Wisdom vs. Folly | Ecclesiastes 10:1-20

So we're back in Ecclesiastes, and I am all out

of segues. I don't have a way to bring into Ecclesiastes

again. We're just going to continue learning

from Solomon. Here's the thing. If you've missed.

The other sermons in this series from Ecclesiastes,

I would encourage you to go back and listen,

not just so that you hear my voice. That's not

the aim. No shameless self -promotion here. The

goal is that you would dive into God's word and

understand it more. It's a hard book. So the

prayer is that this sermon series is helping

to understand wisdom literature in a way that

maybe you haven't before or to encourage things

you've already seen. Now last time we wrapped

up with chapter 9 and the theme that you all

remember perfectly was wisdom amidst uncertainty.

That's a joke. You don't have to remember everything

perfectly after Christmas and holidays and all

that. Are we awake? Okay, go Patriots. I got

you awake too. Okay, there we go. At the end

of chapter 9, if you have your Bibles open to

Ecclesiastes chapter 10, he says one sinner destroys

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

much good. That is the segue. for Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. Today, we're going to see wisdom

clearly contrasted with folly. And I pray that

you're going to see two portraits today, the

portrait of the wise person and the portrait

of the fool. The question is, which will you

be? So go ahead, if you haven't, turn your Bibles

to Ecclesiastes chapter 10, and let's go ahead

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

and stand for the reading of the word. This chapter

contains more proverbial sayings than any we've

been in so far. And it means some will be easy

to understand. Others will need careful consideration.

But you can follow along and listen as I read

all of Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Beginning in

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

verse 1. Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink.

So a little simple -minded folly is weightier

than wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart directs

him toward the right. But the foolish man's heart

directs him toward the left. Even when the simple

-minded fool walks along the road, his heart

lacks wisdom. And he says to all that he's a

simple -minded fool. If the ruler's temper rises

against you, do not abandon your position because

calmness causes great offenses to be abandoned.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun like

a mistake which goes forth from the one in power.

Folly is set in many high exalted places while

rich men sit in humble places. I have seen slaves

riding on horses and princes walking like slaves

on the land. 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. If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen

its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom

has the advantage of giving success. If the serpent

bites before being charmed, there is no advantage

for the charmer. Words from the mouth of a wise

man are gracious, but the lips of a fool swallow

him up. The beginning of the words of his mouth

is simple -minded folly and the end of what comes

from his mouth is evil madness. Yet the simple

-minded fool multiplies his words. No man knows

what will happen and who can tell him what will

come after him. The labor 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 young

man and whose princes eat in the morning. Blessed

are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and

whose princes eat at the appropriate time for

might and not for drinking. Through indolence

the beams sag, and through slack hands the house

leaks. Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine

makes life glad, 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 sky will bring

the sound, and the winged creature will tell

the matter. Amen. You may be seated. Super easy

passage today. I know it's a lot. I know it's

a lot. And it may seem disconnected, but we're

going to work our way through it. I think there

is a consistent theme of wisdom versus folly

that Solomon has here. Let's get our bearings

straight, though, before we dive into the specifics.

If you remember, looking at the chapter or the

book outline here. Got it. It clicked. We are

in the third section. The Prescription for Living

with Vanity. And we're in chapter 10 with the

theme today of wisdom versus folly. So there

are going to be practical encouragements today

as we wrestle with his observations. And if you

think about the argument he's building, right

before in chapter 9, last time, we dealt with

the unexpected, the disappointments in life,

when things don't go the way we want them to.

And Solomon showed us there's a way to respond

in humble dependence, recognizing God amidst.

all the uncertainties of life. Now in chapter

10, he's bringing us Proverbs, proverbial sayings,

and he's going to paint these two portraits,

the wise man and the fool. You may wonder, why

does he paint a portrait with words? Why is that

helpful to us? Well, these portraits, they're

intended to help us look in the mirror of God's

word, to know ourselves accurately, to know ourselves

honestly. Such writing like this, it disrobes

us. We have these veiled attempts at hiding who

we really are, but God's word exposes us. It's

uncomfortable because we're prideful, are we

not? We are often much more like the evil queen.

We want the mirror, mirror on the wall to tell

us that we are the fairest of them all, right?

God's word doesn't function like that. God's

word doesn't affirm us for being who we are.

God's word exposes us. God's word calls us toward

an accurate self -assessment. But God's word

doesn't just leave us with a broken mess that

we find. God's word draws us toward Christ. And

through the sacred writings, we see the Savior,

not just the one who covers our imperfections,

but the one who makes our aroma better than any

perfume that we could imagine. Now, I see the

passage broken down like this. It's a lot, I

know. Eight -ish sections there. We're going

to work through each one. Not very long, but

we're going to work through each one. So I don't

need to name them right now. We'll come back

to them. Now, I know that's a lot. As you keep

your Bibles open today, I'm going to have several

passages that reference other parts of Scripture.

You don't need to go there, not because God's

Word is important. It is important. I'd say stick

in Ecclesiastes 10. The Scriptures will be on

the screen for you. Stick in chapter 10 so this

theme of wisdom versus folly can be very clear.

The cross -references will be on the screen.

