You know, I'm really thankful to be beginning
Ecclesiastes this morning. As Dave noted, Jeff
and Tanya are in Scotland. We have a picture
to show you of them wearing something. If my
clicker can work. There we go. Aw, come on. There
you go. Look at that cute little scarf that he's
wearing. They arrive safe. The weather's cold.
It's rainy. They're taking tours through Edinburgh
right now, or they were, and they were seeing
some of the sites that birthed some of the Harry
Potter stories. So that's why the scarves are
there. And I'm told that while he is eating local
food, he has not yet undertaken mushy peas. I
don't blame him for that one. But please, pray
for him, pray for Tanya to enjoy their time away,
to rest, to recharge. We look forward to being
back with them in a few weeks. Now, it's been
a while since we've been in Ecclesiastes. I want
to give a very brief synopsis to catch us up.
We've been confronted with the vain pursuit of
satisfaction and worldliness and the problem
and the proof of vanity. We've arrived now at
chapter 7 with some hard, hard -hitting truths
about the prescription. How do we live with vanity?
Now the key concept throughout the whole book
is this idea of wisdom, or in Hebrew, chokmah.
And yet today we're going to see that wisdom
alone does not solve the problem of vanity, even
if it does bring an advantage to those who live
under the sun. You see the outline we've been
working with so far. Chapter 1 sets the stage,
the problem that all is vanity. And the second
half of chapter 1 all the way through chapter
6, the proof that all is vanity. Solomon proves
it. And now we've begun in our last couple of
sermons and we continue today with the prescription
for living with vanity. And today, specifically,
applying wisdom. That's our goal today. So open
your Bibles to Ecclesiastes 7 so we can be familiar
with Solomon's brilliance. And let's stand as
we read God's word. There are difficult sayings.
that we need to unpack today. So hear the word
of the Lord, Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verses 15
through 29. I've seen everything during my days
of vanity. There is a righteous man who perishes
in his righteousness. There is a wicked man who
prolongs his life in his evil doing. Do not be
excessively righteous and do not be overly wise.
Why should you make yourself desolate? Do not
be excessively wicked and do not be a simple
-minded fool. Why should you die before your
time? It is good that you seize one thing and
also not let go of the other, for the one who
fears God comes forth with both of them. Wisdom
strengthens a wise man more than ten men with
power who are in a city. Indeed, there is not
a righteous man on earth who continually does
good and who never sins. Do not give your heart
to all words which are spoken so that you will
not hear your slave cursing you. For your heart
also knows that you likewise have many times
cursed others. I tested all this with wisdom
and I said, I will be wise. But it was far from
me. What has been is far away and exceedingly
deep. Who can find it? I turned my heart to know,
to explore, and to seek wisdom and an explanation.
To know the wickedness of foolishness and the
simple -minded folly of madness. And I found
more bitter than death the woman whose heart
is snares and nets, whose hands are chains, one
who is good before God will escape from her,
but the sinner will be captured by her. See,
I found this, says the preacher, adding one thing
to another to find an explanation which my soul
still seeks but has not found. I have found one
man out of a thousand, but I have not found a
woman among all these. See, I found only this,
that God made men upright, but they have sought
out many devices. Let's take a seat. Now you
can see this isn't going to be easy today, but
we're continuing in a vein of thought. If you're
to look up at the previous verses before verse
15. And that sermon, by the way, both of those
sermons are available on our podcast if you want
more context on that. But you're going to see
man is confronted in verse 14 with his inability
to secure outcomes. We cannot straighten what
has been bent, according to verse 13, by the
one who is beyond us. We think that we can live
formulaic lives. We think that we can manipulate
situations to get what we want. And Solomon confronts
that. He confronts when we think we're being
sanctimonious. We think we can control things.
He confronts that with a brutal truth. Don't
try to get what you want when your real aim should
be to fear God and to trust him. Don't sit and
sulk in what you don't have. Let go of what's
not yours and respond to what's been given to
you. And that's when we get the encouragements.
Be of good cheer. Enjoy the little things in
life. Don't let the simple things pass you by.
Today, that thought continues as he helps us
to apply wisdom. He says, don't lean on your
own understanding. Don't lean on your own wisdom.
Don't lean on your own righteousness. Submit
to the Lord. Walk with him. Depend upon him.
Those things we're going to see today. Now, verses
15 and following, they contain encouragements
from Solomon about how to respond to the reality
that outcomes are not in our hands. There's a
bit of theming going on. If you want to take
a look, there's a pastor named Brian Borgman.
