Sadness, Conflict and True Righteousness: A Bible Study on Ecclesiastes 7
You and I were made for righteousness. But sin entered in and created brokenness beyond repair, and it has caused us to seek out many different schemes to make ourselves feel okay.
Today, we return to what we are focusing on throughout the book: How do we make sense of a dark and broken, and complicated world in light of God’s promises and goodness?
You can find the full show notes at https://www.lifeaudio.com/how-to-study-the-bible/
The preacher addresses three different concepts in Ecclesiastes 7:
First - The Role of Sadness in Our Lives (7:2-5)
What really brings wisdom? What helps us grow as people? The reality is, pleasure and good times don’t grow us. None of us like hard times, but we grow in those times. So allow the hard things to teach you to number your days. It will move you toward a greater purpose. The things that move and break our hearts are sometimes the places where God calls us to be activated.
Second - Conflict and the Reality of People (7:8-9; 21-22)
How do we live well in relationship with people? Set an intention for what you want to have come out of conflict (being patient is better than pride). We get so caught up in being right, heard, or getting our way. If we take lightly what people say about us, we acknowledge that everyone (including ourselves) is broken, hurting people.
- Are you focused on getting to the resolution of the conflict, or are you focused on being right?
- Are you easily angered and provoked?
- How is your patience – are you showing up with a spirit of listening?
- How are you doing with forgiving – are you able to let go of small slights?
Third: True Righteousness (7:27-29)
This is challenging scripture. He’s laying out an axiom – an accepted truth – that there is no one on earth who is righteous. This is one of the mega themes of the Bible.
Why is it written out like this? Perhaps to draw out this idea of the rarity of righteousness. It might be a literary technique to gather up a statement of wisdom. But there is nowhere in scripture where it says that women are morally inferior to men. What it does say is that all humanity is broken beyond repair: “none are righteous.”
The preacher is preaching the gospel!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ME?
- Allow the hard things to teach you to number your days.
- Engaging in the reality about yourself and others is true humility and the beginning of wisdom.
- The message of the gospel rings through scripture, and Jesus is our answer.
Additional Scripture to Meditate on This Week: Romans 5
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
RESOURCES:
Nicole’s Book: Help My Bible Is Alive!
Ask Nicole a Bible study question: nicole@nicoleunice.com
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Nicole has spent twenty years serving the local church, first in student ministry (where she’s never lost her love of a great group game) and then leading start-ups of all kinds, from leadership development to capital campaigns. She now teaches and consults with churches and ministries to strengthen their stories and cut through confusion to discover the next right steps for success.