And remember, wisdom literature isn't intended

for you to get everything. Wisdom literature,

you're going to get bits and pieces, and that's

okay. It's going to wound you today, and it'll

wound you tomorrow, and it'll wound you next

year. The wounds will be there. So don't worry

about getting all of it. Just allow some of the

things to stick with you this morning. Come back

in the passage later this week. Come back and

listen later. See what else you can glean from

Solomon. Here's another look at the passage,

another way you could break it down. Wisdom versus

folly. It's more simple this way. You see about

a third of the verses in the chapter deal positively

with showcasing wisdom, while the other two thirds

focus on identifying folly. So that's why the

portrait really is clear here between the fool

and the wise man. And it's interesting. He spends

a lot more time talking about the fool than he

does the wise man. And we'll try to understand

that by the end. So let's begin first with the

weight of folly. We're going to see what the

Lord has to teach us. Now this is directly connected

with verse 18, previous chapter. He transitions

from one thought to the next, but it's the same

connected thought. One sinner destroys much good.

Now in Solomon's day. perfume was made in these

stone vases. You see a picture on the screen.

They put in a bunch of spices and herbs and florals

and all these lovely smelling things. And even

they put fat or oil with it to let it permeate.

All those good smelling things over time, whether

through a steeping process, sometimes they would

heat it up as well to get all of the delicious

smelling things out of there. Over time, it would

become this wonderful scent, this aroma that

people wanted because everything was smelly back

then. It's not like today. Today, everything

smells good. Back then, things didn't smell good.

This was a special thing. Now, if it was stored

correctly, it would be sealed in those smaller

alabaster flasks. You see a picture of what an

alabaster flask would look like. And that's so

it wouldn't go rancid. Because you can imagine

the fat or the oil could go rancid very quickly

if left open. So you'd have to seal it. All that

process, it was slow. It required patience and

attention to detail. So when Solomon speaks of

these dead flies making the perfumer's oil stink,

he's pointing out if you miss something really

small, I mean, flies aren't that big, right?

They're not that big. But if you miss small things,

they could be very destructive to your end product.

That's what he's pointing out. That's the observation.

All your work to make something lovely can be

destroyed by something so small. And so it is

with wisdom and with honor. A little folly, a

little foolishness. A little slander, a little

gossip, the little lies, the innuendos, the verbal

attacks, all of those things can ruin a person's

character just a little bit. An Old Testament

scholar said of this passage, it can take far

less to ruin something than it takes to create

it. And wouldn't Solomon have that in mind with

his father David, the man who is after God's

own heart? yet had a massive indiscretion, prideful

sin with Solomon's mother Bathsheba, and that

brought about great shame for the family, surely

even the removal of the opportunity to build

the temple. It took that away from David and

marred his legacy to a degree. The man who slayed

a giant was nearly slayed by his own sin. That's

the reality. A life of so much faithfulness stained

by egregious sin. So the wise person, needs to

hear this and take note. Even small bits of folly,

the little flies of death, can have disastrous

effects in the life of a seemingly wise person.

Those little flies can spoil a life of fragrant

offering to the Lord. A little folly is heavier

than we think. Now he continues by explaining

to us the way of folly. Throughout the ancient

Near East, the right hand, The right hand is

the place of power and honor, even a blessing

and salvation, consistently through God's word.

We're gonna do some rapid fire scriptures here

so you can see the theme. Matthew 25, the separation

of the sheep and the goats. The sheep who are

known to the father, they're placed to the right.

And the goats are placed to the left. The right

receive life everlasting, the left do not. The

right is where you wanna go. Isaiah 41 tells

us that God will uphold his people with his righteous,

Right hand. Beyond this, most prominent in the

New Testament are depictions of where Jesus sits.

Where does Jesus sit? At the right hand of the

Father. Hebrews 1 tells us that Christ, the Son

of God, the exact imprint and representation

of the nature of God, after he accomplished the

work of the cross, sat down at the right hand

of the Most High. 1 Peter tells us that Christ

is at the right hand of God. Ephesians 1, Christ

was raised to glory by God himself and seated

at his right hand. Now there are more. There

are more than that. But I wanted to show you

that scripture makes this the norm. That the

right, it's right. It's the right way. Doesn't

that make it easier? It's not confusing. The

right is right. Now to be fair, if you're left

-handed, it's not evil. I don't think it's evil.

You should know, though, that the English word

for sinister comes from the Latin word for left

hand. Take it or leave it. Take it or leave it.

All right. All of that, all of that serves to

underline a point. It was commonly understood

in Solomon's day. The right hand goes towards

strength. It goes towards blessing. It goes towards

honor. And it even goes towards. So the way of

the right, it evidences skill and strength and

determination and hopefulness. That's the way

of the right. The way of the left, it signifies

a lack of skill, an inclination towards opposite

things like weakness and slothfulness, and it

ends in damnation, not salvation. That's what

scripture shows us. And so the fool is not inclined

to goodness. He's not inclined towards the way

of the right, and his whole life shows it. That

doesn't mean the wise man never encounters difficulty.

