Ecclesiastes 10:1-20

The Teacher searches for
the purpose of our lives

Book of Ecclesiastes

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 10

The way that a foolish person behaves – Ecclesiastes 10:1-3

v1 Dead flies can get into sweet oil.

They cause the oil to have a bad smell.

And a small foolish act can spoil a lot of wise advice.

v2 It is natural for wise people to do right things.

But foolish people’s thoughts cause them to do wrong things.

v3 A foolish person is stupid.

Everybody sees the way that he behaves.

And it shows that he is very foolish.

Verse 1 This verse continues the thought that is in Ecclesiastes 9:18. It is very easy to ruin good things. Flies may fall into sweet oil that is called ‘perfume’. They make the sweet oil become bad. Its lovely smell becomes a very bad smell. In the same way, a foolish little act can spoil things. As a result, all the wise advice has become of no use.

Verse 2 The *Hebrew words say that people’s hearts lead them to the right or to the left. The *Hebrew word ‘heart’ means ‘mind’ or ‘thought’. ‘To go to the right’ means to live in an honourable way. It also means to do right things and skilful things. ‘To go to the left’ means to do wrong things. It is good to be wise so that we do the right things.

Verse 3 The fool does not know how to behave. People quickly see that he is very foolish. And he cannot prevent that. He talks too much Ecclesiastes 5:3) and he laughs in a noisy way Ecclesiastes 7:6). He is lazy, and he gets angry very quickly with little reason Ecclesiastes 4:5; Ecclesiastes 7:9). A fool wants people to know his opinion (Proverbs 18:2). But nobody can trust him with a message (Proverbs 26:6).

Foolish people who have authority – Ecclesiastes 10:4-7

v4 If someone with authority becomes very angry with you,

do not leave your job.

If you are calm, you will overcome his terrible anger.

v5 And I have seen another wicked thing on this earth.

Sometimes rulers make mistakes.

v6 They give important places to stupid people.

But they give less important places to rich people.

v7 I have seen slaves who were riding on horses.

At the same time, princes had to walk in the same way as slaves walked.

Verse 4 The Teacher advises a person what to do. Perhaps a ruler or another person who has authority is angry with him. We do not know whether the man deserves the ruler’s anger. But the man must not be proud. He should stay in his place and he should continue to work. He should stay calm and he should respect the ruler. Then the ruler’s anger will not last. In the *New Testament, Peter advises slaves who have a severe master. Slaves should respect their masters, even when the masters are not fair to them (1 Peter 2:18-20).

Verses 5-6 A weak ruler may appoint the wrong people to do important jobs. ‘Rich’ may not mean financially rich. Rich people are the people who have much experience. But the ruler may not recognise that. So he gives to them a job that is not important. And everyone suffers.

Verse 7 Only kings and other important people rode on horses. Slaves had no power. The Teacher saw the usual rules and ideas change in the society. Slaves were enjoying authority and power as they rode on horses. But princes must walk like humble people with no power. The Teacher does not say how this happened. But it showed that the order in society is not permanent.

The Teacher warns about danger – Ecclesiastes 10:8-11

v8 A person who digs a deep hole will fall into it.

And a snake will bite a person who makes a hole in a wall.

v9 If anyone breaks stones, those stones will hurt him.

And a person who is cutting wood may hurt himself too.

v10 Your axe may be blunt because nobody has made the edge sharp.

Then you have to work harder in order to cut with it.

But if you are wise, you will always know what to do.

v11 A snake may bite before anyone tries to control it.

Then the people who know how to control snakes will have no advantage.

Verse 8 People sometimes dig deep holes as traps for animals. Perhaps a person would forget where he dug the hole. Then he might fall into it. In this verse, a ‘deep hole’ means that one person wants to cause trouble for another person. Jeremiah spoke about his enemies who were ‘digging a deep hole’ for him (Jeremiah 18:22). They were trying to stop Jeremiah’s work. King David said that his enemies had ‘dug a deep hole’ for him. So he prayed that they would fall into their own ‘hole’ (Psalms 35:7-8). His enemies had caused David to suffer. So he wanted them to suffer God’s judgement.

A snake might hide in a wall. If someone pulls stones out of the wall, the snake might bite them. Amos used this same idea to represent God’s judgement. He wanted to emphasise that the *Israelites would not be able to avoid God’s punishment (Amos 5:18-20).

Verse 9 Men cut and break rocks. Sometimes they work in a hole in the ground. This is dangerous work. To cut wood can be dangerous work also.

Verse 10 It is better to use a sharp axe. It is much more difficult to use a blunt axe. A wise person will think about his tools before he needs to use them. He will prepare his tools, so that he can work well in any kind of work. In the same way, he will prepare his words so that he can use them with the most effect.

