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Ecclesiastes 7:15 "In my vain life I have seen everything; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil doing."

 

Qoheleth goes on to advise that we be not "righteous over much" or make ourselves "overwise", lest we destroy ourselves;  and that we be not "wicked over much", nor a fool, lest we die before our time. (Ecclesiastes 7:16-17). Lastly, he says "he who fears God shall come forth from them all." (Ecclesiastes 7:18).

 

We have probably all seen righteous people who die before their time, and wicked people who seem to live forever. (Note, though, that Qoheleth warns that wickedness can also cause us to die before our time (if not here, certainly for eternity!).) But why the warning against being overly righteous? We can't be too righteous, can we? When we see good people suffering, we often wonder why God has allowed it, it doesn't seem fair. And Jesus, the most righteous of all, did die in His righteousness, and was certainly not overly righteous.

 

I think the consolation that "he who fears God shall come forth from them all" tells us that Qoheleth's warning about being overly righteous is aimed at those who act righteously without fear of the Lord, that is, those whose righteousness is just a show, a hypocrisy. Those people need a healthy fear of the Lord just as much as the wicked do!

 

Ecclesiastes begins with the words "Vanity of vanities! ... All is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2), and in this passage Qoheleth reminds us he's speaking from the experience of his vain life. I think both the righteousness and the wickedness he warns of are forms of vanity. When we revel too much in our own sense of righteousness, or in our rebellion through sin, we are creating vain identities for ourselves that will lead to our destruction. A true relationship with God, though, will set us free from these traps of our own egos. When we are in relationship with God, and righteous for His sake, we will not perish. While we still may suffer, even die, for righteousness' sake, we will have the reward of eternal life. Meanwhile, God often allows the wicked person's life to be extended, giving him more time to repent. Neither of those is a vanity, they are part of the plan.