Solomon's already covered that. When he goes

to the right, you're not guaranteed. Everything

goes perfect. But the manner in which the wise

man approaches life under the sun, it is drastically

different than the fool. It's as obvious as how

somebody walks that they are a fool. Like a peacock

strut. Like a gangster lean. I went there. Like

a runway model and their self -obsession. See,

I cover everyone. The fool practically proclaims

to everyone that they're foolish by their actions

and by their words. Folly is a heart problem,

not a practical one. Now the LSB, it says here

in verse three, the fool's heart is lacking wisdom.

Not all your translations may say that, but I

think that translation is helpful because in

the original Hebrew, it reads just that the fool's

heart lacks. That's what the original Hebrew

says. He lacks, his heart lacks. But I think

the context gives us clarity because some of

your translations may say he lacks sense. I don't

think he just lacks sense. He lacks knowing God.

So yes, he does lack any good sense, but his

main problem is foolishness. Foolishness. So

what he lacks and what he needs is a heart of

wisdom. The fool can't rightly prioritize godly

things. He can't pursue good convictions to inform

his decisions. He's desperate, but he doesn't

even know it. He's ignorant of the destruction

that he brings into his life and to the life

of others. The way of folly flows from the heart.

All right, now we've covered two themes already.

See, we're moving. We can do it. Hang in there.

We have some more wisdom. Now, Solomon's going

to seem to pivot. If you're reading, you may

think he's pivoting here, but trust me, he's

not. It's more of the same, but just from a unique

vantage point. Remember, Solomon was a king,

and as a king, he knew what it took to govern,

what it took to be wise. He would discern between

good leaders and bad ones, and not all of the

leaders he worked with were great. He knew how

to navigate tricky situations with leaders. And

in verse 4, he presents a situation where this

ruler is upset with a person. Now, we've been

in situations like that, have we not? You've

been in trouble with an authority. And when you're

a kid and you break something, you hear the crash

like, oh, I don't want them to find out, right?

Been in trouble with the teacher, even if it

was another student talking, you know, they just

catch you when you're talking. Like, why? Why

do those catch me? I never catch them. What about

being in trouble with a boss? Work isn't done

according to the standard. I mean, you name it.

We know what it's like to live under authority.

The psalm is giving us wisdom to navigate such

situations, but there are some presuppositions

here we'll get to. He says generally, rather

than running away from the conflict or getting

defensive, he cautions us towards calmness. In

this scenario, though, here's some of the presupposition.

The person is supposed to be going towards the

right. So this is not advice if you're being

foolish. This is advice if you're going a good

way, the way of wisdom. The advice is somebody's

pursuing something good, but the person in authority,

they don't see it. So if you are going a good

way and the person in authority is angry at you,

they don't see it. That's the advice here in

this situation. Solomon says, if you find yourself

in that situation, do not be quick to leave your

position because you're pursuing something good.

So don't abandon it. Instead, be calm, be healing

with your disposition. Didn't we see a version

of this with Esther and with Mordecai? They didn't

jump to fear and to chaos when they heard of

the wicked Haman's plot. Boo, hiss. Rather, with

measured calmness, yes, with resolute trust,

surely with some fear, Esther sought to entreat

the king to a favorable position for God's people.

Wisdom is not a yes man in the face of evil or

of error. Even if authorities are wickedly upset

at your position, which is good, if you're holding

on to something good, don't abandon it just so

that you can get treated well. Believers don't

fear man, they please God. We hold on to goodness

with composure and integrity. You think of this

principle out of Proverbs 25. When one is slow

to anger, a ruler may be persuaded. A soft tongue

breaks bone. Kind of messes with your mind. Think

of Daniel. He served in a corrupt government.

He was under constant threat. Yet he held to

truth and dignity even under his perceived offenses.

Such a disposition might even grant us opportunities

to be reconciled with foolish rulers. The reign

of folly continues as you look down in verse

6. Look at verse 6 in your Bible. Is it true?

Have you seen it? Haven't you seen that incompetence

sometimes seems like a prerequisite for positions

of power and authority? Didn't know that was

on the job description. But it's part of the

fall. Don't be surprised that people in authority

are incompetent. Foolish people love yes men.

They love them. And they often appoint people

like that to positions of authority, even though

it has disastrous effects on a large group of

people. And don't miss verse 7, his commentary

about slaves riding on horseback. That's a position

of power and authority. Remember, Haman wanted

to ride out on horseback, on the king's horse.

Now, this is more biting than it seems. Sometimes

people think in their authority that they're

actually high and lofty. This is wisdom here.

They don't realize that they are a slave to the

authority who put them in such a place. That's

the plight of the yes man. They have to agree

even when they know it's wrong or foolish because

they are a slave to their own desire for people's

affection, their approval, their honor. Meanwhile,

true nobility, those who wisely seek to honor

the Lord, they don't esteem themselves. They

sit in humble places and they appear to others

in a meager estate. People don't often look at

the humble and faithful, we'll call them pastors

and elders, for example, be a little self -serving

for a moment, and think, man, I want to live

like that. I want to go serve people. No, they

often don't look at the simple life of a Christ

follower and think, I want humility, and that

just sounds lovely, just serving other people.

They don't look at the son of a carpenter and

think, surely that's the son of God. The true

king wasn't honored as such. People, we know

this, often look at the celebrities, the influencers,

the rich, and they think, I wish my life could

be something like that. They don't realize that

true freedom, it doesn't come with these public

accolades. True freedom comes with an inward

renewal from the Lord. That's where freedom is.

