Ecclesiastes 7:3-8 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome back to the Preacher’s proverbs. This morning we’ll look at another batch of divinely-inspired wise sayings about how the world ordinarily works. The first two are largely restatements of previous proverbs, so I’ll focus mainly on the new aspects within them. But there are also several new ideas that we’ll examine more closely as well.
The aim in all of this is, once again, to help us live lives more in line with the world as it actually is—that is, as God designed it. For, living inconsistently with reality is always frustrating and costly, and potentially deadly. Even as living consistently with it is glorifying to God and good for mankind.
Let me say that another way. We all have needs that we feel and want to know how to have them met. That is why many churches primarily preach topical sermons—to address those felt-needs. It’s good to want to know what God has to say about all aspects of our lives. And it’s good to for the church to want to address them. The biblical proverbs are one of the primary ways God’s Word does so for us. The proverbs (which we’re given an entire book of) address issues of ordinary life—issues we feel, will feel, and should feel—in order that we might live reasonable, enlightened, faithful, fruitful, God-honoring lives.
The big ideas of this passage are, once again, that God made the world to function in a certain way and, therefore, as we learn that way and conform to it, things tend to go better for us. Even as when we are ignorant of God’s ways or out of conformity with them, things tend to go worse. And the main takeaway is to order our lives according to God’s design and wisdom for His glory and our good.
THE PREACHER’S PROVERBS
What is the wisest thing anyone has ever said to you? What is one piece of wisdom you have now that you wish you’d gotten sooner? If you could leave one piece of wisdom behind to your kids, what would it be?
In some ways, the Preacher’s proverbs are the Preacher’s answers to these questions (really, that’s what all of Ecclesiastes is). Having had a God-given, privileged frame of reference from which to observe the world, the Preacher passed on his conclusions. His conclusions included lots of confusion, but also a good deal of wisdom.
Let’s pick up where we left off last week…with 7:3.
Sorrow Is Better than Laughter (3)
In the proverb of v.3, we find the first of two familiar themes.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
Sorrow is better than laughter. The Preacher asserted something similar in 7:1 (“The day of death is better than the day of birth”) and 7:2 (“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting”). The big idea in all three verses is that there is more to learn from hardship than levity.
Properly understood, “the day of birth,” “the house of feasting,” and “laughter” are good things. The Preacher’s point isn’t that those things are bad and “the day of death,” “the house of mourning,” and “sorrow” are good. His point is that the second trio are “better”.
They are better on the whole, once again, because after reconciliation with God, our greatest need is to be made holy—to have our character conformed to God’s design. And God has determined to use death, mourning, and sorrow as primary means of accomplishing this for His people. (How’s that for flipping ordinary logic on its head?)
To live in the world as it really is, to live in the world as God has made it, is to desire godly character above physical comfort. It is also, therefore, to desire God’s means of bringing about our character above the means of comfort. In that way, sorrow is better than laughter.
While that much is mostly familiar, the Preacher adds a bit more wisdom as well. Wisdom not only recognizes that sorrow is often a more significant means of sanctification than laughter, but also that sorrow is an essential component of genuine gladness as well.
One who has known and is honest about the hardships of life under the sun has a better sense of the world as it truly is and that is better. That person will be more sober-minded and sober-faced. But at the same time, it is precisely that which opens the door for fuller happiness as well.
What does that mean? It means that it is usually those who have known the most sorrow who are able to experience the greatest gladness. It is only on the other side of profound sadness that profound gladness comes (and especially for those whose hope is in God).
Who has the most somber face, but is also the most genuinely happy? The one who has been cured of cancer or the one who has always been healthy? The one who has found work after a prolonged season of unemployment or the one who has never had trouble finding a job (Grapes of Wrath; Cinderella Man)? The one whose adult child came to faith in Jesus after decades of rebellion or the one who never knew a time of disbelief?
There can be and often is genuine joy in both sides of the equation, but there is almost always more for the one whose gladness came on the other side of seeing God’s faithfulness through significant sadness.
Truly, “by sadness of face the heart is made glad.”
Living in light of this wisdom means hearing the constant refrain of passages like James 1:2-4 in your ears.
