Memory Text: Ecclesiastes 7:29 -- Living Bible And I found that though God has made men upright, each has turned away to follow his own downward road.

Ecclesiastes 7:29 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE God has given man wondrous faculties; and of them he has made strange uses, and sovereign abuses: and they have been, in consequence, at one time his help, and at another his bane. This is the fair way of understanding this question.

Sunday, February 18

A Good Name

Ecclesiastes 7:1 -- New International A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 COMMENTARY BY JAMISON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN ointment--used lavishly at costly banquets and peculiarly refreshing in the sultry East. "Ointment" is fragrant only in the place where the person is whose head and garment are scented, and only for a time.

Proverbs 22:1 -- Revised Standard A GOOD name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

Monday, February 19

House of Feasting, House of Mourning

Ecclesiastes 7:2-6 NKJV “2 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 take [it] to heart. 3 Sorrow [is] better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better. 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 to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So [is] the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.”

Ecclesiastes 7:2 Clear Word “It’s better to visit those who are grieving and to consider the beauty of life than to visit those who are always feasting. Everyone need to think about what it means to face death.”

Ecclesiastes 7:2 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Birthdays were generally kept with great festivity, and to these the wise man most probably refers; but according to his maxim, the miseries of life were so many and so oppressive that the day of a man's death was to be preferred to the day of his birth.

Luke 12:41-48 NLT “41 ¶ Peter asked, "Lord, is this illustration just for us or for everyone?" 42 And the Lord replied, "I’m talking to any faithful, sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk— 46 well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the unfaithful. 47 The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. 48 "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.”

Tuesday, February 20

Patience and Pride

Ecclesiastes 7:7-14 NRSV “7 ¶ Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart. 8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not be quick to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools. 10 Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 11 ¶ Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. 12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it. 13 Consider the work of God; who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.”

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Clear Word “Don’t get upset and let your frustration turn into anger because anger sits in the lap of fools.”

Ecclesiastes 7:9 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE the fool-the man who is under the dominion of his own tempers, harbours and fosters it, till it takes the form of malice, and then excites him to seek full revenge on those whom he deems enemies.

Matthew 5:22 -- Simple English “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be punished. Anyone who says `You idiot!' to his brother must answer to the Jewish Council. Anyone who says, `You fool!' will be punished in hell fire.”

Matthew 18:21 God’s Word to the Nations “21 ¶ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked him, "Lord, how often do I have to forgive a believer who wrongs me? Seven times?" 22 Jesus answered him, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy times seven.”

Romans 12:19-21 God’s Word to the Nations “19 Don’t take revenge, dear friends. Instead, let God’s anger take care of it. After all, Scripture says, "I alone have the right to take revenge. I will pay back, says the Lord." 20 But, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will make him feel guilty and ashamed." 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil with good.”

Ecclesiastes 7:12 Clear Word “Wisdom is like a shelter in a storm; it gives greater security than money. Wisdom is better than knowledge because it protects those who have it.”

Proverbs 9:10 ESV “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

Colossians 1:28 ESV “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Ecclesiastes 7:14 Clear Word “When things go right, be glad and thank God. When things go wrong, go to God for help. You never know what will go right and what will go wrong.”

Philippines 4:11-13 NKJV “11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Wednesday, February 21

Our Fallen Natures – Part 1

Ecclesiastes 7:15-21 MKJV “15 All [things] I have seen in the days of my vanity; there is a just one who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked one who prolongs [life] in his wickedness. 16 Do not be righteous overmuch, neither make yourself overwise; why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be very wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? 18 [It is] good that you should take hold of this; yea, also from this do not withdraw your hand; for he who fears God shall come forth from all of them. 19 Wisdom makes the wise stronger than ten mighty ones who are in the city. 20 For [there is] not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin. 21 Also do not listen to all words that are spoken; lest you hear your servant curse you.”

Which verse sums up the message of the verses we just read?

(a)

1 Corinthians 13:13 -- New American “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

(b)

Galatians 6:2 -- Simple English “Help carry each other's burdens. In this way, you truly satisfy the ``law'' of Christ.”

(c)

Romans 3:10 -- New Jerusalem “As scripture says: Not one of them is upright, not a single one.”

Thursday, February 22

Our Fallen Natures – Part 2

Ecclesiastes 7:15-27 NIV “15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. 16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time? 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all [extremes]. 19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. 20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you— 22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 23 ¶ All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"— but this was beyond me. 24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound— who can discover it? 25 So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. 26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare. 27 "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things—”

Ecclesiastes 7:15 Clear Word “In this life I’ve noticed two things that are hard to understand: A righteous man suffers and dies before his time, and a wicked man lives a long life of sin.

Ecclesiastes 7:16-17 Clear Word “16 Don’t be smugly righteous and don’t act like you know it all. 17 Don’t be a fool and live a life of sin. Don’t overwork and died before your time.

Ecclesiastes 7:16 COMMENTARY BY JAMIESON, FAUSSET, AND BROWN "Be not righteous over much," may be taken as Solomon's words, forbidding a self-made righteousness of outward performances, which would wrest salvation from God, instead of receiving it as the gift of His grace.

Ecclesiastes 7:26 Clear Word “The next thing I discovered was that to be caught by the charms of a scheming woman is worse than death. She can bind a man like a chain. Her love is like a trap in which a man is caught and can’t get out.”

1 Kings 11:1-4 KJ21 “1 ¶ But King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, "Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon cleaved unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”

1 Kings 11:1 COMMENTARY BY MATTHEW HENRY There was no king like Solomon who was beloved of his God, yet even him did outlandish women cause to sin…Some think it was in policy that he married these foreigners, by them to get intelligence of the state of those countries. I rather fear it was because the daughters of Israel were too grave and modest for him, and those foreigners pleased him with the looseness and wantonness of their dress, and air, and conversation.