Ecclesiastes 7:5-7

"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." (Ecclesiastes 7:5-7, ESV)

The Preacher continues to offer up some bits of wisdom. These statements read very much like the Proverbs, which is not surprising since proverbs (Short, pithy, memorable, poetic statements of wisdom. Sort of like “a penny saved is a penny earned” or “the early bird gets the worm”) were a popular ancient genre for communicating wisdom. In these proverbs the Preacher not only says that mourning is better than laughter (as in 7:1-4) but a rebuke is better than fun. More precisely, he says the “rebuke of the wise” is far better than the “song of fools.” The fools’ laughter, he says, is like the thorns burning in the fire. James Crenshaw says of this picture that “thistles provide quick flames, little heat, and a lot of unpleasant noise.” Fools fill their moments with trivial fun and silliness, and their incessant, banal giddiness is useless and annoying.

The last verse (“Surely oppression . . .”) seems a bit out of place, but in the Hebrew it is actually given as a supporting thought to the previous two verses. “Oppression” can also mean “gain from extortion.” So the final thought here probably means something like “greedy gain from extortion makes foolish even the wise, and a bribe corrupts his heart.” I think this is a transition between 7:5-6 and the following verses which stress the folly of seeking immediate pleasure without considering the long term. Perhaps the connection is that not only is frivolity a waste, but it is also dangerous. If the wise gets caught up in the laughter of fools, he will easily be corrupted by the tastes of fools. And the fool’s delight is immediate self-gratification. Triviality breeds selfishness.

A major part of living a life that matters is intentionality. You have to intentionally avoid the fun of fools and intentionally treasure the rebuke of the wise. Naturally you will do just the opposite. You will love banality and loathe rebuke. You will kindle your fire with useless thistles rather than set it ablaze with hard truth. But if you do, you are a fool.