I liked his outline here for this passage. There's
some more Hebrew parallelism. So you see this
kind of the breakdown for today. Wisdom avoids
perfectionism. Wisdom remembers one's own sinfulness.
Wisdom avoids sensuality. And wisdom remembers
the sinfulness of others. That's probably a lot
more simple to understand than what we read,
given the complexity of wisdom literature. We're
going to see today that wisdom itself is not
salvation. Even if there's a great benefit to
the believer in wisdom, and there is value, but
that value is limited. So in this close of chapter
7, wisdom teaches us to avoid two things, perfectionism
and sensuality. And wisdom reminds us of our
own sinfulness and the sinfulness of others.
So taking a look at the passage that we're digging
into. today, the first few verses. We're going
to focus on verses 15 through 18. Solomon is
going to point out the backwards nature of things.
Things don't work the way that they ought to.
The one who does righteousness perishes while
he does the right thing, while the wicked one
prolongs his life while doing evil. Shouldn't
it be the other way around? Doesn't that frustrate
us? I don't even think I need to mention recent
events, but you have it in your mind. You have
it in your mind because it's not the way that
things should work. If you do good, it should
go good, right? And if you do evil, it should
go bad. But Solomon gives you an exception here.
He says this life is bent, but he gives a prescription
for how to respond to it. Don't be overly righteous.
Don't be overly wise. Now, there are times when
you read wisdom literature and you're just stumped.
You have to pause. You have to consider, what's
being said, what's actually being encouraged.
Now, maybe you've been on that Indiana Jones
ride at Disneyland. Have you? Okay, I'm seeing
some head nods. It's awful, by the way. For me,
anyways. It's famous not because of the connection
to the franchise, but because of how much it
wildly throws the riders around. People need
back adjustments afterwards. It gives whiplash.
See, that's what Solomon's doing with this statement
here. He's shoving you awake. We're moving along
God's sovereign who can straighten what is bent
and then all of a sudden he gives us a hip check
and he throws us off balance by telling us to
consider moderation in wisdom and righteousness.
Man, how do you begin to understand that when
he's saying it without sarcasm? Don't be excessively
righteous. Don't be excessively wise. Isn't that
the opposite of everything that you've heard
if you've grown up in the church? Have you grown
up in a church that said, hey, you know what?
Don't worry about this whole righteousness thing.
Don't worry about going God's way. Just do whatever
you want. If you did grow up in a church like
that, oof. Pay attention to how he writes, though.
He doesn't say, don't be at all. Verse 17 is
going to refute that. He cautions an extreme
focus of righteousness and wisdom that some may
undertake. Here, let me put it in context or
something easier today. He's speaking to the
perfectionists. He's speaking to the control
freaks. That's not my term, by the way. That's
just one we understand, right? The sanctimonious,
the self -righteous, defenders of their own honor.
The people who always make the right decision,
at least in their mind. The ones who always want
to justify their actions and never own up to
any mistake. That's who he's speaking to. He's
speaking to the ones who expect that life should
not work like verse 15 describes. The ones who
are struggling when their righteous perish in
their righteousness. The ones who want their
perfect life. The ones who want a perfect home.
the ones who want perfect kids, a perfect job,
a perfect boss, the ones who are shocked when
the righteous perish. He's speaking to them,
to the ones who think they can control outcomes
with their actions, who think that they can get
people to do what they want by their effort,
the ones who think that if they do Christian
things, they can get the life they want, the
spouse they want, the family they want. the business
they want, the work they want, the future that
they want. But the end of verse 16 points out
that this perfectionist, outcome -driven lifestyle
only leads to self -ruin. It makes someone desolate.
What does it mean to be desolate, to be ruined,
to be destroyed? That Hebrew word literally means
uninhabitable, deserted, and to be made to tremble.
Think of that controlling and self -righteous
perfectionist. How can they enjoy life when things
don't go their way? When they're confronted with
their own sinfulness, when they can't control
outcomes? They don't enjoy life, right? And though,
you know, there's probably very few people who'd
be characterized as being solely that, we know
ourselves, do we not? So many moments, perhaps
this past week or month, where you and I have
been exactly like that. Pursuing things that
destroy our ability to enjoy the life that God
has given. Being critical of things and others
that don't live up to our own impossible standards.
Fearing things won't turn out in a favorable
way for us. And it makes one miserable. Now without
taking us down a large rabbit hole, let's just
acknowledge that is where an awful lot of depression
in our society stems from. But before we can
apply anything, Solomon swings at the other extreme.
Verse 17 warns us not to be excessively wicked,
not to be a simple -minded fool. The end of such
would lead to an untimely death. And this harkens
back to a teaching in Proverbs chapter 10. We're
taught that the fear of Yahweh prolongs life
and the years of the wicked will be shortened.
