The End is Better than the Beginning

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
And the day of death than the day of one's birth;
2 Better to go to the house of mourning
Than to go to the house of feasting,
For that is the end of all men;
And the living will take it to heart.

3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool.
This also is vanity.

7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason,
And a bribe debases the heart.

8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

10 Do not say,
"Why were the former days better than these?"
For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
And profitable to those who see the sun.

12 For wisdom is a defense as money is a defense,
But the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it.

13 Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.

The practical wisdom here tells us in different ways how the end is better than the beginning.  A good name remembered at death is a precious balm to bring comfort such as one’s birth does not give since nothing has been lived out yet to call to remembrance.  In this way the end of death is far better than the beginning of life.  It truly is better to mourn with the mourners than share empty laughter without purpose or good memories.  Those who observe these things will take it to heart and see that a good life matters as well as the eternal life to come when those things are brought forward in God’s remembrance.  We mourn now and rejoice later.  Likewise it is wisdom in action to ignore the songs of foolishness and rather listen to godly rebuke for course corrections in our lives.  It is emptiness to echo empty laughter at the meaninglessness of the temporal pursuit of fools who snap and disturb the pot we eat from as popping thorns in the fires of adversity.  We should be heeding God’s word of wisdom instructing us through others instead.  For we do not want to accept bribes or oppress others in false happiness that quickly fades, but encourage one another with lasting joy founded on the solid rock of God’s word who is the Christ.  This the end is better than the beginning as patience keeps us staying the course away from pride of bad understanding and lack of knowledge.  Patience demands we calm our anger, no matter how difficult it is to avoid, and to not dwell in the past as it is we’re so much better.  Instead we should be looking forward in patience and peace in God’s grace and instruction of practical knowledge and wisdom with an eternal inheritance to profit our souls, not the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  Our God-given wisdom will guide us and defend us as a treasured resource while the excellence of such knowledge teaches us the skillful application known as wisdom for us to live by in true prosperity of soul.  Yes, stop to consider God’s work as verse 13 says and know He alone can make our ways straight (Isaiah 40:3) or keep it crooked for those to whom it has been ordained (Romans 9:22).  In the end we are encouraged to be full of joy regardless of existential and fleeting happiness when experiencing adversity.  We know that our sovereign God has providentially ordered both good and bad and we cannot see the outcome apart from the promises telling us so.  Therefore we trust Him in all things and know that the end of all things, including our lives and joy and peace, are in His hands as we humbly trust Him (1 Peter 5:6) for the eternal future.  We may not be able to find out all that will come after us as Solomon said here, but we know much more with assurances since Jesus Christ has come to instruct us further and encourage us by teaching according to the Helper left in His place to live inside us (John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 16).  Our redeemed end truly is far better than the beginning of our fallen state of sin!