Wisdom that Overcomes
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me:
There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
Then I said: “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard.
Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good.”
Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.
A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left.
Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool.
If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses.
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler:
Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place.
I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants.
He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.
He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it.
If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success.
A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different.
I. Wisdom Overcomes Strength . . .
I. Wisdom Overcomes Strength . . .
The Example Story - Solomon again abstracts an event he has clearly heard about. This isn’t a made up story, but a real event. However, in the manner of the ancients he has removed all the specifying features of the event, so it’s a bit difficult to figure out the original story. That’s by design as he isn’t trying to give a journalist’s account, but to identify the basic elements that make the story what it is. The story itself is rather simple - a small city with correspondingly little ability to defend itself is attacked by a much larger king, who besieges the city. However, fortunately for the city there was one wise person in the city. This wise person had no particular standing or resources himself - he was poor in the sense that he didn’t have the ability to pay for an army or the right to command troops. All he could offer was his wise advice, and he had to rely on more powerful people listening to him for this wise advice to be used. Fortunately for him, the people of the city knew he was wise and listened. Because he was so wise, he delivered the city, without raising an army at all. However, the name of this person was lost, no one paid attention to the poor man afterwards precisely because he wasn’t important or rich.
Some possible Bible stories this could refer to -
Abimelech Judges 9:50-55 Now like Solomon’s story, Abimelech besieged the city; like the story, he had superior military might. Abimelech had already laid waste to Shechem, and killed a thousand people by burning the city’s tower. But what’s the name of the woman that killed him? That’s right, it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say likely because the author of judges didn’t know her name. That is, this woman was wise enough to deliver the city from a besieging army, without raising an army in return, yet nobody remembered her enough to preserve her name for posterity. She had no power in the city, no army and didn’t need any money. She just dropped a big rock on the king’s head. The only difference between Shechem and Thebez is that Thebez had this wise woman; Shechem didn’t.
Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and he encamped against Thebez and took it.
But there was a strong tower in the city, and all the men and women—all the people of the city—fled there and shut themselves in; then they went up to the top of the tower.
So Abimelech came as far as the tower and fought against it; and he drew near the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
But a certain woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull.
Then he called quickly to the young man, his armorbearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his young man thrust him through, and he died.
And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed, every man to his place.
Abel Beth Maachah 2 Sam 20:14-22 This time, the Great King is David, though he sends Joab to do the work. The mission was to put down the uprising started by Sheba. When the battle went Joab’s way, Sheba fled to Abel. Joab therefore started to besiege the city, when he was interrupted by another wise woman. She asks him why he’s trying to eliminate a city in Israel, and tells him that this is a city known for its wisdom in deciding disputes. Joab replies that he doesn’t want to destroy the city, it’s just that Sheba is there and he need to get at him. The wise woman has so much influence with the city, she simply says that his head will be thrown to you over the wall. Again, she has no particular influence, and did not need money either. All she had was her wisdom, but it was enough to deliver the city from the might of Israel’s army. But just like the other story, what’s the name of the woman? The author of Samuel doesn’t say, quite possibly because he didn’t know. The woman’s name was lost to history, despite the fact that he is writing this in the generation after Solomon’s day, less than a hundred years later. No one bothered to preserve her name for posterity, despite her incredible accomplishment.
And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba.
Then they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
Then a wise woman cried out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may speak with you.’ ”
When he had come near to her, the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Hear the words of your maidservant.” And he answered, “I am listening.”
So she spoke, saying, “They used to talk in former times, saying, ‘They shall surely seek guidance at Abel,’ and so they would end disputes.
I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?”
And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy!
That is not so. But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” So the woman said to Joab, “Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
Solomon has several conclusions from his observations.
First, Wisdom is better than brute force. A wise man or woman can sometime defeat a huge army only because they are wise. It’s better to be wise than to have the latest weapons of war. Because if you have the best weapons but don’t have sufficient wisdom, you’ll be taken down by a solitary wise woman. Of course, it’s better to be have both, but if you can only have one, choose to be wise rather than to have adequate military gear.
Second, proper recognition doesn’t always follow from the accomplishment. The wise women in both these stories, or any other wise person in a similar story, isn’t recognized only because they aren’t famous or rich. They should be, but people are funny that way.
