In this enlightening episode of Hope for Today, we delve deep into the wisdom literature, specifically Ecclesiastes and Proverbs, to explore how a little folly can dull the sharpness of our lives. Hosted by David Hawking, we discuss how wisdom is the key to success and how folly not only affects reputation but also demands God’s judgment.
A little sin, a little wickedness in the life of a believer, a righteous person who’s dedicated to wisdom. A little folly is like dulling the axe head of your life. So you’re no longer effective. It takes a lot more effort, a lot more strength. But if you’d only sharpen the edge, it would bring success. Wisdom brings success.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Hope for Today. Welcome to a new week of Bible study as we continue our series in Ecclesiastes. You know, Solomon gives us a simple picture. If the iron is dull, more strength is required. The work continues. but it gets harder. And this is what a little folly can do in our lives. It’s not a public collapse. It’s not a loud failure. Just a quiet loss of edge. More effort, less effectiveness. But wisdom, wisdom directs, wisdom sharpens, wisdom brings success. Today, David Hawking takes us back into Ecclesiastes chapters 9 and 10. This is day three of Wisdom is Better. David takes us back into the Word in just a moment. Stay tuned. Before we begin, we want to remind you about our monthly ministry letter. Folks really appreciate this because it’s a simple way to stay connected with what God is doing through Hope for Today, including ministry updates, special resource offers, and specific prayer requests. If you’re not receiving it, all you got to do is sign up at davidhawking.org or give us a call at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. Let’s open up God’s Word together now. Here’s David with today’s study.
SPEAKER 03 :
Look at chapter 13, verse 16. Proverbs chapter 13, verse 16. If you’ll turn back there, Proverbs 13, 16. Every prudent man, a man who acts wisely with proper timing, every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly. So prudent man’s going to think about what he does. He’s going to find out what God really says. Look at chapter 29 of Proverbs, verse 11. How do you handle it when you want to get ticked off, when you want to blow off and let them know what you really think? Give them a piece of your mind, which you can’t afford to lose, but you know how we think. Proverbs 29.11. And here is a fascinating principle about the whole issue of foolishness and folly. It says a fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back. There is so much in the Bible to help us. Turn back to Ecclesiastes again, chapter 10. You see, folly not only damages our reputation, but it also demands our patience when we see it, especially in people that are ruling over us. And third, in verse 8 and 9, he tells us that folly deserves God’s judgment. It deserves God’s judgment. Don’t think you can get away with a little foolishness in your life. God’s judgment is coming at some point. It deserves God’s judgment. Proverbs 26.10, by the way, says, A fool is likened unto a transgressor. He’s involved in sin. And don’t worry, God says, He who created him, he is going to give him his hire and his wages for what he has done. Make no mistake about that. It deserves judgment. I’d like you to notice here what he says in verse 8 and 9. Interesting Proverbs. He who digs a pit will fall into it. Whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. Now, there are really two things there. In the one case in verse 8, the guy is demonstrating by what he did that he really deserves the judgment. In the second case, what he is doing is good, but it often comes with consequences. And the point is that if it happens to a good man who’s involved in a good thing, how much more will it happen to a man who’s involved in an evil thing? Let me put it to you, explaining the parables. When you dig a pit, we are not digging a pit to put a pole in or a foundation in. This is not a positive thing. Digging a pit, in this case of the Proverbs, is so somebody will fall into it. It’s a proverb that’s used also in the book of Proverbs that we can even do this with our words and set somebody up so we can really hurt them. Whenever you dig a pit so somebody will fall into it, you’ve set the whole thing up so they’ll really experience a fall. The Bible says you can count on falling into it yourself. The Bible speaks about verbal attack as rolling a stone. And the Bible says you can count on that stone rolling right back to you. So there is a principle here that we need to understand. A fool and the act of folly and foolishness and going against God’s wisdom and doing what you want to do, regardless of what God says. That’s going to result in a certain consequence. If you dig a pit for somebody, you’re going to fall into it. Notice there’s no maybe here. In verse 9, it’s he may be hurt, but not here in verse 8. He will fall into it. That’s what it says. The second illustration, verse 8, is whoever breaks through a wall. Literally, he’s breaking down somebody’s fence, which is his barrier of protection