The Fellowship of Ailbe

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1 It s Common Sense! T. M. Moore A ReVision Resource from The Fellowship of Ailbe The Fellowship of Ailbe! 1

2 It s Common Sense! Copyright 2015 T. M. Moore The Fellowship of Ailbe Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.! 2

3 : Introduction It s likely that most of what Solomon conveys in was common knowledge in his day. He is appealing to such common sense as a way of reminding his son that wisdom should not be taken for granted. Nor should it be ignored. Rehoboam is getting ready to launch his career of folly into new arenas. Soon it won t but just him and his friends hanging out and looking for good times. The wellbeing of a nation is at stake. Folly is like a cancer that can infiltrate and spoil even good things, as Solomon has been relating from his own experience. He s still holding out hope that Rehoboam will get the message and turn his heart to the Lord. But it s not going to happen. Solomon doesn t know that for sure, however, even though we suspect he suspects it. Nevertheless, he doesn t give up. Nor should we either on extricating the folly in our own souls, or in calling our generation to follow the path of common sense, if not divine revelation, and turn away from folly to seek the wisdom of God. We are happy to provide Scriptorium studies in PDF format at no charge. We hope you will find them helpful and encouraging as you press on in your journey toward spiritual maturity with the Lord. Life has a purpose, but only God can show us what that purpose is. Rehoboam should look to Him while he s young and on the rise, or he ll become old and discouraged like his old man before he knows it. Please visit our website, to discover the many other resources available to serve your needs. The Fellowship of Ailbe is a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. Visit our website also to subscribe to our thrice-weekly devotional newsletter, Crosfigell, or our daily Voices Together devotional and prayer guide. If you find these studies, or any of our other resources, helpful, we hope you will consider making a contribution to help support our work. You can do so by using the donate button at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT We hope you find this study of Ecclesiastes a challenging and stretching experience of journeying more deeply into the Word of God. Thank you for joining us. T. M. Moore, Principal tmmoore@ailbe.org! 3

4 1 A Little Folly Goes a Long, Long Way Dead flies putrefy the perfumer s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. 2 A wise man s heart is at his right hand, But a fool s heart at his left. 3 Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool. The Story: We recall Solomon s attempt to inject a little folly into his quest for wisdom. Well, OK, a lot of folly. It was the end of his wisdom and beginning of his wandering (Eccl. 2). He learned his lesson the hard way; now he wants to protect Rehoboam from his mistake. The fool thinks he can have just a little folly in his life and still get by. But folly will out; it will ruin all that is beautiful, incline our hearts increasingly in wrong directions ( left is equated with evil in many cultures), and betray us for what we really are to everyone who sees us. The best course, therefore, is not to see how much folly we get away with, but how much we can get rid of. The Structure: We don t know if these proverbs are original with Solomon. Most likely, at any rate, they were well-known bits of wisdom and common sense. The effect of piling them up here together is to intensify the lesson. Our age offers its own share of proverbs and sayings which can be used in an effort to lead people to evaluate their chosen course in life: play with fire and you ll get burned ; never trust a Greek bearing gifts ; look twice before you cross ; and more. With a little imagination and some more careful attention to our conversations, things people take for granted in our own day can be driven home pointedly and, in the process, perhaps create a path for the Gospel to follow. The mere fact of common sense things everybody knows are true and reliable tells us something about truth itself. How might you use a common sense saying such as one of the above to encourage someone to take a closer look at his chosen course in life?! 4

5 2 Folly in High Places If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses. 5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. 7 I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants. The Story: I think the point of this bit of wisdom is fairly simple: being ruler doesn t protect one from being a fool. Witness Solomon. The ruler who blows up and plots revenge against those who oppose him, or the one who plays the fool from his throne both are evils that ought not be. However, under the sun, they are all too common. As ridiculous as it is to consider a king walking while his servant rides the horse, it is just as ridiculous to believe that a fool on the throne is anything other than a fool. If Rehoboam is thinking that being king will protect him from being found out for his folly, he should think again. The Structure: In a secular age, when faith in God seems to be (in many places) on the decline, folly and fools are cropping up everywhere (cf. Ps. 12). But since folly, like a spiritual virus, is infecting more and more people, it s becoming difficult to discern the idiocy and evil that everywhere are on the rise. Insipidity and violence pervade pop culture; corruption and self-aggrandizement stalk the halls of legislatures and sit in the seats of corporate executives; babies are slain and their body parts sold, we now know by the millions in the name of pro-choice anti-ethics. Rehoboam was blinded by his folly and to his folly; the same can be said of our own generation. Nevertheless, as Solomon persevered with his son, so must we with the lost and blind people of our day. Is there any folly in your life making you blind to the folly of your life? Meditate on Psalm , 24. Then listen while the Lord searches your heart and mind.! 5