Now, all governments, they're full of fools.

I said it out loud. All governments, not just

ours, all of them, and all means all in the Greek.

Governments, they don't know wisdom. Believers

do. They don't know history or a proper sense

of duty which ought to be pursued in such roles.

But Solomon's saying that's reality. We know

that wisdom doesn't demand lofty positions. Even

though it's often disregarded by people, people

don't chase wisdom. So folly reigns. Folly reigns

in high places, among rulers and authorities.

It's everywhere. So be watchful. Wisdom is immensely

practical, though, even in daily life, from the

very tippy top of government all the way down

to how you work in your daily life. So here's

some more Proverbs about serpents and stones

and success. The contrast of wisdom and folly

is seen when somebody considers risk. When you

consider risk and you count the cost, you pursue

something towards success, even though you might

fail. Now, wisdom is not armchair knowledge.

Wisdom preserves and it pursues safety in practical

matters. We are to apply wisdom in daily tasks

so that it might go well for us, that we may

live longer and enjoy what God has for us under

the sun. So here, if you dig a pit, you might

fall in it. Guys, it sounds silly, right? It's

supposed to. He's saying, look, the fool can

bring calamity on his head even doing a normal

thing because they don't count the cost. They

don't treat things wisely. They can't even dig

a pit without falling into it. Breaking through

a wall, that may be a little less common for

us, but it was very common in the day. Demolition

was common, common in the ancient Near East.

That's why there's so many tells. You can get

nerdy with Jeff about that, why cities built

upon cities. Here's what the fool does, or really

doesn't do. The fool doesn't check. He doesn't

check. The fool isn't cautious. He just rushes

headfirst into situations without any consideration

of the potential impact of their choice. They

don't want to be slowed down. That might be weak

or they might be seen as ineffective. So they

bulldoze their way through life. Wisdom approaches

life differently. Wisdom considers the dangers

and the pitfalls that life brings. Wisdom doesn't

see himself as invincible, nor as ineffective,

but as limited. Mankind is limited, are we not?

Are we all powerful? Are we all knowing? No.

We're not. God is. The wise man knows that. He

knows that risk is involved with certain activities

like quarrying stones or splitting logs. It doesn't

mean that he can't do or shouldn't do such normative

things, just that there's danger involved. He

should be careful. Many of you know gun safety

in here. You know that whether a gun is loaded

or not, has a safety on or not, that we don't

point firearms at people unless there is an intent

to use it. Think about self -defense and law

enforcement and military. And the wise person

knows it's not the lack of ammunition or the

safety mechanism that makes a firearm safe. It's

the person wielding it and their capacity to

adhere to good principles that makes the situation

safe. Some activities, they bring inherent risk.

The wise person considers that and responds with

principles to pursue the good of all people.

Verse 10, it's an obvious, obvious principle

here. The dull axe requires more strength or

force to do his job. You kind of go like, duh.

Tell me something I didn't know. Foolishness,

though, seeks to press forward with personal

strength, to strike harder and harder, believing

that pausing to sharpen the axe is not necessary.

The fool doesn't use the tools the way they're

intended. The wise person uses tools in a proper

manner. The wise person isn't fearful of the

opinions of others if he pauses to sharpen the

ax because he knows the result of that work is

less burdensome, more efficient, and probably

has less risk of injury. The fool doesn't know

how to manage himself, doesn't know how to manage

others, and doesn't know the tools of the trade.

That's the fool. You've heard sayings like this.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Measure twice,

cut once. I got more for you here. Haste makes

waste. That was a new one for me. I didn't know

that one. Here's one for those of you who grew

up with martial arts. Precision beats power and

timing beats speed. Commonly taught. The shortest

way is often the longest way around. Shortcuts

don't work. The man who moves a mountain begins

by carrying away small stones. Better a diamond

with a flaw than a pebble without. Sounds fun.

Wisdom isn't looking for a shortcut. Wisdom isn't

looking for self -exaltation. Wisdom is looking

for good completion, for efficiency, for safety,

for accuracy, for replication, for endurance.

That's what wisdom pursues. Wisdom knows that

folly makes things harder in the long run, even

if you have the strength to wield the axe. It's

not about working harder, but smarter, really

we should say, wiser. The snake charmer has one

purpose, to keep the snake from striking and

biting, right? So if the snake bites the charmer

before he does the job, there's no advantage,

there's no blessing for him. He failed before

it even started. Now, the charmer may look the

part, right? He's dressed in the garb. You've

all seen the movies, right? Or Aladdin. I think

it's in there. They dress fancy. They may act

like they can do this great thing. But if they

get bitten before they even begin the charming,

he looks the fool, does he not? He doesn't know

what he's doing. He can't even charm. Isn't he

supposed to be a snake charmer? It also may be

an indictment against snake charming. Have you

heard the saying, play stupid games, get stupid

prizes? There are some activities that are normative.

Others may be unnecessary. I'll let you figure

out where snake charming fits. If serious risk

is involved in the unnecessary task, don't do

it. There's a wise way to work. And foolish people

make it known even in what they do that they

are fools. But like any good clickbait, there's

more beyond the actions of the fool. Foolish

toil. Now there are so many scriptures throughout

God's word that encourage us about our words.