James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
When times of sadness come, we don’t pretend they aren’t sad. We don’t even imagine that they shouldn’t be sad. As long as we live in a broken world, there are times when sadness is right. But living in light of this wisdom means being sad in the knowledge that it is the path to greater joy for all whose hope is in God. And that keeps our right sadness from turning into wrong despair.
Also, living in light of this wisdom means “rejoicing with those who rejoice” and also “weeping with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Rightly applying this proverbial wisdom means caring not only about our own laughter and sorrow, but also about that of others. Grace, let us learn to listen well, to care deeply, and to seek to bless more than to be blessed by others.
Wisdom Thinks About things that Matter (4)
The proverb of v.4 is the other familiar one. It is a near copy of 7:2 (“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting”).
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
The primary difference between v.2 and v.4 is that v.2 talks about actually going to the house of mourning/feasting (going to a funeral or party), while v.4 talks about the heart going there.
The point of this proverb (v.4) is that wisdom leads people to consider/to think about those who are grieving loss while folly leads people to consider those who are partying.
One of the best spiritual assessment questions I’ve ever heard is this: Where does your mind go when it doesn’t have to go anywhere? In other words, what do you daydream about when your mind is free to wander? The answer to that question often tells a good deal about what you really love.
The fool is continually longing for the next party, the next fun gathering, the next chance to be distracted with the pleasures of this world. The fool thinks of little beyond shallow entertainment.
On the other hand, the wise are those who consider things that matter, things that will last, things that are God-honoring and character-forming. The wise set their minds, “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). And that includes regularly considering how we ought to live in light of the fact that we all live relatively short lives before we die and spend eternity somewhere.
Living in light of this wisdom means being clear on what God’s Word calls us to value, asking God to help us delight in that, and disciplining our minds to go there. In other words, wisdom calls us to consider things God tells us are valuable and not simply let our minds wander to the desires of our flesh. Contemplating death is a significant means to that end.
When our hearts go to the death of an unbeliever, we are rightly sobered. Hell is real and far more terrible than anything we can imagine. Being reminded of this and considering the horrors of this motivates us to right living.
And when our hearts go to the death of a genuine believer, we are rightly sobered in a different way. Heaven is real and even more glorious than hell is awful. Being reminded of this and considering the joys of this motivates us to right living as well.
As we saw last week, there is, perhaps, no better example of applying this than the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards. With the wisdom of this passage in mind, he resolved to consider carefully all of his life in light of the certainty of the next.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.
17. Resolved, that I will live so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.
55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven, and hell torments.
We can only live like that when we regularly steer our hearts, with the Spirit’s help, to the house of mourning, to the contemplation of the inevitability of the death of everyone we meet, including ourselves.
Once again, it is only when we settle on the fact that we will die that we are truly free to fully live for the glory of God and the good of the world.
Wise Rebukes Are Better than Foolish Flattery (5)
A third proverb is found in v.5.
5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.
We love to have people around us telling us how good we are. It feels really good to have others sing our praises. Is there anything better than someone who is impressed by us telling us about it?
God calls us to be encouragers, but that’s not what this passage is talking about. Hearing “the song of fools” refers to flattery, which God despises. The books of Psalms and Proverbs have a good deal to say about this.
Psalm 5:9 There is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 12:2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
Proverbs 7:21 With her many persuasions she entices him, and with her flattering lips she seduces him.
Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
It might feel good to hear the song of fools in the short run, but it is ruinous in the long run, for it causes us to measure ourselves against one another instead of against the true standard: God’s perfect holiness.
On the other hand, being corrected is hard. Most of us are prideful people (which is why we’re drawn to the song of fools). We don’t want to be told that we are wrong. All too often, we’d rather bicker about something we know we’re wrong about than humbly admit it and lose face. It usually stings a good deal to be called out on sin, but it is a great gift from the Lord. It is often the straightest path to repentance and godliness for the wayward.
The alternative is that we keep walking in sin until we can reap a fuller measure of its consequences.
One time, when I was younger and foolisher, I was driving way too fast. Unknowingly, I was heading right toward a sharp turn. My future sister-in-law yelled at me to slow down just in time. It was embarrassing, but it might have saved our lives.
