Broken Wheel
Broken Wheel
Ecclesiastes 7:27-28
0:00
-3:30

Ecclesiastes 7:27-28

A Good Woman

- Behold, this is what I found, says the Preacher, while adding one thing to another to find the scheme of things—which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. -

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-gray-sweater-holding-her-face-3767399/

Look – I don’t pick what Solomon writes, okay? You can choose to stop reading this crazy guy at any time!

I think there are two ways to read this verse and I want to look at both. The first is a personal meaning for Solomon; the latter is more universal.

How many wives did Solomon have? 700 wives plus 300 concubines for a nice round 1,000 women in total.

That number is familiar. Okay, I’ll stop being cute. It’s the exact number Solomon refers to in this verse. Coincidence?

So, what is Solomon telling us? That it’s impossible to find a good woman because he had a thousand ladies and none of them worked out.

Doesn’t seem like the lesson Jesus wants us to take, does it?

Perhaps he means something like this. “I” could not find a good woman even though I had a thousand chances.

What does that mean? Perhaps its not the number but the method that hindered Solomon. Maybe marriage is more about loyalty than picking the perfect mate.

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Right, that’s one option. I don’t think it’s impossible for that to be the meaning, but it’s not the most compelling read to me.

When I read this verse plainly, I see two meanings: 1) a misogynistic view of women and 2) it is simply harder to be an ideal woman than an ideal man.

It’s not that Solomon is bitter, rather he is an admirer.

Can we find further evidence of this idea? First, look to our culture. What does it tell us about women?

That they are better off as men. They need to get careers and be like all those sarcastic and rude guys from all those movies we like.

Is this true? Why would God make us BOTH in His own image if He didn’t have a purpose for our difference?

This is part of a longer sermon I gave on Ephesians 5:22-24, those pesky verses on wives submitting to their husbands.

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It’s a massive topic, but I’d appreciate your grace in allowing me to lay forth a portion of that argument here.

Here’s the deal. Men have only one way to be in the world, and that is as men. Women get a much rougher deal.

Women have three stories they can live out.

First, and definitely the least, they can be men. I can even give you a Bible verse! Go read about Jael, the woman who killed the enemies of God with a tent peg (Judges 4).

Second, women can turn “monsters” into men. You guessed it; there is a Bible verse for this one as well. Okay, a whole book. Give Esther a read.

Finally, women can be mothers. Who better to show us this truth than Mary. She was the path for Jesus into this world.

Our culture loves to denigrate motherhood, but that’s only because it doesn’t understand what motherhood is.

It is the ability to bring in a saving force into the world, love and nurture its potential, and allow it to die.

It is hard to find a more noble, loving, and tragic story that a human can live than being a good mother.

Who could ever live up to it?

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Housekeeping: This is going to be our last verse for the year. I’ll pick back up on January 3rd.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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