Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #32: The Poor Man’s Wisdom
Ecclesiastes
9:13-18
[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes913-18.]
13This wisdom have I seen also under the
sun, and it seemed great unto me: 14
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king
against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the
city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 16 Then said I,
Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised,
and his words are not heard. 17 The words of wise men are heard in
quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18 Wisdom is
better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Introduction:
Is there any truth as far as a historical basis —
Scriptural or otherwise — to the story recounted here as Qoheleth’s
observation?
In other words, what city and what king is he referring
to?
And, if so, can we identify the poor wise man in the
account?
Or, is this a parable whose lesson we should consider
without giving full reign to our curiosity or the temptation to allegorize
Scripture?
Outline:
I. One Great Observation (9:13-15)
II. Three Conflicting Conclusions (9:16-18)
I. One Great Observation (9:13-15)
13 This
wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: 14
There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king
against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: 15
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the
city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
1. The Apparent Greatness of the Wisdom (9:13)
2. The Apparent Hopelessness of the City (9:14)
3. The Ungrateful Anonymity of the Deliverer (9:15)
There is a threefold repetition of the word “great” in
these verses that should steer us in the right direction so that we do not miss
the main point:
“…it seemed great….there came a
great king….built great bulwarks…”
1. The Apparent Greatness of the Wisdom (9:13)
This wisdom have I
seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Here is that perspective phrase again: “under the sun.”
It will only occur once more in the book (10:15).
Notice how Qoheleth personalizes his perception: “it
seemed great unto me.”
2. The Apparent Hopelessness of the City (9:14)
There was a little
city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and
besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Textual issue? NKJV note: “LXX, Syr., Vg. bulwarks
NKJV trans. = “snares” [This is not the same Heb. word as
in 9:12 however.]
The Hebrew word here translated “bulwarks” is related to
the word “Masada.”
Kyle R. Snodgrass lists this as an example of one of the
Old Testament “parables/parabolic sayings.” Note: This is the only example he
cites from the Wisdom literature.
— Klyne R.
Snodgrass, “Prophets, Parables, and Theologians,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 18:1 (NA 2008), pp. 52.
“Scholars differ
significantly over what they consider a parable, but little is gained from
excluding forms by a narrow definition. Although not many OT precursors to the
longer narrative parables of Jesus exist, I would suggest more parables and
parabolic sayings occur than is typically granted.30 Some would list
additional items, but I suggest that at least the following deserve attention
(even though the noun and verb forms of משׂל rarely appear to describe these
accounts):….”
— Snodgrass, op. cit., pg. 51.
“Birger
Gerhardsson identifies only five parables from the Hebrew Scriptures, but also
lists ten additional borderline cases. See his “The Narrative Meshalim in the
Synoptic Gospels: A Comparison with the Narrative Meshalim in the Old
Testament,” NTS 34 (1988): 339-63,
343. T. W. Manson lists nine parables and two fables (The Teaching of Jesus [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1939], 62-63) some of which are not in Gerhardsson’s two categories.
Westermann, of course, would find numerous parabolic forms. See The Parables of Jesus in the Light of the
Old Testament, 5-151.”
— Snodgrass, op. cit., pg. 51, s.v. footnote 30.
The framework of the scenario seen by Qoheleth is found
in the contrast he sets up.
Walter Kaiser does not hesitate to refer to this as a
parable, and comments: “The situation is one of remarkable contrast…”
— Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, in Everyman’s
Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), pg. 104. See
also Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward An
Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching (Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), pg. 230.
Leupold, while referring to this passage as “a kind of
parable” nevertheless concludes: “Those interpreters who do not find a parable
in this passage move about among shadowy figures and vague counsels that do not
yield substantial guidance.”
— H. C. Leupold, Exposition
of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952), pg. 222, 228.
Four elements are contrasted, with two on each side of the
equation:
The Four Elements: “…city….men../..king….bulwarks…”
The Contrasting Modifiers:
“…little....few../..great.…great…”
The key elements may be identified as the size and the
population of the city versus the stature and the twofold activity (“…besieged….built…bulwarks…”)
of the enemy king.
What this sets up looks like a lost cause. In such a
situation it would seem that the city would have no hope if withstanding the
tactics of the enemy king.
