Ecclesiastes 10. The book of Ecclesiastes 10. Pray for Yvette. She couldn't be with us tonight. Pray for Raelynn. I can't recall. I think that perhaps she was going home tonight or in the morning. But pray for Raelynn. Pray for George. Pray for Bethany. Pray for Bryce. Pray for Kevin. And we'll talk about that when we take requests at the end. Ecclesiastes 10, one to three, we're gonna review one and two, and we're really just gonna talk about three. So look with me there. Solomon, or the preacher, writes, dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking saver. So doth a little folly, him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left. Yea, also when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to everyone that he is a fool. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that you would help us. Father, we pray that you would speak to us. Father, we know that if we would truly understand your word, Father, we must have the presence of your spirit. We must have the great interpreter, Father, for our hearts. We must have the comforter. He that comes to our side, he teaches us and guides us in the truth. We pray for his presence. We thank you for every soul here tonight. We pray for those that couldn't be here. We pray that you would bless each one. Father, we pray that you would teach us tonight about both the wise man and the fool. Oh God, that we would be the former and not the latter. Help us, Heavenly Father. Thank you for Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh God, thank you so much for his wisdom, which sits in our laps. the wisdom of God. Speak to us now, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, verse one and two, if you remember last time, we looked at chapter nine in the last part of the last verse, and Solomon says, one sinner destroys much good, And we understand that one sin will ruin one person's good reputation. Now, listen, everybody here knows the difference between a wise person and a foolish person. You may not know how to describe it, but you know it when you see it. Everybody knows what a fool is. Everybody knows Well, maybe not everybody. We'll see tonight because Solomon describes for us the fool. The Bible talks about children. The Bible says foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from them. One thing you don't want to be is an old fool. You don't want to be an old fool. Those with the hoary head, the gray head, those with many years behind them should have wisdom for the younger generation, wisdom for their children, wisdom for young people. We should be able to transfer some of that to the next generation. That's what we're called to do. And so I pray that that is us. So again, one sinner destroys much good. One sin will ruin one's good reputation, just like dead flies will ruin a jar of precious ointment. It'll ruin it, cause it to send forth a stinking smell. A good reputation in one's life is the result of months and even years of godly wisdom, honorable conduct, the way we conduct ourselves, upright conversation. Remember, we talked about this. You don't become wise overnight. Wisdom comes with time, with experience, with upright conversation, with honorable conduct, godly wisdom, the truest wisdom. There is worldly wisdom. There is the wisdom that's of the world. James talks about earthly central wisdom. It's from beneath. The scriptures teach us of godly wisdom, which is from above. That's the wisdom that we want. Verse two, Solomon said, a wise man's heart guides him in wisdom and away from folly. It's at his right hand. A fool's heart leads him astray into foolish and sinful ways. and that brings us to verse three where Solomon says yea also when he that is a fool walketh by the way that is on the road of life and in how he navigates in this life I'm adding my own commentary here so when he that is a fool walks by the way on the road of life and when he or she navigates this life, his or her wisdom fails him. So there's a wisdom that fails the fool. And when his wisdom fails him, he says to everyone else that they are the fools. You ever had a fool tell you that you're the fool? It happens. See, one of the many pictures of a fool is here presented to us by the wisdom of the preacher Solomon, who wrote about the fool probably more than any other inspired writer of the Holy Scriptures. Solomon did. Perhaps because of all the folly that God revealed to Solomon in his own life when wisdom failed him. Now, keep in mind, the wisdom of God did not fail Solomon. His own wisdom failed him. His own wisdom failed him. When he became king in Israel after King David, his father, his reign commenced in humility before God. which we see in his prayer unto God in 1 Kings 3. We won't look at it now, but when you look at his prayer and see what he asked for, you see a man in his youth who was a very wise man, just by the components of his prayer, what he prayed for. He asked for wisdom and understanding and discernment to judge God's so great people. Wisdom is the principal thing, Solomon says, therefore get wisdom. It was valuable to Solomon, it ought to be valuable to us. God was greatly pleased by Solomon's prayer and so God honored him so that he would be wiser than any before him and the wisest among mortals to any that would follow him. The wisest man that ever walked the planet saved Christ. Remember, Jesus said, you've heard of the wisdom of Solomon? The queen of the south went to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and he says, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. He said, he was. And that's because he was God manifest in the flesh. But God honored Solomon because of his wisdom and his youth, and God, he exponentially multiplied wisdom to Solomon. We see it there in his reign, in his kingdom, in the decisions he made immediately after that. And so I'm reminded of Proverbs 18, 12, before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, arrogant, but before honor is humility. See, Solomon humbled