Ecclesiastes 7:7-10

Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verses 7 through 10 for our text and study this evening. Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, and the patient in spirit is better than the best. proud and spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou thus not inquire wisely concerning this. God blessed to us is sacred and holy word this evening. There was a young man who used to die for exotic fish for aquariums. He said the most popular exotic fish was the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and you can find it, it will stay a size in proportion to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can be six inches long, he said, and fully matured. but if you turn them loose in the ocean, those same sharks will grow to their normal length of about eight feet. I’m afraid something like this happens to Christians. There are some little six-inch Christians swimming around because they’ve never grown up. They are confined by maybe some of the various hindrances, the various hardships, and have not learned. to overcome them, and that has stunned their spiritual progress in this life. Solomon has been talking to us about the school of hard knocks. That sorrow and rebuke and even death, he says, have beneficial aspects to them. This is something the world does not comprehend, but the Christian does. However, the problem with the School of Hard Knocks is when you go through all the bruising moments in life, sometimes it too easily crowds out the lessons that you ought to learn, and you don’t learn the lesson. So you end up with retarded personal growth instead. Thus Solomon realizes the need here for a proper response to the hindrances of life. if you’re going to grow through them. So if they’re going to be of any benefit to your soul, if they’re going to be a blessing to you, it’s not going to come automatically, but it’s going to come as you learn to deal with them in a biblical manner. So we’re going to talk about overcoming hardships or hindrances here to personal growth. Let me begin. by saying this. You must be able to deal with pressure to personally grow. Verse 7, he tells us this. Surely oppression make of a wise man mad, and the gift destroyeth the heart. Now, frequently, Solomon has spoken of oppression throughout this. This book, Chapter 4, verse 1. chapter 5, verse 8, or some examples, because there is a lot of oppression. And when we use the word oppression, we’re talking about wrong that’s cruelly inflicted upon you. And oppressions he did see under the sun. It was a very common thing to see. He fully realized, he says, surely, how these oppressions create great disson discouragement, even depression for people. Even the wise man here, and I take wise man to be the Christian, the one who knows Christ, even the wise man can be harmed by the pressure, made mad, to think foolishly, to throw you off balance. It short-circuits your spiritual thinking sometimes when you’re under oppression. So if you find yourself, you’re under oppression. under tremendous pressure long enough, may soon be speaking and acting very much unlike your normal self. So you might begin to complain against God, you might begin to grumble against man, or perhaps you use unlawful means in order to escape the pressure, or you might even involve yourself and extracting revenge. Psalm 1253 says this, For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. God does not normally allow the rod of the wicked to continue to afflict us too long, lest we put forth our hands and do the wrong thing. So people succumb to pressure and oppression here. And your Christian principles of behavior then are affected. It destroys those normal checks and balances by which you would evaluate your behavior and see if that was according to God’s purposes. You recall that when Moses and Aaron first arrived in Egypt, they met with the people of God and proclaimed the message. of God’s deliverance from their slavery to Pharaoh. And you read, the people believed. There was a sense of anticipation. There was a sense of excitement that filled the air. They’re going to finally get relief. He heard that Jehovah was looking out for them and their affliction. Now, Pharaoh didn’t receive the message of God, delivered by Aaron and Moses, let my people go. why he responded by telling the Egyptian taskmasters that the Israelites must have too much time on their hands if they can go out into the wilderness of worship. Therefore, he’s going to make their burden heavier. And so he puts more oppression upon them. Well, now you’re going to have to gather your own straw. Instead of me providing it, you go out and gather, but I still want the same quota of bricks. that you’ve been making all along. So the Israelites tried to do this, but it was too much for them. And their leaders or overseers were beaten by Pharaoh’s men. The quota of bricks wasn’t meant. So when they met with Moses and Aaron the second time, they complained, you caused us to be abhorred in the eyes of favor. We will be put to death. You have not delivered. you’ve only made matters worse. Oppression did not allow them to think straight. They became