Lips of the righteous know what is acceptable.

The mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. There's

one who speaks rashly like the thrust of a sword.

The tongue of the wise brings healing. Gentle

answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs

up anger. A tongue that brings healing is a tree

of life. Perversion in it breaks the spirit.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb sweet to the soul.

and healing to the bones. My favorite explanation

from Christ himself, for the mouth speaks out

of that which fills the heart. We talked about

actions, now we're talking about words. Words

do matter, mostly because of where they come

from, and that's what Jesus emphasized in Matthew

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. Beyond where they come from, words

can produce all kinds of things. They can be

used to bring healing. They can be used to give

life, to turn away wrath. They can be used to

tear down. to stir up strife, to wound, and even

to kill. Now the wise man's words out of Ecclesiastes

10 are first, gracious. Gracious. Literally,

they give grace to the hearer. So saying whatever

is on your mind, that's neither gracious, I definitely

guarantee it's not wise. Wisdom encourages restraint

and good judgment for the timing, the tone, the

message of our words. but the fool is consumed

by their words. Not just destructive in nature,

but look at verse 12, the second half, self -destructive.

Self -destructive. The fool's words hurt others,

but he hurts himself and gets himself into trouble.

The words of the fool are fallier. Literally,

it means stupid. We're not even allowed to say

that in our house. But it means stupid, of no

worth, of no merit. It's pointless. As they continue,

those words, though, become something else. They

become evil madness or wicked insanity, evil

craziness. Now, words should not be a substitute

for thinking. The fool loves the sound of their

voice, not the wisdom of the Lord applied in

their life. They have opinions on everything,

and they want others to know all of their opinions.

As the fool spouts what he does not know, He

spews lies about things he cannot know. Verse

14 shows the endless multiplication of the fool's

words bring him to the height of his folly. Think

about it. Can anyone claim to know the future?

You have people betting today, right? Who's going

to win, over, under, all that, sure. We can talk

about gambling for another time. But you know

that there are people who think they can predict

the future. That's the height of folly. That's

what God's word says. Because no one knows what

is to come except who? The Lord God. The Lord

God Almighty. And the fool brings him to that

end. In all his words, though, he wearies himself.

Proverbs 10, 19. It's not on the screen, but

you should know it. Where there are many words,

transgression is unavoidable. That's the reality.

The wise man holds back his lips. You've heard

this saying, maybe? the fool could get lost in

an escalator? Think about that. Escalator only

goes one way. How do you get lost on that? It

moves for you, you know? Think about it, though.

God's word says the fool can't even find his

way to the town. He can't give simple directions

to things that are plainly obvious. Look, the

town, it's right there. But he gets lost. Oh,

that reminds me, you know, this thing over here.

Have I ever told you the story about how I got

lost at other times? It's clear his abundant

words lead towards transgression. A folly claims

to know all kinds of things. Wisdom pursues the

explanation of certain things and humility with

many things. Okay, take a breath. Two -thirds

of the way. We're going to get there. See, we're

doing okay on time. Are you seeing the contrast

of wisdom and folly? Are you seeing the portrait

being painted? Have you been stung by anything

so far? Do you see yourself? Or has something

been made more clear for you? I hope so. I hope

you're thinking about this for you. Not just

thinking about it for somebody else. Not somebody

in your mind that you think is acting foolish.

But think about yourself. Are you seeing the

portraits? Do you find yourself there? There

are just three more vignettes to see them. So

let's continue. Here we go. Earlier in chapter

10, Solomon addressed wisdom and folly with regard

to foolish leaders. How to respond when you're

going a good way and the leader may not see that.

Now he's going to display some wisdom for and

about leaders. So here in verses 16 and 17, he's

going to provide the contrast of two lands. One

receives a woe or a pity, and the other receives

a blessing. So verse 16 shows the woe. The king

is a young man. Now, youthfulness, it's not always

a curse. For example, you might think of King

Josiah. He served honorably from the age of eight.

That's commendable. But childishness in leadership

is not helpful. You can have a young person who

serves beyond their years, but acting like a

child as a leader, that's not good. Very few

young men can lead well. Listen to that. We have

a lot of young men here. I don't see that to

be rude. As a young man who is leading myself,

I say that accurately. It's hard. We should take

it seriously, though. Young men who are here,

the call is still to lead. Just because it's

hard doesn't mean we don't do it. We should look

at the world and recognize not many want to be

leaders. Not many want to be an example. Not

many are willing to be a sacrifice so that others

can draw near to Christ. But all the men in here,

if you call upon the name of Christ, should be

pursuing that kind of life, to be a leader. God's

men are leaders. That's not in my notes. That

was just for you. Take it. People who lead in

childish and self -centered ways, they're not

a blessing. That's the truth. It's a curse on

the land who is governed by such people. Now,

King Solomon, he's not prideful about this. He

knows what it was like to be young, to struggle.