The rebuke of the wise is like a divine warning sign of imminent danger ahead. It is a little sting now in order to avoid a much greater one later.
Truly, “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”
Or, as Proverbs 27:6 says it, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”
Living in light of this wisdom means surrounding yourself with wise people. There’s no way to be blessed by the rebuke of the wise if you’re surrounded by singing fools.
Wisdom always comes from God and typically comes with age. This is why two key aims of our DGs are to focus them on God’s Word and keep them from being age segregated. We want to provide a regular opportunity for everyone to be around wise, godly people; in part, in order to provide a place for us all to be rightly rebuked.
Older folks of Grace, we need you in and spread around the DGs in order to share your wisdom and rebuke folly.
Younger folks of Grace, we need you in the DGs to teach you to despise the song of fools and to get rebuked.
Living in light of this wisdom means making it really, really, really easy for wise people to approach you with correction. This means listening carefully whenever you are being corrected. Don’t form your reply while they are talking. Don’t focus on telling your side of the story. Don’t be defensive. Listen for understanding. Assume there’s something true in the correction and focus on it. Make sure that anyone who comes to you with a wise rebuke leaves feeling built (not beat) up. Make sure they are even more likely to do so the next time.
But, even more than all of that, it means soliciting feedback from wise people. It means not waiting for them to come to you, but you going to them. There should be people in your life of whom you regularly ask questions like:
What is one area of godliness you think I would do well to focus on in the next month?
What would you say is my greatest area of spiritual weakness?
Which aspects of my character have you observed in me that clearly need maturing?
What is one way that I could become a better husband/wife, father/mother, brother/sister, son/daughter, pastor/member, friend?
What is the one thing you pray most for me?
In addition to the Bible, what one book should I read this month?
The Laughter of a Fool Is Empty (6)
The fourth proverb we’ll consider today is found in v.6. The wisdom there is that the laughter of a fool is empty.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.
We’ve already seen in Ecclesiastes (3:4) that there is a time to laugh. And yet, as vs.3 and 6 point out, not all laughter is good. Some is, but some isn’t. How can we tell the difference?
First of all, it’s worth noting that laughter in the Bible is almost always an act of scoffing or derision. Laughing is what God does to His enemies when they believe they can stand against Him. It’s what sinful men do in mockery of others. And it’s what fools do at empty and immoral things. That doesn’t mean laughter is bad, but it does mean that good laughter is hard and bad laughter is easy.
It’s right when God laughs at prideful men. It’s wrong when prideful men laugh at others or when foolish men laugh at course jokes or silliness.
Indeed, the laughter of fools is like the “crackling thorns under a pot,” the Preacher wrote. The idea is that using thorns to cook is noisy and short-lived. They crackle and burn out quickly. The laughter of fools is like that. Fools laugh constantly since they lack sober mindedness and their laughter is always in spurts since it lacks substance.
Bad laughter is filled with emptiness and immorality.
So, when is it right for us to laugh? The only positive instance I found in the Bible of men laughing is in Jesus’ teaching of the beatitudes (Luke 6:21). Jesus said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” The idea is that for many who follow Jesus, there will be hardship and suffering as a result of persecution. But for all who remain faithful, there will soon be gladness and joy and laughter at the unleashing of God’s mercy.
Good laughter is the overflow of a heart gladdened by God’s providential expressions of grace.
Good laughter is the natural response to experiencing God’s excessive kindness.
Good laughter is filled with substance and righteousness.
Living in light of this wisdom means being careful in what you laugh at. It means not laughing at the expense of others. It means not laughing thoughtlessly. It means not going along with the crowd when they laugh at a something sinful or immoral.
And living in light of this wisdom also means intentionally looking for God’s excessive grace and kindness, so that our hearts can be made full of gladness, so that out of it can flow deep, God-honoring laughter.
The antidote to foolish or wicked laughter isn’t no laughter; it’s righteous laughter. And in that way, righteous laughter is a key weapon of spiritual warfare. When our hope and satisfaction are in God, we will be people of laughter even when faced with the attacks of the enemy foolishly believing they can defy the Lord God Almighty.
Oppression and Bribery Are the Tools of Fools (7)
The fifth and final of the Preacher’s proverbs that we’ll consider this morning is found in v.7.
