Verse of the Day

Monday, August 29, 2016

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes (series), #34 - An Upside Down World (Ecclesiastes 10:4-9)

Series: Ecclesiastes
Sermon #34: An Upside Down World
Ecclesiastes 10:4-9


[Audio file from Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Ecclesiastes104-9.]

4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. 5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. 8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

I chose the title for this sermon prior to reading Barrick’s commentary on these verses, but was gratified to see that he and I are on the same wavelength when I saw his title for the section on verses 5-7 was identical to mine for this sermon. See William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pg. 172.

Outline:

I. Right Response to the Ruler (10:4)
II. Evil Error from the Ruler (10:5-7)
III. Natural Justice? (10:8-9)

I. Right Response to the Ruler (10:4)

If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

1. If the spirit of the ruler[1] rise up against thee, leave not thy place;[2]

Swimming upstream against the current in an upside down world is the reality of the Christian life. Floating downstream belly up, i.e., going with the flow, is not an option for the Christian.

The Christian must be one who is involved with standing the world on its head.

Acts 17:1-8 — 1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. 5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; 7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. 8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

2. for yielding pacifieth great offences. [3]

Eccl. 8:2-3 — 2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. 3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.

Pr. 25:15 — By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

The New Living Translation “missed the mark” again in Ecclesiastes in their dynamic equivalent for this verse!

“If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit!
      A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.”

While this may be appropriate as one among many applications of what is taught in this verse, it is inconsistent in context to present it as a translation. The variety of Hebrew words in this chapter for ruler, prince and king will not allow for the sense to be lowered to that of a mere master or employer.

“The anger of a ruler must be soothed with a calm forbearance that neither panics in fear nor deserts in bitterness. The same vocabulary (‘anger…soothed’) occurs in Judges 8:3 which illustrates the point.”
— Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983), pg. 153.

II. Evil Error from the Ruler (10:5-7)

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

What does an upside down world look like?

5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:[4]

Evil — “In this connection of pacifying anger aroused by great errors, “There is an evil,” says Qoheleth in one of his favorite introductory phrases (10:5; cf. 5:13; 6:9).”
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ecclesiastes: Total Life, in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979), pg. 107.

Error — From where?

Barrick notes, “The only remaining occurrence of ‘I have seen’ in the book comes in this same section (10:7). These two references bracket verses 5-7 with ‘I have seen.’”
William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pg. 172.

The word translated “ruler” in verse 5 is not the same Hebrew word as the one translated “ruler” in verse 4.

This is what makes it hard to practice what we learned in verse 4!

Girdlestone observes: “A final group of texts testifies to the disturbance which the Old Testament documents bring into established conditions of rule.”[5] After presenting the paradox of the Suffering Servant as the “true ruler” in the “group of texts” he had in mind in the Servant Songs of Isaiah, Girdlestone refers to Phil. 2:5-11. “Here the explicit and implicit criticism of the monarchy in the Old Testament reached its unsurpassable peak.”[6] He then comes to our passage.

            “Perhaps on should add how the lonely, almost despairing Preacher of remotely comparable wisdom transfers it to everyday life (Eccles. 10.4):

If the anger of the ruler rises against you,
            do not leave your place,
for deference will make amends
            for great offences.

The quiet victory over the rage of the powerful springs from knowledge of the abysmal perverseness of the way in which power is held (Eccles. 10.5-7):

This is an error which I have seen under the sun,
            as it were an error proceeding from the ruler.
Folly is set in many high places,
            and the rich set in a low place.
I have seen slaves on horses,
            and princes walking on foot like slaves.

In the criticism of the monarchy, faith in the God of Israel provokes an enormously wide range of reflection.”[7]

6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.

Fools enthroned, and foolishness honored.

Esth. 3:1 — After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.

Esth. 3:5-6 — 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

Pr. 28:12 — When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

Pr. 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

Success disrespected, and incentives removed.

7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

Servants privileged, and masters demeaned.

Pr. 19:10 — Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

Pr. 30:22 — For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

Esth. 6:8 — Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:

Does this sound like a “caste system” with levels and “places” in the social structure?

Does anything like this exist in our nation during these modern times?

Do we actually observe this very thing happening in our culture today?

III. Natural Justice? (10:8-9)

8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.

The modern “guild of scribes” gets wacky here, with a few rare exceptions!

This is what makes it possible to practice what we learned in verse 4!
There is a Ruler above the ruler!

If these verses are handled properly the continuity and discontinuity between the end of verse 9 and verse 10 will be understood and observed.

