Gilbert House Fellowship #436: Ecclesiastes 7–8

THE NOTION that grief is better than rejoicing is counterintuitive, but the lesson is profound: Wisdom is gained through suffering.

On the surface, Ecclesiastes 7 seems terribly downbeat: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (v. 2); “Sorrow is better than laughter” (v. 3); “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning” (v. 4), and so on. The point is that true wisdom is gained through adversity, not the pursuit of pleasure—a message that’s never been very popular.

At the end of the day, what matters is eternity, and keeping our eyes fixed on that means setting aside the pleasures of the moment.

Sharon’s niece, Sarah Sachleben, was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, and the medical bills are piling up. If you are led to help, please go to GilbertHouse.org/hopeforsarah.

Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/4esHHgu), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3XR6KnV), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Gates-of-Hell-Audiobook/B0DCX4YNVZ)!

Derek’s new book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is now available in paperback (https://amzn.to/3YOHZJE), Kindle (https://amzn.to/3UBG1K5), and as an audiobook at Audible (https://www.audible.com/pd/Destination-Earth-Audiobook/B0DDV1ZC8R?qid=1730562326)!

If you are looking for a text of the Book of 1 Enoch to follow our monthly study, you can try these sources:

• Parallel translations by R. H. Charles (1917) and Richard Laurence (1821)

• Modern English translation by George W. E. Nickelsburg and James VanderKam (link to book at Amazon)
• Book of 1 Enoch - Standard English Version by Dr. Jay Winter (link opens free PDF)
• Book of 1 Enoch - R. H. Charles translation (link opens free PDF)

The SkyWatchTV store has a special offer on Dr. Michael Heiser’s two-volume set A Companion to the Book of Enoch. Get both books, the R. H. Charles translation of 1 Enoch, and a DVD interview with Mike and Steven Bancarz for a donation of $35 plus shipping and handling. Link: https://bit.ly/heiser-enoch

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JOIN US IN ISRAEL! Our next tour of Israel is October 19–30, 2025 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information and to reserve your place, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel.

Note: Due to schedule conflicts, Doug Van Dorn, Dr. Judd Burton, and Timothy Alberino will join our tour in the spring of 2026.

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