Wise Up (Ecclesiastes 8:1-17)

• one of the most valuable and rare commodities in life is wisdom
• wisdom is valuable to those who possess it
• “An unusual amount of common sense is sometimes called wisdom,” says one person
• another person says, “Years make all of us old and very few of us wise”
• when dealing with the absurdities and complexities of life, one thing that is sure to help is wisdom
• Ecclesiastes 8:1 says:
• (Ecclesiastes 8:1) Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.
• wisdom enables us to meet challenges in life that defy easy answers and quick fixes
• but even wisdom has its limitations
• even wisdom can’t solve all of our problems
• are you wise?
• an old Persian proverb says this:
• He who knows not, and knows not that he know not is a fool; shun him
• He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child; teach him.
• He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep; wake him.
• He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise; follow him.
• Ecclesiastes is a very realistic book
• it deals with life as-is, and is honest about the struggles that are part of life
• in Ecclesiastes 8, Solomon magnifies the value of wisdom, but is honest that even wisdom has its limitations
• you and I both have to deal with difficult situations and people
• in other words, we both need wisdom
• we would do well to listen to Solomon, the wise king, as he teaches us about wisdom
• but you know something else?
• we would do well to learn wisdom’s limitations
• the pilot of the RAF Nimrod that crashed in the air show over Lake Ontario almost two years ago ignored the written limitations of the plane and pushed it beyond its capabilities, and we know the result
• if we truly understand wisdom, we will be wiser if we understand its limits as well
• before looking at the limits of wisdom, though, let’s first examine the value of wisdom, by way of a case study
• the case study has to deal with one of the most difficult areas of life: dealing with difficult people who have more power than we do
• Solomon says:
• A WISE MAN CAN AVOID THE KING’S WRATH (8:1-9)
• one of the most difficult tasks in life is knowing how to relate to difficult people
• I’ve heard of an annual contest to find the world’s worst boss, and the contestants are always unbelievable
• when the preacher wrote this passage, the king’s power was absolute
• the Eastern rulers of that day had absolute power over their subjects’ lives
• they were not elected by the people, nor were they answerable to them
• they had the power of life and death, and they often used that power
• you think your boss is bad?
• history shows that some kings ruled as benevolent dictators
• for the most part, however, kings were tyrannical despots who always had their own way – no matter what
• I don’t think there could be a more challenging career than serving as an officer of the king’s court in that day
• the expectations would have been high, the pressure immense, and if you failed? there goes your head!
• the preacher asks a question in this passage
• how can a subject relate to such power?
• how does a wise person cope with a powerful tyrant?
• the question today would be similar: how do we relate to those who exercise power over us and leave us virtually powerless?
• Solomon asserts in verse 1 that only a wise person can size up a situation like this and act accordingly
• verses 2 to 4 suggest that a wise person would understand that in this case, the best approach is obedience to the king
• (Ecclesiastes 8:2) Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:3) Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:4) Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
• if the king has absolute authority, and can do whatever he pleases, and is not answerable to anyone, would it be very wise to provoke the king’s wrath?
• absolutely not!
• as one person said, “Action is what you don’t take when the other guy is bigger than you are”
• I might add, “or more powerful”
• Solomon’s advice then? “Obey the king’s command”
• don’t be in a hurry to leave his service and stand up for a bad cause
• the wise person understands this
• instead of storming out of the palace in anger or openly defying the king, Solomon suggests another tactic in verses 5 and 6
• (Ecclesiastes 8:5) Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:6) For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
• the wise person understands that there is a proper time and procedure
• the wise person figures out two things: the right thing to do at the right time
• timing, as they say, is everything
• Joseph didn’t impulsively reveal his identity to his brothers until the time was right
• Nathan didn’t charge into King David’s presence and charge him with adultery; he waited until the right time and used a strategic method
• Nehemiah was burdened to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem, and could have been killed for even broaching the subject with the king
• but he waited and watched and prayed until God gave him an opportunity
• the wise person understands the proper method at the proper time
• I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a difficult and powerful person in your life
• it takes great wisdom to know how to handle them, doesn’t it?
• the Bible gives great advice on how to deal with difficult people
• the key, though, is wisdom
• the Bible says:
• (James 1:5) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
• there are no easy answers or quick fixes, but God does give us wisdom to deal with difficult and powerful people
• and this is only one example of the value of wisdom
• as valuable as wisdom is, it’s also important to realize that wisdom has its limitations
• EVEN A WISE MAN CANNOT UNDERSTAND GOD’S JUDGMENT (8:10-17)
• even wisdom has its limitations
• there are some things that even the wisest person can understand
• verse 9 says that Solomon applied his mind to everything done under the sun
• his conclusion is in verse 17:
• (Ecclesiastes 8:17) No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
• it’s possible that we will solve a mystery here and there, but no one can ever claim to understand life or claim to have solved everything that God has done
• as Winston Churchill said about something else, “It is a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma”
• no one can understand it!
• even wisdom has its limitations
• historian Will Durant surveyed human history and came to the conclusion that “our knowledge is a receding mirage in an expanding desert of ignorance”
• one thing that is a mystery is the failure to punish the wicked
• (Ecclesiastes 8:10) Then too, I saw the wicked buried–those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:11) When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:12) Al though a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:13) Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:14) There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.
• Solomon is coming to term with reality, and refers to a common experience that we have all witnessed
• somebody who is wicked dies, and at his funeral all his wicked deeds are glossed over
• have you ever been to a funeral, and people are extolling the virtues of the deceased, and you want to lean over and ask your friend, “Am I at the right funeral?”
• “Are we talking about the same person?”
• another common mystery is that the wicked sin with impunity
• Solomon points out that they commit a crime a hundred times and still lives a long life and is not brought to justice
• and therefore people do not fear God
• there’s also the mystery of unfair consequences
• the New Living Bible translates verse 14:
• (Ecclesiastes 8:14) And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!
• this could come right out of today’s newspaper
• why is it that a Bible college student is swarmed at the Jane subway station rather than brutal murderers?
• why is a youth pastor killed in a tragic sporting accident?
• why is a Christian family traveling down a highway killed by a drunk driver, while the drunk driver walks away without a scratch?
• I don’t agree with his conclusions, but Rabbi Harold Kushner poses the problem well:

There is only one question which really matters: why do bad things happen to good people?…Like every reader of this book, I pick up the daily paper and fresh challenges to the idea of the world’s goodness assault my eyes: senseless murders, fatal practical jokes, young people killed in automobile accidents on the way to their wedding or coming home from their high school prom.

• these are mysteries that defy explanation
• no one can understand God’s providence
• (Ecclesiastes 8:16) When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth – his eyes not seeing sleep day or night –
• (Ecclesiastes 8:17) then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
• Solomon closes his section of the treatment of these enigmas by acknowledging our ignorance of God’s ways
• Solomon is emphatic and repeats it three times:
• “no one can comprehend…man cannot discover…he cannot really comprehend”
• even if we expend all our energies, even if we’re wise, we can never really understand the mind of God
• (Isaiah 55:9) “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
• (Romans 11:33) Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
• how do we handle these mysteries in life?
• let me quote Chuck Swindoll
• “We must each admit, ‘I am only human’ – and admit it daily. We should say it to ourselves first thing in the morning, a couple of times a day, and just before we go to sleep every night. And we should do that week in, week out – until it sinks in!…We must each admit, ‘I don’t understand why – and I may never on this earth learn why.”
• Solomon gives more instruction on how to handle the mysteries of life
• for the fourth time, he writes that we should enjoy life and delight in the fruit of our labors:
• (Ecclesiastes 8:15) So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
• Solomon is not telling us have the positive “faith outlook” of God’s children – to accept life as God’s special gift, and know that he gives us “all things richly to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17)
• we cannot control or predict adversity or prosperity; however, each day’s joys should be received as gifts from God’s hands and be savored as God permits
• we’re going to go to prayer this morning
• there might be some here this morning who need wisdom
• it might be wisdom to deal with a difficult person, or to meet a pressing problem in their lives right now
• the Bible says:
• (Ecclesiastes 8:1) Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.
• (Ecclesiastes 8:5) The wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
• (James 1:5) If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
• if you need this wisdom, I’m going to invite you to bow your heads and pray to God with me for wisdom
• we’re also going to pray for those who are going through some trial they don’t understand
• the Biblical advice is to recognize that human wisdom has limitations
• there are certain things we can’t understand no matter how hard we try
• I’m going to invite you to pray and confess to God that there are things you don’t understand
• that’s okay
• we’re going to pray that you will grow comfortable with the limits to your wisdom, and to commit whatever problem you have to God’s hand for him to deal with as he sees best
• you don’t understand, but God does
• let’s pray