Ecclesiastes 10
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Important messages
1. Dead flies make
the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom
and honor.
2. A wise man’s
heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.
3. Even when the
fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he say to everyone that he is a
fool.
4. If the anger of
the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay
great offenses to rest.
5. There is an
evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the
ruler:
6. folly is set in
many high places, and the rich sit in a low place.
7. I have seen
slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
8. He who digs a
pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.
9. He who quarries
stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them.
10. If the iron is
blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom
helps on to succeed.
11. If the serpent
bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.
12. The words of a
wise man’s mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him.
13. The beginning
of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil
madness.
14. A fool
multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what
will be after him?
15. The toil of a
fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
16. Woe to you, O
land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning!
17. Happy are you,
O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at
the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness!
18. Through sloth
the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks.
19. Bread is made
for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything.
20. Even in your
thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird
of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.
The consequences of errors in leadership
Here we have a list of proverbial sayings by the composer
of hundreds of proverbs, these relating particularly to life under the sun. He
begins with one that links to the last verse of the previous chapter: “One sinner destroys much good.” In
this verse, he immediately gives us the meaning, concerning flies in the
ointment: It doesn’t take much foolishness to destroy a pleasant situation
(v.1). It is true in an individual life, as well as in the body of society.
This world is filled with disappointment, because a person’s honor falls easily
to one act of stupidity or one careless moment.
It is interesting that Solomon’s right/left comparison
holds to this day. Men, dressed in nice suits, capable of convincing
expression, intelligent and well-educated, can be absolutely foolish in their
concept of morality and Christianity. Their heart and mentality leans heavily
to the left, void of common sense (v.2). He walks on the same road as the wise,
is a member of the same churches and houses of government, but every time he
opens his mouth, he shows his lack of sense (v.3).
Trust in the sovereignty of God is a practical aid in the
affairs of life. Because of his trust in God, someone can remain calm, when an
important person rises up against him (v.4). Eventually the anger subsides and
peace returns. The same situation will bring tremendous consternation to the
one, who lays stock in the opinions of men. The advice is not to make a hasty
move over this unpleasant situation, but calmly wait on the Lord.
The preacher continues with his observations and counsel
in the temporary situations in life. He refers to mistakes made by a person in
power to promote people, who are unworthy of public trust. They are devoid of
common sense and use their office for personal gain. Communism did this,
robbing from and humiliating the rich, placing them in the lowest places,
giving their property to the poor. People, who cannot handle power are exalted
to high positions, and the noblemen are made to serve them. This is a formula
for the ruin of a nation (v.5-7). In the Proverbs of Agur, he states, “Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up: a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he
is filled with food; an unloved woman when she gets a husband, and a
maidservant when she displaces her mistress” (Pr.30:21-23).
Verses 8 and 9 may be consequences for the error
committed by those, who have gained power. In any case, these are unfailing
laws, given by the Creator to the inhabitants of earth. The one who sets a trap
to harm another, will be the victim of his own plot. A perfect example is that
of Haman, who built a scaffold, on which to hang Mordecai. He himself was hung
there (Es.7:9-10). The one, who breaks down a neighbor’s wall, in order to
steal his property, not only will not succeed, but will pay dearly for his
effort. We have a biblical example in King Ahab, who took possession of the
vineyard of Naboth, after his wife, Jezebel, arranged to have him killed.
Elijah prophesied that Ahab’s blood would be licked by dogs in the same place,
where Naboth was murdered (1 K.21:19). “They
washed the chariot (in which Ahab was killed) by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood” (1
K.22:38).
Then the writer gives us two examples of accidents that
can take place, while someone is working. A laborer can be hurt by a piece of a
stone that he is trimming or by a chunk or splinters from the log that he is
splitting. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown comments: “Pithy
aphorisms are common in the East. The sense is: Violations of true wisdom
recoil on the perpetrators.” The next lesson teaches that using wisdom
lessens the effort put into labor. Using a dull axe requires more muscle-power,
whereas by having the wisdom to sharpen the axe first, effort and time are
saved in the long run (v.10). Verse 11 teaches that expertise is useless, if an
attempt is not timely or, there is no value in an expert, if his art is not
recognized and employed in any given situation.
In verse 12, we learn that words can help or harm,
depending on who is doing the talking. A wise man profits by his words, whereas
a fool’s words only bring him disfavor. His introductory remarks are foolish
and the content and the moral of his story come from a twisted mentality,
therefore “evil madness” (v.13). It
seems to abound these days. The talk is endless, but makes no sense and proves
nothing. There is a speaker who tries to make up for the lack of understanding
by the length of his discourse. He is promising a future, which no one can
predict and he cannot be sure of his own future (v.14).
So much for the words of a fool, now we consider his
deeds. He works vigorously without direction; he builds a highway to nowhere
(v.15). As we have learned from the beginning, all is vanity under the sun, and
so his words and his works are vain. We are not talking about a few ignorant
people here and there, we are talking about the overwhelming majority of those,
who walk the face of the earth. The only wise ones are those, who understand
the meaning of life and teach it to others.
We have learned something previously about appointing
incapable people to high positions, now we come to know something about unwise
practices. First, the king teaches about immature judgment in places of
authority. We are reading about someone, who does not have the experience to
know the multiple facets of government, so as to make wise decisions. When a
leader is immature, the consequences are bound to be disastrous.
When leadership takes advantage of its privileged
position for entertainment and lavish living, whatever the government may be
that is under these leaders, it will suffer. The preacher says, “Woe to you!” (v.16). Happy is the land,
whose leaders have been trained from childhood as public servants. Such were
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who became leaders in Babylon, and were
of the royal family and of the nobility in Israel. These are leaders, whose
lifestyle is practical and not given to excesses (v.17).
We must not underestimate the harm of carelessness and
indolence (laziness) (v.18). It might seem to be a minor fault in an
individual, but it leads to tremendous damage and inconvenience. A roof falls
in and the ceiling leaks because of the lack of maintenance. The harm is
greater still in matters that concern many houses and many people. When we put
this principle in the realm of spiritual things, the hurt can be eternal.
Remember, we are dealing with life under the sun, where
life hinges on food and drink. A feast brings laughter, wine provides enjoyment
and money buys everything (v.19). It is no wonder that Jesus came from heaven
to teach on trusting in and living for money, rather than seeking the Kingdom
of God. He taught that man cannot serve two masters… God and money. He must
love one and hate the other. In order that a Christian might endeavor to seek
God, he must fight the powerful current of the world. It is that, which
controls and carries the people, according to the dictates of the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that works in the earth’s mutinous creatures.
Yet after all these lessons, Solomon drops a word of wisdom
into the life of the citizen on this planet. He warns against cursing the king,
even in thinking. Be careful about attacking the rich and powerful. He gives us
a clever little statement about what can result: “A bird of the air shall carry the voice” (v.20). Think about what we can add to the wings of the little bird that carries
the voice and tells the matter in these day of leaking to the press, of
hacking into private information, of tapping communication tools, of double
agents and sophisticated intelligence. We need to know the risks involved,
before we dare to criticize the powers that be.
We can link these individual thoughts, from the beginning
to the end of this chapter, and tell the story of a nation, its government, its
leaders, and their practices. We can consider the small mistakes that brought
major defamation, the errors in appointments, the decisions of the immature,
and the evil intentions that turned on the ones, who planned them. We can weigh
the importance of entertainment, sports and pleasure and the emphasis given to
the economy over all else. We can observe the self-indulgence of the leaders,
the promotion of foolish programs and projects, the lack of common sense, and
negligence in fixing and maintaining the principles that protect the country
and its people. The same situation can be true of smaller bodies and groups and
can certainly define religious organizations, as well.
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