Under the Sun / Week 10

Am I Wise or a Fool?

September 4, 2022

Introduction:

A. We are completing our series on Ecclesiastes today as we

have been looking at broad themes throughout this book. Two

themes run side by side throughout the book as well as in Psalms

and Proverbs!

1. That is wisdom and foolishness.

B. As great, beneficial and powerful as wisdom is it only takes a

little foolishness in our lives to stink it up!

1. Read 10:1 – perfume gives off a sweet smell but flies that end

up caught in it and dying cause the sweet smell to stink. In the

same way it only takes a little bit of foolishness to stink up the

sweet aroma of our lives and the beautiful gifts that God gives

us

2. All it takes is one reckless word, one offensive remark, one

hasty decision, one foolish pleasure, one angry outburst, just a

little bit of sinning, just a little bit of foolishness to spoil the

freshness and beauty of a life well lived.

C. And wisdom and foolishness present to us two very different

paths for us to live.

1. Read 10:2.

2. They are opposites - wisdom is the anti-foolishness and

foolishness is the anti-wisdom.

• So first let’s take a look at what

I. Wisdom and foolishness are

A. Wisdom - I want to share two very unusual verses that use the

Hebrew word for wisdom “hokmah” that gives us some insight just into

what wisdom is:

1. Passages:

a. Exodus 28:3

1. Both highlighted words come from the same Hebrew root

word which means “skill” the exact same word you find

in Proverbs when he speaks of wisdom

2. They were very skilled at sewing the garments needed for

the priest and God is the one who put that skill within

them.

b. Exodus 31:6

1. Both highlighted words come from the same Hebrew root

you find in Proverbs when he speaks of wisdom.

2. These were tradesmen or craftsmen and their ability or

skill came from God.

2. A skill simply is a “developed ability to do something very

well.”

. Wisdom simply means this “the skill of living life well!” If there

is only one skill I can have that is the one I want! I want God to fill me

with the skill to live my life well as he filled those to sew the garments

and the craftsmen make all the equipment for the tabernacle.

a. I want to live my life well as a husband, father, pastor, man, friend,

neighbor, as an ambassador for Jesus, etc.

3. The core of wisdom is found in Proverbs 9:10

a. This is synonymous parallelism - using different words

in the second line to say the same thing in different words.

Gives us another window or angle by which we can

understand “the fear of the Lord.”

b. It shows us here that in some way the fear of the Lord is

a personal relationship, a personal knowing of the Holy

One!

B. Foolishness on the other hand at its core is defined for us in

1. Passages: Psalm 14:1and Proverbs 1:7

a. While the wise man has a deep respect for God and

what he says in his word; the fool has no regard for or

thought of God or his word

2. There are four major categories that define a fool

. Relationship with God Psalm 14:1

a. His attitude towards learning Ecclesiastes 4:13; Proverbs 8:2

b. His talk Proverbs 18:6-7; Proverbs 15:2

c. His walk Proverbs 10:23; Proverbs 26:11

3. When I looked up numerous passages on wisdom this is how I

tried to summarize the heart of it.

A fool trusts is in himself rather than the Lord because he believes in his

heart that there is no God. A fool no longer knows how to receive

instruction; rather he hates knowledge, despises wisdom and instruction

and does not delight in understanding. Rather than listening and

learning, he is constantly talking, as he loves revealing his own

mind. What his mouth spouts out is folly bringing about his own ruin

and is a snare to his soul. His words bring about strife in relationships

and call for a punch in the mouth.

A fool’s ways are always right in his own eyes and his ways are full of

rebellion and sin against God displaying just how foolish he is. Doing

wickedness is like a sport to him; he is constantly losing his temper and

either raging or laughing at the wise. He repeats this same old stinky

stuff repeatedly.

When you are around a fool, you can find no peace for your soul and the

annoyance that comes from the fool is heavy upon your soul.

• so …

II. Am I a fool or a wise person?

A. Before we go on I want let me tell you that it is possible to

1. Be a true believer in Jesus Christ and have a life that has the

sweet aroma of Christ but has some areas of your life that are

stunk up by foolishness.

2. And it is possible to be a believer in Jesus Christ and believe in

God but to have your whole life characterized as foolish.

B. Let’s start with a pop quiz - Two questions that I want to score

yourself on a 1 to 10 level:

1. How wise do you think you are? 1 = dummy 10= I am like

Solomon!

2. How well do you take criticism and correction from others? 1=

I hate it 10 = bring it on because I love it!

3. How many of you gave yourself the exact same number for

both?

a. You are the ones who passed the quiz because the reality is that

you are only as wise as your ability to take criticism and

correction. The number you gave yourself for criticism is true

indication of how wise you are.

4. Listen to these 3 verses: read Proverbs 12:1, 13:1, 15:31

C. We love to talk about how foolish our culture is – a culture that has

removed God and his book from the schools, the political world, from

the courthouses, from our marriages and parenting, our values and

morals and even many churches. Instead, we have people who have very

very very very little knowledge compared to God who are claiming to be

experts, who are making decisions about right and wrong and what is

wise and foolish in our culture!

1. But let’s not talk about the culture but about us today!

2. More importantly have you removed God and his book from

your decisions making, your finances, your relationships, your

marriage, your parenting, your speaking, your education, your

work, etc.

3. Is your source for wisdom on living coming from the experts of

the world and aligned with the world’s thinking rather than

God’s and his book?

4. If no one knew, you were a Christian and all they had was your

walk, your talk and heart to know if you were a Christian would

they think you are of Jesus or the world?

D. Now before I ask this next question remember that the fool says,

“There is no God.”

1. “Do you live your life day in and day out as if there is no

God?”

2. Are you the boss of your own life? Are you calling all your

own shots? Are you trusting in your own wisdom and

resources? Alternatively, are you submitting your life and will

to him? Are you asking him what he wants you to do, say,

think, and respond? Are you trusting him for his strength and

wisdom

3. While you may say in your head and with your mouth that there

is a God, like the fool you may be living your life as if there is

no God!

E. Are you applying what you are learning from God’s word?

1. Jesus said in Matthew 7 that the difference between a fool and a

wise man is not that they do not know God’s word but rather the

wise man applies God’s word while the fool does not.

2. The end result is the fool’s life collapses when life’s major

storms come, while the wise man building his life off the

application of God’s word is able to stand strong when the

storms of life come!

III. Communion

. So which are you? –the fear of the Lord is not only the beginning

place of wisdom it is the very heart of wisdom. Listen to Job 28:28.

A. We have seen this before but it is worth repeating as you consider

just how wise you are. The fear of the Lord is:

1. Such a deep respect and awe for Jesus that I trust him, obey him

and avoid evil.

2. It is a high view and value of Jesus that so impacts me that I

walk in his ways

3. It is such a high regard and wonder for Jesus’ holiness, power,

wisdom, majesty and judgment that it cause me to trust and

obey him and live a holy life.