How often have you heard of someone who was quite successful in life, who had maybe worked really hard to get to that place, and then suddenly crashed in some way or another? Maybe it was due to making an error of judgement in a business transaction ending in bankruptcy? Maybe it was a moral or ethical failure that ruined their marriage or ended them up in court? The point is, what may have taken years of hard work to build up, can suddenly collapse in an instant, due to some bad choice or decision.
Qoheleth puts it this way:
As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (10:1)
Kidner comments:
“Verse 1 puts into a vividly unpleasant form the principle on which the previous chapter ended: that it takes far less to ruin something than to create it. This, incidentally, is part of the advantage enjoyed by evil, and of its appeal to the vicious side of us; for to put it as bluntly as Qoheleth does, it is easier to make a stink than to create sweetness. But in this verse, it is the sudden lapse or foolish impulse that is the trouble: and there are endless instances of prizes forfeited and good beginnings marred in a single reckless moment – not only by the irresponsible, such as Esau, but by the sorely tried, such as Moses and Aaron.” (# 59)
So, Qoheleth comes back to his contrast between wisdom and foolishness as he continues:
2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.
3 Even as fools walk along the road,
they lack sense
and show everyone how stupid they are.
If we consider the example of Esau mentioned above, we see a man who has all the privileges of being the first-born son in his family (even if it was only by minutes – remember he was a twin). These privileges included receiving a double portion of the inheritance and taking over the leadership role in the family after the death of his father. And he gave it all up for some bread and stew of lentils, as we read in Genesis 25 as follows:
29-30 One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stew—I’m starved!” That’s how he came to be called Edom (Red).
31 Jacob said, “Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn.”
32 Esau said, “I’m starving! What good is a birthright if I’m dead?”
33-34 Jacob said, “First, swear to me.” And he did it. On oath Esau traded away his rights as the firstborn. Jacob gave him bread and the stew of lentils. He ate and drank, got up and left. That’s how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn. (Genesis 25:29-34 Message)
As you can imagine, he later regretted his action, but it was too late.
Qoheleth then continues as he writes in a similar way to Proverbs speaking of the need for wisdom in what is basically an unpredictable world. He writes:
8 Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.
10 If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed,
but skill will bring success.
11 If a snake bites before it is charmed,
the charmer receives no fee.
He concludes:
12 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
but fools are consumed by their own lips.
13 At the beginning their words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness—
14 and fools multiply words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell someone else what will happen after them?
15 The toil of fools wearies them;
they do not know the way to town.
Here, “We are being urged to use our minds, and to look a little way ahead.” (# 59)
I guess, if Esau had stepped back from his situation, i.e., his hunger (which he would not have actually died from!), and considered the implications of his decision to give up all his rights and privileges for a quick snack, he would have seen the foolishness of it all (and seen that his brother was actually tricking him) and looked for a less costly source to alleviate his hunger.
But then, how often have we acted like Esau (maybe without such a cost) and ruined things for ourselves and others, just to satisfy some basic craving which just needed a little more self-control. This is when we need God’s wisdom and strength.
In Proverbs we read:
Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self–control. (Proverbs 25:28)
And Paul in his letter to the Galatians writes:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)