One of the Old Testament accounts of the deliverance of a
city that some associate with this parable is that of Abel of Beth-maachah in 2
Samuel 20 during the reign of Solomon’s father David.
2 Sam. 20:16-22 — 13 When he was removed out of the
highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of
Bichri. 14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to
Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went
also after him. 15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and
they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the
people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. 16 Then cried a
wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near
hither, that I may speak with thee. 17 And when he was come near unto her, the
woman said, Art thou Joab? And he
answered, I am he. Then she said unto
him, Hear the words of thine handmaid.
And he answered, I do hear. 18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to
speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they
ended the matter. 19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in
Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou
swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? 20 And Joab answered and said, Far be
it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 21 The matter is
not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath
lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and
I will depart from the city. And the
woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of
Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he
blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
Kaiser refers to this historical episode when he
comments: “Such a triumph of wisdom over brute force as in the parable of 9:13-16
was not doubt fresh in Solomon’s mind.”
— Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes:
Total Life, op. cit., pg. 105.
However, there is no known example, Scriptural or
otherwise, that fits the details of this parable, including 2 Samuel 20.
3. The Ungrateful Anonymity of the Deliverer (9:15)
Now there was found
in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man
remembered that same poor man.
Tom Taylor remarks: “This text has always fascinated me.”
— Tom V. Taylor, Studies in Ecclesiastes (Port Colborne,
Ontario, CA: Gospel Folio Press, 2013), pg. 55. He includes this account
as one of the five examples in his article: Tom V. Taylor, “Insignificant
People (An Exhortation To Leaders),” Emmaus
Journal 20:1 (Summer 2011), pg. 125, s.v. “The Poor Wise Man.”
“One
of the real gems of the book is the story cited above: the poor wise man
delivers his city from the attack of the great king — but he is despised and
forgotten….here is this
sober and down-to-earth story true wisdom is found not with the mighty king
but, mysteriously, with the insignificant and ignored poor man.”
— Paul M. Joyce, “The Poor Wise Man and the Cacophony of
Voices” in Wilderness: Essays in Honour
of Frances Young, ed. R. S. Sugirtharajah, Library of New Testament Studies
295, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement series (London: T.
& T. Clark, 2005),[1]
pp. 101-102 (on Eccl. 9:13-16); on Google
Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=uBdkQbZYQO8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 25 JUN 2016]. Wilderness was reviewed by Craig A. Evans, “Book
Reviews,” Bulletin for Biblical Research
16:2 (NA 2006), pp. 360-361.
[See also the Appendix: Other journal articles mentioning
“the poor wise man” (besides those cited in sermon notes)]
1) The Poor Wise Man Found
2) The Poor Wise Man Delivers
3) The Poor Wise Man Forgotten
1) The Poor Wise
Man Found
Now there was found
in it a poor wise man
Is it strange to find “poor” and “wise” describing the
same individual? What about what we learned in verse 11? In several aspects of
this parable we see the truths of verse 11 “fleshed out.”
“I returned, and saw under the sun,
that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
Poverty and wisdom were also linked, and seen as “better”
regardless of age in Eccl. 4:13 —
“Better is a poor and a wise child
than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.”
The typical lack of details in this parable may be seen
first in this simple statement of fact which contains no specifics concerning
how the discovery this “poor wise man” took place, nor his identity beyond the
description itself.
2) The Poor Wise
Man Delivers
and he by his
wisdom delivered the city
Help comes to the besieged little city from an unexpected
quarter!
The sparseness of the details, typical of parabolic
literature, may be seen again in the absence of any information concerning the
counsel of “the poor wise man,” and how this deliverance was effected.
This should be seen as an example of the point made in
verse 11 —
“I returned, and saw under the sun,
that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet
bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
This is reemphasized with a caution/qualification in the
last verse of this chapter:
“Wisdom is better than weapons of
war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” (Eccl. 9:18)
3) The Poor Wise
Man Forgotten
yet no man
remembered that same poor man
A nobody remembered by nobody!
An unsung hero!
Eccl. 2:16 — For there is no remembrance of the wise more
than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall
all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise
man? as the fool.
Eccl. 8:10 — And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come
and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where
they had so done: this is also vanity.