Subject
Predicate
He that diggeth a pit
shall fall into it
whoso breaketh an hedge
a serpent shall bite him
Whoso removeth stones
shall be hurt therewith
he that cleaveth wood
shall be endangered thereby

Ps. 7:11-16 — 11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
12 If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. 13 He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. 14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. 15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

Pr. 26:27 — Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.

Amos 5:16-19 — 16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas!  alas!  and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. 17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!  to what end is it for you?  the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

On verse 8 Eaton notes, “The imagery is similar in Jeremiah 18:18-22.”

18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
20 Shall evil be recompensed for good?  for they have digged a pit for my soul.  Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

A great Scriptural and historical example of this principle in operation involves the building of the gallows by Haman for the execution of Mordecai, and his hanging on his own gallows in Esther 7.

1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther?  and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request?  and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. 3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish.  But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. 5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? 6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.  Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was.  Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house?  As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman.  Then the king said, Hang him thereon. 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.  Then was the king's wrath pacified.

There is justice in this world. It is not the justice, the perfect justice, that will be experienced beginning at the Second Advent, but it is here in this world “under the sun” nevertheless, since it is also “under heaven.”

Hamlet to Queen Gertrude at the end of Act 3, Scene 4, in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark:

There's letters seal'd: and my two schoolfellows,
Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd,
They bear the mandate; they must sweep my way,
And marshal me to knavery. Let it work;
For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard: and 't shall go hard
But I will delve one yard below their mines,
And blow them at the moon: O, 'tis most sweet,
When in one line two crafts directly meet.
This man shall set me packing:
I'll lug the guts into the neighbour room.
Mother, good night. Indeed this counsellor
Is now most still, most secret and most grave,
Who was in life a foolish prating knave.
Come, sir, to draw toward an end with you.
Good night, mother.”
The Complete Works of Shakespeare at http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ [accessed 10 JUL 2016]. Emphasis mine.

Etymology
From the play Hamlet (III.iv.207) by Shakespeare:
·         For tis the sport to haue the enginer / Hoist with his owne petar.

Adjective
hoist by one's own petard

1.      (idiomatic) To be hurt or destroyed by one's own plot or device intended for another; to be "blown up by one's own bomb".
He has no one to blame but himself; he was hoisted by his own petard.”
Wiktionary at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoist_by_one%27s_own_petard [accessed 9 JUL 2016].

[Sermon preached 10 JUL 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]

Complete Outline:

I. Right Response to the Ruler (10:4)

II. Evil Error from the Ruler (10:5-7)

III. Natural Justice? (10:8-9)

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). Barrick’s lecture notes (PDF files) and audio (mp3) are on Dr Barrick at http://drbarrick.org/teaching/ecclesiastes/ [accessed 3 FEB 2016].

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860); 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].

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).

ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).

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].[8]

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Coping With Change: Ecclesiastes (Fearn, Roth-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2013).[9]

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].[10]

Roland Edmund Murphy, Ecclesiastes, Vol. 23A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, 1992).

New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995).

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).  See also the “Thomas V. Taylor Library” on the Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute at  http://www.taylorlib.ibri.org/ [accessed 27 NOV 2013].

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] “’Ruler’ (moshel) in verse 4 does not limit the reference to kings, but allows expansion to multiple levels of governing (cf. 2 Chron. 23:20; Eccles. 9:17; Jer. 51:46).” William D. Barrick, Ecclesiastes: The Philippians of the Old Testament, Focus on the Bible series (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2012), pg. 172.

[2] “In this whole section on wisdom and folly only this verse and 10:20 contain any note of command.” Michael A. Eaton, Ecclesiastes: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 16, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity, 1983), pg. 152.

[3]Chatha is occasionally rendered by some other word instead of sin….fault….trespass….harm….blame….; offend in Gen. 20. 9, 40. 1; 1 Kings 1. 21; 2 Kings 18. 14; Eccles. 10. 4; Isa. 29. 21; and Jer. 37. 18.” Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their Bearing on Christian Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d., 1976 reprint of 1897 ed.), pg. 77, s.v. Ch. VI. Sin, §1. Sin.

[4] “The ‘ruler’ (shalit) in this case does not specifically designate a king any more than moshel in verse 4. Shalit is related to the word ‘sultan.’ Interestingly, Moses employs both words to describe Joseph’s role in Egypt (Gen. 42:6, shalit; 45:8, moshel).” Barrick, op. cit., pg. 172.

[5] Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974; from Anthropologie des Alten Testaments, Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1973), pg. 197.

[6] Wolff, op. cit., pg. 198.

[7] Wolff, op. cit., pg. 198.

[8] 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).

[9] 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].

[10] “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”

No comments: