Be Thou My Wisdom

In chapter 8 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon discusses the importance of wisdom and the need to obey the king. He emphasizes that wisdom is a gift from God and that believers should seek it for the glory of God. Solomon also addresses the injustice and unfairness in the world, reminding believers that God is ultimately in control and will judge accordingly. He concludes by highlighting the meaninglessness of certain situations on earth and encourages believers to trust in God's justice. In chapter 8 of the book of Ecclesiastes, getting towards the end, we're working our way there. Chapter 8 today, there's 17 verses in chapter 8, we're going to cover this entire chapter in this one study today. So Ecclesiastes, chapter 8, verses 1 through 17 is our text for this morning. And this is God's Word. Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Time brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since the king's word is supreme, who can say to him, what are you doing? Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him. Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the day of his death, as no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. All this I saw as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. Then too, I saw the wicked buried, those who used to come and go from the holy place, and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless. When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men who are reverent before God. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth. Righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve, this too, I say, is meaningless. So I command the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days that God has given him under the sun. When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth, his eyes not seeing sleep day or night, then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. As we consider chapter 8 today, we'll break it down in several parts. First we're just going to look at verse 1, where we see the wisdom of God applied, and then we'll look at verses 2 through 9, and we're going to read something of Solomon's wisdom concerning deference to the king. Verses 10 through 13, it's reverence before God. Verses 14 and 15, we're accepting what God provides. Then verses 16 and 17, at the end of the chapter, it'll be the wisdom of God misapprehended, and we'll explain what we mean by that. And then at the end, we'll talk about Jesus in Ecclesiastes. As believers in Jesus, as followers of Christ, we seek the wisdom of God as we further pursue the Lordship of Christ over our lives. Yes, Christ is Savior. He has purchased us by His blood shed on the cross, thereby redeeming us and reconciling us to God, and Christ is also Lord. He rules and He reigns over us, over the children of God, and He is the source and the supply of all which we need, and we are a people in need of God's wisdom, and so we seek the wisdom of God through Christ. But Solomon asked the question, who is like the wise man? Solomon begins chapter 8 of Ecclesiastes by posing again the question in front of us all. Are there any wise among us? Any women who possess wisdom? Any men who would be recognized as wise? Who is like the wise man? And the question has been posed previously in a number of ways. Recall the words of the psalmist. This is Psalm 94, verse 8. It says, take heed, you senseless ones among the people. You fools, when will you become wise? Here the psalmist calls out men for their lack of wisdom, and their lack of the pursuit of wisdom. We also remember Solomon's words appearing in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 1, verses 20 through 22, and Solomon writes, wisdom calls aloud in the street. She raises her voice in the public squares. At the head of the noisy streets, she cries out. In the gateways of the city, she makes her speech. How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? So wisdom is present, and wisdom is available, and so we might say that wisdom is yet something that is rejected by the world. Here in Proverbs, wisdom itself seems to make just such a claim. So Proverbs chapter 26, verse 12, Solomon writes, do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Solomon seems to be convicting and even taunting the worldliness and the sinfulness that passes for wisdom. Another wisdom verse from Scripture. Solomon wrote this one, too, Proverbs chapter 1, verse 7. Solomon wrote, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Now that's interesting, wisdom and discipline. Let's think about this for a moment. In the beginning of Proverbs, Solomon here makes the connection between knowledge, wisdom, and discipline. Knowledge, wisdom, and discipline. Knowledge we could define it as what bit of information do we know? Wisdom we could define as how do we apply what we know? And then discipline, when and where do we apply what we know? Now admittedly, I've never thought of wisdom as a form of discipline. Of course, maybe that's my problem. An important part of having wisdom clearly is knowing when and where to apply it. Wisdom isn't just a quantity of stuff that's kind of bouncing around in your head. It's that, but it's also a knowledge and an understanding and a comprehension of when and where to apply it. But of course, our sinful, rebellious nature wants to push back on any form of discipline. And so the world is all too eager to push back concerning wisdom. The world doesn't like wisdom because wisdom is a discipline. The problem with pushing back on wisdom is that wisdom, true wisdom, real wisdom, is a gift from God. Nine hundred years after Solomon, and the Apostle James offers these words, beginning of his letter, James chapter 1, verse 5. James