himself before God. God granted that wisdom. There's a secret in that proverb for us, beloved. If we would receive honor from God, then we must humble ourselves before God. That's godly wisdom. But then Solomon turned aside when his wisdom failed him, and he sinned against God, cast God aside for false gods and idols from his many wives, which drew his heart away from God. Look at Nehemiah 13. It's an amazing statement in the book of Nehemiah about Solomon in Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 26. It's amazing that this should be written about Solomon. Verse 26 of chapter 13 says, Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel for 40 years, by the way. Nevertheless, even him did outlandish women cause to sin. So Solomon's honorable reputation would now be tarnished by his folly, by his idolatry, and by his sin against God. How is it that such a wise man was so foolish in so many ways? How is it? I don't understand this. Verse three, Solomon presents to us one of the characteristics of a fool. If you get back to Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 10, he presents to us one of the characteristics of a fool. Fools walk through life arrogantly. They walk through life full of themselves. They walk through life know-it-alls. Now, you've all met them. I can tell you that I've been all three, all three, both as a lost man and a saved man. Fools present themselves to others to be gifted with that which they do not possess, wisdom. They present themselves to be wise when really they are not. And they think everybody else is the fool when they themselves are the primary picture of one. But it doesn't take long for fools to be discovered to and by those who know them the most. When their claimed and pretended wisdom fails them before all who hear them and know them and who see their folly firsthand. See the fool's the one with the blind spot. Remember I showed you my hand before? Who's the only one that can't see my hand? Me. So the fool's the only one that doesn't see their folly. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceits? There is more hope of a fool than of him. Wise in their own conceits. See, there's wisdom, that's bad wisdom, that's bad wisdom. And so the fool has claimed or pretended wisdom. Proverbs 25, 14 says, whoso boasteth himself of a false gift, he's like clouds and wind without rain. It's like being in a land where there's a famine and seeing a big cloud come and the wind blow, and yet the cloud gives no refreshing rain. That's what the fool is like. Amazingly, even after fools are openly discovered to be fools, still they boldly proclaim, I am not a fool, everyone else is a fool. And I think that's what Solomon teaches us here. Now, with this in mind, let us consider, for the balance of our time, some of the attributes of a fool from the Word of God, and then we can look within our own hearts. You look within your heart, I will look into mine. And we will see, or you look and evaluate your own life and see if any of the attributes of a fool exist in you. and I will examine my own heart as I began to do already today. Because if there's one thing we don't want to be, it's a fool. The only kind of fool you want to be is the kind described in 1 Corinthians 1, fools for Christ's sake. That's the only kind you want to be. So look honestly and see if there'd be any folly residing within you, any foolishness that you have become comfortable with, and that has become part of your character. Do you have any dead flies in the ointment of the apothecary? Child of God, you should have an excellent reputation in the world. The more you grow in grace, the more we grow in grace, we ought to have an excellent reputation in the world. We should give the wicked no evil thing to say about us. They may hate our Christianity and hate us, but let them hate Christ in us. Don't let us hate us because we're hypocrites. Don't let us find fault with us because we really do sin when we call ourselves Christians. Let there be no dead flies in our jar of precious ointment. Never forget, a little folly will not only ruin your reputation, but it will dishonor the testimony of Christ. Listen, you go out and you call yourself a Christian in the world, in the public forum, then you're identifying with Christ, and Christ does not identify with folly. In fact, in the book of Ephesians, Paul said, let not foolish talking be one of those sins that's once named among you. And you'll see in these attributes of the fool, most of the identifiers are connected with the mouth of the fool. So consider these attributes of a fool and listen, mortify them when you find even a trace of any of them in your own spirit. First thing, Proverbs 12, 15, and we already mentioned this, but the fool is always right. The fool is always right. 12, 15 says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. A wise man will say, is that so? I didn't know that, tell me. The wise wanna learn. Look at 1528. 1528 of the Proverbs. I love this. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer, but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. So we ought to be, as James says, if we were wise, and if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that give it to all men liberally, and he upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. And so here, the wise ought to be swift to hear and slow to speak, study to answer. If you don't know, don't answer. I used to work with these old aircraft mechanics, and I would ride to work with them. And I'd sit in the middle of this single cab truck. And I was 20 years old. And they were seasoned aircraft maintainers. We worked on F-4 Phantoms. And they would kind of drill me on how to do a certain maintenance like replace a certain component on one of the jets or do an ops check or do something, and it asked me the question. I'd start stumbling on my words, and this one, he would look at me and say, they called me kid. He says, kid, do you know? And I said, well, and