“…for
the most part Christians still fail to take seriously the shocking idea that
the wisdom of God is to be found among the broken and marginalized more often
than among the secure and the powerful.”
— Joyce, op. cit., pg. 102.
“And yet at the very heart of the gospel is a stark inversion of the usual
expectations and assumptions of the world. There is a striking passage
in St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians where he speaks of Christ as the
power and the wisdom of God: ‘Where is the one who is wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of the world?’ (1 Cor. 1.20). Paul goes on to speak of Christ crucified as a
stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles: ‘for God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength’ (1
Cor. 1.25). How we
insulate ourselves against the shocking impact of this central truth of the
Christian faith! We continue to order our lives in society and even in the
Church according to values of power and status that are in fact contradicted
and overturned by the gospel. The implications of the central symbols of
the Christian faith are profound: the cross, on which the wisdom of God is
stretched and broken, like the millions in our world racked by hunger or by
torture; and the eucharist, which speaks of a body broken and blood shed and
claims that these are the things of God.”
— Ibid.
II. Three Conflicting Conclusions (9:16-18)
16 Then
said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is
despised, and his words are not heard. 17 The words of wise men are
heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. 18
Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
1. The Neglect of Wisdom (9:16)
2. The Contrast of Wisdom (9:17)
3. The Problem of Wisdom (9:18)
The three phrases that bind these verses together are:
“…better than….more than….better than…”
The development in these verses may be traced in the
following:
“…Wisdom.…the poor man’s
wisdom.…The words of wise men….wisdom…”
1. The Neglect of Wisdom (9:16)
Then said I, Wisdom
is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and
his words are not heard.
Wisdom is better
than strength.
Cp. Eccl. 9:18 — “Wisdom is better than weapons of war:
but one sinner destroyeth much good.”
“not heard” — contrast “heard” in 9:17!?!?
“…Wisdom….the poor man’s wisdom…” — here are the first
two of the four framing terms for this passage.
Eccl. 7:12 — For wisdom is a defence, and money is a
defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them
that have it.
Eccl. 7:19 — Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten
mighty men which are in the city.
Mk. 6:1-4 — 1 And he went out from thence, and came into
his own country; and his disciples follow him. 2 And when the sabbath day was
come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished,
saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which
is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother
of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with
us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not
without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own
house.
2. The Contrast of Wisdom (9:17)
The words of wise
men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
On the
translation issues in this verse see especially Aron Pinker, “On The Meaning Of
מושל זעקת In Qohelet 9:17b,” Bulletin for
Biblical Research 22:4 (NA 2012), pp. 493-503.
Perhaps this verse could also be understood as a “better
than” coordinate with the verses before and after it, i.e., “Wisdom is better than
loud foolish kings.”
“The words of wise men…” — here is the third piece of the
four framing terms for this passage.
Wisdom does not need volume.
Amplification does not make wisdom more “hearable.”
Contrast “heard in quiet” to “despised….not heard” in
9:16?!?!
Eccl. 4:6 — Better is an handful with quietness, than
both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
Eccl. 7:5 — It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,
than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Eccl. 10:12 — The words of a wise man's mouth are
gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
3. The Problem of Wisdom (9:18)
Wisdom is better
than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
Notice how this verse is framed: wisdom on one end, and
good on the other, with the plural “weapons of war,” and a solitary destroying
sinner as two negatives in between the two positive “poles” of the verse:
“Wisdom…weapons of war….sinner destroyeth…good.”
“Wisdom…” — here is the final piece of the four framing
terms for this passage.
Wisdom is better
than weapons of war.
Cp. Eccl. 9:16 — “Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength:
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.”
This concluding verse raises many questions:
1) Does the adversative clause at the end of the verse vitiate
the initial clause?
In other words, does the “but” wipe out everything that
went before it?
2) Can this be related to the initial scenario of the
little city opposed by the great enemy king delivered by heeding the counsel of
the poor wise man?
3) If so, how?
4) If not, then what is this final clause doing here?
What purpose does it serve? Is it a reminder of what happens — perhaps next
time — when the words of wisdom are not heeded, or the poor wise man cannot be
found, due to the influence or actions of one sinner?
