The Strand Study Bible

ECCLESIASTES

ECCLESIASTES

1020

way in Matthew 19:29-30:

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. Again, its not how you begin but how you end that matters ( Ezk 3:20 ). The Liberty Bible Commentary does a good job rephrasing this portion of Scripture to read: Since a true appraisal of any enterprise can only be made from the vantage point of its completion, the end is, the Preacher of wisdom reminds us, better than the beginning. However, the end is frequently arrived at very slowly, and the man who would find profit in this life must be a patient man…In his waiting for the end of the matter, he must never fall to idealizing the good old days (vs. 10); for such an attitude will greatly curtail his effectiveness in the present. 1 7:8 b “ Patience” is the ability to keep your motor idling when you feel like stripping your gears ( Jms 5:7 ). 7:10 It is foolishness to talk about the “good ole days” ( former days ) because God takes us where we are, not where we were. 7:17 “ Be not over much wicked ” means we need to keep our “old nature” in check (Rom 7:15-25). In other words, we are not to allow our “old nature” to control our life (Gal 5:16). 7:20 According to Scripture, every human (even highly respected High Priests - Zech 3:3 ) is a “sinner” before God and in need of salvation (a change of garments – Gen 3:21 , Zech 3:4 and Mt 22:11 ). Whether we like to admit it or not “ all have sinned and come short of the glory of God ” ( Lk 13: 1- 3 -5 and Rom 3:10,23 ). Just because someone tries to be good today doesn’t mean he was good yesterday or will be good tomorrow. Time doesn’t forgive sin, the Savior does (Rom 5:8 & 10:13). 7:21a THE ADAGE IS TRUE: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent ( take no heed ) 7:21b Gossip ( all words that are spoken ) is always unprofitable. Its been said that gossip is a parasite that requires a host organism to survive. Therefore, in order to kill it, we mustn’t give it a place to live. NOTE - There are seven keys to minimizing the negative effects of gossip: 1. Realize we are all sinners and thus capable of gossiping (Eccl 7:20) 2. Realize gossiping is sin (Lev 19:16) 3. Refuse to participate in it ( Eccl 7:21 a) 4. Refuse to listen to it about yourself ( Eccl 7:21 b) 5. Realize we have gossiped about others and probably deserve what is being said about us (Eccl 7:22) 6. Refuse to associate with those who love to spread it (Prov 26:17-25) Want to get bit? Then involve yourself in gossip that doesn’t involve you (vs 17) Want to be deceived? Then continue to joke about your thoughtless gossiping (vs 18-19) Want to ad fuel to the fire? Then keep the words (gossip) coming (vs 20-21) 7. Return to the eternal perspective ( II Cor 4: 16- 18 ). In order to “minimize” the negative effects of gossip we need to stop focusing on the temporal and start focusing on the eternal. In other words, we need to stop gossiping and start Gospeling. Learning to minimizie the negative effects of gossip can help to control the noxious virus. 7:23 Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, failed to know it all ( but it was far from me ). WARNING – Beware of bright people who “think” they are ( II Pet 3:3 ). 7:26 One way to keep from marrying the wrong woman is to “please God.” Learn to please God and not yourself and God will lead you to a decent woman. 8:8 Seeing man is sorely limited in his power (dominion) over life, he needs all the heavenly wisdom he can get. Want to hurt people without the use of a weapon? Then cut on them with gossip (vs 22) Want to deceive others? Then hide your dirt (gossip) like a potted plant (vs 23-25)

1 Falwell, Jerry. Liberty Bible Commentary , Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson Pub. 1983. Print.