Introduction: There is no value in being a fool. There is no value in being close friends with a fool. The word "folly" spoken of here in these verses is the same word that we looked at in our last study. It means stupidity connected with impiety. This kind of person is one who shows his foolishness by acting with impiety, which means acting with disrespect, irreverence, mockery, blasphemy, and corruption.
No good can come from this kind of relationship. There are many warnings in the Bible about the kind of people with whom you choose to be friends. Two of the clearest are these:
- "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish." (Psalm 1:1-6)
- "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners." (1 Corinthians 15:33)
At first, this section of Ecclesiastes may seem more like a portion from the book of Proverbs. In its context, these verses are fully connected, all of which illustrate the same warning. That warning is found in verses 5-7, "There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth."
It is disastrous to place men of folly in places of leadership. Notice verse 6 where Solomon says that folly, that is the foolish, are set in high places of great leadership. This is a mistake that is very costly. How costly is it? He explains the high cost of wrong leadership.
1. It is like a dangerous pit. - Ecclesiastes 10:8a
"He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it..."
- I really don't believe that men realize just how dangerous it is to place a fool in charge of anything.
- Here, a picture is drawn of a man perhaps digging a well. Without proper preparation and without extra care being taken, he very easily can fall into it.
- This reminds me of the following story. From the Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt: Six people drowned while trying to rescue a chicken that had fallen into a well in southern Egypt. An 18-year-old farmer was the first to descend into the 60-foot well. He drowned, apparently after an undercurrent in the water pulled him down, police said. His sister and two brothers, none of whom could swim well, went in one by one to help him, but also drowned. Two elderly farmers then came to help, but they apparently were pulled by the same undercurrent. The bodies of the six were later pulled out of the well in the village of Nazlat Imara, 240 miles south of Cairo. The chicken was also pulled out. It survived.
- Obviously, falling into a pit can be a very dangerous experience. More dangerous than this, is the placing of a man of folly, that is a man of stupidity and impiety, into a place of leadership.
2. It is like a broken hedge. - Ecclesiastes 10:8b
"...and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him."
- The hedge spoken of here was a stone wall that was built by laying one stone upon another without mortar being used.
- Without mortar, many small creatures, including snakes, could make their homes in the hedge. A little boy went fishing with his daddy down south. As little boys often do, he helped his dad catch fish by throwing rocks into the water, and the daddy asked him to go find some worms. Later, the boy came running to his father holding out his hands which were swollen and red. The dad asked him what had happened, and he said that the worms bit him. The little boy took his daddy to see these "worms" which were inside a rotted log. To the father's surprise and horror, his son had gotten into a nest of baby copperheads. Not realizing the danger, the little boy's life was threatened.
- It is dangerous to reach your hand into an area where a poisonous snake is but even more dangerous to have a man of folly in a place of leadership.
3. It is like a dangerous rock quarry. - Ecclesiastes 10:9a
"Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith..."
- The idea that is given here is that when you work with heavy rocks, there is a chance you could be crushed by them.
- There is a story that happened here in Colorado up near the marble quarry. As they were working removing great slabs of marble, one fell back onto a man and crushed him to death.
- There is always danger when working with something bigger and mightier than oneself, but this is not nearly as dangerous as placing an impious man in a place of authority.
4. It is like chopping wood with a dull axe. - Ecclesiastes 10:9b-10
"...and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct."
- Years ago, I was instructed that a dull axe could be more dangerous than a sharp one. I never understood this principle until I chopped wood with both.
- A sharp axe will do what it is designed to do. It will cut the wood cleanly and evenly. It slices deeply into the wood and stays there until you remove it.
- A dull axe will not do what it is designed to do. In fact, a dull axe will most often bounce back from the wood, thus endangering the one doing the chopping.
- A sharp axe does not rebound, but a dull axe does.
- When a man of folly is placed into a place of authority, his actions will always rebound to those who have placed their trust in him. He will always be a disappointment, and he will always cause great harm.
- Something else is true about a dull axe. When you use a dull axe to chop wood, it takes a great deal more effort to get the job done. Likewise, when men of folly are in authority, it always causes more effort and hardship for those under him.
5. It is like being bitten by a snake. - Ecclesiastes 10:11
"Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better."
- This is different than the occasion mentioned previously of a snake coming out of the hedge. The snake spoken of here doesn't even need to be provoked. Suddenly and without warning of any kind, he strikes, and you're a victim.
- In the same way, when a man of folly is in a place of authority, he can make foolish decisions without warning. These decisions most often hurt those who are under his authority. In other words, this man can turn on you without hesitation.** A young man was out on his manhood quest one fall day trying to decide what task he would undertake to prove his manhood, when he came upon a tall mountain topped with the first snow of the year. "This will be my test," thinks the young man to himself as he started to climb.
The climb was hard and long, but the young man completed his task. Then, as he rested on top of the mountain, he heard a soft voice, "Help me," it said. The young man looked for the voice, and there he found a rattlesnake dying in the snow. The snake pleaded with the young man to save him from the cold, but the young man said, "No, mister snake, for if I pick you up, you'll bite me, and I'll be the one that dies." "No, no," said the snake, "I shall not harm the one that is to save me. If I do, surely I shall die in this cold." The young man gave this some thought and decided to help the snake; so he picked up the snake, put him in his shirt, and started his long climb down the mountain.
When they reached the valley below, the young man removed the snake from his shirt and placed it gently on the ground; then the snake struck and bit the man. "Why did you bite me?" pleaded the man. The snake just looked at him and said, "You knew what I was when you picked me up!"
Conclusion: What an incredible ending line, "You knew what I was when you picked me up!" Men of folly are not unrecognizable. A man of folly is a clear and present danger. This man of folly not only is stupid but is also impious. He is filled with disrespect, not only for himself but for those around him. He is also irreverent toward God and all that is holy. He makes a mock at sin, speaks blasphemous words, and is filled with corruption.
Oh, be careful of the crowd with whom you run. Be careful of the boy or girl you date, and be careful of the man or woman you marry. If you run with a man of folly, you'll get bit every time. Make sure you know what he is before you take him home!