6 3 Folly Will Bite Ya.8, 9 8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. 9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it. The Story: How many times have we seen it? Someone sets out to do a foolish, sinful thing at someone else s expense, and it comes back to bite him big time. Whether or not we actually pay for our foolish ways in this life, damage is done to our souls, and a day of reckoning yet lies ahead. The folly of men the sin that plagues us all affects even the world we live in day by day. Damage is done to the systems by which human beings get by in life. Danger lurks even in the workplace year-in and year-out, the most dangerous career a man can undertake is to be a farmer. Sin takes up lodging in every aspect of life and culture when fools refuse to check their folly at the door, and not even the innocent can escape the widespread and far-flung effects of folly run wild. The Structure: We don t have to look far to see the evidence of sin s entrenched position in the systems of our own culture and society. It s not hard to find examples of people taking advantage of other people by taking a good system and corrupting it with sinful intent. Innocent people are killed by drunk drivers every year, and guilty criminals get off easy because of sinful notions of justice and human perfectibility. It is inevitable, in a fallen world, that the good gifts God distributes among men will be taken captive by the father of lies and made to serve his sinister (Latin: left ) purposes. Not even the just and righteous can escape the effects of sin and folly unscathed, as we see in the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever been victimized by someone else s sinful behavior? Were you able to forgive them like Jesus?! 6

7 4 A Little Wisdom Goes a Long, Long Way.10, If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success. 11 A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different. The Story: In the simple, non-moral, areas of life, it only makes sense to use a little wisdom. Even Rehoboam would acknowledge that; yet, as time will tell, he won t practice it. A sharp axe gets more work done than a dull one. For better success in chopping, wise up and sharpen the ax! But folly is unpredictable. You never know when it might bite you, like the unpredictable snake in a charmer s basket. You think you ve got this situation in hand, then BANG, it blows up in your face. But wisdom never fails. If it makes sense to be wise in the small things of life and thus to avoid predictable and unpredictable outcomes doesn t it make sense to pursue wisdom for all of life? Rehoboam would learn the hard way how the snake of folly can suddenly turn on the one who thinks himself its master. But no one can master folly. Its stench will out (v. 1); its tendencies are inevitable (v. 2); and everybody can see it, even though they might hold their peace in the presence of its ravings (vv. 3, 4). The Structure: Solomon s ability to appeal to common sense and everyday realities is seemingly unlimited. Certainly he has thought long and hard about the value of wisdom. He sees it everywhere, as indeed, wisdom can everywhere be found (cf. Prov ). But you have to look for wisdom, study it, pursue and embrace it, and not try to balance wisdom with just a little bit of folly. They just don t mix, and it s always wisdom that gets spoiled. The folly of an unbelieving age has made many inroads into the Church in our day. Believers would be helped by paying a little more attention to the ways God speaks into the ordinary situations of life. Jesus was the Master of such careful observation. What opportunities for learning the ways of wisdom come to you each day in the everyday situations of life? Are you paying attention?! 7

8 5 Words of the Wise and the Foolish The words of a wise man s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; 13 The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14 A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? The Story: Perhaps particularly in the words of his mouth the fool betrays his true character. Fools don t tend to think before they speak; or, if they do, their words betray the corruption of their hearts. The more they talk like fools, the more they act like them. Folly is a cancer that fills the soul and spreads to every area of life. It has to be cut out and controlled or it will destroy a man. The wise man, on the other hand, finds favor with his words, because they enlighten and edify those with whom he speaks. As king, Rehoboam could expect to use a lot of words. Would they leave his servants mocking or admiring him? His people submitting or rebelling? Sadly, Solomon seemed to know the answer, and it troubled him. The Structure: In our unbelieving, secular age, words proliferate. Politicians, advertisers, professors, pundits, and policy-makers at every level proliferate words, as though words alone make a difference in reality. So many of those words are based on equivocation and deceit, that people are left not knowing what to believe or why. This is why it is so important for believers to choose their words carefully and use them for God s glory (Eph. 4.15, 29). The light of wisdom in a dark age of folly and lies can go a long way in helping people find the stability and reliability of truth. Do your words come across as wise or foolish? How do you know? Do people tend to listen to you, because they consider what you have to say to be grounded in truth?! 8

