Day #18: Who is Righteous?

Wisdom gives a wise person more protection than ten rulers in a city. For there is not one truly righteous person on the earth who continually does good and never sins. Also, do not pay attention to everything that people say; otherwise, you might even hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your own heart that you also have cursed others many times. (Ec 7:19-22)

In Ecclesiastes 7:19-29 Solomon applies his wisdom to the question, "who is righteous?"  His conclusion is simple- no one.  This certainly corresponds to the rest of Scripture (1 Kin 8:46; 2 Chr 6:36; Ps 143:2; Prov 20:9; Rom 3:23).  And the word he used for righteous is the most common in the Old Testament.  It is used 208 times.  When describing a person, it means, "just, innocent, in the right; upright, and devout". He also adds an important qualifier, that God made man upright, but they turned evil.

 

Solomon proves his point by illustrating two main areas of life, the tongue, and the temptation of the wayward woman.  Even though a person may claim to be righteous, he will hear others cursing him, and he also has cursed others.  In other words, we do not truly control our tongue, and it reveals the condition of our hearts. James the brother of Jesus put it this way…

 

And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; (James 3:6-9)

 

Therefore, no one should claim to be truly righteous. 

 

 I discovered this: More bitter than death is the kind of woman who is like a hunter’s snare; her heart is like a hunter’s net and her hands are like prison chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is captured by her. The Teacher says: I discovered this while trying to discover the scheme of things, item by item. What I have continually sought, I have not found; I have found only one upright man among a thousand, but I have not found one upright woman among all of them. This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright, but they have sought many evil schemes. (Ec 7:26-29)

 

The second example he gives is the temptation of a certain type of woman.  She is like a hunter's snare; her heart is like a hunter's net; and her hands are like prison chains.  It's clear that Solomon is primarily writing to the young men in his kingdom.  He warns them of the pitfalls he has encountered.  With 700 wives and 300 concubines, surely there were some who could easily entrap a man.  He suggests that the man who wishes to please God will escape their clutches, but the sinner is captured.  And there is a spiritual component to this treachery.  These types of women have the capacity to turn a young man from pure devotion to God.  Indeed, this happened to Solomon…

 

King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They came from nations about which the LORD had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them. He had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines; his wives had a powerful influence over him. When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been. (1 Kin 11:1-4)

 

Of course, this raises an interesting question.  How can Solomon write these things in Ecclesiastes when he had not followed his own advice?  Solomon loved the Lord as a young man (1 Kin 3:3).  God had given him unusual wisdom when he was approximately twenty years old (1 Kin 3:10-15).  But as he grew older, he violated three specific commands God had given: 1. Not accumulating many horses 2. Not amassing great wealth and 3. Not marrying many women, especially foreign women (Deut 17:14-20).  There is no real evidence that his wisdom was waning as he grew older.  Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon prove this point.  But just being wise did not ensure that he would be righteous.  Wisdom has its limitations (Ec 7:23-25).  He was wise in many areas, but not in his personal life.  We see this pattern repeated often in our own day.  Religious leaders may teach brilliant truths, but not lead exemplary lives.  Possibly this was Solomon's problem.

 

That might explain why he stated that no one is righteous.  He was admitting his own failures. 

 

Questions to consider:

1.       How should we respond when we read that no one is righteous?

2.       What are some common ways we seek to justify ourselves before God?

3.       How has He solved the problem of our sin?


Read on to Day #19

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