AS THE CRACKLING OF THORNS UNDER A POT

In the concluding verse of chapter six, Solomon asked ‘who knoweth what is good for man?’ In today’s verses, by a series of contrasts, he describes things that are ‘better’:

(1) ‘A good name is better than precious ointment’, v. 1. Pre­cious ointment was costly and was frequently employed in the anointing of kings and priests, Pss. 45. 7; 133. 2. As pleasant as the aroma such ointment would give to both the occasion and the person, a good name is better. The scent of the oil is transient but a good reputation abides, cf. Mk. 14. 8, 9; 3 Jn. 12. What kind of ‘name’ are we likely to leave?

(2) ‘The day of death than the day of one’s birth’, v. 1. The perspective of Ecclesiastes is ‘things under the sun’ and, to the writer, death is better, for he sees it as releasing men from the sor­rows and trials that birth brings fallen man into, ‘under the sun’. The believer today has a much wider perspective and can say with the apostle, ‘to die is gain’, Phil. 1. 21.

(3) ‘It is better to go to the house of mourning than … to the house of feasting’ v. 2. It is lawful to go to both, but the former is more profitable, bringing us face to face with the fact of our own mortality. The fool refuses to acknowledge the inevitability of death, but the righteous are taught to number their days, Ps. 90. 12. Have we numbered them?

(4) ‘Sorrow is better than laughter’, vv. 3, 4. As unwelcome as sorrow is, it develops character, Rom. 5. 3, 4. Knowing that the thoughts of the wise resort to those who suffer rather than to those who close their mind to the realities of life with levity, who ‘spend their days in mirth’, Job. 21. 13 (marg.)

(5) ‘It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than … the song of fools’, vv. 5, 6. Words of rebuke are not always welcome but, when given by one who is wise, if heard, received and acted upon will be to profit, Prov. 25. 12. Not so the song of fools. Thorns crackling under a pot might make a great noise and pro­duce a great blaze, but it is momentary and to no benefit. Unable to be maintained, the fire cannot boil the water to cook the meat and, apart from dispersing ashes abroad, accomplishes nothing. Such is the song and laughter of fools, Prov. 14. 13.