7 Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
We’ve already seen from the Preacher that if you are wise, you hate oppression (chapters 4 and 5). It is not enough to avoid it and it is certainly not enough to merely ignore it. The wise must actively oppose the oppression of the vulnerable. Wisdom understands the afront that oppression is to God’s nature and commands and so the wise despise and fight against it.
But what happens when it is the wise who are oppressed (literally, blackmailed)? The Preacher concludes that it “surely” drives them “into madness.” There are likely two senses in which this is true in the Preacher’s mind.
First, being oppressed drives the wise into madness in that it can, over time, consume their wisdom. Oppression is so corrosive that it often, eventually, turns the person of wisdom into a person with a reckless mind, with blind rage. In short, it can cause a wise man to act like a fool.
And second, being oppressed drives the wise into madness in the sense that it makes no sense. Oppression only ever hurts everyone involved with it—oppressed and oppressor alike. No one benefits. That much is clear to anyone with wisdom and so it’s maddening. Why would you do such a thing?!
In this single verse (v.7), the Preacher made two sure observations. The first we just considered (“oppression drives the wise into madness”). The second is similar, “a bribe corrupts the heart.”
The Preacher isn’t clear on whether he’s referring to the giving or the taking of a bribe. In the end, it probably doesn’t matter since both are corrupting and largely for the same reason.
To give or take a bribe is to reject two aspects of God’s nature—truth and justice (as bribes are a form of a lie and injustice). And, assuming it works (whether giving or receiving), that only leads to further rejection of God and to further corruption. In that way, giving and receiving bribes are both the product of an already corrupted heart and the means to cultivating one.
When we combine these two sureties, we see that the upshot of v.7 verse is that oppression and bribery are the tools of fools. And fools using their tools is maddening to the wise and corrupting to the fool.
Living in light of this wisdom means fighting against oppression wherever we find it. See my sermons from April 6th, Death Is Better than Oppression, and May 4th, Systemic Oppression and Hollow Wealth, for help on this one.
Living in light of this wisdom means having nothing to do with bribes. I imagine that there’s a tendency for most of us to think that this doesn’t really apply to the. I bet that most of you don’t imagine yourself as having anything to do with bribes.
But kids, if you do something you know is wrong in front of your brother or sister and say something like, “Don’t tell mom and you can use my game system,” that is offering a bribe.
Husbands/wives, when you won’t do something good for your spouse unless they do something good for you in return, that’s the same as demanding a bribe.
In other words, bribes aren’t only between shady politicians or businessmen and women. Don’t use the tools of fools or you will face the fate of fools—corrupt hearts.
Finally, living in light of this wisdom means recognizing our dependence on God. Wisdom alone isn’t enough to keep a person faithful. The Bible paints two consistent pictures of wisdom in mankind. It is better than folly and we are prone to confuse it with folly. We find description of one fool after another rejecting wisdom to their demise in the Bible. And we find example after example of the wisdom of this world being confused with the wisdom of God.
We ought to look for those things in God’s Word and when we find them, we ought to turn to God in prayerful dependence that He might keep us from being wise in our own eyes and unexpectedly driving straight through a sharp turn.
CONCLUSION
Grace, I imagine that some of the wisdom of these few verses scratches an itch. Thank God for that. I also imagine that some of it wasn’t even on your radar before today. Thank God for that too. God gives us what we need, not always what we want or know to ask for. And that is because all wisdom is God’s, and we are simply a people in desperate need of it.
Above all, we are in desperate need of Jesus, who defied all worldly wisdom in His birth, life, death, and resurrection. There was nothing about Jesus that seemed wise to those who believed themselves to be wise. And yet He was and is the full manifestation of all above the sun wisdom.
He is the very Wisdom of God in the flesh, the perfect example of living in light of it, and the means by which we can know God and be reconciled to Him.
None of us fully grasp or live out even the wisdom of these five, short verses. That’s why Jesus came: To bring us the wisdom of God, to show us what it looks like, and to save us from the wages of falling short of it.
Look to Jesus, therefore, to know what true wisdom is and how to live in this world in light of it…and as the one and only way to be forgiven for failing to do so as God requires.