Wisdom From Ecclesiastes for 2024

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On the final Sunday of 2023, our family worshipped in Arcola with our friends at MMRBC. The Old Testament reading came from Ecclesiastes 7. There is so much in that chapter, but in this post I'll restrain myself to verse 10. It says, 

Say not, 'Why were the former days better than these?'
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Looking and longing for the "good ole days" is not a character trait of the wise, according to Scripture. We all understand this tendency (perhaps in recent years more than ever). There is this temptation to look back on a previous golden age with longing that is accompanied by self-pity or despair at the loss of it. This could be longing for days when our own lives were simpler or it could be yearning for a former period in history when things just seemed better. And then we can end up vexing ourselves as we wonder how it has come to this and why things had to change. 

And this is obviously not a new temptation as it was worth addressing way back in Solomon's day. 

Not From Wisdom

This verse doesn't explain exactly why this is unwise sentiment. It just states the proverb as a fact. However, we can understand at least a few reasons why this is unwise. 

First, there is a tendency to downplay the trials of those 'former days.' Whether we are considering our own past or society's, we do not always remember things accurately. We tend to remember only the good things. Previous days may, in some sense, have been truly better, but they also came with their own trials and difficulties. The 1940s seem like better days in North America to me, but there was, of course, a World War. Or, consider Israel's remembrance of the food in Egypt as they glossed over the horrific slavery that accompanied it (Num 11:5). So, it's possible we have a skewed grasp of the past for which we long. 

Second, no matter how much greater previous days may have been, we simply cannot go back. Whether you would prefer to go back to a few years ago or a few centuries ago, wringing your hands about it is unprofitable and unproductive. Learning from the past is one thing, but it is fruitless to long for it wistfully and agonize over why things have deteriorated as they have. We cannot go back; we cannot change what has occurred. 

Third, God, being sovereign over history, has orchestrated things such that you and I live here now. What's past is past. Little is profited from being overly sentimental about the past and feeling sorry for ourselves in the present. It will only hinder us from living our lives to God's glory now. Things are what they are, ultimately, because God has ordained it. Our lamenting about "why" will likely reveal a heart of complaint against the God who orders all things. 

Life in 2024

None of this means that everything in the present is great or that there weren't objectively better days in the past. Furthermore, there are no guarantees that this year will easy. This isn't a summons to name-and-claim your best year yet! 

Rather, this is a call entrust all of these things to the God who rules all things according to a higher wisdom than we can ever possess! So much of Ecclesiastes is concerned with reminding us that we will not be able to find out all the ways of God even though we search it out (see 3:11; 7:27-28). He has hidden ways and purposes that go beyond our personal desires for happy days. And whatever God's ultimate designs are, He has you and me here now. There is a freedom to letting go of our fretting over what has occurred and entrusting it all to our God.

Therefore, let us remember with thankfulness the blessings that God has poured down upon us in former days, but let us also renew confidence in our God for the days ahead. 

Let us keep our heads up, with eyes fixed on the precious promises of God which remind us that, as his people, he will work all things for our good (Rom 8:28), even if the things we experience are trials. 

Let us recall that our God disciplines those he loves so that we might share in his holiness (Heb 12:10)! Our God is not through with sanctifying his people, which is wonderful news at all times, including difficult times. 

Let us also remember that the saints in Scripture and throughout history have found cause to be joyful and worshipful even in trying circumstances (see Acts 16:25; Phil 4:4). Let us seek to follow their example! 

And, of course, for all in Christ Jesus, the greatest of all days is yet ahead of us, when our Lord will return in glory and usher in the new heavens and new earth! So, let us also fix our eyes on eternity. 

May God richly bless his people—the world over—with great fruitfulness in the year ahead, regardless of external circumstances!

 

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