Wisdom is Better (Ecclesiastes 9:13-10-20)

Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Wisdom is Better

Intro

Foolish Father-in-law

Main Point

Wisdom is elusive yet it far outweighs folly and the destruction it brings. Therefore, let us look to the wise man, Jesus, and follow him.

Points

Wisdom is Better

Living in wisdom

Wisdom is Better

In the Preacher-King’s pursuit of how to live life under the sun, he has continued to wrestle with wisdom and all that is found in searching for it. Back in chapter 1:13 he said that wisdom is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He acknowledges the struggle with wisdom is that the same event happens to both the wise and the fool in chapter 2, verse 15. In chapter 7, the Preacher-King acknowledges the elusiveness of wisdom within those around him. And yet, he returns again to a story of the wise and how the wise are still better than the fool.

In verse 13 Solomon begins to tell us of an example of wisdom under the sun that he had seen. He even states, and it seemed great to me, as if this example that he has seen was informative and helpful in understanding wisdom. And the story starts here in verse 14 which says…

A little city with an unknown name or any stats has a great king come against it. This little city will not have the resources to seemingly oppose such a great king with his great army’s and all his other resources. In fact, it says that this great king came against the city, he and his army surrounded the city, that’s what it means when it says they besieged the city. And then they built these great siegeworks or towers that hovered over the city to bombard them with arrows and other damaging weapons of warfare. The great king and his troops had every advantage against the small city. In no humanly speaking means should the little city have survived against the great king. Yet, what do we read in verse 15 (READ)?

Despite all the advantages the great king had, the poor, wise man helped deliver the city from it’s oppressors by his wisdom. Wisdom overcame all the greatness, all the advantage, all the might, all the equipment of the great king and his army. And even though the poor wise man was quickly forgotten, wisdom proved itself better.

Wisdom has proved itself better than

Wisdom is better than position

It does not matter what position in society one has if wisdom is not present. Here we have the poor wise man and the great king. Yet, it is the poor wise man who prevails, not the great king.

The king would have had servants, wealth, and out ranked the poor man. Yet, the poor wise man was able to help deliver the little city from the hand of the great king in his wisdom. We learn in Proverbs 21:22 it says: A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. The wise are able to overcome the strong, because the wise don’t trust in the tools at hand, but examine the whole of the situation. Or the wise man was able to make a wise deal with the king in order to protect the little city. We see this in Proverbs 16:14 which says: A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.

Wisdom is better than strength

It also didn’t matter what kind of might and strength the king had, wisdom was better than it. In verse 16 it says…

Even with the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words not heard, his wisdom is better than physical strength, or might as the text uses. Wisdom surpasses might, because there is a greater strength in wisdom. Proverbs 24:5 says: A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might. Strength can be a great tool, but strength is not everything. Wisdom is better than strength in that it wisely deals with the situation where strength can quickly fade away. Sampson should be a good story of this. Sampson had great strength, yet the moment he failed to pay attention to what was happening with Delilah, his hair was cut, and his strength failed him. Strength is a great tool, but if that is all we trust in, it will soon fail us. Wisdom is better than strength.

Wisdom in quiet is better than shouting of fools

Neither does the shouting of a ruler among fools prove advantageous over wisdom. In 9:17, it says…

The shouting ruler might get people’s attention because of his loudness, however his words are not advantageous. Take a look down with me at verses 12-14 there in chapter 10, it says…

The person with the quickest answer, the loudest voice, even with smooth talking is not a sign of the wisest. For the words of the fool will consume him as he tries to use his many words to speak with certainty of what will come. Yet he does not know. The fool’s words will speak of conspiracy theories and all the sorts with no sound reasoning or logic. Just note what Proverbs 9:13 says, The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. Folly is often loud in wanting to be heard but does nothing but spewing folly out everywhere. Likewise we read in Proverbs 18:2 which says: A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. The fool is about being heard, and therefore they are loud.