And doesn't this seem to contradict verse 15
that we just read? This is where you'll get people
to say the Bible contradicts itself. If you're
a fool, and I don't mean to be mean, I'm being
honest. If you're a fool and you have no understanding,
then yes, God's word contradicts because you
don't understand, not because he is confusing.
Not because he is misled. Not because he contradicts
himself. There's any being in the universe that
doesn't contradict himself. It is Yahweh. Remember,
Solomon deals with the exceptions. The general
truism is this, Proverbs 10. But he's not afraid
to address those whataboutisms that we bring
up in our ignorance. And he preempts that simple
-mindedness to bring us a great measure of wisdom
and clarity. The reason he gives for not being
excessively wicked or a fool is that it leads
to an untimely death. Now, it's possible that
a wicked person may live a long time. He says
that in verse 15 of Ecclesiastes 7. But that's
the exception. Generally speaking, the wicked
and foolish have a shortened time span. So don't
swing to the extremes. He's cautioning against
wickedness. He didn't say, don't be wicked. That
would be impossible. We're going to see that
in verse 20. And he's also not encouraging us
to just be a little bit wicked. Rather, he's
saying, don't swing the pendulum that a person
is prone to when they don't get what they want.
So if perfectionism and self -righteousness can't
attain your desires, you might be inclined to
say, well, forget it. Why was I trying so hard?
I might as well sin or not care because I didn't
get what I wanted when I thought I was doing
the right thing. Do you see how he's counseling
the heart? Solomon knows the heart. He knows
that's a likely response of a person when they're
going the perceived right way and they don't
get what they want, that they might be prone
to forsake it. And so he cautions. and reminds
that such a pursuit of wickedness and folly will
absolutely lead to an untimely demise. We continue.
Why make yourself desolate? Don't be excessively
wicked. And then we get to a really tough verse.
It is good that you seize one thing and also
not let go of the other. Let's take a look at
that. That seizing, at first glance, you might
think, involves righteousness and wickedness.
But the grabbing and seeming, I think, relates
to righteousness and wisdom. Because you don't
come forth with God with wickedness and folly.
Knowing God's character makes it easier to discern
what you should come forward with. Now he's speaking
in an unfamiliar way to our sentence structure.
We don't speak this way, but he's telling the
reader, grab one thing and don't let go of this
other thing. It's good to hold on to righteousness,
to grasp it, to hold fast to it. It's good. And
it's good to not let go or literally not rest
your hand, meaning you don't loosen your grip
from wisdom. We shouldn't abandon or depart from
wisdom, even if an excessive pursuit of it would
lead. Now the key to grasping righteousness and
holding on to wisdom is right there in the text.
Fearing God. Fearing God. You look to him. You
don't look to your outcomes. When we rightly
fear God, you submit to his ways, even if they
look bent from your perspective. So Solomon tells
us to avoid the extremes. Don't pursue a vain
life of perfection. And don't demand that everything
measures up to your own standard, whether that's
yourself, your spouse, your kids, your church,
and life itself. Instead, fear the Lord. Don't
fear failure. Live in the fear of the Lord. Don't
live in the fear of not getting the right formula
to get what you want or to get what you think
you should have. And then he continues. And this
section may seem like he pivots, but he doesn't.
If you take a look, First, he said, don't let
go of righteousness and wisdom. Previous verse
18. Now, why? Why don't we let go of it? Because
wisdom gives strength. Wisdom gives strength.
Now, how is strength and might measured in Solomon's
day? You know, today we'd use something like
a strongman competition. I don't know if you've
ever seen that guy with the massive arms with
the, you know, arm wrestling. His hands don't
make sense. You should look it up sometime. It
really is incredible. Maybe an endurance race.
Maybe you're like, no, it's not that strength.
It's the strength to persevere Ironman triathlon.
Sure, that might be how we measure strength today.
But in Solomon's day, strength was measured by
a multitude of men banding together. Banding
together to exercise leadership and authority.
A king could be mighty, but 10 men committed
to a certain way would be invincible. That's
what it looked like in Solomon's day. And he
says, yet wisdom, is greater than such strength.
So what is that strength then? What does it look
like? Well, think about what 10 men would be
strengthened toward if they committed together.
Ecclesiastes 4 speaks of this as support for
one another. Remember the three -chord strand?
Not easily broken. Help when one is weak. Comfort
when one is going through difficulty. Shared
resources. Strength would also be seen in a willing
commitment to see things through. Knowing that
those other nine are going to push you forward
when that way is hard. See, that's the strength
of wisdom. Pushing you forward, supporting you
toward righteousness, even when it's difficult.