writes, If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. So wisdom is not like some airborne disease that's floating about. We don't acquire wisdom through the process of osmosis. And wisdom is not some property or quality that is inherent in man that resides quietly. That's just kind of waiting to be achieved. No, wisdom is a gift from God. So therefore, godly wisdom is alien to each of us. And it's given to us. It's given to us. It's a gift from God to man. Wisdom is a gift given by God. So godly wisdom is a gift given by God. And I found that a professor and then a colleague, and then one who is a colleague of mine, here then poses the question of whether we are a people who would ask for and pray for godly wisdom. Dr. Michael Milton holds that Solomon asked for wisdom, and it is this prayer that unlocked the riches of the world. And here Dr. Milton points us to 1 Kings chapter 3, starting with verse 8. Listen to what that's written in 1 Kings. It says, Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number, Solomon says. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong, for who is able to govern this great people of yours? The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said of him, Since you have asked for this, and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies, but for discernment and administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be, for I will give you what you have not asked for, both riches and honor. Solomon asked for wisdom, and God gave him wisdom. From here, Dr. Milton offers four points to note in the acquiring of godly wisdom. First, recognize that true wisdom is something we need. We can't get along without it. True wisdom is something we need. Second, we're to repent of our claim on wisdom that we think we've acquired, that we think we possess. We don't already think we have it, we just got it because of the divine right of kings or whatever. No, we've got to repent of the things that we think are wisdom so that we would glean the true wisdom of God. Third, receive the gift of godly wisdom, for it is an anointing that God grants, and He grants it to each and every believer. And then four, apply wisdom for the good of others and for the glory of God. Let's consider this final point, this fourth point. We must apply wisdom for the good of others. I think everyone would nod their heads approvingly here, but we also apply wisdom, as we apply wisdom for the good of others, we must also do so for the glory of God. So not just one hour a week, but the other 167 hours as well, as believers in Jesus, as followers of Christ, in all circumstances and all situations, we must seek to apply godly wisdom, and we must do so for the glory of God. So when we meet people here at church, or at the coffee shop, or on the golf course, or at Martin's, or at work, or on a walk through the neighborhood, or as we engage in any civic or community organization in which we might participate, in each of these circumstances, we are called to apply godly wisdom, and we're called to do so for the glory of God. Wisdom for the glory of God. This is the wisdom of God applied. You're a little glory bearer, if you will, when you're just out and about and doing business in life. This is your job. This is your calling. This is who we are. You're a little glory bearer and glory distributor when you go out in the public. Wisdom for the glory of God is the wisdom of God applied. And we do this as individuals, and we also do it as a church. So as we are coming to the conclusion, it looks like anyway, of this recent interaction with the city concerning their purchase of our adjacent property, we pray that we have applied godly wisdom, and we pray that we will continue to do so, and that we would do so for the glory of God. Now, I believe that we have done so, and I pray that we will continue to do so, and I think it's our general consensus that we have done so. Our church has been visible before the city and before all of the residents over these past five, six months when this thing has rolled out. When people consider our conduct throughout this time, will they observe that we have acted with godly wisdom? Will they observe that we have acted with godly wisdom? And will they note that our church has acted in a manner which glorifies God? Now, admittedly, this is not easy to do in each and every circumstance, but as we've noted, wisdom is a discipline. God is calling us to attend to it. And Solomon here further sheds light on the matter. Notice the second phrase in verse one. He says, who knows the explanation of things? And here we might recall some Bible stories, Bible stories of godly individuals who by wisdom granted by God knew the explanation of some things. Remember some of these stories. We think of Joseph, who was able to interpret the dreams that kept Pharaoh awake at night. Or we think of Moses, who approached a later Pharaoh to explain the call of God in the midst of the plagues against Egypt. We also think of Daniel, who could interpret the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and then later could read the writing on the wall and interpret it for Belshazzar. Admittedly, Joseph and Moses and Daniel were not perfect. They did not possess complete wisdom concerning all things, but it is clear that God did grant them wisdom sufficient for particular circumstances. These men exercised godly wisdom. They did so at just the right time. They did so in the appointed moment. And are we not thankful for the Word of God and for these examples of the wisdom of God applied? It's found in one of our favorite old hymns that we sing as we petition God to be thou my wisdom and thou my true word. It is in like manner that Solomon is writing near the end of his life and he's on a search for wisdom. And so he asks, who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? So when we pause to pray each day, may each of us be in prayer for wisdom, for godly wisdom, to receive the wisdom that comes from the only true source of wisdom. Would we be a people ready to pray, O Lord, be thou my wisdom? So now we come to verses 2 through 9. And here Solomon speaks of a subject of which he, of course, is all too familiar. He's going to use this to talk about the application of wisdom. He grew up, of course, hanging around the palace watching his father David, observing David's conduct as king over Israel, and also noticing the conduct of others as they approached the throne for all sorts of various reasons. We can imagine a little Solomon hanging around the temple and hanging around the throne and watching his dad in action. The subject matter here concerns the people and their deference to the king. Now, of course, some of this gets lost on us now. Our nation has thrown off the trappings of royalty, legally and constitutionally, although certainly we have certain political dynasty families who seem to think that they should be treated like royalty. So we work our way through such a text, and we do realize that we can glean truth here. There is truth for us in this day and in our nation. Let's go with Solomon for a moment. Solomon argues for deference to the king, and he does so, notice, in the text. Not because the king is necessarily a great guy, not because he's a worthy ruler, but notice this in verse 2. Why do we give deference to the king? Because you took an oath before God. It had nothing to do with the king who was on the throne. This is because we took an oath before God. The faithful in Israel were to conduct themselves in response to the king in a manner that glorifies God, and they're to do so because they promised God that they would do so. Even if you don't like the king, even if you think his policies and proclamations are ridiculous and wrong, even if you didn't vote for the guy, and even if your annoying neighbor has the clown's campaign signs all over his yard, the believer must maintain his first priority that he will glorify God in all things, and even if no one else is bothering to do so, the child of God must seek to glorify God in all things. Verses 5-7. Here we see that Solomon then offers a secondary argument, and it really is one that leans on the first one. Notice the text. Solomon writes, whoever obeys the command of the king will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure, for there is a proper time and procedure for every matter. Though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him, and since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? Notice the first half of verse 6, for there is a proper time and procedure for every matter. Now we've heard this language before in Ecclesiastes, have we not? Earlier in Solomon's words, chapter 3, there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. And we all know this statement given through Solomon, and here Solomon makes reference to this truth again. So the believer shows deference to the king, because the believer is to glorify God in all things. And the believer shows deference to the king because all matters in the history of man are ultimately determined not by the king, but by God. In our time, this doesn't mean that we should not vote or otherwise be involved in the civil body politic. We have the God-given right to do so, and we would argue that we have the God-given responsibility to do so. What it does mean is that, like everything else, God governs over all things, including the affairs of man. No man has the power of the wind to contain it. No man has the power of the day of his death. God governs these things. And in the end, there is no king or president or prime minister or Grand Poobah that has the power to change any of it, because God's in charge of it all. Grand Poobah is a Flintstones reference, just to be aware there. So we come to verse 10, and Solomon volunteers another of those scenarios, which is certainly difficult for us to understand. Here it is. Why does God allow such injustice and unfairness? Notice verse 10. Then, too, I saw the wicked buried, those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. Solomon points out the ugly scene that is repeated too often. The ungodly person who, despite their outward and unrepentant sin, shows up at church on Sunday to the delight of all. All week long, I couldn't help but think of the scene in The Godfather, right, towards the end of the first Godfather movie, when Michael Corleone is standing up at his nephew's baptism as the Godfather of the child. Now I hope – this is a 50-year-old plus movie. I hope I'm not spoiling this for anybody, but here it goes. So Michael Corleone is standing up at his nephew's baptism, and he's going to be the Godfather of the child, and the priests ask Michael, do you renounce Satan in all his ways? And Michael responds with, I do renounce him. Of course, while at the same time, the exact same time, the Corleone hitmen have been distributed by Michael Corleone throughout the city to rub out the leaders of the other crime families. As Solomon tells it, even when this person dies, the public praises this ungodly person, and to this Solomon calmly reminds us, this too is meaningless. But Solomon here also points out the futility of such conduct. Notice verses 11 through 13. Solomon writes, when the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Boy, if that isn't logical for today. Relevant for today. A wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, look down to verse 13, yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. For this, what wisdom does Solomon give? It is this, even when the king doesn't know what he is doing, and no one can or will refute him, and even when the wicked and the ungodly are lauded in the city and in the church, know this truth. Solomon says, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men who are reverent before God. Folks, we know this. God is not fooled by the loud public demonstrations of piety given by the ungodly. Recall the words of the Apostle Paul given to the Galatian church, chapter 6, verses 7 and 8. Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The child of God must seek to glorify God in all things. The child of God must be reverent before God in all circumstances. We come to verses 14 and 15. Again Solomon offers us a challenge, he calls us to ponder the difficult events. Look at verses 14, it's classic, classic Solomon, there's something else meaningless that occurs on earth. Righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. And Solomon of course repeats his often repeated line, this too I say is meaningless. Now does Solomon offer a solution for the vexing problem that is before the believer? And yes he does. Notice verse 15, what does he say to us? How should we care or concern ourselves? So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad, then joy will accompany him in his work under the sun. Okay, but how can we do that? How can the believer find such enjoyment in life when there is so much wrong? How do you watch the news when you want to throw things at the television? How do we get through this? How can we find such enjoyment in life when there is so much evil going on? Because we lean again on the same truth to which Solomon has returned. There's a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven, there's a proper time and procedure for every matter, so here are the believers who enjoy life, all the days of life that God has given them. The child of God must seek to glorify God in all things, the child of God must be reverent before God in all circumstances, and in all circumstances accepting what God provides. Now as we discussed last Sunday, we pointed out that Ecclesiastes is a book not so much about the wisdom of God, but instead it's a book about the pursuit of human wisdom, a wisdom that always fails, and a wisdom that pales in comparison to divine wisdom, the wisdom that is from God. So it seems that the goal of Ecclesiastes, when Solomon started writing this project, he probably started out to write about the wisdom of God applied, but it soon proved instead to be the wisdom of God misapprehended. The wisdom of God misapprehended. Solomon here is affirming that wisdom that is under the sun, wisdom that seeks to abide outside of or out from under the sovereignty of God, cannot possibly comprehend the truth, the truth about God, His plan, His work, His direction. We began this chapter with, who is like the wise man, who knows the explanation of things, and now we end the chapter, verse 17, with similar statements, notice what it says, no one can comprehend what goes on under the sun, despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning, even if a wise man claims he knows, he can't really comprehend it. Solomon looked for the wisdom, and he thought that this world could possess it, and could put it to use, but what he found was that this world could not handle true wisdom. It couldn't comprehend it, it couldn't deal with it, it couldn't counter it, it couldn't match it, it couldn't refute it, and it can't hold it in any way whatsoever. The world can see what God has done, the handiwork of God is apparent at all, and so Solomon is still stuck in a rut. He knows there has to be more, but he just can't see it, he just can't figure it out. Ecclesiastes is a frustrating book, Ecclesiastes is written like a serial, where the good guy is in a predicament, and you know the house is going to blow up, or the train falls off the tracks, or whatever, and then right at the scene it says, come back next week for the next thrilling episode, and you're like, wait a second, no that happened, and Solomon writes that way, doesn't he? What do we do with Solomon and with Ecclesiastes? Well as we conclude today, as we consider Jesus in Ecclesiastes, let's go back to a verse that we mentioned briefly, but we really didn't consider it, we kind of just kind of blew over it quickly, so let's go back, so consider it now, back up to verse 1, and let's take note of the last phrase, this is really an interesting phrase in this text, the last phrase in verse 1, it says this, it says, wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance, now that's an interesting verse, and I'll be honest with you, this is one I really had not considered in detail until this week. If you read the King James Version, you'll find that it says, a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. That's pretty good. Here the King James renders hard appearance from the NIV as boldness, and while boldness is also accurate, it's not quite what Solomon is stating. The word in the original language that the NIV has as hard appearance or the King James has as boldness, the word is really more accurately rendered as strength. So here we would do well to read this last phrase as wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its strength, or wisdom brightens a man's face and gives it strength. Now I think it's fair to say that we generally regard wisdom to be something that resides internally, right, it resides somewhere in the heart and the mind of man, and further we would say that someone possesses wisdom when we hear them speak, when we hear someone speak and we hear what they say and we determine whether that is wisdom. A person says something that we perceive as wise understanding and wise analysis and therefore wise counsel. And the Bible