"DEAD FLIES MAKE. PERFUMER'S OIL STINK, SO. LITTLE FOOLISHNESS IS WEIGHTIER THAN WISDOM AND HONOR." 'Dead flies" -"puts into. vividly unpleasant form the principle on which the previous chapter ended: that it takes far less to ruin something than to create it….it is easier to make. stink than to cr... [ Continue Reading ]
"A WISE MAN'S HEART DIRECTS HIM TOWARD THE RIGHT, BUT THE FOOLISH MAN'S HEART DIRECTS HIM TOWARD THE LEFT."THE RIGHT" -right and left have for centuries been used as referring to good and bad. In fact we still use the expression, "my right hand man". "The heart of the wise goes in the right directio... [ Continue Reading ]
"EVEN WHEN THE FOOL WALKS ALONG THE ROAD HIS SENSE IS LACKING, AND HE DEMONSTRATES TO EVERYONE THAT HE IS. FOOL."EVEN …ALONG THE ROAD" -Here is one of those places where we see that God has. sense of humor. "the fool has no way of disguising what he is, expect perhaps by total silence (Proverbs 17:2... [ Continue Reading ]
"IF THE RULER'S TEMPER RISES AGAINST YOU, DO NOT ABANDON YOUR POSITION, BECAUSE COMPOSURE ALLAYS GREAT OFFENSES." The wisest course of action when confronted with. rulers displeasure is not to leave one's post or position, i.e. not to resign. "For while it may feel magnificent to 'resign your post',... [ Continue Reading ]
"THERE IS AN EVIL. HAVE SEEN UNDER THE SUN, LIKE AN ERROR WHICH GOES FORTH FROM THE RULER" An example of such an error is found in the next verse. "Even worse perhaps, than the autocrat is the weakling. With him in charge, anything can happen. The upheavals of verses. and. proceed from the ruler of... [ Continue Reading ]
"FOLLY IS SET IN MANY EXALTED PLACES WHILE RICH MEN SIT IN HUMBLE PLACES." So much for absolute confidence in any form of government or administration! Yes, nothing has changed, even Solomon saw that many foolish men had been placed in very powerful, influential and responsible positions. The best... [ Continue Reading ]
"I HAVE SEEN SLAVES RIDING ON HORSES AND PRINCES WALKING LIKE SLAVES ON THE LAND."I HAVE SEEN" -Solomon isn't rambling and neither is he exaggerating. All of these he has seen with his own eyes, probably even in his own administration. Even until fairly modern times, in the east to be riding on. hor... [ Continue Reading ]
"HE WHO DIGS. PIT MAY FALL INTO IT, AND. SERPENT MAY BITE HIM WHO BREAKS THROUGH. WALL.""The outlook behind these pointed remarks is not fatalism…but elementary realism…..We are urged to use our minds, and to look. little way ahead. For there are risks bound up with any vigorous action, and the pers... [ Continue Reading ]
"HE WHO QUARRIES STONES MAY BE HURT BY THEM, AND HE WHO SPLITS LOGS MAY BE ENDANGERED BY THEM." Once again we are confronted with the reality that we can't prepare for everything (Ecclesiastes 9:11). "throws. dash of hard realism: even those who are engaged in legitimate activity….those who try to s... [ Continue Reading ]
"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." "The axe may be symbolic of all implements used by men in the activities of their work. When wisdom is not employed the maximum benefit of all implements is lessened... [ Continue Reading ]
"IF THE SERPENT BITES BEFORE BEING CHARMED, THERE IS NO PROFIT FOR THE CHARMER.""If the man is bitten before he has time to use his charm, it is no profit to him that he has the secret----the warning against 'being too late', the greatest skill is useless unless applied at the right moment or applie... [ Continue Reading ]
"WORDS FROM THE MOUTH OF. WISE MAN ARE GRACIOUS, WHILE THE LIPS OF. FOOL CONSUME HIM;"ARE GRACIOUS" -The wise man in this context would include. counselor to the king (Ecclesiastes 10:4). Unfortunately, modern man often tends to downplay the importance of his or her speech. Words have always been im... [ Continue Reading ]
"THE BEGINNING OF HIS TALKING IS FOLLY, AND THE END OF IT IS WICKED MADNESS." Seen any wicked madness lately? What started with selfish, ignorant, foolish, arrogant and boastful language often ends in the fruit of insane wickedness. What the verse is saying is that if the unbeliever follows his or h... [ Continue Reading ]
"YET THE FOOL MULTIPLIES WORDS. NO MAN KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN, AND WHO CAN TELL HIM WHAT WILL COME AFTER HIM?"MULTIPLIES WORDS" -"The fool talks on and on" (NEB) (Proverbs 14:16; Ecclesiastes 15:2; Ecclesiastes 18:2; Ecclesiastes 20:3; Ecclesiastes 12:23; Ecclesiastes 29:11; Ecc. Ecclesiastes 5:3).... [ Continue Reading ]
"THE TOIL OF. FOOL SO WEARIES HIM THAT HE DOES NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO GO TO. CITY." Much like our modern proverb, "He doesn't know enough to come in out of the rain". "The second line is evidently. proverbial tag about the kind of person who gets the simplest of things wrong----he would get lost, we... [ Continue Reading ]
"WOE TO YOU,. LAND, WHOSE KING IS. LAD AND WHOSE PRINCES FEAST IN THE MORNING." Points To Note: 1 "The 'child' or 'lad', of verse 16 could indeed be. man in years, who has never grown up…" (Kidner p. 94). 2. "If the king and his administrators view their power as an opportunity for self-indulgence,... [ Continue Reading ]
"BLESSED ARE YOU,. LAND, WHOSE KING IS OF NOBILITY AND WHOSE PRINCES EAT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME---FOR STRENGTH, AND NOT FOR DRUNKENNESS." The word "nobility" is not. touch of snobbery. Rather, the true idea of nobility is those individuals who have been trained and have accepted the type of traini... [ Continue Reading ]
"THROUGH INDOLENCE THE RAFTERS SAG, AND THROUGH SLACKNESS THE HOUSE LEAKS." This seems to be. comment upon the previous verses. Solomon has just discussed slothful rulers. "Certainly "sloth" (18) which silently destroys. neglected house or. sluggish spirit, is as fatal to. kingdom as to. building o... [ Continue Reading ]
"MEN PREPARE. MEAL FOR ENJOYMENT, AND WINE MAKES LIFE MERRY, AND MONEY IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING." Points To Note: Various ideas exist concerning the contextual tie-in of the above verse: 1. "The point is that at least some money is essential for enjoying life, and steps must therefore be taken t... [ Continue Reading ]
"FURTHERMORE, IN YOUR BEDCHAMBER DO NOT CURSE. KING, AND IN YOUR SLEEPING ROOMS DO NOT CURSE. RICH MAN, FOR. BIRD OF THE HEAVENS WILL CARRY THE SOUND, AND THE WINGED CREATURE WILL MAKE THE MATTER KNOWN". Points To Note: 1. Wise counsel is offered here to those who must suffer through the abuse of l... [ Continue Reading ]