Sermon Tone Analysis

I imagine you're familiar with the phrase "ship of fools."

It was a common medieval motif used in literature and art, especially religious satire.

One such satire is Hieronymus Bosch's famous oil painting by the same name, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris.

[See an image of "Ship of Fools."]

This marvelous work, which is filled with symbolism, shows ten people aboard a small vessel and two overboard swimming around it.

It is a ship without a pilot (captain), and everyone onboard is too busy drinking, feasting, flirting, and singing to know where on earth the waves are pushing them.

They are fools because they are enjoying all the sensual pleasures of this world without knowing where it all leads.

Atop the mast hangs a bunch of dangling carrots and a man is climbing up to reach them.

Yet above the carrots we find a small but significant detail: a human skull.

This is the thirteenth head in the painting, unlucky in every imaginable way.

The idea is that these twelve fools, who think all is perfect, are sailing right to their demise.

The only pilot on board, the only figure leading the way, is death.

The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance.”

This oft-repeated remark of Charles Spurgeon puts us in our proper place and helps us know where to begin the pursuit of wisdom.

We are not as wise as we think we are.

If we are honest with ourselves and humble before God, we have to confess that we are not always wise in what we say, what we do with our money, or how we respond to temptation.

We are prone to make foolish comments, unwise expenditures, and foolhardy decisions.

If we want to get any wiser, we need to start by admitting our folly.

Only then will we be ready to grow in the wisdom of God.

The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance.”

This is a quote from Charles Spurgeon.

The point puts us in our proper place and helps us know where to begin the pursuit of wisdom.

For many of us, we are not as wise as we think we are and if we are honest with ourselves, if we are humble before God, if we confess that we are not always using wisdom when we speak, we will see that we are prone to make foolish comments, unwise expenditures, and foolhardy decisions.

If we want to get wiser, we need to start by admitting our folly.

Only then will we be ready to grow in the wisdom of God.

Solomon inspired by the Holy Spirit invites us to enter the temple of divine wisdom.

He is gonna help us out here.

The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance.”

This oft-repeated remark of Charles Spurgeon puts us in our proper place and helps us know where to begin the pursuit of wisdom.

We are not as wise as we think we are.

If we are honest with ourselves and humble before God, we have to confess that we are not always wise in what we say, what we do with our money, or how we respond to temptation.

We are prone to make foolish comments, unwise expenditures, and foolhardy decisions.

If we want to get any wiser, we need to start by admitting our folly.

Only then will we be ready to grow in the wisdom of God.

Ecclesiastes invites us to enter the temple of divine wisdom.

The Preacher has been showing us the difference between wisdom and folly in daily life, helping us in the many practical situations where wisdom is required.

Ecclesiastes 10:12-20

Ryken, P. G. (2010).

Ecclesiastes: Why everything matters (p.

241).

Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.