righteous nor overly wicked. Both extremes were dangerous.
Wisdom taught that no man was perfect and that all men sin.
Solomon had a great deal of wisdom, but he also knew he was far from knowing everything. Perfect wisdom was still “far off” from him and there were things too deep for him to discover.
One threat that hindered men in their pursuit of wisdom was women, specifically evil women. Solomon described a woman whose heart was a snare and whose hands were fetters (chains to bind prisoners).
A wise man escapes such a woman, but she has been the downfall of many.
Solomon said he knew 1/1,000 men who was wise, but he knew no women who could genuinely be called wise. (This may say more about Solomon’s choice of women than it does about true feminine wisdom).
Solomon concludes with this statement, “God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (7:29).
APPLICATION
Meditating on the final verse of Ecclesiastes 7:29, it is clear that the evil we see in the world is the result of the wickedness of men, not the wickedness of God.
Many people want to blame God for everything bad that happens in life, but the genuine evil exists in the world because people have refused to listen to God.
If humans persistently chose to follow God’s instructions, the world would be a great place.
Their stubborn refusal is why the world is sometimes an unpleasant home.