9 6 Folly is Exhausting for Men and Nations The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time For strength and not for drunkenness! The Story: It would be pretty hard for Rehoboam to miss the point of these words. The life of folly is exhausting physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Solomon himself is testimony to this ( all things are wearying ). But there is more than just one foolish kid at stake here; the nation must be served. Fools in office think of themselves first and the people they serve last. Rehoboam will weary and ruin the nation if he persists in his folly. Alas, that would actually be the case, but only because Solomon himself had incurred the wrath of God for his own folly. We can imagine that these are words as much an indictment of Solomon himself and a confession of his sin as an admonition to his son. The Structure: We never sin alone. Our foolishness and rebellion impact others, and the more people there are in our sphere of influence, the more people there are to hurt with our sin. Love of neighbor requires that we eradicate folly and sin from our lives as much as possible. Wisdom following in the footsteps of Jesus is the way to bring blessing to others. Folly and sin may bring momentary gratification, but they can come back to bite us, and they always leave a bruise on someone else. In our day, the Church is not wise to be following a policy of downplaying sin. Church leaders seem to think they can promote the Gospel of Christ without confronting the folly of their members don t want to offend anyone, you know. But this tolerance only promotes more sin, more damage, and more of the wrath of God that Solomon brought on his own nation. Who are the people most likely to be hurt by your sins? Does love for them motivate you to want to put aside the ways of folly and pursue the path of wisdom?! 9

10 7 The Neglect of Wisdom Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything. 20 Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter. The Story: Being wise is full-time work. Neglect wisdom and you will pay. Yes, there is a time for laughter and gladness, and even money is not inherently evil. It won t solve all our problems (Solomon is being ironic here), and it can t be looked upon as the source of happiness. It s more important to get wisdom than to get bread, wine, or money. In the end you ll know more joy, peace, and prosperity by keeping the roof in repair than by filling your life with good times. And if Rehoboam thought about mocking his dad to his friends, he needed to remember that he will be king one day, and the scornful words of those who oppose him will find their way back to him, one way or another. Then what will the fool do? The Structure: Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God (Col. 2.3), and He never rests from applying His wisdom to the task of upholding the world and all things in it. There is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum in life (Eph ). Wherever we are not keeping up the wisdom of God, the rot of folly will find a foothold. Jesus is our example steadfast and faithful in exerting His power, love, and wisdom on the entirety of creation. We must not become distracted by the things that gratify, satiate, and entertain us so that we neglect the larger and more important duty of keeping up the wisdom of God. The King of Heaven knows the folly we think we can get away with in secret. He loves us too much to sit by and let us destroy our lives with sin. What are you learning from Solomon about how to counsel those who think they can sin with impunity? Is it loving simply to let fools persist in their folly? What does love require of us?! 10

11 For reflection or discussion 1.! Give a few examples of common sense aphorisms people today acknowledge as containing wisdom: Such as, A penny saved is a penny earned. Can you attach any of these to a particular passage of Scripture? What does this suggest about the ultimate provenance of such sayings, no matter where they come from (even Ben Franklin!)? 2.! Imagine you re in a conversation with someone about, oh, anything, and he or she suddenly tosses out one of these aphorisms. How might you seize that opportunity to turn the conversation in a more intentionally spiritual direction? 3.! Solomon suggested that sin folly corrupts even the systems and social and cultural arenas of life. Can you give some examples of this in our own day? What is it about these examples that makes them not wise? 4.! A little folly, unaddressed, can spoil a lively witness for the Lord. How can Christians help one another to be more circumspect against the fly of folly? 5.! Church leaders seem to think they can promote the Gospel of Christ without confronting the folly of their members don t want to offend anyone, you know. But this tolerance only promotes more sin, more damage, and more of the wrath of God that Solomon brought on his own nation. Do you agree? Why or why not? 6.! What does it mean for you not to give up on trying to help the people in your Personal Mission Field escape the snare of folly and sin? Prayer:! 11

12 The Fellowship of Ailbe The Fellowship of Ailbe is a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. Our goal is to promote revival, renewal, and awakening, following the teaching of Scripture and the example and heritage of our forebears in the faith. The Fellowship of Ailbe offers many opportunities for training, prayer, personal growth, and ministry. Visit our website at to learn more. We hope you found this study helpful. If so, please consider making a gift to The Fellowship, so that we can continue to make these and many other resources available to others. You can contribute to our ministry by using the donate button at the website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT Thank you.!!!! 12