Wisdom strengthens you to continue living even
when the days are bleak. Even when you don't
get what you want. Wisdom strengthens your resolve
to live through both good days and bad. And wisdom
pushes you through. Now think about this. You
don't need strength if things aren't difficult.
The implied purpose of strength in verse 19 harkens
back to verse 14. God has made the good days
and the days of calamity. We need wisdom to strengthen
us to navigate the ups and downs of life. But
as good as wisdom is, as noble as it is to pursue
righteousness, There is not one man, not one
righteous man who continually does good, who
constantly holds to wisdom, who never sins. And
in that statement, Solomon is drawing us back
to creation. And he's done this many times because
he uses the word for mankind, Adam. He draws
us back to the creation account to consider the
garden, to consider Genesis 3, to consider Romans
3. No one is perfectly righteous. We all would
have sinned just like Adam and Eve. We all do
sin. We all do disobey God. Now verses 21 and
22, they preempt another straw man argument that
we might be prone towards. What if it appears
to you that someone is always kind, is always
gracious, always forgiving? Are they sinners?
And Solomon brings a regular occurrence to prove
his point. Whether you've said things out loud
or not, in your heart, in your heart, you've
cursed others. That's what verse 22 says. Now
that cursing is not swearing. It's not casting
a hex. The better connotation here is complaining,
criticizing, belittling. And now you see the
connection with the perfectionist and the self
-righteous desires from earlier. These things
are all too commonplace. Friends, think about
it. Even for the believer. When someone cuts
you off on the freeway, man, that person's an
idiot. When your boss is committed to an exercise
in redundancy, I can't believe how foolish they
are. Students, when your professor asks for an
assignment you see no point in, do they even
care what we're learning? Husbands and wives,
when your spouse forgets to do something you
think is important, they're just not loving me.
They're being selfish. When a church leader does
or says something you disagree with, I can't
believe what they said. They think they're wise,
but I know better. Now, if that one hasn't happened
for you this morning, just wait. It might in
a few moments. So for us, it might seem like
he takes this sharp detour to talk about words,
but he's encouraging us with part of his case.
There is no one righteous. Because even in your
heart, you're going to say evil things. And he
does encourage, don't listen to those things.
We'll get to that in just a moment. But he's
saying, even if the outward appearance of a person
is righteous, the own heart will condemn. Because
the heart knows that he's cursed others. That
reveals our control loving, our perfectionist
desires. Now, how many have fallen into that
trap when you're trying to pursue a good way?
You hold others to impossibly. high standards.
You sinfully judge others that you fail to meet
even yourself. There's a not so subtle hidden
truth here in verse 21 when he says, be careful
of pursuing these things. Be careful of listening
to these words. If you're just trying to please
others, recognize their heart is just like yours.
Even when you think you're kind, they're going
to say something bad about you. So don't be ruled
by people's opinions because they're always going
to find a way to tear you down. That's part of
our sin nature. But he's not done teaching us
about applying wisdom in this section. As difficult
as it is in general, the remainder is going to
be a doozy. He says this, verse 23, he tested
all these things with wisdom. Earlier in chapter
1 and chapter 2, Solomon said he was endeavoring
to search out wisdom and simple -minded folly.
He has put himself to the task to understand
these things. And so he's telling us he didn't
just come up with musings. He's not just saying
something and asking you to believe it. He's
tested it. How many people love evidence -based
research? How many people love things to be tested?
I think we prefer them to be tested, do we not?
What Solomon's saying is he has. He's tested
it. More than any doctor you could ever trust,
he's tested it because he was given wisdom from
on high. So when he speaks of there not being
one righteous man who continually does good and
he seeks out to prove it, we can trust his assessment.
Because he's seen that even if the outer man
appears righteous, the inner man provides that
condemnation because sin begins in the heart.
Now, even while testing it, he admits wisdom
is far from himself. Think about that. Guys,
think about that. Solomon is the man gifted with
wisdom. Of whom it was said, there had been none
wiser. And he states the difficulty of testing
all these things. He says it's just... Doesn't
this remind you of Romans 11 .33? Scripture says,
Doesn't that remind you of that? Even with immense
God -given wisdom, one cannot search out all
things. It's just too vast. There are many mysteries
too great for us to comprehend. Can you comprehend
the size of the universe? Can you comprehend
time? I don't just mean tell time. Hopefully
you can do that. Time. Why are we so fascinated
with alternate timelines, which aren't real,
but God being outside of it? That's hard. Do
you understand how laughter can lift the heart?
How does it happen? Do you understand why and
how the comfort of an embrace can bring such
relief? It does. You know these things, but do
you understand it? Even with great wisdom, we
have our limits to our comprehension. But when
we run up to mysteries, it should cause us to
return to God. When he speaks of knowing the
wickedness and foolishness here in the text or
the simple -minded folly of madness, he's not
saying that he pursued those things. The Hebrew
word for knowing here doesn't have the same connotation
as the words, the verbs really that he used earlier
when he cautioned don't be excessively wicked,
don't be a fool. What that means is Solomon did
not aim to experience wickedness and madness,
but he sought to understand it. He sought to
explain it. Searching it out is more like a trail
mapper. If you've ever been to a national park,
you know there are these trails. Somebody had
to go through that to map the trail before you
could go on it. He's like a trail mapper who
goes along the way. He's looking for the pitfalls
and the dangers to the other travelers so they
can benefit from his exercise of studying the
trail. Now, we can't avoid being a sinner. He's
already said that. But with wisdom, we can avoid
the pitfalls of being given over to wickedness.
into madness. And like a helpful guide, he's
trying to keep us from being entrapped by such
things. Just a really quick note here on simple
-minded folly of madness. This word is used five
times in Ecclesiastes. And to picture it today,
you need to think of a medium or a voodoo witch
doctor. You might have seen this with a TV show
or movie or something. Unlikely you've seen it
in real life, but maybe you have. They convulse.
when they profess to be messengers from the spiritual
realm. They do unhuman, erratic movements to
give the perception like they're out of their
mind and controlled by something else. It's fake.
Or it's demonic. One of the two. But in the Old
Testament, people were very confused by such
displays because every religion had it. Every
one. Sometimes they would even wonder if the
prophets, those sent by God, were out of their
minds in a similar way. And there were clear
examples of madness in the Old Testament. Nebuchadnezzar,
when he ravaged about like a beast, he was mad.
How about Saul, when he wrongly was paranoid
about David conspiring against him? He was mad.
What about when David chose to appear insane
before King Achish while fleeing Saul? He was
pretending to be mad. Even King Achish said,
do I not already have mad men? Do I need more?
Because that was the way of religious activity
in the day. So out of confusion, people in the
ancient Near East thought madness was either
a gift from God connecting a person to the spiritual
realm or a judgment from the Most High because
that person is exhibiting foolish and irrational
behavior. So that average person, the average
person that Solomon's writing to, They're considering
that pursuing the simple -minded folly of madness
may have been an option on the table. It may
have been an option to deal with life under the
sun. So Solomon sought to know this, to explore
it, to seek explanations, and he confirmed that
such madness has no merit. You know, Old Testament's
actually, there are texts that did prove the
same. Prophet Jeremiah specifically called out
the madness of pursuing idolatry and the madness
of pursuing You can see the text on the screen.
These are just more examples that they're painkillers
that people chase to, they run to, to dull the
difficulties of life. But isn't that how the
unsaved act? The ancient mind, they might have
wondered whether madness was a gift or a curse,
but in the New Testament, madness is always an
affliction for the unsaved. You think of Luke
chapter 8, the story of Legion. The man who was
mad. That was not an evidence of God's blessing.
Now Solomon didn't care to pursue being a madman.
But people were confused. He wanted to know what
it was about. And that madness is the direct
context for verse 26. It almost seems to hit
us out of nowhere again. Whiplash after whiplash.
But he's a good trail mapper. And he's warning
us of a severe pitfall. He makes a claim. that
amidst searching out the explanations for wisdom,
for evil and foolishness and madness, he found
something more bitter than death. Now that part
alone should shock you. When you hear Solomon
say he found something more bitter than death,
the whole time Solomon's been pointing out that
death is the sharp needle to pop our misunderstandings
about life. He's been pointing to death. Death
has been the dark cloud, the great enemy. And
yet now he says, I have found something more
bitter than death. So listen, a woman whose heart
is snares and nets and hands are chains. Now
think about Solomon's testimony. How many wives?
700. How many concubines? 300. I'll let you do
the math for the next verses after this. Now,
we've been in the story of Esther. As Jeff likes
to say, King Ahasuerus. I don't say it that,
I normally say Ahasuerus, but it's okay. Now,
as prolific as that guy may have been in his
own court, King Solomon was something else. 1
Kings 11 tells us that these wives turned Solomon's
heart away from God. Deuteronomy 17 warned the
king was supposed to learn the fear of Yahweh,
was supposed to obey his words. But Solomon loved
many women. In that, he found out something more
bitter than death, an adulterous woman who does
not fear God. Look at these passages from Proverbs.