he'd say, if you don't know, shut up. And you know what, that's a good lesson, if you don't know. You ever try and answer and you really don't know? The heart of the righteous studieth the answer. But you see, the fool's always right. And then the fool despises true wisdom. Attributes of a fool. The fool despises true wisdom. Proverbs 23.9. Proverbs 23.9 will be mostly in the Proverbs. But Proverbs 23.9, the wise man says, speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. He will despise the wisdom of thy words. Now you're going to need wisdom to know when that is and when that is not, when you're not to speak. Kind of goes with what we talked about in Matthew 7, 6, cast not your pearls before swine. So remember that. So fools despise true wisdom. But in chapter one in verse five, the proverb says, a wise man will hear and will learn and will increase in learning. See, the wisest among us will be those that ask the most questions and they wanna know. And that's how we ought to read the word of God. We ought to read the word of God, asking God questions. We shouldn't read the word of God saying, I know what that means. Someone who knows what everything means can't be taught anything. And so the fool despises true wisdom. Chapter nine and verse nine, you're right there. Oh wait, I just read that one, I'm sorry. Speak not in the ears of a fool. And then 18.2, back up to 18.2 of the Proverbs. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. If he did listen, his heart would discover himself. In fact, verse one is interesting. Through desire, a man having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. See if the fool would listen. In fact, we'll see a verse in a moment. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is esteemed a man of wisdom. If you can get the fool just to sit and listen and take in, he will be esteemed by others to be not a fool. esteemed the man of wisdom. And then the third thing, so first fool's always right, second fool despises true wisdom, third fools answer before they hear the matter. They answer before they hear the whole thing. Look at Proverbs 18, 13, you're right there. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Here's one of those things if someone is asking you a question and someone's explaining, let them get it all out. But sometimes we answer too quickly and we walk over their words or what people call loud capping. I didn't know what that was until about a month ago. You know what it is when somebody loud caps you? You ever heard that? It's like when you're talking and they just, they run up, they just talk right over you. So understand here, he that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him. Now, interesting passage. Look at John 740. This is about Nicodemus when he was defending the Lord Jesus. In John 740, When the people begin to say, look, this is that true prophet, capital P, you'll see it in verse 40. Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is that prophet. And we're not gonna go back and read all of chapter seven, but others said, this is the Christ. But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? Well, he did, but he turned aside and dwelt in Galilee, and it was prophesied that he would live in Galilee. They didn't read their Torah properly. So there was a division among the people because of him, and some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, who should have known, and they said unto him, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, never man spake like this man. We've never met anyone like this. Then answered them the Pharisees, are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? Well, you're about to hear one. They said, but this people knoweth not the law or cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night being one of them, doth our law judge any man, there's our proverb, before it hear him and know what he doeth? See, it was folly and shame to the Pharisees. And they answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. Oh, is that right? Isaiah nine, verse one. Turn back to it real quick. Isaiah nine and verse one. No, he wasn't born there, but that's where he did reside. that was prophesied in Isaiah. Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when at first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness there have seen a great light. They that dwell in the land and shadow of death, upon them hath a light shine. That's also in Matthew chapter four in verse 12 to 16. But these religious fools called everybody else fools. but there it was folly and shame to them. So the fool is always right, the fool despises truism, the fool answers matters before they hear them, and then the fool is quick to anger. Fools are quickly angry. Proverbs 12, 16. Proverbs 12, 16. Listen, this is just a smidgen of the passages in which we could look at foolishness and folly in the human condition. Proverbs 12, 16 says, a fool's wrath is presently known, but a prudent man cover of shame. A fool's wrath is presently known. Now in the world today, there are people that glory in the fact that they're angry people. You ever heard somebody, yeah, well, I got an Irish temper or I get mad quick. Well, that's nothing to glory in. because you show yourself to be a fool. A fool's wrath is presently known. 14, 17, just turn the page. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly. And a man of wicked devices is hated. Ecclesiastes 7, 9, we went through this, but we'll read this single verse. And Solomon here writes, be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. Listen, I'll tell you in my youth, I struggled with anger, struggled with it, have some struggles now with it. Listen, those things, those sins, beloved, need to be mortified. The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Proverbs 19.11, the elixir is the wisdom that is from above. 