- A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth. -
Ladies and Gentlemen, we did it! We are halfway through Ecclesiastes.
In fact, I didn’t mention this, but our last post on Chapter 6 was #100.
Thank you all for joining me on this adventure, and I hope it has encouraged and grown your relationship with God.
Onto chapter 7!
I particularly like this chapter for the way it highlights lessons of wisdom. These were things I experienced in my life (like my grandfather’s funeral) that I was happy to see in Scripture.
They are surprising lessons, good for the modern American to know in our age of immediate gratification.
The first part of this verse talks about our reputations. To have a name that is respectable is better than to have a sweet-smelling perfume.
What’s the lesson here? Not too difficult. You would rather have a good reputation rather than expensive possessions.
Would you rather be poor? To some extent, yes.
Would you rather be a rich Nazi or a man of integrity starving in a prison in WW2 Germany? There is only one morally correct answer.
The second part of the verse makes us reconsider the former. How could it be that our death is to be more celebrated than the day of our birth?
You may be tempted to say, “Because, silly, that’s when we go to heaven!” Remember, Solomon isn’t privy to that revelation yet.
Perhaps, he had a vision from God, but I don’t think he would know that explicitly. He still believes the good go to the nice part of Sheol, not exactly a heavenly experience.
When do you receive your name? On the day of your birth. A good name is better than ointment because it is what you will be referred to all of your days.
Interesting twist and makes you consider what you name your children.
Why then this focus on our birth being less than the day of our death? Why does our end hold more significance than our beginning?
Think about the way humans enter the world. They show up screaming, in pain at their first breaths, covered in blood.
It’s not exactly a peaceful entrance. They come out of a place of comfort where every need is cared into a world of scarcity and pain.
Think about it this way. What are you guaranteed out of life? A fancy car? All the food you can eat? Diamonds growing on trees?
Right. None of that. All that your promised is suffering. Do nothing, and that’s exactly what you get.
Why then is the day of death better? Is it because it is a release from this world? That you no longer have to struggle?
If that’s the answer, then haven’t we made the case to end our own life? Why continue on.
Ask yourself this: do you want a life free of suffering, or one where you experience victory over suffering?
Which proves to you there is goodness, hope, and peace? Which makes that truth unassailable? Which would you accept as true?
The day of death is your freedom from this present life. It is also the day when your adventure ends, where what you staked your life on comes out for all to see.
It’s not thrust upon you, like life. It’s your response to life that is seen in your death.
Did you live a life worthy of the chance you were given? Did you serve God?
Did you cause more suffering or love?
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