I'm sorry that they're small. You might just
need to look up the reference and pick them up.
I wanted them to be all together, though. You
can look those up later, but I want you to notice
some similarities about the dangers of an adulteress.
And I underlined some of the statements so you
can see how serious these cautions are. And I
want you to know that these are written by Solomon.
These are authored and penned by him, specifically
after learning from David and who's his mother?
Bathsheba. Look at some of these statements.
Her end is bitter as wormwood. Her feet go down
to death. Don't let her capture you. An adulteress
hunts for the precious life. The one who commits
adultery with a woman is lacking a heart of wisdom.
He who would destroy his soul does it. He does
not know what will cost him his soul. Don't let
your heart go astray. Don't wander into her pathways.
Numerous are those killed by her. Solomon wrote
these things. So in chapter 7, when he says that
he's found something more bitter than death,
he's found a woman who is hunting for the heart
of man. And how is she more bitter? Let's be
honest here. We're humans. Men often look for
love in all the wrong places. I'm sorry, men.
Is that not true? Now you may say, in righteousness,
no. Okay, without it, without it, do men look
for love in the right places? No, what do they
do? They prize corruptible beauty. They ignore
character. They're blind to the devious nature
of a seductress. They want an easy life. They
want somebody who serves them. Now men are not
innocent, but Solomon is making a point clear
when it comes to something he's seen. And he's
saying this, that man is sensual. So acquiring
wisdom, it's difficult. And even when you pursue
it wisely, you may not be able to actually acquire
it. He says it's too deep. But wisdom can be
so elusive and yet so profound. In seeking to
understand it, what he finds is not that God
bent our desires, but that our desires Now the
resulting bitterness from our bent desires is
great. Solomon's desire for the love of women,
that was his own sin. But he's also noting the
danger of a woman whose heart is seeking such
sensuality as well. If you're chained to such
a life, he says that's worse than death. And
wouldn't he know it? 700 wives? 300 concubines
that 1 Kings 11 tells us turned his heart away
from the Lord. Looking for love in all the wrong
places. Now, you know, we make love seem so noble,
right? You think of the Princess Pride, love,
true love. We make it seem like that's the thing.
And life without God, man, maybe that's all you
can chase. But when you undertake a pursuit of
loving, without the fear of the Lord, it leads
to a trap devoid of wisdom, devoid of meaning.
And that is the most dangerous part of the trail.
Solomon has avoided many other pitfalls, but
that one, think about it. That one, even with
his great wisdom, that was the pitfall for him.
That's his warning. Now this may be the absolute
briefest testimony. of what happened with his
heart when he turned away from Yahweh. He says
that though it's difficult to escape, it's possible
for the one who is good before God to escape.
He's saying so many things he avoided, so many
things he learned before they were a devastation.
With much wisdom, he evaded the common pitfalls.
He followed the trail, mapped it along the way,
but there was one thing that was more bitter
than death. And he wants us to know what he found
in that pit of despair. Proverbs 6, you see it
on the screen, the front part of the passage
there on the top. I bolded it. It teaches us
the way out of the snare. The light of God's
words. Loving discipline that he provides. Friends,
isn't that true of all temptation? God teaches
us the way in righteousness. He reproves. He
corrects us so we can go the right way. He redeems
us from our foolishness. Now, the primary application
here, though, is sensuality, being led by sexual
passion. But it also relates to the temptations
that plague us toward any disobedience. May we
have ears to hear, hearts to learn. Because even
with great wisdom, there is a dangerous part
of the trail, and we need to be cautious. As
we arrive to the last section of this passage,
this last part, it might not sit well with you.
And ladies here, I'm especially thinking of you
because he shares a thought and it seems to cast
a shadow over all women. But I want you to do
me a favor before we walk through this. Before
you cast judgment on what you think is right
or wrong, I would appeal, endeavor to comprehend
God's word from God's perspective. and from the
perspective of a human scribe, in this case,
Solomon. So with that, we're going to read the
final few verses. The preacher says, See, I have
found this, adding one thing to another to find
an explanation, which my soul still seeks but
has not found. I have found one man out of a
thousand, but I have not found a woman among
all these. See, I found only this, that God made
men upright. but they have sought out many devices.
And we noted earlier that Solomon has been looking,
he's been searching, he's been seeking to explain
and to understand how things work. And in this
regard, here's what he's found. Wisdom against
temptation is rare among men. Wisdom against
temptation is rarer among women. And wisdom against
temptation is rare for a reason. Now, the way
that Solomon phrases verse 27 is very difficult
to render in English. But he's saying that in
his attempt to explain things, he's uncovering
observation after observation, and he's adding
them up each time to find the sum of the whole.
