“Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” Ecclesiastes 10:1
The Preacher isn’t saying that a man, in a fit of anger, who yells at the dog, has lost his wisdom and honor. He’s not saying that eating too much dessert outweighs your honor. There’s a deeper issue at hand and we do well to do as the Preacher does – lay it all to heart. He’s saying that folly (and foolishness) is the choosing of sin. The fool begins all his reasoning, starts all his endeavors, and evaluates things, under the sun. Indeed, there’s a way that seems right unto a man but its end is death. Psalm 14:1 defines the fool as the one who says in his/her heart, “there is no God.” Folly is in the heart of the atheist and the practical atheist too.
Phillip Ryken says:
“For every folly, there is an equal and opposite self-destruction. The addict seeks the calm of the drink or the thrill of the hit but ends up wasting away. The lusty sinner wants sexual pleasure but by gratifying desire outside the holy bonds of matrimony ends up spiritually unsatisfied. The selfish husband or wife wants to have things his or her own way but in trying to get it ruins the relationship and loses everything. The angry father or mother wants more control, but angry emotions set everyone on edge, which only leads to more chaos, more anger, and ultimately less control. These are some of the pitfalls of folly. Dig the pit, and you will fall in. Break down the wall, and the snake of sin will come back to bite you.”
Folly is a moral deficiency rather than an intellectual one. Folly is iniquity and it shows in our speech and daily priorities because what’s revealed there is our ultimate heart commitment. Folly is a heart-fault and not an educational one.
When King David made the decision to have Bathsheba brought to him there’s little doubt that he failed to consider all that would come from that “little” moment. We note that David had experienced many amazing and exhilarating moments up until that time. He’d been anointed king of Israel. He’d defeated the giant, Goliath, and in the process won inestimable fame throughout Israel. He’d been faithful. He’d been consistent. He had turned into a great and true leader for whom his men, not out of fear or duty, but out of love, would gladly die. Such was his character and leadership.
When he sinned with Bathsheba where did we find him? Alone. In the palace. Not with his troops. The great folly of Bathsheba, it can be said, was born out of idleness. It lays to rest that men sin because they have no choice, or that if the Lord will only bless us enough we would then be happy. We might say that a “little too much leisure” was the folly that was the fly in David’s ointment.
And this is all on the heels of Saul who, like David, had known great victories in the Lord. In 1 Samuel 11 we learn of the incredible victory of Saul over the tyrant Nahash of Ammon who was subjugating the people of Israel to great oppression. How bad was it?
”But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them. [Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.]“
1 Samuel 10:27 NLT
Well, when Nahash moved against the people of Jabesh-gilead and promised to take their right eye too, they sent a messenger to Gibeah. Saul was there and learned of their plight. Guess what he had been doing? He’d been in the field with his oxen. Working. He got back to town and noticed that everyone was weeping. It was a dark day of oppression. When the new king heard of Nahash’s threat he became incensed (1 Samuel 11:6) because, interestingly we’re told, “the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him.” God is angry at the oppression of His people. He hates the injustices perpetrated against the weak and the powerless. Filled with the courage of faith, and the love of his people, Saul led the way.
”He took two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the messengers to carry them throughout Israel with this message: “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who refuses to follow Saul and Samuel into battle!” And the Lord made the people afraid of Saul’s anger, and all of them came out together as one. When Saul mobilized them at Bezek, he found that there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah. So Saul sent the messengers back to Jabesh-gilead to say, “We will rescue you by noontime tomorrow!” There was great joy throughout the town when that message arrived! The men of Jabesh then told their enemies, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you can do to us whatever you wish.” But before dawn the next morning, Saul arrived, having divided his army into three detachments. He launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites and slaughtered them the whole morning. The remnant of their army was so badly scattered that no two of them were left together. Then the people exclaimed to Samuel, “Now where are those men who said, ‘Why should Saul rule over us?’ Bring them here, and we will kill them!” But Saul replied, “No one will be executed today, for today the Lord has rescued Israel!” Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us all go to Gilgal to renew the kingdom.” So they all went to Gilgal, and in a solemn ceremony before the Lord they made Saul king. Then they offered peace offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites were filled with joy.“
1 Samuel 11:7-15 NLT
What a triumph! Isn’t this the type of achievement that many of us think would change our lives? Isn’t it something like, “oh, if I could win the lottery” or “get that job” or “get that title” or “live in that house?” We note again that Saul had been working in the field when the crisis came and that he had been filled with the Spirit of the Lord. But soon – and very soon – this pattern was reversed.
A couple of chapters later, the echoes of victory, still ringing in his spiritual ears, Saul runs into a problem. He finds himself badly outnumbered by the Philistines who have mustered a staggering 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and more warriors than could be counted. Trapped and trying to hide in caves, thickets, holes, and cisterns, many of Saul’s army fled. But unlike the last time when he was humbly working in the field and then was moved powerfully by the Lord, this time he panics. Blessings and success are often the greatest threat to our faithfulness. The time of blessing is the time to use one’s resources (and time) to strengthen the disciplines of faith – especially prayer and worship. Many, like David and Saul, coasted rather than prepare for testing.
Surrounded and with his men scattering all over the place, the Saul took it upon himself to offer up a sacrifice when Samuel, the high priest, is delayed. It seems like a small thing but it was an extreme act of unfaithfulness and presumption. By assuming the priestly duties, Saul blew past a serious spiritual stop-sign previously established by Samuel. He directly disobeyed the Lord and took upon himself the power to determine the order and manner of worship.
This is folly in a nutshell. With both kings – Saul and David – despite enormous triumphs in their rear-view mirror, there was coasting. A little folly is a great problem because man can never be safe from temptation unless he’s hiding in the Lord. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us but we have no strength to stand against sin on our own for we are sinners. Such folly! The kings saw their privileges like we often see our wealth and health. All is well. The refrigerator is full. Our account has money left after the bills. All is well. We think. And a little temptation leads to a little folly that leads to a massive gash in the hull.
In David’s case, of course, the sin of adultery spiraled out of control. He who beheaded Goliath lost his own head when he brought another man’s wife into his bed. Her pregnancy caused him to double down in order to conceal his sin. It led to the murder of Uriah. A “little” folly can indeed lead to all sorts of misery and ruin because sin is destructive. We note, gloriously and happily, that David repented; Saul did not. We note that Peter repented; Judas did not. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1) and who keeps his spiritual priorities in order. It’s a danger for us to drift, for this is how folly will catch us. Much temptation can be averted by the busy Christian. A man with a Godly vocation and hobby hides himself from the Evil One’s most common schemes.
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