May 2, 2025 - Ecclesiastes 7:1,2 - "The House of Mourning"

Ecclesiastes 7:1,2

"A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart."

He would be the kind of person for whom you might ask, “What do you give to someone who has everything?” Yet, God caused Solomon to reflect upon his life and the vanity of having all things, while lacking the one thing needful. What is that one vital thing that truly matters? Better even than "precious ointment!"

Where was the precious ointment found? It was found in the kings’ palaces. It speaks of the incense and perfumes often burned in such places. Remember, they didn’t have air conditioning in those days. In the heat and humidity, homes could easily become musty. How precious, then, was an ointment that gave off a sweet savor—especially when this world offers little more than the stench of death.

But what name is better than precious ointment? It is the name of Christ. To bear His name, to be given that name, is greater than all that the world has to offer. Even our LORD Jesus, when the seventy disciples returned with joy, rejoiced that they had the power to heal and cast out devils. He redirected their focus. That power, though real, was temporary. Not all who were healed or delivered were the LORD’s. It was a manifestation of His messianic power. “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17–20).

That was a house of feasting, a moment of joy and excitement. But the Lord gently turned their joy from temporal power to eternal grace. When He said, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven,” He was declaring His eternal origin and authority. He was there when Satan was cast down, and now on earth, He had come to crush that old serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). This is the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9)—better than ointment, better than all that the world esteems: to be in Christ. By His power and authority, He has conquered. He has overcome. And therefore, in Him, no enemy, no power, can touch us, but that which has already touched Him. In Psalm 119:71, we hear the voice of the Savior: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” We rejoice not because we bear our condemnation for sin, but because He bore it. That is what brings true joy.

What was the house of mourning to which our LORD went? The Scripture says He didn’t come to enjoy ease or festivity. Look at how He walked this earth. He was given the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and everything about His taking on flesh was for suffering and sorrow—that which was due to His people. He bore it Himself.

His ultimate house of mourning was the cross. Yet He “set His face like a flint” toward Jerusalem (Isaiah 50:7), and would not be deterred. Why? Because it would be in that house of mourning—His death—that God the Father would once for all justify the sinners He gave to Christ. The cross was His house of mourning where He came to lay down His life and save those the Father had given Him from before the foundation of the world. When He told His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you," it was His death on the cross that was that place (John 14:3).

Why then does the Lord afflict His children in this world? It begins in the heart, where He shows us the sinfulness of sin. And then, through life’s trials, He continues to chasten: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6).

You don’t want to be left to yourself, to a life of nothing but outward feasting and carnal ease. Thank God that, moment by moment, He brings His children again and again to the house of mourning, the foot of His cross. He afflicts, chastens, and corrects, lest they ever put confidence in the flesh. So much for the saying, “Believe in Jesus, and all will be well.” To be drawn to Christ puts you at odds with the world. The world wants a popular Jesus—a Jesus of health, wealth, and prosperity. And many pulpits accommodate this false christ. They say, “Come to Jesus, and all your needs will be met." But that’s not what our Lord said. What did He say in John 16:33? “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” How do we have hope in this world? Because He has overcome.

What does the house of mourning teach us? That we are nothing. That, apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ, there is only condemnation. That’s why our Lord taught: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3–4). We bring nothing. Better to be of that poor number Christ came to save. The Spirit of God teaches our hearts to mourn—not only for sin, but for having ever looked to ourselves for hope.

How are we comforted? By the grace of God, we know that Christ came into the world for such as we are. The house of mourning, where sinners of God's choosing dwell, and He has entered in to deliver them and bring them out into His banqueting House of Wine, the wine representing His shed blood unto death for His own (Song of Solomon 2:4).