Oppression Makes a Wise Man Mad - Ecclesiastes 7:7

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said, “as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity” and in chapter seven and verse seven of his book Solomon said, “oppression makes a wise man mad” where we read,

Surely oppression makes a wise man mad; and a gift destroys the heart.

The verse reads, “Surely oppression makes a wise man mad;” Solomon began with the words, “surely oppression” or “yes, indeed, since and because extortion, injury and cruelty” “makes a wise man mad” which means “causes a shrewd, skilled and learned person whether male or female to be wily, subtle and prudent”. Solomon said extortion, injury and cruelty cause a person who is shrewd and cunning to be subtle and prudent. 

The verse goes on to say, “and a gift destroys the heart.” Solomon continued with the words, “and a gift” or “and an offering or bribe” “destroys the heart” which means “vanishes, perishes, strays and makes the soul and mind to perish”. Solomon said a bribe ruins the soul and mind of a person. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we see how Solomon contrasted the difficulty that a person who is “wise” endures with bribery that is given to a person. The bribe tends to corrupt and ruin the soul and mind of people, and when injury comes, a person becomes “wiser”. God wants us to be wise in the world, (See James 1:5) and He offers His wisdom to every person who asks Him when they receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we surrender to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the wisdom of His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth without any need to receive “gifts” to persuade us to make decisions according to their ways.

Next time Solomon says, “better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".