The Vanity of Laughter Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION

Ecclesiastes 7:2 | It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 | 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 man may not find out anything that will be after him.

OPENING THOUGHT

Ecclesiastes is a brutally honest study of a post-Genesis 3 life under the sun. Because of sin, death entered the scene, and creation has never been the same. Even as we were meant to live eternally with God, we are now forced to watch as generation after generation comes and goes while the earth remains steadfast. After observing all of this, the Preacher arrives at the conclusion that everything under the sun is vanity, nothing more than the merest of breaths.

For the bulk of the book, Solomon strives to show how he reached his conclusion that all is vanity. He describes his near-endless pursuit of pleasure, his sobering observations on time, his firsthand experience that the love of wealth is unsatisfying, and much more. All of this is organized as an philosophical investigation of trying to find something of lasting meaning in this life.

As we enter the second half of the book, the Preacher continues his declaration of difficult and perplexing teachings. In a series of loosely connected proverbs, Solomon points to the good things of life (like laughter, songs, and feasts) and informs us of what is better (namely, sorrow and mourning). These sayings are so difficult because they cut against the very fiber of our being. Pain is unpleasant, so we shirk pain as an evil to be avoided. Yet Solomon’s message is that pain, sorrow, and adversity do have a place in this life: they are teachers, used by God to show us more of Himself.

GROUP DISCUSSION

Read Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 and discuss the following.

Which verses stood out most to you as you read Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 this week? Why? What do these verses teach you about who God is?
Why does the Preacher proclaim that sorrow is better than laughter, mourning better than feasting, and the day of death than the day of birth?
How is wisdom an advantage even in a world where everything is vanity?
What commands does Solomon give us for days of prosperity and of adversity? What do times of adversity in life teach us?

PERSONAL REFLECTION

Because all Scripture profits us through teaching, reproving, correcting, and training us, reflect upon the studied text, and ask yourself the following questions about the present text.