Ecclesiastes Chapter Seven, Subjugating Reason

Ecclesiastes 7:7 Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason, and a bribe debases the heart.

The LXX renders the verse, “For oppression makes a wise man mad, and destroys his noble heart.” The Dead Sea Scrolls translate it, “Extortion makes the wise foolish, and a bribe perverts the heart.” The Tanakh says, “For cheating [emendation yields “riches”] may rob the wise man of reason and destroy the prudence of the cautious.”

Oppression can be defined as, “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control.” Chapter 4 delved into the topic of oppression, and how the weak are oppressed by the strong, and have no comforter. The Oppressors had power, or ability, while the weak had no consolation and were forced to endure the oppression. It is easy to see why prolonged oppression can destroy a wise man’s reason. Remember, the typical Biblical definition of destruction is not annihilation but ruination. Whatever purpose something is for, it is destroyed when it can no longer execute that purpose. When a clay vessel is shattered it is destroyed; it is not annihilated, but its functionality is lost and therefore is considered ruined.

I clarify this topic because that simple word “destroy” has been hijacked by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to mean something that it does not. The context of this verse suggests the same as other Biblical uses of the term. The wise man’s wisdom is not annihilated, but rather perverted from its course, it is ruined because oppression provokes the man to evaluate and decide from factors apart from his wisdom. His reason has been annulled by external forces, and is therefore ruined, or destroyed. Peter was a good example of a man whose faith and confidence were destroyed when he denied knowing Jesus three times because he was so afraid of suffering the same fate. Luckily, our Lord can put together anything that man can undo; and Peter’s earthly confidence and strength were brought low so the Lord could give him something better.

The preacher says that the reason a wise man’s wisdom fails is that he goes mad, or crazy, from oppression. Torture is a form of oppression, a severe form of it. Various militaries have employed torture to extract information from enemy soldiers throughout history. The Roman Catholic Church’s history is utterly replete with documentation of manifold tortures upon innocent people to extract various confessions that should never have been permissible by any court with eyes to see and a heart that was touched by the mercy of God. The Inquisitions stand in history as a testimony of how effective oppression is at making wise men mad. The injustices of stern rulership that engender poverty, inequality, contention and strife sow in that populace an oppressive spirit that can make even the very wise betray their reason and speak or act contrarily.

Oppression is one instrument in this verse, and bribery is the other. The Pharisees bribed the Roman guard when Jesus rose from the dead, urging them to adopt the story that His disciples came and stole His body while the soldiers slept, Matthew 28:11-15. The guards knew the penalty for such a failure was steep, which was why the Jewish religious leaders assured them that they would make them secure with the governor. The guards had seen the truth and knew it, but for money and fear perverted it and created a gross rumor that circulated amongst the Jewish population, running contrary to the historical foundation of the gospel. Felix, like the Roman soldiers, was willing to pervert justice for Paul, if the apostle just gave the man a little money, Acts 24:26. And this all the while Paul reasoned with Felix about the truth of the gospel and the righteousness of God! The term debase can be defined, “to reduce something in quality or value.” The preacher’s words are certainly underplayed when he writes that a bribe debases the heart.