©Bonnie LaBelle
Chapter 10:1-7 (ESV) - Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool's heart to the left.
Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,
and he says to everyone that he is a fool.
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
There is an evil that 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 sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.
Question to consider: What do you think Solomon means when he sees slaves on horses and princes walking on the ground like slaves?
After teaching the assemblies that life in this temporal world doesn’t always go the way you think it should because of time and chance, Solomon pointed out that sometimes the wealthy and powerful were really the foolish ones while the wise were often quiet and forgotten. To support this claim, he gave an example of one quiet, wise man who saved a city from a powerful king. Since Solomon was playing the role of Qoheleth, it’s possible that he was speaking from his own experience as the powerful king being kept from folly because of an encounter with some unnamed wise man. Of course we can’t be sure because the man was “not remembered,” but it’d be interesting to see if Solomon had a smile on his face when he gave this teaching.
He ended the chapter by saying that the quiet one who turns away wrath is better than the powerful ruler who shouts at fools, and he concluded that quiet wisdom was better than weapons of war, but that it only took one sinner to destroy much good.
Today’s passage continues with this idea by comparing the sinner to a dead fly ruining a batch of ointment. Usually, when we think of “the fly in the ointment,” we think about an unexpected problem that derails a well orchestrated plan. Solomon actually ties the idea to the damage that can be done to a life by associating with a fool. Obviously, the greatest example of such a fly in the ointment was the sin of Adam which brought about the stench of death in the world.
Even if someone rejected the Law as the very words of God, Solomon put forth the idea that a wise person will keep in line with the moral code of the Law whereas the fool will turn away from it. In addition, a fool makes his presence known just by opening his mouth. As the saying goes, it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
Solomon returns to the example of the quiet wise man and the ruler and generalizes it into a teaching. Don’t be like the fool who is quick to open his mouth and react to a harshly spoken word. If a ruler rises up against you in anger, Solomon said it was better to remain calm and respectful in order to defuse the situation.
If Solomon was indeed the ruler in his example, he recognized that it was an error to assume that wealth and prestige were indicators of wisdom and that he encountered many fools who occupied positions of high esteem and many who were rich in wisdom but low in standing. He illustrated this by referring to the rich man on the horse as a slave and the poor man on foot as a prince.
Dear heavenly Father, help us to judge people based on wisdom and righteous character rather than earthly success or fame. May we be quick to listen, slow to speak, and abounding in steadfast love toward our neighbor. Thank You for loving us when we were still Your enemies and giving us the peace of Christ. Amen.