He said before he took the throne that he was

but a child. 1 Kings 3, 7. Now, Yahweh, my God,

you have made your slave a king and placed my

father David, yet I am but a little child. I

don't even know how to go out or come in. He

acknowledges the plight of youthfulness, the

difficulty, specifically that it lacks direction,

doesn't know how to go out or come in, doesn't

know where the city is. And he recognizes that's

the struggle. As for the princes eating in the

morning, that's a reference to those who spend

their time foolishly, the all -day partiers,

like the king of Babylon. Remember how long he

partied? For months, months with those princes

in Esther chapter one. Isaiah 5 says this, Woe

to those who rise early in the morning that they

may pursue strong drink, who stay up late in

the evening that wine may inflame them. This

indictment, it's against those who use their

position and their power for personal pleasure

and gluttony. It's an indictment. Woe to the

land and the people who have to put up with leaders

who get drunk anytime, but especially those who

get drunk early in the morning and all the way

until night. That's not going to end well. Now,

in contrast, the land and the people are blessed

when the king is noble. Noble. Not only because

of his lineage, but because he's been raised

with a sense of duty, a sense of responsibility.

This, again, is for the men in here. I think

it's for families, too, actually. You know, sometimes

we look down upon traditions. We struggle with

that sometimes. Sometimes the old ways, we don't

see the goodness that they instill. Sometimes

we don't see the patterns of behavior that those

old traditions encourage or the evil that they

help to restrain. Sometimes the old ways, they

did establish a proper understanding of one's

position, their responsibilities amidst a larger

community. Because today, our society, our culture

constantly teaches and focuses on self, personal

pleasure. personal exaltation, personal goals,

personal aims. You think about it. When you want

to go to college, they say, what do you want

to do? Everything's about you. God's word doesn't

say that. God's word says you were bought for

a price. You are not your own. That's what God's

word says. It's not that every tradition or every

old thing is wonderful and awesome, but we shouldn't

throw out everything. There was some goodness

to nobility. We should remember that as we're

forming our own families and our own traditions.

So princes, eating at the appropriate time, it

showcases working during the day. Eating or celebrating

at night, that's when it's appropriate. And their

purpose in doing so, eating and drinking and

celebrating, is not for drunkenness. It's for

strength. The land does well when their leader

is committed to good things, and Solomon said

that earlier. Don't mistake... That statement,

that the land does well, as a biblical endorsement

for any political alignment. You commend what's

commendable. We condemn the despicable, and we

do that all according to God's word. We don't

look for salvation in human leaders. Now, it

is good for everyone when all leaders rule well,

but the hope for all nations is not any government.

It's the true king, not any political party.

This side of glory until the true king, when

he reigns finally and fully, it's grace. It's

a grace when leaders have self -control. Don't

expect it. It's a grace. It's a grace when they

have discipline. It's a grace when they have

a commitment to their role for the good of the

people. It's a grace. Can I say that anymore?

It's not a right. Sometimes we act like it's

a right. What do we deserve? A broken, fallen

world. Anything beyond that is a grace. Let us

teach ourselves. It's a grace when leaders don't

pursue immaturity and don't pursue self -indulgence

and don't pursue drunkenness. It's a grace. We're

moving on. Foolish sloths, wisdom applied. This

part really applies as much to the, leader as

it does the regular person. You think about it,

laziness or slothfulness or indolence, as the

LSB renders it, I think the NAS as well. It's

another word for slothfulness. It always leads

to difficulty. As some of you may have thought

or may remember, Proverbs 24. There's a depiction

of a man in Proverbs 24. I'll put it on the screen

so you can see. His garden is unkept. His property

is falling apart. I'm not going to read the whole

thing. It's on the screen, but I underlined the

comparative statements for you. If you're not

careful, your roof will cave in on your head.

As burdensome as home maintenance is, and it

is sometimes, you know, the leaky pipes. And

yes, sometimes a roof literally does cave in,

right? We've talked about that with some of you

members recently. It's a metaphor for life, is

it not? You need to take care of things. Things

need to be maintained. If you don't change your

oil, if you don't get new tires, if you don't

clear the dryer vent sometime, if you don't water

your plants, Jeff knows this. He's the gardener.

You get the picture. Slothfulness is a form of

foolishness where a person does, they just don't

understand their own personal responsibility.

That's foolishness. And if you're able to care

for yourself, if you're able to care for you

and those around you, you should do so. Don't

expect others to do it for you. Otherwise, you're

going to experience the decay of everything around

you. Now, verse 19 in Ecclesiastes 10 is probably,

in my opinion, the most difficult verse in the

whole chapter because Solomon applies wisdom

without as much explanation here. But we need

to test it to affirm his veracity. He speaks

of bread and laughter. and wine, and they make

a glad life, and he says money is a solution.

That's the hard part. Now, overall, he's giving

us a better way forward than slothfulness. Slothfulness

is not the way forward. This is the way forward.

This is better. So it seems to really provide

a summary. Think of it like this. Work hard.

Provide bread and wine to your home. It will

nourish. It will bring gladness and celebrate.

And money is going to help you with many matters

in life. That's my summary. Let's test it. He

qualitatively teaches us that every one of those

things is good. Bread, wine, and even money in

this book. The first two, he said, are consistently

good throughout the letter. Just take a look

at how many times Solomon has said it is good

to eat and drink. Nothing better for a man than

to eat and drink. It is from God. Every man who

eats and drinks, it is the gift of God. Here

is what I've seen to be good, which is beautiful,

to eat, to drink, which has been given him, to

eat and to drink and to be merry, which God has

given him these things. Eat your bread in gladness.

