The Limitations of Wisdom
This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me: There was once a small city with a few men in it, and a mighty king attacked it, besieging it and building strong siege works against it. However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man. So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.
The words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good (Ecclesiastes 9:13-18).
The Greeks sang of the tragedy of Cassandra. She was a princess of Troy; the god Apollo fell in love with her and gave her the gift of prophecy. When she spurned his advances, he cursed her: she would prophesy, but no one would believe her. According to the Preacher, wisdom often finds itself in Cassandra’s position.
Throughout Ecclesiastes 1:1-9:12 the Preacher meditated upon the hevel of life under the sun: all is vain, futile – truly absurd. He compares most human endeavors toward meaning as “chasing after wind”: people pursue pleasure, wealth, wisdom, or other things looking for ultimate purpose and satisfaction and will be disappointed and frustrated by all of them. To rage against such truths is itself futile and striving after wind. God understands better than we do. In Ecclesiastes 8:17-9:12 he has been meditating on the finite nature of humans and the universality of death. He thus commended enjoying relationships, food, and work, to not take them for granted, and to resist seeking to find immortality in any aspect of life “under the sun.” And yes, it not only can happen here and to you; at some point, it will happen here and to you.
Throughout his discourse the Preacher continually returned to the condition and standing of wisdom. He recognized its value and importance but also proved frustrated with wisdom, for it cannot ultimately deliver on its promise, and human wisdom remains finite (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:16-18, 2:12-17, 26, 7:11-25, 8:1, 16-17, 9:10).
In that same vein the Preacher continued in his theme of “observations” with some observations about wisdom in Ecclesiastes 9:13-18. He found the substance of these observations difficult (Ecclesiastes 9:13): they ran against the grain of what he had been instructed and what he hoped about wisdom. The Preacher considered a small town with a few men in it besieged by a strong king and his army (Ecclesiastes 9:14). Two interpretive options present themselves for the core of the story. The verbs in Ecclesiastes 9:15 can be read as in the indicative, as in the ASV and many other translations; thus, a poor wise man knew how to deliver the city and did so, but no one remembered him. This might be understood as the “literal” reading of the Hebrew and prove satisfying for that reason, and it would contain an important observation about wisdom: it might be valued at the moment but it is easily overlooked, forgotten, or neglected. Yet such a “literal,” indicative reading would make understanding the Preacher’s concluding observation in Ecclesiastes 9:16 more challenging to understand: from his story the Preacher granted wisdom is greater than strength but the wisdom of a poor man is despised and not heeded. If the verbs in Ecclesiastes 9:15 are understood as modal or potential, the story is then told as translated in the NET above: the poor man could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to the poor man. The Preacher elided the conclusion of the matter: the city was not preserved, but fell to the enemy. The poor man and his city became as Cassandra and Troy, and this proved to be the Preacher’s burdensome observation.
The Preacher continued with two “follow-up” observations. The words of the wise are heard in quiet, and better than the shouts of a ruler among fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17). Likewise, wisdom remains superior to the weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy a lot of good, be it good will, good precedents, good relationships, good works, etc. (Ecclesiastes 9:18). Any observer of modern political discourse can fully affirm the Preacher’s observations.
The Preacher never considered wisdom useless or worthless: he heartily confessed wisdom as stronger than might and weaponry. Throughout time it has been the reckless, foolish, often authoritarian ruler who impetuously ran to the sword in order to succeed, and far more failed than truly succeeded. Wise rulers have always recognized the true strength of force is in its prospect but not in its execution; it is always better to use diplomacy and seek to persuade rather than to attempt to coerce by force. Such wisdom is not restricted to the domain of kings and despots; in any relationship diplomacy and persuasion prove wiser, more effective courses than raw exercise of force or power. If you have to assert dominance, you have probably already lost it.
Yet, like Cassandra of Troy, wisdom remains only as good as it is heeded. Part of wisdom is recognizing how wisdom will manifest itself in what we might imagine to be the unlikeliest of places, and is often entirely absent where it proves most needed. Do we have to wonder why the wisdom of the poor man is disregarded? His wisdom is disregarded because his entire existence is disregarded. Those with privilege and standing, in their insecurity, often blithely dismiss and disregard those whom they imagine to be of lesser standing as inferior. Such forgot what the Preacher knew well: poverty does not mean a lack of humanity. If anything, the poor often have greater insight and wisdom than the privileged and wealthy; they have had to learn how to navigate and survive in the world in ways which prove unnecessary to those with greater privilege and wealth.
True wisdom remains quiet and modest and proves difficult to ascertain and hear amidst the clanging percussion of foolishness and puffery. It takes a lot of time and effort to build up well in wisdom, be it physical infrastructure, a network of relationships, and, for that matter, a local congregation; but it does not take much time for foolish and sinful people to tear it all down. We hear the news; we know the stories; perhaps we have even suffered and endured participation in such a story.
Thus the Preacher recognized and proved frustrated by the limitations of wisdom. As a man of wisdom speaking and writing in the wisdom tradition, his observations prove an important counterweight to a facile, uncritical embrace of wisdom as expressed in Proverbs; not for nothing is Solomon reckoned as the author of both. Solomon can extol and praise the value and virtues of wisdom while also recognizing its limitations in human weakness. Solomon recognized there could be no ultimate deliverance or salvation in wisdom, and we should confess the same; we will only find ultimate deliverance and salvation through what God has accomplished in Jesus Christ. May we trust in Jesus and obtain in Him the resurrection of life!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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