confused about what was best for them, for the nation. God’s promise then was cast aside because of the bitter oppression that they were enduring. Solomon traces the act of oppression here, perhaps to a gift that’s been paid to someone, maybe a judge, perhaps, in order. to destroy the heart. In other words, this gift blots out every principle of moral integrity so you don’t get an honest verdict. You get cheated. The judge takes the bribe, it has a callous disregard to those who are suffering wrongfully, and the oppressor wins. Instead of being condemned by the judge, he wins. Bribes cause those in authority to side with the gift giver. The biblical standard, of course, vetoed any gifts to influence judges or rulers, as Deuteronomy 1619 says, Thou, speaking of the judges and officers, shall not rest judgment or justice. Thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. Don’t take any gifts to pervert justice. Now, with all this in mind, we have to allow some, you know, make some allowances for people that are under oppression, that we don’t treat them like Job’s friends treated him, and were harsh toward him. If you were in their shoes, it would be very difficult to deal with. There’s a lot of pride. pressure to be under oppression for any length of time. It’s never easy. It’s a trying of your faith to be under oppression. But oppression has a way of refining us, has a way of making us more pure. We’re helped along the path of holiness, sometimes by the very oppression that we have to undergo. And so oppression is something, that we have to keep in mind. So you must be able to deal with pressure to personally grow. Secondly, he says here, you must be able to be patient the personally grow. Verse 8, better is the end of the thing than the beginning thereof, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. This tells us that we have to have to have a lot long-term perspective on things. Solomon’s point is that you have to look at the end, at the goal, and not all the hurdles that you presently have to go over and try to negotiate. So we have to have a long-term perspective on things. It’s true that the oppressor may for a period of time, seem to have the upper hand. But in the end, matters may be completely turned around. And that’s what Solomon is trying to say. The end is better than the beginning. The trying of your faith is designed, according to James, to produce patience, and to issue in greater, even eternal, triumph. Look with me at 2 Corinthians 4, 7th. and 18, if you would. 2 Corinthians, 4, 17 and 18. Paul writes here, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are not seen, for the things which are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. The affliction we endure in this life is preparing something greater for us in the next. And then, if you would, look with me also at 1. Peter 2 and verse 19. 1. Peter 2, verses 19 to 23. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if when you be buffeted for your faults, you take it patiently. But if, when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently. This is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for us leaving an example that ye should follow in his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not. But committed himself to him that judges righteously. He waited upon God to straighten matters out, to even the score. And there’s a sense in which we have to have that same trust. in the Lord ourselves and be confident that he will eventually turn matters around. There are many valuable lessons in Christian experience that you learn at the end of a particular period of suffering in your life. You remember when the aging Jacob and his family faced that terrible famine that came into all the world. And it appeared that everything was going wrong in his life. The food was running out. Joseph, his beloved son, he believed, to be destroyed by wild beasts. Simeon was held in an Egyptian prison by an apparently harsh governor who thought his sons were all spies. And the governor of Egypt refused to sell any more grain to his sons unless the youngest son Benjamin, you know, the favorite one is left, goes down with him to Egypt and he was loath to let that happen. Unless something happened to him. So Jacob said unto his sons, me, you have bereaved of my children. Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me. Genesis 42.36. But Jacob, you see, was only looking at the beginning of things. He wasn’t looking at the end of how this was all going to turn out. And so eventually, the bright sun shines through the dark clouds. Jacob here will find this to be the case. At the end, he saw things which he judged to be against him were not the evil he thought they were, but they are actually working for his good. The evil turned out to be substantially good beyond all expectation. Joseph was found alive alive and actually to be the governor of Egypt and the distributor of the grain. Simeon was released from prison. Benjamin was released from prison. Benjamin was able to be to come back with the other sons and everything worked out there. Jacob’s household settled into the best land in Egypt and were provided for