Portrait of a Fool
Introduction
Tonight we are continuing our study through the book of Ecclesiastes. Our last lesson came from chapter 9, where Solomon repeatedly pointed out that so many things in this life don't matter, in the end. What does matter is our relationship with God. Today we move on to Chapter 10, the Portrait of a fool.
Ecclesiastes 10 gives us a portrait of a fool, but this certainly isn't the first-time foolishness has come up, is it? Foolishness is mentioned 32x here in Ecclesiastes and another 93x in the Book of Proverbs!
But what is a fool? We feel like we know one when we see one, but how does the Bible define a fool? There are three different words used for a fool.
Nabal = to be foolish or stupid
Psalm 14:1
"The fool says in his heart, 'God does not exist.' They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good."
Keciyl = foolish complacency. It comes from a root word talking about the fat of a man's belly hanging in front of his groin.
Psalm 49:10
"For one can see that wise men die; foolish and stupid men also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others."
'eviyl = perverse, one who despises wisdom, quarrelsome, licentious
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Body
Ecclesiastes chapter 10
1 Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil ferment and stink; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Fools Stink up their Lives
We get a pretty graphic picture here right off. It doesn't matter how good the soup is, how incredible the aroma is, no one wants a dead fly in their food. Imagine an incredible perfume or cologne, one you just think is the best smelling in the world. Now imagine taking the cap off, and dropping a dead fly into the bottle. How long before it starts to smell like dead flies? How long before that corruption comes through? Solomon points out that in the same way, foolishness outweighs all the good things.
And the Bible is full of fools, men who started out right, but stunk up their lives with foolish acts. Saul was anointed by God as the first King of Israel, but lost it when he decided he couldn't wait on the prophet of God. Samson was another man appointed by God who stunk up his life. He kept going after the girls, instead of focusing on what God wanted him to do. Or what about Judas? He was one of the 12 apostles who spent literally day and night with Jesus, but decided to betray Him for money.
2 A wise man’s heart goes to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.
When I was in Africa, many years ago, one of the first things the local interpreter told us was to make sure we never offered our left hand to anyone. It was perceived as a sign of disrespect. Why? The right hand was for eating, and the left hand was for wiping your backside. That fits exactly with this verse. A wise man goes in the direction of the good, but Fools Go the Wrong Way
3 Even when the fool walks along the road, his heart lacks sense, and he shows everyone he is a fool.
Solomon keeps this idea going, pointing out that Fools Act Like Fools
They walk in the road, they act like fools, and don't care who sees their foolishness.
4 If the ruler’s anger rises against you, don’t leave your place, for calmness puts great offenses to rest. 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler: 6 The fool is appointed to great heights, but the rich remain in lowly positions. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, but princes walking on the ground like slaves.
Fools are Everywhere
Solomon points out that fools are in the highest offices of the land, and that can be a dangerous thing. He gives us some advice on how to act around fools. Don't just try and get away from these powerful fools. He says we can sometimes avoid bad outcomes if we stay near the fools and stay there until the fool calms down.
8 The one who digs a pit may fall into it, and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. 9 The one who quarries stones may be hurt by them; the one who splits trees may be endangered by them.
Fools Disregard the Consequence of their Actions
Fools don't think about safety. They don't have "mom-vision," as Kari calls it. Fools are the reason that OSHA exists.
10 If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge, then one must exert more strength; however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.
Fools Work Foolishly
There was an old lumberjack well known for his speed at cutting down trees. One day he was challenged by a younger, stronger lumberjack who knew he could beat the older guy in a head-to-head contest and earn glory for himself. Smiling to himself, the experienced lumberjack agreed.
The day of the contest arrived, and the two competitors began to work. The younger lumberjack started immediately and worked tirelessly all day without stopping, cutting down tree after tree. While working, he noticed that the older lumberjack took a 15-minute break every hour. The younger man smiled as he continued to work, confident that he would be the victor this day!
Yet, at the end of the workday, the experienced lumberjack had felled nearly one-third more trees than the younger man! The young lumberjack was incredulous! How could the old guy have possibly cut more trees than he did when he worked 25% less time than he had? It made no sense! So, he swallowed his pride, approached the older lumberjack, congratulated him on his victory, and asked him the question.
“How did you beat me? How did you work less time and cut down more trees? I didn't stop all day, but you stopped every hour!”
The wise, older lumberjack smiled and told the youngster, “I stopped for 15 minutes every hour to sharpen my ax, so the work I did was more productive.” https://www.personalgrowthchannel.com/2016/01/the-lumberjack-story.html
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, then there is no advantage for the charmer. 12 The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him. 13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly, but the end of his speaking is evil madness. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No one knows what will happen, and who can tell anyone what will happen after him?
Fools Speak Foolishly
Donkey in Lion’s Skin (fablesofaesop.com/the-ass-in-the-lions-skin.html)
One of Aesop's Fables is a story about how a donkey found a lion’s skin left in the forest by a hunter. He dressed himself in it and amused himself by hiding in a thicket and rushing out suddenly at the animals who passed that way. All the animals ran away the moment they saw him. The donkey was so pleased to see the animals running away from him, just as if he were King Lion himself, that he could not keep from expressing his delight by a loud, harsh bray. A fox, who ran away with the rest, stopped short as soon as he heard the voice. Approaching the donkey, he said with a laugh: “If you had kept your mouth shut you might have frightened me, too. But you gave yourself away by opening your mouth.”
Mark Twain put it a little more succinctly: “It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt”
15 The struggles of fools weary them, for they don’t know how to go to the city.
Fools Don't take Directions
I think a lot of us men have been accused of this over the years, displaying our foolishness by continuing to drive instead of stopping to ask for directions. This isn't such a big deal now that we have google maps, but in the past I may have taken 3 hours to get somewhere that should have taken 30 minutes, because I thought I knew where I was going, and wasn't willing to ask for directions.
16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a youth and your princes feast in the morning. 17 Blessed are you, land, when your king is a son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
Fools Party When They Should Work
Proverbs 6:6-11 puts it another way.
6 Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. 7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler, 8 it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest. 9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest, 11 and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.
18 Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of negligent hands the house leaks.
Fools are Lazy
19 A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life happy, and money is the answer for everything.
Fools Equate Money with Happiness
20 Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom, for a bird of the sky may carry the message, and a winged creature may report the matter.
Fools Don't Control Their Tongues
As an illustration of this, I'm going to offer myself up as an example yet again. When I was in the Air Force, I learned very quickly not to talk bad about anyone I had worked with in the past. Why? NOt because I recognized that it might be gossip. Oh no, I'm not that wise! Because the military has us move around so much, we end up working with a lot of people. And it turns out, that many of my new coworkers had worked with that person in the past, and might not have the same opinion. In fact, they could be that person's best friend! No one likes it when people talk bad about their best friend negatively.
Conclusion
Listening to this description, who comes to mind? While I offered myself up as an example to illustrate a couple of these points, I don't consider myself a fool. And I don't believe that most people here would describe themselves as a fool, either. It's always someone else. But the reality is, we are all blind to our own foolishness.
Paul tells us to be different. Our last verse today is Ephesians 5:15-18
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit:
And that is the invitation. Don't be foolish. Don't let this chapter describe you. Be Wise. If you are subject to the invitation, please come now.