for his property. And so the proverb is that you’re knocking it down, you’re tearing it down, you have no regard for a person’s private property. The Bible says you do that and you’ll be bitten by a snake. Wow, what interesting little parables here. Simply to tell us that you don’t get away with anything. See, the Christian needs to understand that. God is a God who’s going to straighten all matters out. And sometimes in life there’s so many problems, we want to get upset or ticked off or do something about it. Many, many times the wise person has to back off and say, “‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ saith the Lord. And though a fool vents all his feelings, yet a wise man holds him back and waits on the Lord.'” for his decision. That’s very important. So when we look at this, we see that there’s a case in which the judgment of God is going to come. There’s no doubt about it. Turn back to Proverbs 28 and look at verse 10. Proverbs 28, 10. And I think you’ll see the idea of digging a pit and falling into it. Right in this verse, Proverbs 28, verse 10. Whoever causes the upright, a righteous man who loves the Lord is walking with God. Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, boy, does that happen a lot. You lead some Christian to sin, either by your own example or your persuasion. Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he himself will fall into his own pit. Now I see the definition of a pit. And remember, the same man wrote both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The pit is when I cause an upright man to go astray. That’s the pit. And if I do that, I’m going to fall into my own pit, says the Bible. When we talk about the judgment of God, I’m reminded of a passage in the book of Amos. Would you turn there, please, if for no other reason, just to find it. Amos chapter 2. A great little prophecy nestled in what we call a minor prophet, simply minor because of their length. But Amos chapter 2. in verse 4, I think we really get into our hearts the principle of judgment, that we don’t get away with anything, and that God is going to bring judgment to folly and foolishness. And he illustrates this in the case of his own people. Israel and Judah. In Amos chapter 2, Beginning at verse 4, Thus says the Lord, For three transgressions of Judah and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have despised the law of the Lord. By the way, that is said of a fool in Proverbs. And have not kept his commandments. Their lies lead them astray. Lies after which their fathers walked. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. And that came when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem. Verse 13. Verse 13. Behold, I am weighed down by you, as a cart is weighed down that’s full of sheaves. Therefore, flight shall perish from the swift. The strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver himself. He shall not stand who handles the bow. The swift of foot shall not deliver himself, nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day, says the Lord. Judgment, chapter 3, verse 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he’s caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth when there’s no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there’s calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants, the prophets. In other words, they had told them many times. A lion has roared. Who will not fear? God’s letting them know through the prophets. It’s like the roaring of God against their sin. The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy? The people were rejecting the prophets who were telling them, don’t be involved in all this folly and wickedness and foolishness. God’s judgment will come. And God has been roaring like a lion through his prophets saying, stop, stop, don’t keep on. I will punish you. And the whole message of Amos is, That the stubbornness and depravity of our hearts keeps us doing the folly and doing the foolishness and doing the wickedness because we don’t really believe inside that we’re ever going to be judged for it. And as a consequence, Israel and Judah were judged and sent into captivity. They never believed it would happen to them. And it’s so easy. It again is the devil’s trap. When we begin to think that we can be engaged in a little folly, a little foolishness, a little wickedness, hey, a little won’t hurt you. The Bible says it destroys your testimony, damages it. This is really a powerful proverb. We deserve God’s judgment. If we have designed a pit, we’re going to fall into it. If we break down somebody’s wall of protection, hey, we’re going to be bitten by a snake, says God. And in verse 9 of chapter 10 of Ecclesiastes, if you’ll turn back there, it’s not simply the fact of that wickedness being judged, but the fact is that a lot of good people get hurt too, just by the sheer problems of life. An example, he who quarries stones, nothing wrong with that, that’s a good thing, but he could be hurt. And he who splits wood, nothing wrong with that. You’ve got to do that to provide wood and fire, firewood. But he may be endangered by the axe head. The point is, even good people doing good things may be hurt by them. God says, how much more? Folly and foolishness will be judged. Now one more thing about folly. We’ve said it damages your reputation and it demands your patience. And it deserves God’s judgment. But one more thing. Interesting little proverb in verse 10. It dulls the axe. What do you mean by that? It dulls the axe. You are the axe. And when that axe comes down, and if it’s dulled, it’s not going to do the job, and it won’t bring success. And it takes a lot more effort, a lot more energy to somehow do it, when if you just would sharpen the edge, it would do the job. And sharpening the axe is getting wisdom in the parable, in the proverb. So folly in your life, a little sin, a little wickedness in the life of a believer, a righteous person who’s dedicated to wisdom, a little folly is like dulling the axe head. of your life, so you’re no longer effective. It takes a lot more effort, a lot more strength, but if you’d only sharpen the edge, it would bring success. Wisdom brings success. What it’s saying is you cannot achieve your objective or accomplish your goals the way you want as a believer without God’s wisdom. Wisdom brings success. Proverbs 12.15 says, “…the way of a fool, that’s a dull axe.” The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. But he who heeds counsel or sharpens the axe is wise. Proverbs 12, 15. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1 and let me show you an application. We’ve seen that wisdom is better, first in a parable about a besieged city, that one man’s influence can be powerful if he’s wise, even though nobody remembers what he has done. He can deliver the city because of wisdom. And that wisdom is much better than strength or weapons of war. And we also saw that wisdom is better by certain proverbs about folly and foolishness. We learned that folly can damage your reputation, and it demands your patience when it’s in the life of the person over you. It deserves God’s judgment. You dig a pit, you’ll fall into it. And it also dulls the axe. If you don’t sharpen your axe, you’re not going to be effective. You’re not going to be successful. And all this is demonstrating that wisdom is much better than folly and foolishness. Application time. 1 Corinthians 1.18, for the message of the cross… is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Verse 25. Verse 25. Because the foolishness or the foolish thing of God, meaning the cross, is wiser than men. And the weakness or the weak thing of God is stronger than men. It’s referring to the cross. Keep reading. Chapter 2, verse 1. I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” He says, But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers… Reminds me of Ecclesiastes 10. None of the rulers of this age knew, for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. I look at this whole passage and I say, wow, heavy stuff on wisdom. You know, God demonstrated wisdom to us when Jesus Christ died on the cross. And it pleased God, the Bible said, really pleases Him, that through the foolishness of someone like me or you, standing up and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He died for our sins, and it’s a hope of the world. God was pleased, and He says, that is really wise. And the world looks at that and says, foolish, weak. You’re telling me somebody could die on a cross and save the whole world? God chose that weak thing in the eyes of people. To confound the wise and to confound the mighty. God chose the foolishness of proclaiming the message of the cross as the means whereby he would draw men to Jesus Christ and they would believe. Wow. And all the rulers of the age who look at that story of the cross and do nothing about it and think it’s stupid and silly and foolish. They’ve already demonstrated their lack of wisdom. Because God says the rulers of this world crucified the Lord of glory. My friends, do not be impressed with the rulers. The politicians, the leaders, the business people in your life, who to you are really at the top, do not be impressed with them. For rulers in general were a part of those people who crucified the Lord of glory. The point is how easily we can do the same, crucifying the Son of God as it were afresh by our own folly and foolishness. The greatest and most wisest thing anyone can ever do is to believe and proclaim that Jesus Christ died for our sins, paid for them. He’s our resurrected Lord and he’s coming again. And no matter what anyone says, that’s wisdom. God made Jesus Christ the wisdom of God.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s Bible teacher and author David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back to close out today’s broadcast with a word of prayer, so stay with us for that, a very meaningful time before the throne of grace. Right before that, Matt and I want to share with you a great book by David. This is on the subject the Bible calls the most important attribute in the life of a Christian. Matt?
SPEAKER 01 :
Contemporary culture confuses self-centered lust with love. That’s it. Love for a lifetime is deemed by most to be impossible.
SPEAKER 02 :
Impossible, yeah. But Matthew, as you know, the Greek language of the New Testament uses four or five terms for love. And many of us are familiar with the great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.
SPEAKER 01 :
1 Corinthians 13. And that chapter defines and describes the love of God himself, which we desperately need in our lives. And we need to live out through our lives. Well, let’s cut through the confusion and the consternation on the topic of love and enjoy the refreshing of love as God defines it and empowers it.
SPEAKER 02 :
book, Love is the Greatest, your dad shares an in-depth analysis of the whole subject of love and bases a study on the authority of God’s word. And what a powerful and crucial study this is for our day and time. Indeed. I can think of so many people who could use this book, including you and me, right? Right, right. Love is the Greatest by David Hawking. It’s an outstanding study for every relationship of life. An engaged couple, a marriage of many years.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
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Parents, best friends. Yeah. How about anyone who struggles with a difficult relationship? Maybe a cranky co-worker. Not you and me, Matt. We’re not cranky, but other workers.
SPEAKER 01 :
Annoying neighbor.
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An annoying neighbor, rebellious child. I think of so many folks dealing with rebellious children. And you know something? The help and encouragement and inspiration inside this book, Love is the Greatest by David Hawking. This is going to be so encouraging and helpful to them. It’s a study in 1 Corinthians 13, and it’s just $15. And get a copy for yourself. Or someone in your circle who needs it. Absolutely. And consider adding a donation with your order or becoming a regular monthly contributor. Many folks simply send a contribution to help the Ministry of Hope for Today, and they do that as long as God directs and supplies. And please pray for hope for today. Yeah, start with that prayer. Get your copy of the book, Love is the Greatest, by David Hawking. Call 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. You can also get the book online at davidhawking.org. Now, we want to remind you that you can listen to Hope for Today, of course, on this great station. Or if you miss a program, catch it on our website anytime in the radio section of davidhawking.org. If you miss a broadcast, if you want to review a message, or maybe share it with somebody else, the most recent radio programs are posted there for a limited time. And if you’d like to watch full message series on video, you can find those in the Media Center on our website. Complete video series teaching by David and watch it at your own pace, whether for personal devotion, family discussion, or maybe small group use. We want to invite you to take advantage of these resources at DavidHawking.org. And by the way, if God might be prompting you to give a special one-time or a regular monthly gift to help sustain this ministry, we want to say this very clearly, that your support matters. It’s not about buildings or hype. It’s about the uncompromised teaching of God’s Word going out day after day to people who are hungry for truth. Every program, every message, every resource we make available depends on friends like you who believe the Bible must be taught straight and without apology. When you give, you’re partnering with us in the work of Hope for Today. In the United States, write to us if you want to make a donation by mail. Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California. 927-81. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S, 8P1. You can also call us and make a donation that way. Maybe share a prayer request if you’d like. 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 242-53, or give securely on our website, davidhawking.org. And thank you for standing with us for the glory of God and the faithful proclamation of His Word. Let’s get back to David.
SPEAKER 03 :
Father, I know that some of us really need the wisdom of God in terms of knowing Jesus Christ as our Savior, our Lord, our coming King. The world offers us so much constantly, alluring us, tempting us, making us think that its principles are the way to live. Thank you, Lord, for getting our attention at times by causing trouble, causing us to be in difficult places and times to where we have only one way to look, and that’s up to you. To know you, Father, you tell us is wisdom. And to know you, we must come through your Son, Jesus Christ, who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me. I pray, God, you’d help us to believe in Jesus Christ, to trust him for what he’s already done. And God, help us who know that truth for ourselves. Help us, Father, to see that it’s also a wise thing to share the gospel of Christ with others. Help us to understand that the acts of our life is often dulled by a little folly. How we need to sharpen it with the wisdom of God. for that truly brings success. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you, David. Well, tomorrow on the program, Solomon exposes the fool, how he talks, how he leads, how he damages everything he touches. There’s no soft pedal, no spin, just truth here from Ecclesiastes 10, verses 11 through 20. We’ll see you then right here on Hope for Today. Hope for Today