does this too. In Psalm 37, David declares that the mouth of the righteous utters wisdom. Or in 1 Kings chapter 10, the Queen of Sheba stood before Solomon and she said, how happy are those who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. But here Solomon extends the evidence of godly wisdom so as not to be apparent through only one's words, but even through one's appearance. Something about the child of God possessing and declaring the wisdom of God in a manner which is also reflective in that person's countenance. There's a word we don't hear anymore, countenance, demeanor, composure, expression, visage, strength. These people, wisdom it seems is written on their faces. Solomon has it here that a believer's face would exude a measure of confidence and strength. Not arrogance, not cockiness, not haughtiness, and not a smug self-assurance, but confidence. Now you've seen this before. We each can look back over our lives and we would all certainly point to someone who possessed such a countenance. Maybe a grandparent or a parent, an older sibling, a high school teacher, a sports team coach, a scoutmaster, a boss or a supervisor, or maybe the old lady across the street, or maybe Wilson. Wilson was the next-door neighbor on Home Improvement who espoused such wisdom while just peeking over the fence. You remember Wilson. I saw a lot of TV and movie references today. I think of men I've known over the years who were at various times in my life my pastor, and I look to all of those guys as guys with wisdom. Now when I think of the individuals during my lifetime who fit in this category, I admit that I didn't always listen to them. I should have paid more attention to the wisdom they shared. And you know who those folks are talking about. These are the folks that all they have to do is show up, and you know wisdom is there, godly wisdom, true wisdom. Before they even utter a word, godly wisdom is there. You look at the person in the face, and you know they've got the wisdom, and they've got it all over, and you've got to tell them the truth because they can read you like a book. Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. Now my dear friends, hear this. If you belong to Christ, then this is who you are. Believers in Jesus, followers of Christ, you are among those who are to display a countenance that is reflective of the habitation of the wisdom of God. You are among those who are to display a countenance that is reflective of the habitation of the wisdom of God. Now I know that here, some of you, out of humility, are going to push back a tad and say, Pastor, you can't be talking about me. Tommy, you don't know where I've been, you don't know what I've done. I can't possibly be that kind of person. And you're correct, I don't know those things about you. I don't know where you've been, I don't know what you've done. But, believer in Jesus, listen to what I do know about you. Here's what I know about you. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come, and all this is from God, who reconciled himself through Christ. So let me explain it to you this way. You are not who you once were. I'm going to say that again. You are not who you once were. You are not who you once were. You are now and forevermore. You shall be a walking billboard for Jesus, because you are a possession of Christ, and you're a child of God, and you're adopted into the family of God. You are not who you once were, you are a new creation in Christ. And wisdom brightens a man's face, and it changes his heart appearance. So yes, this is the command for followers of Christ. Okay, fine, but what about all the times that we've failed to do this? I've got a list of them myself. The times that we've failed to do this now, the times we've failed to do this in the years to come. Yeah, you've failed, and you do so now, and you will fail to do this, and I'm right there with you. Absolutely. Here's the good news. If we are faithless, He will remain faithful. Listen to the words of the writer of Hebrews, as he tells us of the one who remains faithful, as he tells us of the one whose countenance displays the very wisdom of God. Listen to what it says in Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 1. In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. Verse 3, the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. So when we come face-to-face with Jesus, we behold the very face of God. Jesus is God, and He doesn't just possess the wisdom of God. Jesus is the wisdom of God, because Jesus is God. And you and I encounter the very wisdom of God, and we encounter it through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are amazed as we consider, again, the depth and the breadth of this gift You have given to us through Jesus. Father, You not only have saved us, but You've set us on a course of sanctification that would ready us for eternity. And part of that course is to give us Your wisdom, and we continue to seek after the wisdom that is present in Your Word and by Your Spirit. Heavenly Father, would You continue to so move in our lives that we would indeed be a people that would not only bear the wisdom of God within our minds and within our hearts, but it would be even evident on our faces. It would be evident to us as we come into the room that we would be servants of Christ bearing the very wisdom of God in an appearance that You would use to bring light into a dark place, to touch hearts and lives. Thank You, Father, for using us in this way. Thank You for making us new creations, and we thank You that You're not done with us, that You're still working on us, and You're bringing us to glory, completion. We're thankful for this. We praise You and we give You glory. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.