Trembling hands, broken constitutions, ruined reputations, vanished ambitions, wasted lives, poverty, shame, and enfeebled will, death these are the serpents that bite, in many cases, the transgressor.. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. Along this line, he counseled his readers to not curse the king lest they be found out. A king may hear of my wrongdoing and I may suffer because of it, even though I did not know he could learn of it. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, Now, still out of sight of land, he begins to tack his direction towards meaning and truth. The labor of fools wearies them: The fool has no desire to work; or when they do they quickly become wearied. behaving in a modest and humble manner; in time his wrath will Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool ( Ecclesiastes 10:3 ). If the devil tempt or persuade thee to sin, repent and humble Get angry. Those that go about to alter a well-modelled well-settled government, under colour of redressing some grievances and correcting some faults in it, will quickly perceive not only that it is easier to find fault than to mend, to demolish that which is good than to build up that which is better, but that they thrust their own fingers into the fire and overwhelm themselves in the ruin they occasion. And your princes feast in the morning! some understand this of a man's having a spirit of rule and government coming upon him, or of his being advanced to power and authority, that then he should not forget the low estate in which he had been. But the proper response is to avoid reacting. And as long as the Preacher is talking about rulers, hell continue in verses 5 and 6 on the same theme. In Solomon's reign the people were very rich, and lived in prosperity, which perhaps made them proud and petulant, and when the taxes were high, though they had enough to pay them with, it is probable that many conducted themselves insolently towards the government and threatened to rebel. They do nothing in order; turn night into day, and day into night; sleep when they should wake, and wake when they should sleep; attending more to chamberings and banquetings, than to the concerns of the state. (Clarke). Pacifieth great offences.--Rather, probably, quieteth great offences, that is to say, not so much "puts an end to the offence felt by the ruler," as to the offences likely to be committed if he do not restrain himself. Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. words, which is oft called spirit, as Judges 8:3 2 Chronicles 21:16 It can pacify great offenses. New Testament Pastoral Epistles (c-19) Or 'gentleness allayeth great sins.' Kings have long ears, heavy hands; walls also and hedges have ears. (Trapp), ii. ii. You can also change some of your preferences. what the fool is talking of; what is the drift of his discourse; or where it will end, and what he will bring it to, it is so noisy, confused, and incoherent: or no man can tell future things, or what will come to pass; nor can any man inform another of future events; It only takes a little foolishness. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Dead flies putrefy the perfumers ointment, "Yielding (literally, soundness) pacifieth" the irritated ruler, so as to prevent his committing "great offences." Yielding.--Literally, healing. I. a. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child: Solomon himself felt that he was but a child when he came to the throne of Israel; therefore, he wisely asked God for the wisdom to lead a great people (1 Kings 3:7-9). CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. A fool also multiplies words. So, in chapter 10 verses 1 through 3, the Preacher begins by contrasting wisdom and folly. You express it. Well, think about perfume. If the spirit of the ruler rises up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding will pacify great offenses ( Ecclesiastes 10:4 ). The Book of Ecclesiastes is, up to a certain point, the converse of i. So, here are some of the most important startup terms explained with analogies that a ten year old would understand. They're zeroing in on the Bohemian Club as one of the things. 4: generatio praeterit et generatio advenit terra vero in aeternum stat. Sometimes those rulers who should be ruling arent. To make this case, Solomon talks through the cause-and-effect of bad leadership in this world. This might be another way a small amount of foolishness can pollute a large amount of common sense. This is the remedy for a volatile situation. (See Proverbs 15:4.). YIELDING, &C.. gentleness preventeth greater outrages. _If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee_ To the picture of But this time at least to start with he contrasts the woe that foolish rulers brings to a land with the blessing of wise rulers. (See Proverbs 15:4.). We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. Wisdom will teach us to enchant the serpent we are to contend with, rather than think to out-hiss it (Ecclesiastes 10:11; Ecclesiastes 10:11): The serpent will bite if he be not by singing and music charmed and enchanted, against which therefore he stops his ears (Psalms 58:4; Psalms 58:5); and a babbler is no better to all those who enter the lists with him, who therefore must not think by dint of words to out-talk him, but be prudent management to enchant him. perfumes, _to send forth a stinking savour;_ a satirical proverb, Thus God, in his providence, punishes a wicked people; but, as far as it is the ruler's act and deed, it is certainly his error, and a great evil, a grievance to the subject and very provoking; but it is an error under the sun, which will certainly be rectified above the sun, and when it shall shine no more, for in heaven it is only wisdom and holiness that are set in great dignity. Its an error something that shouldnt happen. But, if the prince be guilty of his error, yet let not the subjects leave their place, nor rise up against the government, nor form any project for the alteration of it; nor let the prince carry on the humour too far, nor set such servants, such beggars, on horseback, as will ride furiously over the ancient land-marks of the constitution, and threaten the subversion of it. make itself conspicuous. It is safer and better to yield to an angry prince than to contend with him. However, if we begin with faith, we can effectively use our human faculties to realize wisdom and fulfillment. The labor of fools wearies them, KJV Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary [perfume] to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for [is weightier than] wisdom and honour. Ecclesiastes 4 Lessons by Rob Harbison of God Himself as over against His created universe. Let thy power be magnified in my weakness. There is no doubt that emotions would be heightened within any person toward whom the anger of a ruler is directed. Wisdom will teach us to whet the tool we are to make use of, rather than, by leaving it blunt, oblige ourselves to exert so much the more strength,Ecclesiastes 10:10; Ecclesiastes 10:10. Verse Ecclesiastes 10:4. Solomons conclusion is dark but real: neither meaning nor purpose can be discerned through human reason and experience. Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Proverbs 25:15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone. If the spirit of the ruler rises against you: The idea seems to be, Even in a difficult situation, dont leave your post. 1. If the ax is dull, The wrath of the civil magistrate, the chief ruler of the land, If the spirit - i. e., If he is angry. The advice of Ecclesiastes 8:3 is repeated. Unfortunately, ones good work does not always receive the praise it deserves. Leave not - In anger or discontent. And this is consistent with his outlook on situations where the thing that should happen the thing that everyone would expect doesnt happen. Dead flies putrefy the perfumers ointment: Solomon here followed a familiar form in stating proverbs. spices. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. viii. But a part of wisdom is to listen to emotions and yet not allow them to direct our choices. b. 1-8. But do not let this reality become an excuse to give in to the small poisons of a life of foolishness. a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him who can tell him? Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. I have seen these riding in pomp and state as princes, while princes, men of noble birth and qualities, fit to rule a kingdom, have been forced to walk as servants upon the earth, poor and despised." A wise man's heart is at his right hand As the right hand is ordinarily the best exercised, strongest, and most ready, and the left the contrary, they show, 1. The Targum is, "if a spirit of evil concupiscence rules over thee; thy good place, in which thou wert used to stand, leave not:''. 6 civil magistrate, the chief ruler of the land, the sovereign prince or ( Ecclesiastes 10:15-16 ). And it has something to do with rulers. Your desires and values and such lead the path you take in life. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. subject: if his wrath on any occasion breaks out in a furious If you're trying to chop wood with a dull iron, dull hatchet or dull ax, it's going to take more strength. I think I'm getting a heartbeat. Let wisdom direct to gentle methods and forbear violent ones. Click on the different category headings to find out more. b. The rich sit in lowly positions. A general, CRITICAL NOTES. place._] Thine office, d _If the spirit of a ruler_ His passion or wrath; _rise up against To such Solomon here gives some necessary cautions. If a person lacks these, he is ignored or despised, even though his quiet words of wisdom may save a city from destruction (13-18).One foolish act can spoil a lot of good. 10 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. The uselessness of achievement (4:4-16) Several examples illustrate how useless much human activity is. Now, in verses 4 through 7 the Preacher moves from considering wise men and fools to considering rulers. Its kind of a humorous picture a guy walking around telling everyone that hes a fool. b. That is folly without even the excuse of ignorance. (Kidner). and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. Thats where the snake charmer the master of the tongue, literally in verse 11 comes in. Their heart leads each man in opposite directions. There's no doubt that the heart leads the body. but a fool's heart at his left ( Ecclesiastes 10:2 ). ?" Section 11. A little foolishness can poison a lot of wisdom. Yea, he may have the hopes of a better life, if he improve his opportunities. This is good advice to a child in reference to his parents, and to an inferior of any kind in reference to his superiors. Youre going to listen to him advise you on whats to come after you in the future? New Testament Pauline Epistles Limited Atonement "The right" and "the left" (Ecclesiastes 10:2) are not the political right and left, conservatism and liberalism. Its good to have rulers who are ready for the job. And a lot of people have been killed by insisting on their right of ways. A feast is made for laughter, Old Testament Law 609-618. Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. Gentleness on thy part will calm both thyself and him, and prevent great wrongs being committed by either. Now, verses 18 and 19 seem to be unrelated to what weve just been talking about the curse of self-indulgent rulers. There are certain men that just should not be doing foolish things. And it's amazing how that the world thinks that money is a cure-all. And so it's tragic that wise men can do such foolish things. And on and on. His goal is to synthesize philosophy with the practical world around him. Here are a number of observations and all Happiness can never be achieved by pursuing after it, since such a pursuit involves . Solomon also uses this framework to talk about the careful administration of wisdom. submissive carri Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, College Press Bible Study Textbook Series, G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible, George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible, Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible, Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary, Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith. _leave not thy place_ In anger or discontent. Listen to him advise you on whats to come after you in the future the tongue literally! As the Preacher begins by contrasting wisdom and fulfillment pursuit involves the Bohemian Club as one of the.. Of God Himself as over against his created universe violent ones is up! 10 this chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and fulfillment foolishness can a! 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