Third, the forceful shouting of a foolish ruler in the midst of foolish people will not accomplish much. If this ruler is shouting, he is using all the authority he can muster to get the job done. that forceful use of authority is likely making him and everyone around him quite miserable. But because he is a fool in the midst of fools, nothing is coming from his throwing his weight around. On the other hand, if a wise king speak to wise people, he doesn’t have to shout, he doesn’t have to throw his weight around. There’s no threats from him, no yelling, no public shaming, no punishments. Just quiet words of advice, and because he is speaking to wise people, that’s all he has to say. Because he doesn’t have to throw his weight around, he and everyone around him are having a great time, and everything is getting done as well.
II. But A Little Folly Destroys Much Wisdom
II. But A Little Folly Destroys Much Wisdom
Solomon’s aphorism has a counterpoint - small amounts of folly destroy a lot of wisdom. But why is this?
First, people remember folly in a wise man much more than they do folly in a foolish one. Just like a few dead flies makes a perfume stink. So folly in a wise man is punished much more harshly than the identical foolish act for a man known to be foolish. That might seem unfair, which is probably because it is; but it’s human nature. Solomon’s proverb is simply relating a fact of life.
Second, both wisdom and folly derive from the condition of your heart, that is, wise and foolish actions happen because of the wisdom or folly that already resides in your own mind. When Solomon states that a wise man’s heart is at his right hand, and a fool’s at his left, he isn’t prejudicial against left-handed people. Rather, the right hand was associated with positive outcomes, power, and honor; the left hand was associated with the reverse. Matt 25:33
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Third, Folly is more obvious than wisdom. There’s such a thing as quiet wisdom - patience is often hard to spot, because it demonstrates itself in not doing something, but impatience is easy to spot - look for the person yelling incoherently. Humility is difficult to spot, because humble people don’t go around telling everyone how humble they are; proud people, on the other hand do go around telling everyone that they are right. Liars can be harder to pick out, but you can sometimes pick out a lie if it isn’t a particularly good one. Recognizing truthfulness, on the other hand, is a bit harder. You’ve got to listen to them over time. This is what Solomon means about the fool walking along the way, showing everyone he is a fool.
So this is why a little folly destroys much wisdom. It’s because both wisdom and folly stem from matters of the heart, and no one can see your heart. It’s because people tend to remember folly much more in a wise person, because it’s shocking; whereas seeing a foolish person do the same stupid thing for the umpteeth time surprises no one. It’s because folly, by its very nature, is more noticeable than wisdom.
III. It is easy for authorities to glorify folly . . .
III. It is easy for authorities to glorify folly . . .
The common theme in all four of these verses is that they all discuss a ruler who makes foolish decisions about promotion or demotion. I struggled to understand how v.4 fits into the context, until I realized that it is talking about rulers just like the next three verses. More on that verse in a minute. I think it is first giving you the appropriate reaction to folly, when you can’t really do anything about it.
But before that, Solomon tells us about a mistake that “proceeds from the ruler.” That is, this kind of mistake is difficult for rulers to avoid, so it often is found in large bureaucracies, like big companies and governments in general regardless of the form of government. The mistake that is made is that foolish people are promoted, because they are noisy and know how to suck up to the boss, while the quiet wise ones are ignored. It seemed strange that the rich is set in a lowly place, when James tells us the opposite problem (James 2:1-4). But remember in this proverb, the contrast is not between the rich and the poor, but between the rich and the foolish. So when is “rich” the opposite of “foolish”? when a person is wealthy because of his wisdom. That is, this rich person knows how to solve the government’s problem, because he is wise with money. Furthermore, the rich man also has the resources to solve the problem, because he has used his wisdom to make himself rich. Thus, the government ought to promote the rich man, since he is willing and able to do the job better than the one actually doing the job. But because the foolish person is much noisier, he ends up being noticed and gets the position, while the quietly wise rich man goes ignored.
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
This mistake stems from the nature of wisdom and folly - folly is obvious and noticeable, while wisdom is harder to spot. Not that wisdom is invisible. Solomon’s wisdom was obvious to everyone who met him, and the fool that is promoted is certainly not promoted because he is a fool, but because he fools the ruler into thinking that he is wise.
The same kind of thing happens when Solomon sees servants on horses and princes walking on the ground like servants. Here again, the problem is that those with the actual solutions - the princes - are not respected while the flashy servants are lauded and people think them wise. Solomon’s implication is that authority should be respected. Mal 1:6-8 But Solomon observed that sometimes the authority figure becomes the lightening rod for criticism, while the servants are respected when they don’t have the authority to actually fix the problems. This happens again because it’s way easier to notice a problem than it is to fix it. That’s why it’s much easier to be critical than to offer substantive solutions. I wonder how much griping would end if the person doing the complaining also had to come up with a realistic way of fixing the problem, or at least, a realistic way to help the boss fix it. Not only would this cut down on stupid complaints, it would probably actually also stop some legitimate concerns as well, for the complainer would be strapping himself into a plan to solve the observed problem.
“A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
“You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts.
IV. . . . But Wisdom Overcomes Obstacles
IV. . . . But Wisdom Overcomes Obstacles
All of these proverbs have the theme that risk exists, except for v.10, where it is not danger but wasted energy that’s the problem. Still, this connects back to v.11-12, which remind us that time and chance happen to everyone. Solomon observed four categories fail to achieve their goals - the race is not to the swift, the battle not to the strong, bread not to the wise, riches to men of understanding, favor to men of skill. In each case, he isn’t saying that they never win, just that they don’t always win. You’d think that the winner of the race must be the fastest, the winner of a battle must be the strongest; the wealthiest man must be cleverest. But sometimes you get lucky, and win something you should have lost; sometimes you are unlucky, and lose something you should have won. I’ve said before that I don’t believe in luck, and I don’t. Solomon also believes in the sovereign hand of God (9:1). But randomness does exist, not in the sense that there’s something outside of God’s control, but in the sense that we can’t figure out why God does certain things. Chance is an admission that we don’t know the future, that we can’t penetrate the reason God does everything. So sometimes the best we can do is give the odds of success. Giving the odds is an admission that we don’t comprehend why God does quite a lot of things, and will never understand them this side of eternity.
Furthermore, we cannot predict when things will happen, even for some things that we know will happen eventually. Thus calamity takes all of us at one time or another. God always has a plan, but he usually doesn’t share that plan with us, so we just have to trust that he knows what he is doing.
This means that life is full of risks.
While those who dig a pit elsewhere are those who mean harm to others, here that isn’t the case. It’s just someone digging a hole, and they might fall in and hurt themselves.
If you quarry stone, you might get hurt; if you chop wood, you might get hurt. Also ordinary activities, nothing wrong with them. It’s just that danger lurks everywhere.
A serpent may bite the snake-charmer. this is not a normal activity. So you can be hurt pretty much no matter what you do. Danger is everywhere, but you have to live, so you’ve got no choice but to face it somewhat. But danger means that sometimes the bad things do happen.
The exception is that the dull ax happens naturally as you use the thing. So if you aren’t diligent about keeping it sharp, you’ll have to work harder to do the same job. A little planning makes your work much easier. That’s why wisdom brings success. spend a little time at the beginning planning and thinking about how to do the job the best, and you’ll save lots and lots of time at the end from wasted efforts.
Either way, the solution to both risk and waste is planning. You can’t plan away all danger, but you can minimize it. You can’t eliminate all effort by planning, but you can work smarter instead of harder.
There’s a lot of ways to avoid risk - the first step is to recognize real risks. This is harder than some think, as it’s easy to be caught up avoiding insignificant dangers only to fall into the real one instead. But it’s also vital to put the danger in it’s proper perspective. The only way to have no danger at all is to completely predict the future. But as this is impossible, you’ll have to live with some risk. You risk dying in a car accident every time you drive or are driven. But as I don’t think any of you walked here, all of you that are here took that risk, because it’s a small one if you’re a responsible driver or are being driven by one.
There’s a lot of ways to waste your efforts. You can waste time by worrying; you can waste time by getting involved in everything except what you’re supposed to be doing; you can even waste time by trying to do too much. But we all have finite strength, and finite time. We all have to choose what to spend that limited strength and time on. You’ve got one life; spend it wisely. Probably not a one of us uses our time perfectly. Do you make an effort to spend your life on things that matter for eternity?