Drink your wine with a merry heart. God has already

accepted your works. Throughout this letter,

he consistently references such things as eating

and drinking appropriately. Not for drunkenness,

but for gladness and thankfulness. And several

times he makes references to this qualitative

goodness of enjoying food and drink. I don't

think he's mocking a hedonistic lifestyle. Some

commentators do. Some have said that Solomon

is making the statement here in verse 10, 19,

tongue in cheek, that he's being sarcastic. Oh,

money's the answer to everything. Ha, ha, ha.

Do you? Do you think that Solomon's really like

that? Like, have you gotten that picture of him

throughout this whole time? That he just throws

something like, ha, ha, ha. I don't think so.

We have to read in context. Why would he, think

about it logically for a second. Why would he

affirm so many other times throughout the same

letter that these things are good and a gift

from God only to right now throw it all away?

Why? That's, can I say stupid? That's stupid.

That's bad exegesis. That's bad study. Because

you've got to use the author, not your opinion.

I know it's hard. I know it's hard to say that

money is the answer to everything. We're going

to have to unpack that. But it's not consistent

to just throw that out. It's not. I think Solomon

is giving us a very pointed statement, and it's

in the theme of Proverbs. That's what all these

sayings are. They're proverbial. They're truisms.

If you remember on the very front end, we discussed

the difference between proverb sayings and wisdom

literature overall, and that Ecclesiastes was

distinct because it dealt with the exceptions,

not with the rules, not with the norms. However,

here he is talking about the norms. It's not

a promise. You shouldn't make it an expectation

or even a rule, but it is a norm. So let's review

a couple things real quick that he said about

money. You may remember. In chapter 7, verse

12, he said, money is a shadow of protection

like wisdom. We covered that principle in the

sermon. You can go back and listen to it. Wisdom

is a shadow of protection. Money is a shadow

of protection. I think that's what he's referencing

here in Ecclesiastes 10. The way it reads in

Hebrew isn't that money is the answer, as in

the only answer, but that money answers all things,

all kinds of things. Think about that. When you're

hungry, does money help? When you need gas, do

you just get it with a smile? Not in California,

that's right. Are you housed right now? Do you

have a roof over your head? If you do, did you

or somebody use money to obtain that housing?

Can you go on a vacation without money? Does

helping others often require money? Here's the

thing. You can be content in poverty. I've seen

it. I know that we can do all things through

Christ who strengthens us to be rich or to be

poor. Solomon has pointed out actually in Ecclesiastes

5, it's on the screen, verse 10, you can have

money and be miserable. You can have wealth and

be awful because money doesn't satisfy. The goal

of money isn't to satisfy. But you have to realize

money is not the root of all evil. If you've

ever heard that preach, they lied to you. They

didn't preach the word of God. It's the root

of all kinds of evil. The root of all evil is

the prideful human heart. That's the root of

all evil. Money isn't salvation. But if you have

a choice between having money or not having money,

isn't the choice obvious? If you're honorable,

you obtain money through labor. You obtain money

through business. You obtain money through working

with your hands, not taking advantage of others,

not pursuing money at the expense of others,

but through faithful labor. And the wise man

pursues that as opposed to slothfulness. Because

slothfulness can lead to unnecessary abject poverty.

That's the lesson Solomon is teaching. Now, I've

seen very industrious people live in poverty

all around the world. I've seen it. The disposition

of wisdom is a blessing, though, whether you

earn much or little. The disposition of wisdom

is a blessing. We are called to pursue work faithfully.

And we are to receive whatever blessings come

with that work. And it seems to be indicative

of going to the right towards wisdom that God

may bless with finances. Not a promise, but a

norm. We come to the final verse of chapter 10.

Wise restraint. Or as another commentary called,

how Twitter began. Here, Solomon cautions a listener

about their own heart. You'll see it in a second.

Don't curse the king, don't curse the ruler,

don't curse the rich man or even your boss, even

quietly in private, even in your own thoughts.

Solomon gives the warning with some fanciful

thinking that a bird or a winged creature will

share the information because you know the previous

logo for Twitter as a little bird. That's not

on accident. Yeah, some of you know the sound.

Before it became X, whatever that means, it was

a blue little bird. And that platform and other

forms of social media have become cesspools of

vile thoughts against various rulers and rich

people of our day. Now, calling out imprudent

language, unkind words on social media, it doesn't

condone the lives of the people who are being

criticized. Not condoning it. But we need to

address the sinful heart. of complaining, the

sinful heart of ridicule, the hypocritical condemnation

often at times. And none of that means that the

person they're complaining about or speaking

about is inherently righteous. But can you argue

with what Jesus said? You don't have to argue

with me. Jesus said, it's not what comes out

of your mouth that's defiled, but that your heart,

your inner person, this is where evil thoughts

come from. But the things that proceed out of

the mouth come from the heart, Jesus says, and

those defile the man. For out of the heart come

evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities,

thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the

things which defile a man. Friends, watch your

words. Watch your thoughts. Don't think that

sin done in private is going to remain there.