Verse 11 Many people believe that music can have an effect on snakes. Some people use music to control the snake’s movement. But the snake may move quickly before the music starts. And the snake may bite a person who does not move away quickly enough. Then people will not pay the man who did not control the snake.

Foolish talk – Ecclesiastes 10:12-15

v12 When a wise person speaks, people respect him.

When a fool speaks, he ruins himself.

v13 A fool begins to speak with nonsense,

and he ends with stupid words.

v14 The fool talks too much.

But nobody knows what will happen in the future.

Nobody can speak about the time that will come after death.

v15 A fool makes himself very tired.

And he does not know which way to go.

Verses 12-14 A wise man’s words are very different from a fool’s words. The wise man’s words help him to have a good relationship with other people. People will respect him. But a fool’s words ruin him. Everything that he says is stupid. He continues to talk. He thinks that he knows everything. He says what he will do in the future. But he knows nothing. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. In the *New Testament, Jesus talked about a farmer who was a fool. The farmer forgot that his life would end (Luke 12:13-21). And James warned Christians that they should not be too confident about their plans. They should say this: ‘We can do only what God allows us to do. If he allows us to live, we will do this or that’ (James 4:13-15).

Verse 15 The fool talks constantly, and that makes him very tired. He may think that he knows everything about the future. He is so stupid that he makes things difficult for himself. ‘He does not know which way to go.’ This means that he cannot do even the easiest things.

Wise rulers and foolish rulers – Ecclesiastes 10:16-20

v16 It is very bad for a country where the king has been a foolish servant.

And it is very bad if a country’s leaders are greedy.

They want to begin early in the morning with their wonderful meals.

v17 It is good if the king comes from a noble family.

And it is good if the other leaders eat at the proper time.

It is good if they eat in order to become strong

And they do not drink in order to become drunks.

v18 If you are too lazy to repair the roof,

the beams will fall down.

And the house will continue to leak.

v19 A good meal gives pleasure to us, and wine makes us feel happy.

But money provides for everything.

v20 Do not say bad things about the king, even in your thoughts.

And do not blame the rich people.

Do not say bad things about them,

even when you are alone in your bedroom.

A little bird may hear you and it might carry your words.

It might report everything that you said.

Verses 16-17 A foolish king and leaders who do not control their desires can cause great trouble for a country. But a wise ruler and other responsible leaders will help the nation to be safe and happy. King Solomon’s son, who was called Rehoboam, was a foolish king. He refused to listen to what the older people told him. They had a lot of experience. But Rehoboam decided to do what his foolish young friends suggested. The result was that his country divided into two parts (1 Kings 12:1-11; 1 Kings 12:16-19).

Isaiah also described foolish rulers. They got up early and they started to drink wine (Isaiah 5:11). The wine affected their minds so that they were foolish. That meant that they could not make fair judgements. And they were too selfish to care about it. They did not think about the nation that they were leading (Isaiah 5:22-23).

Verse 18 The beams in a house support the roof. A lazy man may neglect to repair his roof. Then the beams will fall and the rain will come into the house. And the rain will ruin the man’s whole house. In a similar way, this can happen to a country that has foolish rulers. If they are too lazy, they neglect their duties. And when they neglect their duties, they are destroying their nation.

Verse 19 A wise person can enjoy their pleasures. Wise people may like a good meal or they may like to drink a little wine. They will use those things in the right way. They will not be like the foolish leaders in verse 16. Amos spoke about rich people who loved luxury. And they were lazy. (See Amos 6:4-6.)

The reference to money is difficult for us to understand. It may mean –

Money is necessary to buy food and wine.

Money will buy everything that you need.

Money will buy everything that you want.

Money will pay people. Then they will do whatever you want them to do.

Verse 20 This is practical advice. You must be cautious about what you say. You may be angry because the leaders behave so badly. But it is not wise to blame them with strong words. If you control your thoughts, probably you will not say them aloud. If a ruler does not feel safe, he may suspect other people. He may think that they are plotting against him. So he will order his servants to listen secretly to any conversations. The servants can listen like birds, even in the most private place. And they will report to the ruler what they have heard. In many languages in the world people say, ‘A little bird told me.’ It means that they have heard a secret. So it is dangerous to make remarks about a ruler’s faults.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke.
Israelite ~ a person that belonged to the nation called Israel.
Israel ~ the nation that God chose to be his special people or their country.'New Testament ~ the part of the Bible that is about Jesus and the first Christians.
Israelite ~ a person that belonged to the nation called Israel.
Israel ~ the nation that God chose to be his special people or their country.