Solomon on doing evil and playing the fool

 

 

Ecclesiastes 10:8-20

 

 

“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 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 tells the matter.”

 

The first two verses deal with proverbs about criminal activity, the first one is a person who sets a trap to do evil to another, and the second is about a person breaking in to steal something.  Verses 10-11 tell the reader it is important to use wisdom in a timely manner.

 

Verses 12-15 tell the reader about the council of a wise man, how his words are few, he does not talk about things he has no understanding of; such as the future.  But that does not slow down the fool, he goes on and on rambling about many things he has no understanding of.  He is not the person you want to ask for direction in life or direction to the next town.  As we move on in chapter 10, to verses 16-17, we are dealing with leadership, and the kinds of people they put around them.  It applies to all aspects of life, business, church, or politics; the quality of the leader.

 

And we end today with verses 18-20, in verse 18, Solomon is telling the reader that in the area of work what is needed when needed or to makes life easier, and that laziness bring about ruin.  Money is not good nor bad unless it becomes your God, and then it is a curse.  It is very helpful, but it does not solve all of the problems, in some cases, it brings much heartache. 

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice