Unless we have studied ancient languages, identifying formal
Hebrew proverbs in the text of Ecclesiastes is a bit beyond most of us. To make
it easier, my edition of the ESV has displayed roughly a quarter of the 221 English verses
in the book with hanging indents instead of regular paragraphing, so that the reader
can distinguish poetry, proverbs or quotations from the Preacher’s ongoing narrative.
The highly subjective nature of this style treatment becomes
evident when we examine the same verses in other translations.
The NKJV gives 146 verses this alternative formatting, compared to 134 in
the NIV, 55 in the ESV and 31 in the NASB. I prefer the minimalist
approach, but dislike the NASB’s inconsistency. For example, it is difficult to
understand why a list of 2- and 4-line proverbial sayings in chapter 7
merits the alternative style treatment, while in chapter 10 exactly the same type
of content is styled as regular narrative.
Styling the Text
Why does it matter how the text is styled? Is it that big a
deal? Well, yes and no. These days you can always just listen to the audio
version and you won’t see style at all, or you can read Ecclesiastes in the
KJV, where every verse is its own blocked paragraph and no style decisions at
all have been made for the reader. And even in the modern, typographically-stylized
versions, at least the content is all still there to be read. That’s the good
part.
That said, arbitrary style tricks can still obscure the
writer’s intended meaning if we do not read repeatedly and attentively. For
example, in my humble estimation, a few of these pithy couplets in Ecclesiastes —
perfectly memorable in their own right — are really part of longer
discourses. In other cases they were intended to summarize one of the
Preacher’s extended series of observations. When we separate what we think are proverbs
from the substance of the argument to which they relate by styling them
differently, we encourage ourselves to disconnect them from their context and
we may miss the Preacher’s thought flow.
Moreover, even within a section of nothing but proverbs, twenty
stylized verses may be read as twenty discrete units of meaning, when in
several instances they were more likely intended to be read together.
The next three or four verses well illustrate both issues. They
are definitely traditional proverbs, and many of the modern
translations style them accordingly. But they are also thematically tied to the
last few (narrative) verses in chapter 9, as well as related to
each other.
At least I think they are.
Ecclesiastes 10:1 — It Doesn’t Take Much ...
“Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.”
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. The
little foxes spoil the vineyards. The tongue is a
little member, but it boasts great things. In our last chapter of
Ecclesiastes, we found that “one sinner destroys much good”. It doesn’t take
much to ruin a great deal. In this particular analogy, a large quantity of
something very precious is destroyed by a few small insects. It is no longer
useful for its intended purpose. You have to toss it out and start again.
I’ve known more than a few church leaders over the years.
Their dispositions vary. Some skew liberal on almost every decision they
make. Some are inclined to think over each matter carefully, consider the
various relevant factors, and go one way on this issue and another on the next.
Some ... well, we wouldn’t want to call them crusty and hidebound, but the
folks who have to deal with them regularly just might. They won’t budge on
anything, ever. Not all of them are nasty about it; that is simply how they
measure faithfulness, and it may be because at some level they have registered
this biblical principle: that it doesn’t take very much to wreck years of hard
work. One slip can wipe out a lifetime of good testimony. One
doctrinal misstep becomes impossible to retreat from, even when we
know we are going the wrong way. One pointless, trivial argument can wreck the unity of a congregation.
A little foolishness can have major
consequences. That doesn’t mean individuals or churches should never try
anything new. It does mean we need to look a whole lot more carefully before we leap.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 — A Vast Difference
“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.”
People joke about this verse regularly: “See? Conservatives are wise and liberals are foolish ... your Bible says so. Yuk yuk yuk.”
Eh ... not so much.
I hardly need to waste your time pointing out that the
modern political ideological categories of right- and left-wing held no significance whatsoever
for Israelites 3,000 years ago.
Don’t get me wrong. There is some minor significance in Old Testament scripture to the
designations right and left, it’s just not overly political. When an Israelite father
laid his hands on his children, the right hand was the
hand of greater blessing, just as to be seated
at the right hand of a powerful man was to be given a position of honor. In
the story of Ehud, left-handedness denotes sneakiness.
So there is a minor sense in which right might occasionally be seen as
preferable to left in ancient Hebrew thinking.
However, the vast majority of the time in the Old Testament,
right and left are simply used to refer to mutual alternatives, neither being
strongly preferred. Abraham said to Lot, “If you take the
left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand,
then I will go to the left.” This is how Solomon tends to use the two
alternatives. He writes, “Do not swerve
to the right or to the left.” Neither side is notably better or worse; the real
problem is deviating from the straight line. Or when we read in the Song of
Songs that “his left
hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me”, we are probably
correct to assume the speaker has no particular objection to what either hand
is doing.
In this case, I believe, all the Preacher is telling us is
that foolish hearts and wise hearts cannot find any common ground. They will
always disagree. They will always choose different paths. Foolish conduct takes
a man in one direction, wise conduct in another. Go far enough down these
roads, and you will end up miles apart.
Ecclesiastes 10:3 — Belaboring the Obvious
“Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.”
Where our first proverb in this series emphasizes the extent
of the relative impact of folly vs. wisdom, and the second proverb emphasizes
the magnitude of the distance between the two mindsets, this third proverb
about foolishness emphasizes its pervasiveness. Being a fool is a full-time
job. A fool’s foolery infects everything he does at the most basic level. Even
the way the fool walks advertises his shortcomings.
The Preacher doesn’t give us details, but we can certainly
fill in the gaps from experience. Maybe the fool meanders to no purpose, steps in front of passing cars, or hums a
mindless, annoying little tune that drives his traveling companions crazy. Maybe he gets lost, can’t read a map, or goes
places he shouldn’t. Almost surely he is intoxicated before noon; you can certainly tell that by someone’s walk. But whatever it is that he is doing, it makes him stand
out from the crowd. It is evident to all that there is something not quite
right about this guy.
When we want to test a man’s character, we are wise not to
put him in a position to do too much damage in the event he turns out to be
incompetent. Jesus taught that a person who is faithful in a
very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very
little is also dishonest in much. Competence and wisdom, like honesty, are
evident in the small things an individual does, not just the more visible and
consequential ones.
Ecclesiastes 10:4 — Keep Calm and Carry On
“If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.”
One obvious difference between wisdom and foolishness,
between the mature and the immature man, and between the experienced hand and
the novice, is this: that the savvy veteran does not rattle easily. The fool,
the novice and the child tend to run around like chickens with their heads cut
off when something bad happens. They turn to you in a panic and cry, “What do I do
now?” Or they burst into tears and run away.
One feature of a trustworthy employee, servant or functionary
is that he is dignified and composed. He doesn’t get shaken up when things don’t
work out as they should, or when people turn on him. This is also the case in a
family setting. Any wife or child appreciates a father or husband who is able
to keep his composure and deal with pressure by way of a calm, measured,
logical response. Any man respects a woman who keeps her head when everyone
around her is losing theirs.
In our highly-politicized environment, accusations of
workplace misconduct are being leveled against Christians and unbelievers alike
with increasing frequency. I have seen a number of these, and they are not
all on the same level. Some are from employees attempting to identify as part
of a victimized class in hope of shielding themselves from anticipated layoffs. Others appear to arise from jealousy, paranoia, a
desire to climb over the accused, or sheer natural belligerence. Some are a
product of external accusations from social media “enemies”. A few appear to be
legitimate grievances from fellow employees who mean well but have no idea what
they are unleashing when they take a complaint to a modern Human Resources
department.
Though they are very natural responses, blustering,
counter-accusations, or panicky ex post facto
butt-covering don’t make for much of a testimony to the world. Workplace
experts are now telling us they don’t help your case either. Calmness and
composure are the best possible response to false accusations, and they won’t
hurt you even if the accusation turns out to be true. Many of these situations
will go away on their own, only provided you don’t overreact to them.
The other thing all experts will tell you is never, ever quit under such circumstances. Do not “leave your place”. Let the powers that be escort you out, but if you are in the right, do not let anyone intimidate, threaten or scold you into tendering your resignation.
I believe they have the right idea. It may be 3,000-year-old advice, but human nature hasn’t changed
much.
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