We may conclude:
In other words, it is true that wisdom is better than
weapons of war, but while a general truism, it is also a relative truism,
dependent of the influence of the wise, and the heeding of the hearers. It
doesn’t take much to undermine wisdom in this world (“under the sun”), to destroy
the influence of “the poor wise man,” or to sway the hearers of wise words not
to heed them.
Josh. 7:1-26 — the sin of Achan and the defeat at Ai
2 Ki. 21:2-17 — the reigns of the wicked kings Manasseh
and his son Amon in Jerusalem
Conclusion:
Question: Who is the poor wise man?
“The Church Fathers also employed
more elaborate allegorical interpretation. For example, the writer of
Ecclesiastes wrote about a “little city with few people in it. A great king
came against it and besieged it.... Now there was found in it a poor wise man
and he by his wisdom delivered the city” (Eccl 9:14-15). The little city was understood
as the church, the king that besieged it was the devil, and the poor wise man
that delivered it was Jesus.
Today we cannot with integrity
employ allegorical interpretation to preach Christ.4 Allegorical interpretation
is arbitrary and subjective. It also reads Christ back into the Old Testament
(which is eisegesis) and subverts the intention of the biblical author.”
— Sidney Greidanus, “How To Preach Christ From Ecclesiastes,” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
15:3 (Fall 2011), pg. 57.
“This statement does not deny that allegorical interpretation is
appropriate for allegories, e.g. Eccl 12:3-4.”
— Greidanus, op. cit., pg.
57, s.v. footnote 4.
“Jesus was regarded at a very early stage of Christianity
as Lord of glory in the sense of an unbribable judge who so identifies himself
with the poor and needy that he himself becomes the epitome of both the poor
wise man and the judge who gives honour to him.”
— Jack Freeborn, “Lord of Glory: A Study of James 2 and 1 Corinthians
2,” Expository Times 111:6 (MAR
2000), pp. 185-189; Faculty and Library Staff of Dallas Theological Seminary,
Robert D. Ibach, Editor, “Periodical Reviews,” Bibliotheca Sacra 157:627 (JUL 2000), pp. 366.
Sinclair Ferguson is a careful modern example of this
“take” on the passage:
“Instinctively
we think of Jesus. The man the Pundit saw had the attributes of true
spirituality and wisdom; but he was just a reflection, a kind of preview of the
spirituality of the true Poor and Wise Man who would later become a Saviour.
The
New Testament actually talks about Jesus in precisely these terms.”
— Sinclair B. Ferguson. The Pundit's Folly: Chronicles of an Empty Life (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust,
1995), pg. 51. His development of this approach is on pp. 49-67, s.v. Ch. 3.
In the introduction Ferguson includes a brief citation
from Robert Browning’s lengthy poem, Bishop
Blougram’s Apology (Ferguson, op. cit.,
pp. 49-50. Note: Ferguson apparently misspells the title as “Bishop Blaugram’s
Apology.”).
“So, you despise me, Mr.
Gigadibs…
how can we guard our
unbelief,
Make it bear fruit to us?--the problem
here.
Just when we are safest, there's
a sunset-touch,
A fancy from a flower-bell, some
one's death,
A chorus-ending from Euripides--
And that's enough for fifty
hopes and fears
As old and new at once as
nature's self,
To rap and knock and enter in
our soul,
Take hands and dance there, a
fantastic ring…”
— Robert Browning, “Bishop Blougram's Apology,” in Men and Women, 2 vols. (London: Chapman
and Hall, 1855), pp. 128-161; on The Literature
Network at http://www.online-literature.com/robert-browning/men-and-women/7/
[accessed 23 JUN 2016], lines 13, 180-188. See also Robert Browning, Men and Women 1855, 2 vols. in 1 reprint
(London: Henry Frowde, 1910); on Internet
Archive at https://archive.org/details/menwomen00browuoft
[accessed 23 JUN 2016].
The temptation to allegorize may be strongly influenced by the following suggestive elements of the parable:
1. The poverty
of “the poor wise man”:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty
might be rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)
2. The wisdom
of “the poor wise man”:
See Joyce, op. cit.,
pg. 102.
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1:24)
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Cor. 1:30)
“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” (1 Cor. 1:19)
“Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer
of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor.
