A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fools;
this also is vanity.
Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Comment: In these series of snappy, smart phrases Solomon is trying to cause us to think. Maybe, in days before TV, he even imagined families discussing them, one catchy phrase at time. Possibly he even imagined a group of more adult people sitting after a meal enjoying the equivalent to coffee and talking about them phrase by phrase.
Imagine Joab the second son saying ‘Dad, whatever did he mean by saying that to die is better than to be born?’ Young Saul says ‘That’s stupid’ Mum chips in ‘We don’t use the word stupid in this house. Perhaps he means that the dying has had years of life and the newborn hasn’t got a clue as to what will happen’….
Young Obadiah says ‘well the cackling of thorns bursting into flame makes me think of your sister Hannah, Dad, her laugh is odd to say the least’, ‘Be careful kid, she’s not a fool. Rather think of Esau who laughs at anything without thinking even if it is really very serious’. Mum pipes up ‘It’s late, off to bed!’
Prayer: Help me to take Your word seriously. O God.
As I read it! 