Solomon’s practical counsel
Spotlight on Ecclesiastes 7:1-14
“A fool’s laughter is quickly gone like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless.”- Ecclesiastes 7:6
In this verse Solomon compares a fool’s laughter to crackling thorns in a fire. “The thin wood of thornbushes produces a lot of noise that draws attention as it bursts quickly into flame. However, it makes very poor firewood since it has no lasting heat or sustained cooking ability.” [1] This is a tremendous analogy. Solomon gives us a visual to something that cannot be seen. While you can see a person laughing, you cannot see the laugh itself, just like you can’t see the wind.
When you light a fire, whether using thornbushes or any other kind of wood, there is a big burst of flame. Depending on how much wood is on the fire and how the stack of wood is set up will determine the initial flame and how sustainable it will be. By comparison, laughter bursts forth, then dies to a barely discernable sound in a short time. Forced laughter is easily recognizable and dies out rather quickly. It has no intrinsic meaning or value; therefore, Solomon refers to it as meaningless.
There is value in wisdom. Wisdom is something you can grow from by acquiring it. It is something you can enrich others with by passing it along. Not so with laughter. Those that laugh incessantly become an annoying nuisance. While all in God’s creation has value, those who languish in useless banter and resist the maturation process are doomed to stumble thru life making fools of themselves. While still loved by God, they are squandering the precious life God gave them in favor of frivolously bandying about. They must feel they can avoid any serious responsibilities in this life, however, life itself has many serious matters inherently embedded in its’ fabric. The behavior of a foolish man is deemed meaningless by Solomon, like so many other things he has experienced. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: NIV Study Bible (Copyright © 1985, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011 by Zondervan.)
[1] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.)
No comments:
Post a Comment