1:20)
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For
it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” (1 Cor. 3:19)
3. The “few
men” in the “little city”:
“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Mt. 7:14)
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is
plenteous, but the labourers are few;” (Mt. 9:37)
“So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many
be called, but few
chosen.” (Mt. 22:14)
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Mt. 20:16)
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Lk. 12:32)
4. The “great king”
laying seige:
“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this
world be cast out.” (Jn. 12:31)
“Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” (Jn. 14:30)
“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”
(Jn. 16:11)
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Eph. 2:2)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Pet. 5:8)
5. The forgotten
“poor wise man”:
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.” (Is. 53:3)
“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” (Phil. 2:7)
[Sermon preached 26 JUN 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. One Great Observation (9:13-15)
1. The Apparent Greatness of the
Wisdom (9:13)
2. The Apparent Hopelessness of
the City (9:14)
3. The Ungrateful Anonymity of
the Deliverer (9:15)
1) The Poor Wise Man Found
2) The Poor Wise Man Delivers
3) The Poor Wise Man Forgotten
II. Three Conflicting Conclusions (9:16-18)
1. The Neglect of Wisdom
(9:16)
2. The Contrast of Wisdom
(9:17)
3. The Problem of Wisdom
(9:18)
Appendix: Other journal articles mentioning “the poor
wise man” (besides those cited in sermon notes)
“The first one was
preached as “An Election Sermon” before the Governor and Legislature of
Massachusetts, January 2, 1851, and is a model for such
an occasion. Had the “Election Sermon”
always been of this type, it never would have been
thought unprofitable, and so discontinued.
The text was Eccles. 9:15. “Now there was found in it a
poor wise man, and he by his wisdom
delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor
man.” Its plan is the common one,
with an Introduction, Proposition, &c. After a most
appropriate introduction, full of delicate
humor, in which he defends the application of the text to
the Christian ministry, he announces as
his subject, “The Indebtedness of the State to the
Clergy.” In the discussion of this theme the
preacher specifies four things, for which the State is
greatly indebted to the Clergy, viz.: (1) For
their influence in promoting the comfort of the people; (2)
For their influence in educating the
people; (3) For their influence in promoting the
political virtues—especially those of respect for
the laws, zeal for their amelioration, and love of
country; (4) For their efforts in promoting
Christian benevolence.
The divisions under which these reasons are drawn out and
elaborated are replete with learning
and wisdom. Taken in conjunction with the notes, they
form a rich treasury of information in
regard to the beneficent work of the ministry. Keeping in
mind the occasion on which it was
uttered, one wonders whether that company of legislators
did not conceive a higher respect, and
preserve it for the rest of their lives, for that “poor
wise man,” the minister, concerning whom
they heard such things. Certainly it is enough to inspire
with courage and self-respect, not to say
pardonable pride, the heart of one of these poor wise
men, just to read the sermon. Every
minister ought to own the volume that he might have the
sermon always in reach, as a moral tonic in seasons of despondency and
self-disparagement. The achievements and capability of the ministry for good
were never better set forth.”
— A. H. Currier,
and G. Frederick Wright, “Park’s Discourses Considered Homiletically And
Theologically,” Bibliotheca Sacra
44:173 (JAN 1887), pp. 159-160. “Discourses on Some Theological Doctrines as
Related to the Religious Character. By-Edwards A. Park, D.D. Andover: Warren F.
Draper. 1885. pp. x., 390. 6½ X 3⅝.” Currier and Wright, op. cit., pg. 157, s.v. footnote 1.
******************************************************************************
Scott’s statement does not appear to fit the conclusion
of the parable itself:
“The poor wise man will appear
far higher than the rich fool.”
— Hugh M. Scott,
“Preaching To The Church Of Our Times,” Bibliotheca
Sacra 66:261 (JAN 1909), pg. 33. “An address delivered at the opening of
Chicago Theological Seminary, October 1, 1908…” Scott, op.cit., pg. 15, s.v.
footnote 1.