In this endeavor, though, it yields some insight,
but it's been elusive. It's been difficult. But
then he comes to an observation that is very
uncomfortable. Verse 28, if you were to read
it from the Hebrew more literally, it would say,
one man from a thousand I found, but a woman
among all these I have not found. That's a literal
rendering of that verse. One man from a thousand
I found, but a woman among all these I have not
found. So what was he looking for in verse 28?
Well, I think the context in general is still
a wise and righteous person. but specifically
where we are in the context, he's talking about
somebody who is cautious regarding sensuality
and personal sin desires. So I don't think he's
just referring to general wisdom. He's specifically
speaking to those who apply wisdom to resist
temptation. And he's saying it is so rare. He
makes an observation and his statistic may not
sit well with you. Among 1 ,000, he's able to
find one man who wisely resists temptation. One
out of 1 ,000. Now maybe he's counting himself.
If you're thinking he's counting those 700 wives
and 300 concubines. But if so, this would still
be subsequent to his repentance. Because he wouldn't
be able to count himself righteous and wise while
he was pursuing his dealings with his wives and
concubines. But in trying to observe those in
his day, those around him, I think that extended
beyond his personal experience. Seeking to find
a man who would wisely resist temptation, he
could only find one man in a thousand and not
even one woman. Now, before I get labeled a misogynist
or enforcer of the patriarchy, just consider
this for a moment. Solomon is not saying that
in the whole entire world, There is only one
man who wisely avoids temptation and not even
one woman. But he's pointing to a rarity in his
day of both men and women who wisely resist temptation
in their heart. So he gives women at an observable
rate of 0%. And then men are at 0 .1%. I don't
think there's any room for male boasting. If
anything, you consider the opportunity and role
as a factor in this. Think about men in Solomon's
day. They were prepared to lead, prepared to
serve as priests. The kings who were men were
required to write out the law as a copy for their
own self to follow. And surely Solomon would
have had his own copy even if he didn't follow
it for part of his reign. Women, while we never
give an excuse to sin, were simply not presented
with the same opportunities. Culturally, women
were required to submit to their male family
members in many respects, including religion,
hence the pushing of idolatry through marriage
with other tribes outside of Israel. And isn't
that what happened to Solomon? Again, there's
always personal responsibility, but we should
consider opportunity as well when it comes to
training in righteousness. So he doesn't give
us a final tally on all the numbers. But he's
pointing out his intentional study, his observations,
that wisdom to resist sin and sensuality is rare.
So there's a lot of sin out there. Why is it
rare among men? Well, simple answer is that men
cater to their feelings in the moment. They don't
believe the end of Psalm 16. You remember Dave
read it in our call to worship that with God
are pleasures forevermore. Men don't believe
that. They don't think. They don't remember.
They act based on what they want in the moment.
And while that may be very true of carnal men,
it is also true of carnal women. The same temptations
can be there for both men and women. Why would
wise resistance be rarer among women? Before
I answer, I want to urge you to guard your hearts.
Men, don't be boastful. that Solomon's observation
yielded a 0 .1 % advantage. You may think there's
that stupid saying, but you're saying there's
a chance, right? It could be zero, but if it's
0 .1, I mean, there's a chance, right? No, it
is still abysmal. 0 .1%. And ladies, remember,
these are observations from the wisest man. The
wisest man. And he's not using a statistic just
to wound. but to warn. Remember that wisdom literature
often does just that. So why is it more rare
among women? Well, it goes back to the fall.
Paul references it in 1 Timothy 2 .14. He says,
it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman
being deceived fell into trespass. But this is
not a point to blame women and to absolve men,
but to clarify his points earlier in the chapter.
