Introduction
Are you willing to let God’s wisdom correct your instincts, even when it feels backward to you? God’s central invitation in Ecclesiastes 7 is to trade “life under the sun” (life interpreted without God) for the better way of wisdom that defends, redirects, and ultimately gives life. All summer we’ve been walking through Ecclesiastes, and the first six chapters have exposed the vanity, the emptiness, of pursuing meaning apart from God’s will. Now, in chapter 7, Solomon begins to unpack practical wisdom: surprising “better than” statements that confront our default choices and train us to live in a way that actually lasts. Key verses frame the whole passage:
- “Wisdom is good with an inheritance… for wisdom is a defense as money is a defense… wisdom gives life to those who have it.” (Eccl. 7:11–12)
Money can build guardrails, pay bills, create stability, open options. But Solomon says wisdom does something money can’t: it gives life. And because God’s wisdom often contradicts what seems obvious, it will regularly feel like choosing wholesome food over snow cones, better for you, but not your first craving.
Main Points
Are you willing to let God’s wisdom correct your instincts, even when it feels backward to you? God’s central invitation in Ecclesiastes 7 is to trade “life under the sun” (life interpreted without God) for the better way of wisdom that defends, redirects, and ultimately gives life.
All summer we’ve been walking through Ecclesiastes, and the first six chapters have exposed the vanity, the emptiness, of pursuing meaning apart from God’s will. Now, in chapter 7, Solomon begins to unpack practical wisdom: surprising “better than” statements that confront our default choices and train us to live in a way that actually lasts.
Key verses frame the whole passage:
- “Wisdom is good with an inheritance… for wisdom is a defense as money is a defense… wisdom gives life to those who have it.” (Eccl. 7:11–12)
Money can build guardrails, pay bills, create stability, open options. But Solomon says wisdom does something money can’t: it gives life. And because God’s wisdom often contradicts what seems obvious, it will regularly feel like choosing wholesome food over snow cones, better for you, but not your first craving.
Wisdom Defends And Gives Life
Solomon starts by comparing wisdom to money: both can function as a “defense” (Eccl. 7:12). We all understand how resources can protect a life, medical needs, unexpected crises, opportunities to provide and serve. But wisdom doesn’t merely preserve; it animates. It “gives life” to those who have it.
So I want you to receive this as a discipleship aim: don’t just ask, “What will work?” Ask, “What will give life?” Many choices “work” short-term, impress people, or soothe anxiety, yet still hollow us out. Wisdom from God builds a kind of life money can’t buy and suffering can’t steal.
This is why Scripture trains us to distrust self-centered instincts:
- “Lean not on your own understanding” and “do not be wise in your own eyes” (Prov. 3:5–7)
God’s wisdom will sometimes violate what “makes sense” to you in the moment. But on the far side of obedience is life.
Choose Character Over Impression
“A good name is better than precious ointment” (Eccl. 7:1).
Ointment in Solomon’s world wasn’t just luxury; it helped mask the smells of daily life and helped someone make a good first impression. In our world, it’s the whole category of surface polish, presentation, branding, charisma, curated image.
Solomon’s discipleship push is simple and piercing: it’s better to be trustworthy than impressive. A “good name” is the slow fruit of character, faithfulness, kindness, integrity, gentleness, consistency, the kind of life that makes people say, “I can trust them.” That’s the aroma of the Spirit, not just the scent of ointment.
So I want you to ask yourself: where am I spending more energy on appearing godly than becoming godly? Where am I protecting an image instead of cultivating the fruit of the Spirit?
Let The End Teach You Wisdom
Then Solomon says something that jolts us:
- “The day of death [is better] than the day of one’s birth” (Eccl. 7:1)
He’s not denying the joy of new life. He’s teaching that when your life ends, if you lived it with God’s wisdom, your story can display the full weight of grace, endurance, repentance, love, and faithfulness. The “day of birth” is potential; the “day of death” reveals what God actually formed.
This leads directly into the next “better than”:
- “Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting… and the living will take it to heart.” (Eccl. 7:2)
Funerals preach what parties often mute: you are finite, life is brief, God is real, and you will meet Him. Mourning has a way of tenderizing the heart to hear the gospel. When death is in view, excuses shrink and eternity becomes concrete.
