Ecclesiastes 7:15–29 “Toward Perfect Righteousness”

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 NIV

Suggested Praise Songs:      

• Chris Tomlin – Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
• His Mercy Is More – Shane & Shane
• Come Thou Fount (Above All Else) – by Shane & Shane

Resources for Family Worship (with Children)

• Jesus is Born Luke 2:1-20 – Lesson for Younger Kids
• Agape – Love by BibleProject – Lesson for Older Kids
• Praise Him | Hometown Nazareth HLA | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• God With Us | Hometown Nazareth HLA | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• God is for Me | HLA Babylon | Group Publishing – Song for Kids
• Discussion Questions for Children & Youth are located in the section after Explanation, Meditation, and Prayer (at the end of this email/blog).

Explanation:

The Teacher acknowledges the paradox of reality: those who live righteously do not always have good endings, and those who live wickedly do not necessarily meet bad ends (v. 15). Therefore, he says, do not strive to be overly righteous, nor make a determined effort to be excessively wicked (vv. 16–17). The statement, “Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes” (v. 18), means that we are to acknowledge our limitations and weaknesses and live humbly. Going too far in wickedness is a problem, but going too far even in the pursuit of righteousness can also be a problem. Wisdom is indeed a good thing (v. 19), but human effort alone cannot lead us to perfect righteousness (v. 20).

One reason people push themselves toward extremes is their fear of being spoken ill of by others. While deliberately choosing to live badly should be avoided, in other cases, we must sometimes not be overly concerned about being criticized (vv. 21–22).

The Teacher confesses that although he sought and searched for wisdom, it seemed to move farther away the more he pursued it (vv. 23–24). Nevertheless, he devoted himself to studying the nature of things and to gaining wisdom (v. 25). The “woman who is a snare” in verse 26 is a metaphor for foolishness. The “man who pleases God” refers to one who seeks wisdom. The statement, “One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among them all I did not find” (v. 28), means that finding wisdom is extremely difficult. This is because God’s created order has been distorted by human sin (v. 29). Verse 29 is better rendered in the Revised Korean Version: “God made human beings upright, but they have devised many schemes.”

Meditation:

We are often unwilling to acknowledge our own limitations and weaknesses. As a result, we easily drift toward extremes, and even endeavors that begin with good intentions can end in tragic outcomes. Therefore, while striving to be righteous is a good thing, we must not forget that we cannot attain perfect righteousness. Throughout history, efforts to turn this world into a utopia have always ended in devastating tragedy. Some have tried to realize that dream by forming small communities, but those attempts also ultimately failed. This is because human sinfulness was underestimated.

The statement, “God made us human beings plain and simple, but we have made ourselves complicated” (v. 29), means that the course of human life has become tangled because of sin. As a result, foolishness has become the human default, and in order to escape the snare of foolishness, we must seek wisdom with our whole hearts. Even then, we cannot find perfect wisdom. No matter how desperately we struggle to live blamelessly, we cannot avoid being criticized. Therefore, the best we can hope for as human beings is that, during the time given to us, we daily embrace our own weaknesses and those of our neighbors, bear the day’s toil, and enjoy the day’s portion of joy.

The gospel of Jesus Christ means that a way has been opened beyond those limitations and weaknesses. The gospel is the good news that the perfect righteousness human beings cannot achieve comes to us through Jesus Christ. This righteousness is not something we build up through our own efforts, but something God clothes us with like a garment. In the grace of Jesus Christ, God declares us “righteous” and transforms us into righteous people through the Holy Spirit. Before we knew the gospel, we were “beings confined within our limits,” but in the gospel, we have become “beings who move beyond our limits toward holiness.” We have not become perfect, but we have begun to move toward perfection.

Prayer:

We remember the grace by which You clothed us with the garment of righteousness and enabled us to move toward perfect righteousness, when we had been living in resignation within the limits imposed by sin. We thank You for granting us this grace. Help us to remain always within this grace and to enjoy Your righteousness on this earth. Amen.

Discussion Questions for Children & Youth:

Key Point: We don’t have to be perfect to be loved by God—Jesus gives us His righteousness, and God walks with us as we grow little by little.

• For Preschool-Elementary:
  • When is something hard for you to do “just right”?How do you feel when you make a mistake?
  • Who helps you feel better afterward?
  • What is one small good thing you can try today, trusting that God is with you even if it’s not perfect?
    
• Youth:
  • Where do you feel pressure to be “perfect” (school, church, family, social media)? How does that pressure affect you?
  • The devotion says we can’t avoid criticism no matter how hard we try. How does knowing that change the way you think about other people’s opinions?
  • What does it mean to you that Jesus gives righteousness as a gift, not something we earn?