Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
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Ecclesiastes 10:1
Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier
than wisdom and honor.
It doesn't take a lot of foolishness to outweigh wisdom.
The Hebrew words for WEIGHTIER and HONOR are words that were used in social
settings for a person's value and esteem as set by others.
Here the loud words of the fool carry the weight while the quiet words of
the wise are ignored.
Solomon shows how wisdom can be nullified under the Sun.
Eccl. 10:2-7 A rulers arrogant and impulsive behavior can neutralize wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 10:2
A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's
heart directs him toward the left.
Okay, take that one to your next political rally.
What Solomon is saying is that a wise man' heart directs him while a fool's
heart does not.
Towards the right is an idiom for at the right hand which was always seen
as the hand of justice and protection.
Wisdom allows us to see the course of a matter. And that course will provide
protection and justice. While a fool deals so often in the moment and what
is seen.
Ecclesiastes 10:3,4
Even when the fool walks along the road his sense is lacking, and he
demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool.
If the ruler's temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because
composure allays great offenses.
We have a word play here, the words abandon you position are the same as
deserting your post or resigning your commission in the military.
COMPOSURE looks at wise behavior, behavior that looks down the road, evaluating
the outcome of a matter and thus provides protection and justice.
The great offenses are the reaction to the ruler's temper.
One thing that has happened to almost every man in the military is to get
the blame and take the heat for something they did not do.
I remember the temper of my CC in boot camp, the officer of the Day aboard
ship, many times. And the anger comes against the wrong person. So what
do you do...wisdom says do not abandon your post.
In verses 5-7 Solomon looks at leadership, at rulers and recognizes a very
simple fact, they are not perfect.
Ecclesiastes 10:5
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes
forth from the ruler--
While the word ERROR in verse 4 can refer to sins, here in verse 5 the word
error looks at inadvertent mistakes.
Principle: Even the best of rulers make mistakes
Ecclesiastes 10:6,7
Folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.
I have seen slaves riding on horses and princes walking like slaves on the
land.
This type of social turmoil and reversal is, as Solomon puts it, an Evil.
In any revolution the slaves end up taking over what belonged to the princes
yet with not capacity for its use of enjoyment.
SO THEN THE Principle: Wisdom, under the sun, can be neutralized by the
foolish and arrogant decisions of rulers even to the point of social turmoil
and reversal.
Ecclesiastes 10:8,9
Wisdom can also be neutralized by improper timing and chance.
He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks
through a wall.
He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be
endangered by them.
We could all add our own illustrations to show that time and chance can
eliminate even the best and wisest plans of man.
Ecclesiastes 10:10
If the ax is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert
more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
Solomon does not want to leave us thinking that we should then not use wisdom
nor take care in what we do.
A shape ax is a better tool and gives an advantage of safety just like wisdom
will give an advantage of success.
The word ADVANTAGE is YITH-RONE and means to be better, not perfect, not
insuring success, but better than that which is done without wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 10:11
If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no profit for the
charmer.
Wisdom says to stay away from the serpent's bite until it is charmed.
Ecclesiastes 10:12-20
Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a
fool consume him;
the beginning of his talking is folly, and the end of it is wicked madness.
Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can
tell him what will come after him?
The toil of a fool {so} wearies him that he does not {even} know how to
go to a city.
Woe to you, O land, whose king is a lad and whose princes feast in the morning.
Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat
at the appropriate time-- for strength, and not for drunkenness.
Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks.
{Men} prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money
is the answer to everything.
Furthermore, in your bedchamber do not curse a king, and in your sleeping
rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the
sound, and the winged creature will make the matter known.
The Sin of Gossip
1. Gossip is defined as: Idle talk and rumors especially about
the private affairs of others.
2. The content of gossip may be true or false, that has no bearing on whether
or not it is gossip.
3. Gossip is then talking about another person revealing information that
one has no right to pass on, whether true of false.
4. Gossip is violation of the privacy of another person.
5. There are three types of conversation: Talking about self which is arrogance
and self-centeredness. Talking about people which is gossip. And talking
about ideas which can enlighten others.
6. If you are not part of the problem or part of the solution you have no
right to talk about others in the presence of a third person.
7. Consider everything you know about a person to be confidential.
8. Under the principle of Spiritual love found in John 13:34-35, anything
said regarding another that does not build them up and enhance the opinion
of another regarding them is wrong, it is gossip.
9. A person who gossips, demands second hand knowledge of others, runs others
down, is bitter and miserable and in line for divine discipline and reaping
what they sow.
10. When you encounter a gossip the best thing to do is shut them down right
then and there. Do not share in their evil. And avoid the gossip like you
would avoid a person involved in what you might consider the worse sin (child
molesting).
CONCLUSION:
1. We have no right to invade another's privacy through gossip
2. We may not always like what others do but so what? Let someone who can
do something about it hear your complaints, take it to God in Prayer.
3. A local church can be destroyed by gossip. If you cannot say that which
is edifying and uplifting then do not say anything at all.
4. Do not allow others to dump the poison of gossip onto you. Avoid the
gossip, shun them, do not give them an opportunity to gossip...remember,
it takes two to gossip.
5. The best way to prevent gossip is by using two principles of doctrine.
Do not ever take from the Lord that which is his prerogative.
He is the only judge over His Saints. Not us.
Love one another, the Lord said, just as I have loved you . The application
of unconditional spiritual love does not allow you to tear down another
believer through gossip.
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