It seems to me that the preacher is being a bit enigmatic if not paradoxical here. Does he still have his worldly hat on? That he concludes with the one that fears God suggests his ultimate understanding of life as one of reverence and humility before God. But I would love to hear your further unfolding of these verses, Kent.
pax,
dora
Originally, this should have been a two-post subseries on wisdom and folly but these verses give a better meaning when not divided (i.e. 15-16 and 18-19). Yes, he (preacher/Solomon) still have his worldly hat on, from verses 15 to 17, until he injects/shifts the idea of fearing GOD as the solution not to be disillusioned, as in the case of verse 15. True, what he said in verse 18 suggest that he has understand the purpose of life and true to what you wrote, Dora “of reverence and humility before GOD.” If this is really Solomon, GOD has imparted him wisdom when he ask for it in his younger years. My take on this is NOT the line/lyrics too much of something is bad enough (verse 16) and too much of nothing is just as tough (verse 17). Rather, be overly righteous to the point of gleaning on ones righteousness (leaning into ones self discipline or works based) and not because of the notion that we are spiritually bankrupt that GOD intervened by renewing our heart so we can strive to be holy; and although we fail at times, He still imputed His righteousness as He completes His work in us. The key here is to trust, acknowledge, and follow GOD. As you pointed out, humility before GOD; that is what we need as seen in the case of the young rich man in Matthew 19:16-26. Blessings to you and your family, Dora!
Thank you Kent. How good is the Lord our God who teaches us not to trust in our own but in His wisdom which by His Spirit He imparts freely when we ask. And how we need it during these days of turmoil and change! 🙏
Amen! You are absolutely right, Dora, the Bible/GOD’s Word keeps on revealing to us that we should trust the Triune GOD. We follow JESUS CHRIST and keep asking for guidance/wisdom from the HOLY SPIRIT.
I’ve seen people use v.16 to say its ok to not be right. But verse 18 puts it in proper perspective: We must fear God. That is the right conclusion…therefore the perspective of 16-17 needs to be corrected by the fear of the Lord
True, verses 15, 16 and 17 will be confusing without verse 18 and for that reason, even if the text is long, the verses are presented in one post. Absolutely right, verse 18 puts the preceding verses “in the proper perspective” i.e. to fear GOD; which is in the same vein as the Book of Proverbs e.g. “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10). I like what the Apostle John had written in 1 John 4:18. Blessings to you and your family!
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright 2001
by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Gersom Clark 
It seems to me that the preacher is being a bit enigmatic if not paradoxical here. Does he still have his worldly hat on? That he concludes with the one that fears God suggests his ultimate understanding of life as one of reverence and humility before God. But I would love to hear your further unfolding of these verses, Kent.
pax,
dora
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Originally, this should have been a two-post subseries on wisdom and folly but these verses give a better meaning when not divided (i.e. 15-16 and 18-19). Yes, he (preacher/Solomon) still have his worldly hat on, from verses 15 to 17, until he injects/shifts the idea of fearing GOD as the solution not to be disillusioned, as in the case of verse 15. True, what he said in verse 18 suggest that he has understand the purpose of life and true to what you wrote, Dora “of reverence and humility before GOD.” If this is really Solomon, GOD has imparted him wisdom when he ask for it in his younger years. My take on this is NOT the line/lyrics too much of something is bad enough (verse 16) and too much of nothing is just as tough (verse 17). Rather, be overly righteous to the point of gleaning on ones righteousness (leaning into ones self discipline or works based) and not because of the notion that we are spiritually bankrupt that GOD intervened by renewing our heart so we can strive to be holy; and although we fail at times, He still imputed His righteousness as He completes His work in us. The key here is to trust, acknowledge, and follow GOD. As you pointed out, humility before GOD; that is what we need as seen in the case of the young rich man in Matthew 19:16-26. Blessings to you and your family, Dora!
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Thank you Kent. How good is the Lord our God who teaches us not to trust in our own but in His wisdom which by His Spirit He imparts freely when we ask. And how we need it during these days of turmoil and change! 🙏
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Amen! You are absolutely right, Dora, the Bible/GOD’s Word keeps on revealing to us that we should trust the Triune GOD. We follow JESUS CHRIST and keep asking for guidance/wisdom from the HOLY SPIRIT.
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I’ve seen people use v.16 to say its ok to not be right. But verse 18 puts it in proper perspective: We must fear God. That is the right conclusion…therefore the perspective of 16-17 needs to be corrected by the fear of the Lord
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True, verses 15, 16 and 17 will be confusing without verse 18 and for that reason, even if the text is long, the verses are presented in one post. Absolutely right, verse 18 puts the preceding verses “in the proper perspective” i.e. to fear GOD; which is in the same vein as the Book of Proverbs e.g. “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10). I like what the Apostle John had written in 1 John 4:18. Blessings to you and your family!
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright 2001
by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Amen! Let me check out 1 John 4:18 again!
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Also thank you for the picture and have a good night!!!
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