The shouting of a ruler might be heard easily, but the advantage is with the words of the wise, even when heard in quiet. Why? Because of this from Proverbs 15:31 which says, The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. The wise are to be the ones we go and seek wisdom from. The words of the wise are better than the shouts of rulers in the midst of fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war

And wisdom is better than weapons of war as we see there in the first half of verse 18. The great king used great seigeworks against the little city, yet they proved useless against the wisdom of the poor wise man. For his wisdom delivered the little city from the weapons of war that laid against them. We see why in Proverbs 24:6 which says:, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. Wisdom can bring victory over the strongest of weapons if used well. And that is the example we have seen with this poor wise man who delivered the little city from the great king.

This observation made a deep impact on Solomon as he saw what was happening under the sun. It seemed great to him in his continued seeking wisdom to understand how to live in the midst of the craziness of the world around him. Likewise, this example should help point us to another wise man who came to deliver a people as well.

For much like the poor wise man, God’s wisdom has come to us in one who was born and laid in a manger. God’s wisdom came to us through a poor carpenter’s son. God’s wisdom came to us through one who was put to death on a tree, a cross. And God’s wisdom came to us in a Servant who would become King. The most unlikely of rescuers came in order to rescue a people, not from a great king, but the guilt of their own sin.

In 1 Corinthians 1:18 we read: For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Then recall our scripture reading from earlier in verses 26-31 of this same passage, we saw that God chose what was foolish in the world to shame the wise, that he chose what was weak to shame the strong. He even chose to use what was low and despised in the world to bring to nothing things that are rejoiced in. All of this he did in order to bring redemption through Christ Jesus his beloved Son.

Jesus became to us the wisdom of God in order to save us from our sins. Jesus came that all who would turn from their sin and come and trust in him would be saved. Friend, it doesn’t matter how much folly you previously have walked in. It doesn’t matter what depth of sin you have committed. Jesus stands inviting you to come to him. Look to the cross and see God’s love poured out on us, making a way to deliver us from the enemy of sin and death. Believe this, see that this is truth. That this is the way of salvation.

Not only though is Jesus the way of salvation, it is through Jesus that true wisdom comes. It is in Jesus that we find the wisdom of God and only as we follow him can we live wisely in this world. Therefore, we want to seek to truly live in wisdom in this life? Then we need to set our eyes on Jesus and follow him!

Living in wisdom

Having now seen the dangers of folly, we need to turn our eyes to Jesus and learn how to walk wisely. And this is where we turn in our 2nd point this morning, walk wisely with Jesus.

As we follow Christ we need to consider 4 areas to live wisely in:

The wise respond to poor rulers with calmness (10:4,20)

To live wisely we need to see that in the midst of angry and poor rulers how we are called to respond. In 10:4 we read…

Responding to anger and folly with calmness is the response of the wise. For this brings more healing, care, and love than responding with anger or hate in return. As we seek to live wisely, we need to look to the example of Christ and other faithful brothers and sisters in the faith and the example they have modeled for us, loving even that of our enemies. Christian, we cannot claim to live wisely if we are returning anger with anger and hate for hate. Let us remain calm and lay great offenses to rest, killing them with love and compassion. Maybe even as we prepare to take the Lord’s Supper this morning, there is someone in our church body you need to settle things with prior to our taking of the elements. Make sure you do that.

The wise are diligent in paying attention (10:8-9)

There in 10:8-9 we see it talk about a man digging a pit and falling into it, a man busting through a wall and biting him, the one quarrying stones and splitting logs in harms way. While this is giving a warning to the fool in carelessness, the opposite then is true for the wise. The wise are diligent in paying attention to their surroundings and to the task at hand. They pay attention to safety protocols, they limit distractions in the work they are doing to avoid harm that could otherwise come if they were to relax on the job. And while the diligent aren’t guaranteed to avoid harm, it is more rare from those who are not.

