The Vanity of Ignoring a Wise Word of Caution (Ecclesiastes 10)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Take your Bibles or the pew Bibles there in front

of you and turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

10 as we continue in our sermon series through

this book. As you turn there, let me say this

chapter is one of the more proverbial chapters

in Ecclesiastes. And what I mean by that, it

is proverb -like. Ecclesiastes 10 is colorful

in its descriptions. It contains short, pithy

statements that seem like they belong in the

book of Proverbs. It continues to deal with wisdom

and with folly. And so let us see all of this

in Ecclesiastes 10, the whole chapter. Dead flies.

make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench.

So a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,

but a fool's heart to the left. Even when the

fool walks on the road, he lacks sense. And he

says to everyone that he is a fool. If the anger

of the ruler rises against you, do not leave

your place. For calmness will lay great offenses

to rest. There is an evil that I have seen under

the sun as it were an error proceeding from the

ruler. Folly is set in many high places and the

rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on

horses and princes walking on the ground like

slaves. He who digs a pit will fall into it and

a serpent will bite him who breaks through a

wall. He who quarries stones is hurt by them,

and he who splits logs is endangered by them.

If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen

the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom

helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before

it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.

The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor.

but the lips of a fool consume him. The beginning

of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and

the end of his talk is evil madness. A fool multiplies

words, though no man knows what it is to be.

And who can tell him what will be after him?

The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not

know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land,

when your king is a child. and your princes feast

in the morning. 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. Through sloth the roof sinks

in, and through indolence the house leaks. Bread

is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life,

and money answers everything. 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.

Blessed is he who hears and keeps what is written.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, how very aware

we are of our own weakness. and inability to

understand everything in Ecclesiastes chapter

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

10. Father, I do pray that you would guide us

by your spirit, enlighten our understanding that

we might be wise in your eyes. These things we

ask for Christ's sake. Amen. When you are asked

to sign a waiver before you participate in something,

you should pay attention. Have you ever had to

do that? You go to do something that might have

a little bit of danger to it, and they say, please

sign here. About just over a week ago, I went

with my family to the Green River near Saluda,

North Carolina. It was a beautiful day. The sun

was out. It feels like it's always out right

about now. But the sky was blue and the water

temperature in the river was perfect. And so

we signed our waivers. We got our tubes to go

down this river. And we had to listen to the

words of an instructor. And the instructor told

us a few things. Namely, there are class two

rapids within this river. And secondly, if you

fall out of your tube in a class two rapid, do

not stand up in the river. it will sweep your

feet away. Instead, you should get face up, he

said, nose and toes to the sky so that you can

float through the rapid and hopefully survive

unscathed and get to calmer waters. All right,

that's great. Sounds good. Let's go. The river

was mostly very pleasant. The biggest danger

for the most part was The water level was pretty

low and sometimes you could bruise your tailbone

if you're not careful. However, there was one

who was floating at the same time that we did.

And he came to the class two rapid and you know

what I'm going to say, he stood up in the class

two rapid. He did not listen to the wise word

of caution. Consequently, he went tumbling down

the rapid as his feet were swept away. bumping

off of the rocks, including his head off of a

rock. Now at the end of the rapid, we checked

on him. He was mostly fine. I think his pride

hurt as much as his head. But friends, this is

where I'm going, is to say that to ignore wisdom

can have serious, even deadly ramifications.

Solomon writes this chapter and it behooves us

to pay attention. Do not ignore the wise word

of caution. Now, the way that this is organized

can be a little tricky, but what I want to do

is organize it into sections. And so as I go

along, I will share with you the section that

I am in. The first one being verses one through

four in which we see wisdom and folly. contrasted.

Verse one, it's very graphic here. Dead flies

make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench.

What is going on here? It's showing us that a

little bit of folly, sometimes just a little

bit of foolishness can outweigh much wisdom.

Children, kids, have you ever had the experience

of putting some food coloring into water in a

glass, what happens? The food coloring goes throughout

all of the water. Just a drop or two can turn

the water red or yellow or purple or pink, blue,

green, whatever it is, right? That's kind of

what's being taught here. Obviously, perfume

is nice. It's supposed to smell good, but just

a little bit, just a couple of dead flies in

such an ointment. can turn it from something

that is pleasing to smell into something that

does not smell very good. And so it is with wisdom

and honor, one foolish decision on our part can

outweigh a lifetime of honor and wisdom. I was

thinking, I thought of a movie actually just

this morning that I think illustrates this well.

It's a movie called State of Play. Have anybody

seen that movie before? I don't know that it's

all that popular, but it's about a congressman

played by Ben Affleck and a journalist played

by Russell Crowe. And the congressman admits

his folly, his sin of adultery to the journalist.

And then the congressman realizes that his career

is essentially over. And he says this. It doesn't

matter what I do in Congress, I will always be

the guy who cheated on his wife. Friends, what's

illustrated in that movie is what's kind of illustrated

here. One foolish decision, one just moment of

forgetting who we are in Christ Jesus can really

affect us throughout our whole lives. Just one

singular moment. And yet, praise God for the

blood of Jesus, which washes away all of our

sin, all of our follies, right? From the greatest

to the least, when there is repentance and trust

in Christ. Sadly though, in this life, the damage

may be done. And in the eyes of others, we may

always carry that moniker of the fool. Which

is why we need this word of caution. So look

at verses two and three. A wise man's heart inclines

him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.

Have you ever spoken with somebody who really

needs wisdom and you've tried to share wisdom

and they just don't seem to get it? It's maddening,

right? Why can't you see it the way I see it?

Well, I think this text tells us why. because

a fool's heart is inclined in a completely different

direction. And in doing so, they broadcast their

foolishness. Verse three, even when the fool

walks on the road, he lacks sense. They're going

a different way. Indeed, this metaphor of the

road, I think it's a metaphor for life, how you

behave and how you speak shows whether or not

you have wisdom. Think about that, friends. The

way that you talk out loud with other people,

the way that you behave can show whether or not

you have real godly wisdom about you. Friends,

don't play the fool. Play the wise man. Be the

wise man. Because it can have incredible ramifications

on our life. Look at verse four. This picture

is somebody who is under the authority of another.

If the anger of the ruler rises against you do

not leave your place and it mentions calmness

here Okay, so maybe place yourself in a position

of your maybe you're under a boss Who is maybe

not that great of a boss and you're angry with

your boss You've fallen out of favor with your

boss. And so you say I just quit I'm just gonna

walk off. I'm done with this. I'm gonna resign

in a huff But friends, this is not the wise way

for this effectively ends your work. And I think

Christians need to hear this out loud because

sometimes we act like that. Our feelings get

hurt and we say, I'll show him, I'm done with

this. But would you remember our Lord's example

here? I want to take you to 1 Peter chapter two,

1 Peter two, 18 through 23. 1st Peter 2 18 to

23 servants Be subject to your masters with all

respect Not only to the good and gentle but also

to the unjust for this is a gracious thing When

mindful of God one endures sorrows while suffering

unjustly But what credit is it if when you sin

or beaten for it you endure? But if when you

do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is

a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to

this you have been called because Christ also

suffered for you, leaving you an example. So

you might follow in his steps. He committed no

sin. Neither was deceit found in his mouth. When

he was reviled, he did not revile in return.

When he suffered, he did not threaten. but continued

entrusting himself to the one who judges justly.

Friends, this should be us. And I get it, fighting

fire with fire feels good, doesn't it? But according

to Solomon, it just is not wise. Our responses,

even underneath an oppressive person, some authority

figure, must be governed by wisdom. But even

to the wise, even if we have such wisdom here,

we do see things that are tough in this life,

and that's been one of the key themes throughout

Ecclesiastes. Look in verses five to seven. We

might call this section the irony of folly. That

even to the wise there are these perplexing sights.

He sees a slave riding on a horse while the prince

walks. This kind of echoes Solomon's earlier

observations when he saw that sometimes the righteous

die young while the wicked live on and we wonder

why. But within this don't miss the why. Because

there is a flaw in this life, a flaw in this

fallen world. Look in verse five. There's an

evil that I've seen under the sun as it were

an arrow proceeding from the ruler. Here's the

flaw. Sometimes foolish leaders put foolish people

in exalted positions. That's what's going on

here. Foolish leaders putting foolish people

in exalted positions. Friends, we live in a world

wrecked by sin. And so sometimes these things

happen. Things are not the way they should be.