That’s why Moses prayed:
- “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12)
I want you to see grief differently, not as a meaningless interruption, but as a classroom where God can give you wisdom you wouldn’t receive in seasons when “the plan is working.”
Receive Sorrow As Heart Surgery
Solomon presses further:
- “Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better.” (Eccl. 7:3)
- “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning… the heart of fools is in the house of mirth [amusement].” (Eccl. 7:4)
This is not a command to pursue misery or spiral into depression. It’s a warning against living on constant distraction, “the house of amusement”, as a way of avoiding reality: death, sin, brokenness, need, repentance, healing.
God sometimes draws near in sorrow in a way we resist in comfort. Think about your own walk with Jesus: many of the deepest moments of intimacy with Him came when you were humbled, needy, grieving, or undone.
And God doesn’t waste that sorrow. He uses it to heal:
- Jesus saw the crowds “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” and He was moved with compassion (Matt. 9:36).
- Jesus taught, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).
Do you see the pattern? Godly sadness isn’t the end, it’s often the doorway. Sadness can precede repentance, and repentance opens the way to comfort. If you’re mourning right now, don’t assume God has abandoned you. He may have you exactly where your heart can finally receive what it couldn’t receive in louder seasons.
Prefer Loving Rebuke Over Empty Noise
Solomon then turns from sorrow to counsel:
- “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.” (Eccl. 7:5)
- “For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools. This also is vanity.” (Eccl. 7:6)
The “song of fools” is the soundtrack of easy affirmation, noise without substance, laughter without depth, amusement without transformation. It burns hot for a moment like thorns crackling under a pot, but it doesn’t last and it doesn’t nourish.
A wise rebuke, though, is a gift. It may sting, but it protects your life. It’s part of the defense Solomon is talking about, wisdom guarding you like money can guard you, but with deeper power because it reshapes your soul.
So I’m asking you directly: do you have wise people who can correct you? And when they do, do you receive it as mercy? If you only listen to voices that entertain you, flatter you, or confirm you, you’ll be formed by vanity. But if you learn to love wise correction, you will grow.
Conclusion
Ecclesiastes 7 begins the turn from exposing vanity to practicing wisdom. God’s wisdom often feels like the opposite of what we’d choose, like children preferring snow cones while a loving parent offers real nourishment. Yet Solomon insists: wisdom is not merely useful; it gives life (Eccl. 7:11–12).
So let me leave you with the invitation of this chapter: pursue a good name over surface polish; let funerals and losses teach you to number your days; receive sorrow as God’s tool for heart-healing; and prefer wise rebuke over the empty crackle of foolish noise. This is the better way, difficult at times, but filled with life.
Father, I confess that I often lean on my own understanding and choose what seems best in my eyes. Give me a heart of wisdom. Teach me to number my days, to live with eternity in view, and to build a life marked by a good name, Christlike character, rather than surface impressions.
Lord, for those of us who are mourning, meet us with Your comfort. Use sorrow to make our hearts better, not harder. Deliver us from the “house of amusement” when it becomes a refuge from repentance and reality. Give us the compassion of Jesus for a broken world, and the humility to receive the rebuke of the wise as a gift.
Holy Spirit, form in me the kind of wisdom that defends my life and truly gives life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Ecclesiastes 7 begins the turn from exposing vanity to practicing wisdom. God’s wisdom often feels like the opposite of what we’d choose, like children preferring snow cones while a loving parent offers real nourishment. Yet Solomon insists: wisdom is not merely useful; it gives life (Eccl. 7:11–12).
So let me leave you with the invitation of this chapter: pursue a good name over surface polish; let funerals and losses teach you to number your days; receive sorrow as God’s tool for heart-healing; and prefer wise rebuke over the empty crackle of foolish noise. This is the better way, difficult at times, but filled with life.
Closing Prayer
Father, I confess that I often lean on my own understanding and choose what seems best in my eyes. Give me a heart of wisdom. Teach me to number my days, to live with eternity in view, and to build a life marked by a good name, Christlike character, rather than surface impressions.
Lord, for those of us who are mourning, meet us with Your comfort. Use sorrow to make our hearts better, not harder. Deliver us from the “house of amusement” when it becomes a refuge from repentance and reality. Give us the compassion of Jesus for a broken world, and the humility to receive the rebuke of the wise as a gift.
Holy Spirit, form in me the kind of wisdom that defends my life and truly gives life. In Jesus’ name, amen.