And here's the context. Likewise, I want women
to adorn themselves with proper clothing, with
modesty and self -restraint, not with braided
hair, gold, pearls, or costly clothing, but rather
by means of good works as is proper for women
professing godliness. A woman must learn in quietness
and all submission, but I do not allow a woman
to teach or exercise authority over a man, but
to remain quiet, for it was Adam who was formed
first, then Eve, and then he gives the context
of the garden. Self -restraint. is what Paul
was instructing in this passage for women. Now,
do you see the connection with prudence in the
light of the temptation towards sensuality? Now,
a woman's responsibility to yield, to submit,
is it not to follow a godly man? So if a woman,
and he's appealing to the garden, if a woman
is not led towards righteousness, is the man
innocent in the matter? You see in the Genesis
3 account, even though it was Eve who was first
deceived, it was Adam's passivity that led to
his culpability. It was rare for Solomon to see
a woman wise in resisting temptation because
it was rare to see a man leading the women in
his life away from such sin and warning of its
dangers. And I'm confident that Solomon is pointing
us back to the garden and the fall because of
verse 29. In calling us back, Solomon uses a
singular noun with a definite article. It's a
nerdy way of saying, he says, God made the man,
Adam, upright. And then he uses a plural noun,
they, when speaking about the many devices. So
if you, as a woman here today, were bothered
by the statistic, if you, as a man, thought that
you had an advantage, my aim is to show you now
there is a benefit to these explanations in seeing
that our problem is rooted in the fall of man
into sin. You may have thought that the man had
a minuscule advantage, but he doesn't. He says,
I found only this. Even in his observation, a
thousand and zero, a thousand and one, he says,
this is the sum of what I've found. He didn't
find that men were intrinsically more righteous
than women. Rather, he found a broken creation
that was made to be upright and innocent and
has forsaken God's ways and barreled toward destruction.
And every generation from Adam and Eve follow
the same pattern of rejecting God's rule and
reign. Every generation devises plans to pursue
happiness and pleasure with ever more inventions
to avoid the harshnesses of this life. Now we
had that Indiana Jones ride analogy earlier.
I'm going to come to an unexpected stop. You're
like, what next? No, we're going to stop here.
Applying the wisdom of God means avoiding perfectionism.
You can't attain it. You'll be miserable trying.
You can't be righteous on your own. It's impossible.
You need the righteousness of Christ. You need
the wisdom of Christ. You have to find your identity
and everything you have in him. Be dependent
upon Christ. Be careful to not be a hypocrite
when others sin against you. Be cautious of excessive
sin. It is destructive. And especially be cautious
against sexual sin. There is forgiveness, but
there are also consequences. And know that we
are wired to plan and to scheme, but due to our
sin, our plans lead us away from wisdom and righteousness.
Our plans in the flesh lead us away from the
Lord. So friends, be suspicious of yourself,
not God. Fear God, pursue righteousness and wisdom,
but remember that wisdom has limits, even if
it can help you avoid ruin. So trust Christ.
May he be your wisdom as you navigate life under
the sun. Now, as usual, we have questions, questions
to ponder. Solomon has likely wounded you today.
I pray that he has. I pray that you take these
hard passages not to just agree with me and my
explanation, but to go to the Lord to try to
understand, to try to comprehend wisdom, to be
cautioned, to be warned. Sin is crouching at
your door. Are you aware of it? So as you look
at these questions, answer for your own heart.
How are you striving for perfectionism? I didn't
say, are you? How are you striving for control?
How are you striving to control the narrative
of what people think about you? How can you regularly
bear in mind your own sinfulness? How can you
remain vigilant against temptation? What are
your plans? What are your schemes? What are your
intentions that draw you away from Christ? What
are your distractions? What are your painkillers?
Think about these things and let's orient our
heart to Christ as we go to him in prayer. God,
we thank you for your word. Though we don't speak
the same way as Solomon, though we don't understand
the ancient Near East mind the same way, though
we don't even understand Hebrew well, you give
us wisdom and insight in the ways that we need
by your spirit and you show us the way to go.
What's clear today is you have shown us we have
a desire to control. We have a desire to perfect
outcomes. So help us to give up. You've shown
us there's a blessing of wisdom and yet you've
shown us not to worship it. You've shown us that
we are so bent towards sin that even with the
greatest of wisdom, a fate more bitter than death
can befall us. You've shown us that even if we
appear righteous on the outside, our heart condemns
with the words and the thoughts that we think
about others. So God, help us not be excessive
in our wickedness. We are sinners. There is no
one who does righteous. It's why we need to look
to your son, Jesus, his sacrifice. So help us
to find our righteousness, not in what we do,
but in him. Not to avoid doing good, not to avoid
responding well, but to not find our worth in
what we've done. May we find worth in what you've
done in Christ. Help us to see these dangers
of sensual sin, these temptations. Lord, do not
let us walk away from here this morning and think
that this is a mild caution. The wisest man in
the world to have ever lived said he found this.
May we be on guard. So give us insight to be
suspicious of our own hearts, our own plans and
schemes before you. May you light our pathway,
light our way towards you, light our desires
towards you. Use even our songs of response right
now to cement eternal truths into our minds.
Help us to proclaim your excellencies. Help us.
to depend upon your grace in Christ. It's in
his name that we pray. Amen.