But here's the good news for you. Things, while

not the way they should be, they also will not

always be this way. Ecclesiastes reads like a

longing to return to Eden and Christ indeed.

is making all things new. Folly will not reign

forever. Indeed, folly doesn't reign now, even

though it appears to. Christ is reconciling people

to himself. Christ is building the church. Christ

has promised to return. And so though we see

such evils, let us not despair. Let us not resort

to folly. The wisdom of God has already prevailed.

in our Savior Christ Jesus, and the way in which

it prevails is through the preached word. Let

me take you to another spot in the New Testament.

First Corinthians, chapter one, 18 to 21, as

we see how God works by His word. 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 for it is written I will destroy the wisdom

of the wise and the discernment of the discerning

I will thwart Where is the one who is wise? Where

is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age

has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world did

not know God through wisdom it pleased God Through

the folly of what we preach to save those who

believe If I can summarize that the fool hears

the preaching of Jesus Christ and says what is

this nonsense But the preaching of Christ is

the means of salvation. Verse 21, again, it says

God is pleased by the preaching. This is how

God operates. It is God's wise plan to save sinners

through the preaching of Christ and Him crucified.

You see, God ordains not only the ends that you

would be saved, God also ordains the means, which

is biblical. Christ centered preaching, his instrument

to convert, to change hearts and to strengthen

our faith. And so, friends, do not ignore this.

Do not ignore godly wisdom, which has a name.

And that name is Jesus Christ. For if you do,

here's what may happen. You may just reap what

you sow. Look at verses eight through 11. within

our text. He who digs a pit will fall into it.

No doubt if you're using a different translation,

you may see that it reads a little differently

there. It may say that he who digs a pit may

fall into it. Again, we need to remember the

genre that we are studying here. This is wisdom

literature, and so what we have are not promises,

but strong possibilities. And so the strong possibility

is the person without wisdom who digs a pit will

fall into it. I think this is illustrated well

within the book of Esther. For you may recall

Haman and Mordecai, right? Haman built a gallows

for Mordecai. He wanted Mordecai killed. And

it appeared that injustice would win the day

until Haman and his wicked ways are exposed and

he was hanged on his very own gallows. Justice

wins. We might call this ironic justice. That

fools destroy themselves by their own foolishness.

It is their undoing. You see within this as well

the second part of verse 8, the snake charmer

who is not cautious with the serpent finds himself

charmed by it rather than the other way around.

Matthew Henry says on this and in verse 11, wisdom

will teach us to enchant the serpent we are to

contend with rather than to think to out -hiss

it. You can see something like that in verse

10 as well. As one pastor says of verse 10, it's

like trying to chop down a tree with a baseball

bat. It just will not work. We need wisdom, not

necessarily more physical strength. Wisdom grants

success, whereas folly promises failure. And

not just folly in our actions, but folly within

our words. Look at verses 12 through about 14.

or so. The words of a wise man's mouth win him

favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. Wisdom

or its lack is apparent in our speech. It's no

surprise that so much of biblical wisdom has

to do with how we talk. What broadcast foolishness

the most is our tongue. It's the primary means

of expressing folly and not just uncareful speech,

but of sinful speech. Look in verse 13. The beginning

of the words of his mouth is foolishness and

the end of his talk is evil, madness. Yes, when

we use very foul, inappropriate language, we

broadcast ourselves to be foolish. When we slander

people with our tongues, this is the work of

fools. Friends, let us use our speech for building

people up, not for tearing them down. But not

just this, but verse 14 expresses this idea that

the fool thinks that by his many words, he will

be seen as wise. And that, friends, is not the

case either. Students in here, Children, but

maybe more appropriately teenagers or college

students. Have you had the unfortunate experience

of having to do an essay in an exam with a big

space that is white that you got to fill up?

I've had that experience. But have you really

had the experience when you've got that white

space to fill up and you have no idea what you're

supposed to write there? Now that's terribly

uncomfortable. But those who are perhaps wise

within the classroom might think, well, if I

just fill up the space with anything I can think

of that may possibly be related to the topic,

maybe then I'll get partial credit. Well, friends,

that might be wise in the classroom, but that's

not wise in real life. Proverbs 10, 19, when

words are many, Transgression is not lacking.