The wise are not lazy (10:10, 18)

The wise are hard working and are not slothful beings. There in verse 10 we see the worker who when the iron is blunt tries to cut corners in laziness and refuses to sharpen the edge. And yet, the reality is the foolish worker uses more strength and energy in their attempt to be lazy. However, wisdom helps one to succeed in their work. Because as the old saying goes, work smarter, not harder.

The wise worker is diligent to not cut corners or skip steps along the way to be as effective as possible in the job at hand. This is even partially seen there in verse 11 with the serpent and the charmer. If the serpent is first not charmed it does no good to have the charmer. Now, personally, I think anyone who is in the business of charming snakes is a fool anyways, because I hate snakes. But that is my two cents of thought. But the point here is not the snake and snake charmer, but being wise and diligent to see things work in the way they are intended and not cutting corners.

This is even further driven home down in verse 18 where it says…

The lazy worker allows the roof to sink in through their slothfulness. Therefore the wise work hard and are diligent in ensuring their things are cared for and looked after. The wise are known by their work ethic and diligence. This is true in the workplace, in the home, and even in the church.

Brothers and sisters, if we want to be wise in our work for the church, we must not become slothful when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission. One of the key markers for churches who struggle is a lack of attention to the mission given to us by Jesus. To be wise and hard working in this work it means that we must be intentionally sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in a regular basis. And by sharing the gospel I do not mean saying we are praying for you, or having even a religious conversation. To be doing the work of fulfilling the great commission is to be sharing the gospel, the good news of Jesus with others. While sharing that we are praying or having conversations are not bad things, they neglect the necessity of the gospel being proclaimed. Let us be wise in our work of building up the church by sharing the gospel with others.

The wise win favor with wise words (10:12)

The wise are known for the way they use their words and speak. Their words win them favor as they speak with gentleness, compassion, love. Yes, they may be hard words to hear at times, but their words aim to build up instead of tear down. The words of the wise may not be the most eloquent or even the most swift off the tongue, but they are carefully considered and thought out. The words of the wise give life to others. This is opposed to the fool whose lips consume him as he speaks assertively and with many words of things that he does not know as seen there in verses 14-15. It is not the many words that are wise, but words with careful thoughtfulness that mark the words of the wise.

Christian, first, who has your ear? This is a question that I learned to ask through a podcast called Fierce Marriage. Regularly the hosts, Ryan and Selina would ask each other who has had their ear this week. In other words, who have they been listening to and learning from. So, brothers and sisters, who has had your ear this week? Is it those who speak with wise words centered on God’s word? Or is it those who talk aimlessly and all over the place, speaking assertively on things that they possibly can not know? Pay close attention to who has your ear. For whoever has your ear will influence you more than you know.

Also, on the opposite end, as we speak to others, let us speak the words of the wise to them. Let us labor to build others up in Christ. And even when we must speak hard words to someone, may it be done in the means to point them to Jesus out of love and care for their own soul.

The wise feast at the proper time and in the proper way (10:17)

The wise know how to feast, but more importantly when to feast. Look down with me at verses 16-17. A Woe is given first as a warning to those whose princes feast in the morning. Breakfast is an important meal by all means, however it is not wise to be productive for the day if your belly is overly full and you are drunk with wine before 9 AM, that part is implied from verse 17. Feasting is not meant to happen first in the day, but at the end of a long hard day of work. Or in the right season. The foolish do not know when to properly feast and therefore feast in their idleness and laziness. The wise on the other hand are happy as seen there in verse 17 when their princes feast at the proper time and for strength.

A temptation for us too often is to pursue the feast before the work is done. Proverbs 24:27 helps us out here, it says: Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. Sure, this Proverb is talking about work and a house, but the same principle is there. Don’t feast until you have worked and finished your tasks for the day. Feasting in the improper time will keep you from doing the things necessary for your survival and life, such as failure to care for the roof or the leaks in the house. Slothfulness must be pushed aside for the wise, and a hard and diligent work ethic must be taken up, and then feast on the reward of one’s labor, not before.

The wise enjoy life (10:19)

And continuing to build off of that point, the wise do feast in the proper time, they enjoy the fruit of their labors. They enjoy the life that they have been given. In verse 19 we see something interesting. It says…

Now, to be honest, I have wrestled with this verse in particular all week long. But one thing is for sure here, that bread and wine here are being shown to be used to show the proper feast in one’s life, enjoying the fruit of that labor. And working wise and hard typically leads to financial stability. And because of that, through one’s hard work and wisdom, one acquires money and wealth. And with this, all one’s provisions and cares are provided for.

One sign of the wise is that they are diligent to provide for their needs. I don’t care who you are, there are means in which all of us can provide for the needs of our families. It might mean life is hectic and crazy, it might not be the desired job or even ideal hours, but we can all work hard and provide for our families. Work is the task given to all of us. And the reward from that labor, a paycheck, salary will provide for our needs. Make sure you catch what I said, needs, not wants. Our means of life might be less than Dan over there, but our needs can be met with hard work. And the wages from that work answer these needs. As we have already seen in Ecclesiastes, money is not the root of all evil, but that money can never satisfy as seen back in chapter 5, verse 10.

Therefore, as we seek to live wisely, let us work hard, being diligent to pay attention to the tasks at hand, and then to enjoy the fruit of our labor. Help us to live wisely in speaking words in calmness and in gentleness to others. And even let us return anger and hate with calmness and love. This is the way to live wisely. And we do this one step at a time as we set our eyes more on Jesus. For each of us are going to fail often as we pursue this kind of wisdom, but the key step is that we rise again and never take our eyes off of Jesus.

The wise watches out for Folly

A Little Folly does much harm (9:18; 10:1-2)

A Fool wanders aimlessly without sense (10:3, 15)

A Fool in authority (10:5-7)

A fool in high places is disastrous

And since a little folly is so disastrous, we need to really pay close attention to those we would consider as leaders. Notice how the Preacher-King notes his observation in chapter 10, verses 5-7, it says…

This evil that Solomon sees comes from the error or the ruler as a fool is in power. This evil is that with the fool in leadership power, things are turned upside down from how they are intended to be. In this case, slaves are the ones on horses and princes are walking on the ground like slaves. The temptation is for us to read this and think freedom has come for the slaves and that is to be celebrated. But that is not the context or setting here in Israel. As Americans we see the word slave and think of the slave trade and stealing of free people from Africa to be put in bondage under often ruthless slave owners. This indeed was barbaric, cruel, and wickedly sinful. However, in Israel’s history slavary was a different system. Slaves in this time would have involved those taken into captivity after conquering a land. The people were made slaves as they were allowed to live, but now served the conquering nation. Others would have placed themselves into slavery for survival. They would be unable to care for themselves, so they sold themselves into slavery in order to live.

With this kind of system in place, it was not expected for slaves to be on horses, it was for the leaders who would be. But when the fool is in leadership all of that flips and changes. Because with a foolish leader it is not about what is wise, but about self gain, self interest. They are about status for themselves, not the care of those they are called to lead. And make no mistake about it, there are foolish leaders in our day and time in every aspect within the world in which we live. There are foolish officials within government, there are foolish leaders within companies, there are foolish leaders in school systems. There are foolish leaders we come in close contact with on a day to day basis. There are even foolish leaders within churches.

These foolish leaders come into place often through manipulation, corruption, or other wicked means. If a little folly spreads, we as Christ followers should examine a person carefully and closely before choosing to put them into leadership. We must beware of choosing foolish leaders. We can separate the fool and the wise in how they speak, how they answer questions, how they carry themselves, how they are unteachable. The fool will be loud, argumentative, and divisive. The wise will speak with words of wisdom, will have self-control, and are teachable. Christians, we must choose leaders wisely, especially when it comes to leaders in the church. Leaders are known by the way they serve others. For foolish leaders turn things upside down from how they are meant to be. We must beware of folly in choosing leaders.

Conclusion