the whole time during this terrible famine of seven years. Jacob got to even bless Joseph’s sons. What appeared to be a certain disaster turned out in the end to be a means of blessing that God had provided for Joseph or for Jacob. This is how God works. We only sometimes see the beginning of things and we get all upset because we don’t see the end of them. And we have to trust that God is working to that end. He says, showing patience then is better than being full of pride. Now pride may get you off to a confident start. He might say, you know, I’m going to boast I’m going to go out and do this or I’m going to do out and do this. Other thing. But only patience will pull you through the rough spots so that you can accomplish your goal. Pride is actually a source of impatience. When I have the ability to wait, humility is what gives the heart endurance. Humility, rest, patiently, in God’s will. Beliefity is what gives the heart endurance. that God’s providence is at work in all the events of life. Patience commits the case to God. It goes on doing what God has commanded, believing that somewhere along the line, God is going to work it all out because he’s working everything for our good, as the scriptures tell us. Charles Bridges, the Puritan writer, said that patience is the child of faith. faith. And so faith should produce patience in us that we trust in what God has said in his word and keep doing what he’s commanded. He that believe it shall not make haste. Surely there is an end and thy expectation shall not be cast off. Isaiah 2816. Just wait it out. Trust in the Lord. You know that the Lord is going to accomplish his purposes, regardless of what the circumstances presently are in your life and sometimes it seems like they’re bad circumstances. We have to wait. Because we are incompetent judges of God’s purposes. We can’t tell from the beginning of things how they’re going to end. So we have to be patient and wait upon the Lord. So you must be able to be patient in order. to personally grow. Thirdly tonight, you must be able to deal with frustration to personally grow. Notice verse 8 here. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof and the patient in the spirit, or excuse you, I should be reading verse 9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom the fools. Now we have to understand you can be angry and not sin. Scripture tells us that in Ephesians chapter 4. We know that our Lord Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, was angry when he drove out the money changers and he didn’t sin in doing so. When he made that whip of cords cords and threw him out of the temple of God. But Solomon here is forbidding hasty anger. An anger that burns long term that leads to reckless and irresponsible behavior that we’re going to regret. Life is frustrated. God’s Providence sometimes brings things into your life which may arouse your anger. There’s a tendency to be outraged. When things don’t go according to our plans, quick-temper people are very, very prevalent today. You know, we live in an age where people are very short-fused. Lawsuits are filed at the drop of a hat. Violence breaks out on our streets. There’s road rage. Fights break out of the checkout line at the store. There’s brawls. There’s shootings that are commonplace. Our society believes in instant vengefulness. But such anger is counterproductive for the Christian. Sinful anger has a tendency to escalate until more and more severe measures are taken. Extreme majors are taken. Therefore, to grow personally, you have to control your anger. Otherwise, you’re going to act like a fool, he says. Proverbs 1417, He that is soon angry, dealeth foolishly. What James tells us in James 1.9. is good too. Let every man be slow to speak, slow to wrath. The Bible was full of warnings about sinful anger. We start from the early chapters of Genesis, Chapter 4. And you see, Kane, he killed his brother Abel out of anger. Because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. He was angry of it. hated his brother because of it and killed him. The sons of Jacob slaughtered the entire city of Shechem out of anger to the dismay of Jacob himself is Genesis 34 tells us because of the rape of Dinah, their sister, by Shechem, who was a leading citizen of the city. Had the same name. is the city. Moses we read about struck the rock in anger when he was supposed to just speak to it the second time. Because of his anger with the Israelites, he wasn’t allowed to lead them into the promised land. He had to go up on the mountain and just view it, but he couldn’t go in himself. Absalon murdered his brother Amnon, because he was. harbored anger in his heart. We waited for that opportunity to kill him. Think about Haman, who thought to exterminate every one of the Jews in the whole kingdom of Ahazewaris of the Medes of the Persians, a worldwide kingdom, every Jew in it. Because one Jew, Mordecai, wouldn’t bow down and give him honor. One Jew! and he said, I’m going to get rid of them all. Herodius, the wife of King Herodian, was angry with John the Baptist because he told them that they were sinning. It was not proper for King Herod to have his brother’s wife. That’s against the law. And she waited for that opportunity where she could kill John the Baptist. And when her daughter danced and pleased the king, and he said, I’ll give you anything up half the kingdom. She goes to her mother, and her mother says, give me John the Baptist head on a platter. That’s what we need. And she had him killed. You must be able to deal with frustration to personally grow. Fourthly, tonight. You must be able to avoid vain regrets that personally grow. Notice verse 10. Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? But thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. Boy, here’s another hindrance to our learning from our experiences in this life. And that is that we’re thinking always about the good old days. Or perhaps we’re concentrating of what we should have done what our life would be like if we had gone a different direction in the past instead of the path we already took. Now think about this. Suppose you were driving to Texas and you were going to go on the interstate, how do you think you would do? Do you think you could drive safely if you were always looking in the rear view mirror or worse, looking at the back window of your car? or the whole way down? You think that would be a good idea? Can you imagine driving, you know, 70 miles an hour or 75 or whatever the case may be, with your eyes glued to the back of your car instead of looking in front of you? And so Solomon is saying here is you can’t live life by constantly looking behind you. You think that’s a wise thing to do? If you crash a car, you’re going to crash your life doing that. It’s not that history is useless. History has a good purpose, and you can learn from your past experiences, but what he is concerned about is this discontentment in the present that longs for the days of yesteryear and to turn back the clock to some golden age when it’s already passed, pining for the old days which seem to appear better and brighter and less difficult, he says, is not wise. Do you recall Israel? during their wanderings in the Sinai desert actually longed for their days of slavery in Egypt. It’s almost laughable when you think about it. They actually thought those days were better when they were under these cruel taskmasters and were whipped. But we had better food in this lousy manna that we’re getting every day. We had leeks and garlic and onions and dried fish. Yeah, but you were slaves. Some people never recover from the loss what they believe were the happiest days of their lives. Some Christians long for the excitement that first accompanied them when they came to know the Lord. There are churches with great histories that may look upon the days of yesteryear when they were more influential, maybe specifically more blessed of God in those days. But this isn’t wise, Solomon says. Those days are gone. You can’t relive them. You have to live in the present and look forward to the future. The pines for the past is not the way to live at this time. You must seek God’s present blessings, not whine about what might have been. I like what Paul writes in Philippians 3, 3, 13, and 14, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth under those things which are before, I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There’s things we have to just forget about. They’re past. Let’s focus on the present. Let’s press for the mark that God has laid out before us. Matthew Henry said this. It is folly to cry up the goodness of former times, so as, to derogate from the mercy of God to us in our own times, as if former ages had not the same things to complain of that we have, or if perhaps in some respects they had not, yet as if God had been unjust and unkind to us in casting our lot in an iron age compared with the golden ages that went before us. This arises. from nothing but fretfulness and discontent and in aptness to pick quarrels with God himself. We are not to think there is any universal decay in nature or degeneracy in morals. God has always been good, men always bad. And if in some respects the times are now worse than they have been, perhaps in other respects, they are better. Well, let me close tonight by saying this. The young sharks that are confined to a small aquarium, stay small. They don’t grow any bigger. They may even say six inches long. And same thing can happen spiritually. If we don’t grow beyond a capacity of where we are, we’re going to stay small, spiritually speaking. Christians confined by hindrances and hardships and never growing in those things. just stay where they are. They don’t progress beyond it. So we have to learn to overcome all the hindrances, all the oppression, all the problems that come our way. There’s pressure on us. And when the pressure is upon us, we have to be patient. We have to wait upon God. We have to learn to control our anger and the frustrations that we have in this life. We have to learn to avoid vain regrets about the past, live for the present, live for the future. Because that’s all we have. We can’t undo what’s done. And so this is what Solomon is telling us, I think, in this text tonight. May we keep this in mind as we go through our Christians.