We will not be seen as wise by our many words,

but by the wisdom of our words. And the same

principle reveals wisdom. You can know a person's

wisdom or lack thereof simply by how they speak,

which is a public thing. And that's what the

last section is getting at 16 through 20. Visible.

public folly and its consequences. Look at verse

16 and 17. This presents two different kinds

of kings. One king who is very, very young. really

incapable of leading. And the princes within

the kingdom do not spend their time working for

the good of the kingdom. No, instead this pictures

them neglecting their responsibilities. Woe to

you, O land, where your king is a child and your

princes feast in the morning. They're not doing

their work. They're not serving. Compare that

with verse 17, a king of nobility whose princes

feast at the proper time for strength and not

for drunkenness. And you can see the consequences

of these verses. For the first one begins, woe

to you, O land. But the second one, happy are

you, O land. So we might say that wisdom has

incredibly wonderful consequences, right? But

again, wisdom and folly are visible things. Look

in verse 18. Through sloth, the roof sinks in.

This pictures the consequence of neglect. If

you neglect the work that you must do, your situation

is going to be like a house with a sunken roof,

and it's going to fall in. Friends when we neglect

our marriages when we neglect our families when

we neglect our work and especially our walk with

the Lord We are inviting the roof to fall in

on ourselves When we fail to give ourselves to

the means of grace Bible reading prayer worship

sacraments service Do we really expect to grow

in the grace and knowledge of Jesus when we neglect

these things? Friends, don't wait for the roof

to fall in. Don't wait for the roof to fall in

before you recognize the problem. Do not ignore

the wise word of caution here. And not just in

your work, and not just in your families, but

even with God's good gifts. Look at verses 19

and 20. Even with his good gifts, like money

or food or drink, we must utilize wisdom to properly

enjoy them. Even in private, as it shows us in

verse 20, even in your thoughts it says, do not

curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the

rich, for the bird of the air will carry your

voice or some winged creature tell the matter.

Friends, We need wisdom in every single possible

way, not just in our actions, not just in our

words, but even within our own thoughts. We need

wisdom. And you know, if you somehow don't want

to take Solomon's word for it, which you definitely

should, take Jesus's word for it. For Jesus communicates

this in many places, if you will. Go to Matthew.

Matthew 7, verse 24. No doubt you've likely heard

Matthew 7:24

this before. This contrast between the wise man

and the foolish man. Matthew 7, 24. Everyone

then who hears these words of mine and does them,

will be like a wise man who built his house on

the rock and the rain fell and the floods came

and the winds blew and beat on that house but

it did not fall because it had been founded on

the rock and everyone who hears these words of

mine and does not do them will be like a foolish

man who built his house on the sand and the rain

fell and the floods came and the winds blew and

beat against that house and it fell and great

was the fall of it." Notice within that passage,

who listens and who obeys versus he who does

not listen and obey. It's the wise man once again,

wise man against the fool. And so from this passage,

perhaps we can formulate a definition of wisdom

and it's quite simple. Wisdom is listening. and

obeying the teaching of Jesus. The wise man listens

to Jesus and obeys, but the fool ignores the

teaching of Jesus. So let me ask you, are you

listening to Christ by His word? Are you being

wise with it? The teaching of Jesus here is to

trust Him, not to trust yourself. That's what

fools do. Christians, though, trust in Christ.

To ignore His teaching is folly, and this is

teaching that spans not just in Ecclesiastes

and not just in the Sermon on the Mount. This

is a teaching that spans the entirety of Scripture.

This is true wisdom. If I can, before I land

the plane, just give you one more. Psalm 1, 1

and 2. Blessed is the man who walks not in the

counsel of the wicked, Nor stands in the way

of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers But

his delight is in the law of the Lord and on

his law. He meditates day and night friends There's

a whole host of things that we might say broadcasts

our lack of wisdom a poor financial investment

Sinful decision made on a Friday night a time

we were unprepared a time when we did not listen

well, ignoring the caution of the guide in the

river and enduring the consequences. All of these

things broadcast folly. The greatest wisdom though,

what we really need is listening to the Lord

Jesus Christ who speaks to us by His word. Let

us always give heed to the inerrant word in which

we find our Savior because He is our true wisdom.

Let's pray.