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“The older writers were wont to take high views of the
duties of learned men. These men have
made their election between professional life and the
life of laymen. By so doing they have
gained certain advantages, and incurred certain
disadvantages. Lord Bacon5 speaks of the
meanness of employment of men of learning, who spend their
lives in teaching children; and of
the peculiarity of manners, whereby they differ from
those versed in affairs; and especially of
“the smallness of their fortune, since learned men do not
grow rich so fast as other men,
because they do not convert their labors chiefly to lucre
and increase”; and he insists that this
sacrifice on their part is needful, for barbarism would
long since have prevailed, “if the poverty
of learning had not kept up civility and honor of life.”
The great thinkers have! always been
content to live without large pecuniary resources. It has
often been “the poor wise man” who has saved the city. The highest work for the
world is never paid for. No man, indeed, is fit to be a leader of men who cannot
say with Demosthenes: “My counsels to you are not such as enable me to become
great among you while you become little among the Grecians; but while sometimes
they are not fit for me to give, they are always good for you to follow.” Great
statesmen have always had in them such stuff as martyrs are made of. Truth will
not give admission to her arcana to the man who does not seek her for her own
sake. “In the Roman state poverty was a reverend and honored thing.” The
intellectual princes have not been those who served two masters. Mammon is as real,
if not as great, a foe to learning as to godliness. Nor can the scholar hope to
gain all things which are themselves excellent. Themistocles was not ashamed to
confess that he was a stranger to elegant accomplishments; but, said he, “I
know how to make a small city a great state.””
— E. H. Byington,
“The Position And Methods Of The American Scholar,” Bibliotheca Sacra 28:111 (JUL 1871), pp. 451-452; “This Article is
the substance of an Oration delivered before the Alumni of the University of Vermont,
August 3, 1870.” Byington, op. cit.,
pg. 444, s.v. footnote 1. “Advancement
of Learning. Bacon, Vol. ii. pp. 24-26.” Byington,
op. cit., footnote 5, pg. 451.
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“The security is, that the soul be in fresh and living
sympathy with the living Saviour rather than with the hortus siccus of creeds
and systems, and in living sympathy with humanity in its actual life. The
Saviour says: “My sheep hear my voice.” It is only as we are in sympathy with
him, receiving through the Spirit his thought and life into our own, and in
sympathy like him with man, that we shall know his voice amid the babel of
voices in this age: “I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts.”
Spiritual discernment and far-sightedness come from keeping God’s precepts.
When statesmen, having no affinity for the law of God and the spiritual life of
love, recommend measures for the welfare of the state which assume that
selfishness is the only power to be considered in human affairs, and so fatally
mistake the drift and movement of human thought and miss the measures needed
for the welfare of society, the spiritual mind discerns the spiritual forces
which the carnal mind knows not, and proclaims with prophetic far-sightedness
the principles of justice in which alone safety can be found. This is the “poor wise man “who
delivers the city.”
— Samuel Harris,
“Characteristics Distinctive Of Christ’s Kingdom As Created By Redemption From
The World, Or The Kingdom Of Satan,” Bibliotheca
Sacra 28:111 (JUL 1871), pg. 546.
Select Sources on Ecclesiastes:
J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore The Book: A Basic and Broadly Interpretive Course of Bible Study from Genesis to Revelation, 6 vols. in 1 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, n.d., 1960 printing).
William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012).[1]
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860).[2]
C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books: The Wisdom and Songs of Israel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Franz Delitzsch, “Commentary on The Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes,” trans. M. G. Easton, in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Vol. VI: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon: Three Volumes in One (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1975 reprint), III:179-442.
Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983).
Sinclair B. Ferguson. The Pundit's Folly: Chronicles of an Empty Life (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995).
Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Vol. 14, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman, 1993).
Donald R. Glenn, “Ecclesiastes,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord, and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985).
William Henry Green, “Scope and Plan of the Book of Ecclesiastes,” Biblical Reparatory and Princeton Review 29 (1857), pp. 419-40; on Gordon Faculty Online at http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/21-Ecclesiastes/Text/Articles/Green-ScopeofEccl-1857.pdf [accessed 7 NOV 2015].[3]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).[4]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
Derek Kidner, The Message of Ecclesiastes: A Time to Mourn, and a Time to Dance, in The Bible Speaks Today, Old Testament series ed. J. A. Motyer (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1976).
H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Ecclesiastes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1952).