Too many supposed pastors and shepherds and Christian

leaders, they've fallen publicly. Other ones,

they think it's their responsibility to police

the behavior of those in authority. Like it's

their job because God's not doing it. Solomon

knew better. Jesus commanded better. And we need

to listen better. Who among us hasn't seen those

difficulties arise when you've shared something

in private and you only watch that thing get

shared with a person you didn't want to get shared

with? Doesn't that happen? That's called foolishness.

It does happen. You know, things said unkindly

in secret, they have a way of becoming not so

secret. That's the truth. It's interesting, though.

The opposite isn't nearly as true. How come words

said privately in righteousness about others

don't have a way of getting out? The curses we

speak in private have a way of ruining relationships.

Solomon calls us to think better, to speak better,

to think in blessed ways about others. It doesn't

fracture relationships. You're not doing harm

by doing that. It doesn't harm your testimony

to think well of others. 20 verses. A lot. What

a chapter. I hope that you see clearly the contrast

between those two portraits, the wise man and

the fool. You know, the fool, he chases his own

tail, vapidly seeking self -promotion, his own

words, toiling in vain, thinking he's accomplishing

something but not. And the wise man is steady,

pursuing good things, even in the face of difficulty

from authorities. And he applies wisdom for greater

success in anything he puts his hand to. Such

a distinction between wisdom and folly, though,

it's not to make an intellectual exercise. Wisdom

is not the same as intelligence. It's not the

same as understanding. Wisdom is who you know

impacting how you live. Think about that. Wisdom,

it's who you know impacting how you live. You

can't be wise if you don't know God. That's the

truth. You can't live well. If you don't know

God. Wisdom and folly, they're matters of life

and death. They are that important. The foolish

person, think about the end of it. The foolish

person only becomes more steadfast in their foolishness.

They ultimately become what scripture calls a

scoffer. One who mocks the wisdom of the Lord.

It is rare for a scoffer to be rescued. I'll

say that. Because they're too wise in their own

eyes. They believe their own wisdom to be sufficient.

for themselves. But friends, we don't need personal

wisdom. We need wisdom personified. As you think

about everything you heard today, I pray you

don't just think you need more knowledge to learn

more things. I pray that you'll think about the

one who offers wisdom unto eternity without price.

I pray that you think about the sacrifice of

Christ for sinners. That's what we should be

drawn to. When you consider a life well lived,

it's for his glory. In light of what he's done

to rescue, to redeem, to save. I'm going to put

two New Testament passages on the screen as we

close here. The first is out of Ephesians 5.

Paul says, therefore, look carefully how you

walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the

time because the days are evil. On account of

this, do not be foolish, but understand what

the will. of the Lord is. Believers are to walk

wisely. That's what we're called to, to not be

foolish. This is the briefest New Testament summary

of Ecclesiastes chapter 10. The next verses there,

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

they're select verses from a larger unit of thought

out of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, which just so

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

happens to be where we're going to be. I want

you to hear the consistent melody of Christ.

He is God's perfect wisdom. For the word of the

cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

But to us who are being saved, it is the power

of God. Has not God made the foolish the wisdom

of the world? For indeed, Jews ask for signs,

Greeks for wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified.

To Jews, a stumbling block. To Gentiles, foolishness.

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,

Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the

world to shame the wise. that no flesh may boast

before God, but by his doing, you are in Christ

Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness

and sanctification and redemption. Friends, I

pray you don't miss that, that Christ is the

power of God, that Christ is the wisdom of God,

righteousness that's not our own, and redemption

paid for at the cross. These two portraits have

been painted, the wise and the foolish. Do you

see yourself? Do you see your shortcomings? Do

you see wisdom? And most importantly, do you

see Christ? Let's pray. Father, as we finish

the sermon this morning, we consider your word.

We recognize that wisdom literature doesn't always

leave us with the perfect point. We don't always

get to land the plane, but we recognize that

wisdom literature is from you. As much as we

may want the cookies on the low shelf, sometimes

you place them very high and you stretch us.

Sometimes you wound us, but we know that you're

helping us. Considering these things today, it

might be too much, but I pray there are some

things, some things that can stick with us. At

least would we consider the dead flies that stink

up our lives? The little bits of folly that maybe

we were blind to before this morning that we've

been convicted of today. The folly that robs

us of a relationship with you, with others. God,

we pray that you would help us understand wisdom

is more than knowledge. That wisdom is more than

intelligence. We do pray that we would see wisdom

as the personification of Christ. That's a hard

concept for us. But you say, you say in your

word, Christ became wisdom, perfect wisdom. Help

us understand what that means. That means it

must be good and a blessed thing to go his way,

to trust him, to obey him, to believe him. So

help us. Help us to pursue not just wisdom, but

to pursue Christ. We need your help. Help us

to walk carefully in this world. Help us to pursue

good for others, not just ourselves. Father,

we thank you for your infinite wisdom displayed

fully in Christ. We ask, help us know him better.

Help us know the Lamb of God, slain for sinners,

risen in glory, seated at the right hand, interceding.

Give us hearts to know you. Give us hearts to

follow your ways. We pray now. As we sing and

lift our voices to praise Christ, that we would

exalt his name for great things that he has done.

He has perfectly displayed you to us. May we

worship him now and forevermore. We pray this

in his name. Amen.