19.11, the discretion of a man deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. It is his glory to pass over a transgression. James said, let every man be swift to hear, Slow to speak, slow to wrath, slow to anger. Proverbs 15.2, well no, not Proverbs 15.2, actually 14.29. Proverbs 14.29. 14.29 of the Proverbs, he that is slow to wrath is of great understanding. But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. So the fool's always right. The fool despises true wisdom. The fool answers before they hear it. They're quick to anger. And here's probably the most prominent attribute of a fool. The fool is full of words. They're verbose. Ecclesiastes 5.3. Ecclesiastes 5.3. Ecclesiastes 5.2 actually in three. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God. When are you uttering anything before God? All the time. There's never a time when you're not. For God is in heaven and thou upon the earth, therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business and a fool's voice is known by the multitude of words. The multitude of words. You ever been guilty of that? I'll just make this my confessional, I have. Proverbs 15.2 now. Proverbs 15.2. The tongue of the wise Useth knowledge a right but the mouth of fools poureth out Foolishness the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness 29 11 29 11 the fool is full of words full of words and Here's the real problem right here. The fool or a fool uttereth all his mind. Everything that the fool thinks, he says. But a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. Fool just puts it out there. Puts it out there. Proverbs 10, 19, in the multitude of words, there wanteth not sin. Meaning in the multitude of words, there's gonna be sin. The more you talk, the more you sin. Listen, that's rudimentary. It ought to be intuitively obvious to us. We need to let our words be few, brethren. We need to choose our words wisely. Ecclesiastes 10, 12, final verse, actually, one more after this, but Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 12, and we're not even here yet, but these verses are applicable. The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious. Listen, that should be all of us. Jesus, the Bible says, grace was poured into his lips, Psalm 45. Let your speech be always seasoned with grace. Listen, salt and light is what we're to be. Salt stimulates. It spices up food. Our words should be seasoned with grace. And so the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious. When are they gracious? All the time. but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of his words, the beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. A fool also is full of words. A man cannot tell what shall be and what shall be after him. Who can tell him? You can't tell him. Chapter 12, verse 11. of Ecclesiastes. The words of the wise are as goads. A goad is like a nail with a hook on it. Godly engraved words ought to be what we communicate that pierce the hearts of men and women, prick them, incite them to think upon the gospel of Christ, to think upon God. So the words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the master of assemblies, which are given by one shepherd. And further by these, my son, be admonished, these good words, of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. And so remember these attributes of a fool. Remember this passage in Ecclesiastes 10.3, yea, also when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him. That's not God's wisdom that fails him, it's his own. And he saith to everyone else that he is a fool. Again, that passage we talked about in the beginning, Proverbs 17, 28, even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise. And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of wisdom. And so the first part of becoming wise, because listen, if you're talking all the time, you're not learning, there's no intake. And we need to, I used to have a commander and he would tell someone that was talking too much, he would say, stop, I need you to go into the receive mode. You need to receive what I'm going to tell you. And he would tell them, now this is gonna be a monologue. and I'm gonna be the one speaking. So he would tell you that. He'd say, be quiet and listen. And he'd mainly do that with those that just kept talking. And so beloved, let us not have the attributes of a fool, but we should be wise. We need to ask God for wisdom. God gives us, listen, one thing that I think the scriptures indicate, and we ought to understand this, that foolishness is spoken of so much in the Proverbs, even in the Psalms and in the book of Ecclesiastes. And it indicates to us a very real problem among fallen humans. And even among those that have been saved from their sins, that much of that foolishness, it drags along with us. And so let us mortify every little trace of it. Let us detect it in ourselves and let us forget about looking at everybody else, look at yourself. and look in the mirror, and ask God to help you, and to give you wisdom, that prayer of James. Amen. Let's dismiss in prayer. Lord, thank you so much for your grace and kindness. Thank you for speaking to me today, Lord. Father, you know there has been foolishness, sin that I have committed in foolishness. And Father, I pray that, oh God, Whatever bit of folly that still remains in me, you would drive it far from me. Oh God, may the word of Christ dwell in all of us, richly in all wisdom. Father, may we have your wisdom. I pray that with your word, with your wisdom, with the spirit of God in us, that folly and foolishness would be driven far from us. Correct us, Lord, in kindness, oh God. Let it be that precious, sweet-smelling ointment of heaven. Father, anoint us with it. Help us to have the words of the wise. The words of the wise are like apples of gold and pictures of silver. Help it to be us, O God. O God, help us to have speech seasoned with grace. Help us to lead others to Christ by our words. Lord, with your gospel. Thank you for these precious souls. We ask that you'd bless, Father, our prayer time. In Jesus' name, we ask it. Amen.