Tremper Longman III, The Book of Ecclesiastes, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
Tim Mackie, “The book of Ecclesiastes explained with illustrations,” on The Bible Project at http://www.jointhebibleproject.com [accessed 18 JUN 2016]; includes downloadable full resolution video (700+ mb), and poster; for the video see also “Read Scripture Ecclesiastes” (10 JUN 2016), on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrsQ1tc-2wk [accessed 18 JUN 2016].[5]
Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).
John G. Reisinger, Studies in Ecclesiastes (Frederick, MD: New Covenant Media, 2008).
Philip Graham Ryken, Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, in Preaching the Word, gen. ed. R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010).
Philip G. Ryken, Why Everything Matters: The Gospel in Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, Ltd., 2015).
Benjamin Shaw, “On Reading Ecclesiastes,” in The Hope Fulfilled: Essays in Honor of O. Palmer Robertson, ed. Robert L. Penny (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), pp. 47-58.
Peter B. Steese, ed., Ecclesiastes, gen. ed. Leonard F. Dean (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1966).
Tom V. Taylor, Studies in Ecclesiastes (Port Colborne, Ontario, CA: Gospel Folio Press, 2013).[6]
Addison G. Wright, “The Riddle of the Sphinx: The Structure of the Book of Qoheleth,” in Reflecting with Solomon: Selected Studies on the Book of Ecclesiastes, ed. Roy B. Zuck (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), pp. 45-66; originally published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968), pp. 313-334.
J. Stafford Wright, “Ecclesiastes,” in Psalms-Song of Songs, Vol. 5, Expositor's Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991).
J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes”, in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, ed. Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972), pp. 135-150; from J. Stafford Wright, “The Interpretation of Ecclesiastes,” Evangelical Quarterly 18 (1946), pp. 18-34; on Rediscovering the Bible at http://rediscoveringthebible.com/InterpretationOfEcclesiastes.html [accessed 7 MAY 2015].
Ronald F. Youngblood, “Qoheleth's 'Dark House' (Eccl. 12:5),” in A Tribute to Gleason Archer, eds. Walter C. Kaiser and Ronald F. Youngblood (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), pp.211-228; also published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29:4 (DEC 1986), pp. 397-410; on Biblical Studies at http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/29/29-4/29-4-pp397-410_JETS.pdf [accessed 4 APR 2016].
Notes:
[1] Barrick’s lecture notes (PDF files) and audio (mp3) are on Dr Barrick at http://drbarrick.org/teaching/ecclesiastes/ [accessed 3 FEB 2016].
[2] On Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/expositionofbook00bridrich [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=e4kOAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 11 MAY 2015]; and linked on Precept Austin at http://preceptaustin.org/proverbs_commentaries.htm#cb [accessed 11 MAY 2015].
[3] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. inexplicably refers to this as an “unsigned article” on at least two occasions in his commentary despite the facts that: 1) William Henry Green is clearly indicated as the author under the title on the first page of the article (pg. 419), and 2) one of his own faculty members (Ted Hildebrandt) has posted the article on the school’s web site where Kaiser served as both faculty member and President. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979); and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).
[4] Although not indicated on the copyright page, this appears in all respects to be a revised edition (2nd ed.) of the Moody Press 1979 original. The relationship to the original is referenced in the “Preface,” where the author mentions the inclusion of his own translation of Ecclesiastes in this revision as one significant change. “Dale Ralph Davis compares the two and says, “the ‘bones’ are much the same but the whole has been updated and expanded.” Source: Tim Challies, “Best Commentaries on Ecclesiastes” (18 NOV 2013), on Challies at http://www.challies.com/resources/best-commentaries-on-ecclesiastes [accessed 7 NOV 2015].
[5] “This video explores the main ideas and flow of thought of the book of Ecclesiastes.
The Bible Project is a non-profit creating animated videos that explain the narrative of the Bible. These videos are free to use for personal and educational purposes. Download a full resolution version of this video along with a study guide at www.jointhebibleproject.com.”
“About the author: Tim Mackie is a Pastor of Door of Hope church and a Professor at Western Seminary - timmackie.com”
[6] See also the “Thomas V. Taylor Library” on the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute at http://www.taylorlib.ibri.org/ [accessed 27 NOV 2013].
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