Dead Flies and Little Birds (Part 1 of 2)

And guarded them with foolishness can can legally destroy your reputation, your marriage, your family, your job so much more. The damage isn't easily repaired. So how can we more consistently make the right choices today on Truth for Life. Alastair Bragg takes a closer look at the subjects of wisdom and folly going to read from our Bibles and Ecclesiastes and the 10th chapter going to read this chapter and then pray and then study it together in a lie just to keep it open before you as we pray as dead flies give perfume a bad smell so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor the heart of the wise inclines to the right of the heart of the fool to the left, even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is ruler's anger rises against you. Do not leave your post calmness and lay great adders to rest. It is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler foods or food in many high positions while the rich occupy the low ones I've seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on food like slaves who ever digs a pit may fall into it, whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quality stones may be injured by them. Whoever splits logs may be endangered by them. If the ax is dull and its edge on sharpened more strength is needed, but skill will bring success. If a snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips at the beginning. His words are falling at the end they are wicked madness and the fool multiplies words. No one knows what is coming who can tell him what will happen after him fool's work wearies him he does not know the way to town. Woe to you, all land whose king was a servant and his princes feast in the morning. Blessed are you, all land whose king is of noble birth and his princes eat at a proper time for strand and not for drunkenness. If a man is lazing a rafter sag his hands at idle.

The house leaks feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. Do not revile the king even in your thoughts or curse the rich, in your bedroom because a bird of the air may carry your words and a bird on the wing may report what you say amen father as we study the Bible together. It is our earnest longing that you will take my words and speak through them take our minds and help us to think through them and take our hearts and transform them by the power of your truth for Jesus sake. We ask it.

Amen. While the writer of these chapters is about to turn into the home streets and to answer some of the questions that he is left hanging that will become apparent as we get to the 11th and the 12th chapter. Before doing so he takes this 10th chapter and provides us with a series of proverbial statements, much akin to what we find in the book of Proverbs itself throughout this chapter he is urging his readers to resist falling and to embrace wisdom, we could summarize it actually enters one particular statement be sensible! Don't go the way of the full instead go the way of the wise men. Some of us have spoken before about visiting the town of Alban in the west of Scotland, a small seaside town of where people go often to take the ferry across to the island of Malta and if you've been there you probably about an umbrella. If you didn't carry one and along with the rain. One of your memories may have been the Coliseum -like structure which towers over the small town and looks down over the bay in your initial arrival in the place.

You may have said to your traveling companions. We must go up there and see what that is. It looks to be quite a magnificent thing when you went up there, you discover that it really was nothing at all.

It was just a big circular piece of real estate. There were no windows in and there was no flooring in it. No ceiling on it.

Nothing in it at all and you said to yourself this is a rather interesting construction. I wonder who put it here and then you would have read a little of the blurb and you would've discovered it was put there by a man gentleman by the name of Mr. McKay and it was known as McCaig's falling because it was empty.

It was a shell. It served no real function. It was practically useless. And in that respect.

It was similar to structures that are found in other places in Europe, not least of all in friends and you may have seen them there. They are described as for Lee's standing there as a testimony to the foolish endeavors of Mr. McKay know when you come to chapter 10 he provides is if you like. None of the Coliseum like structure, but with the anatomy of foolishness he provides is if you like with the identikit picture of falling. Here we see folly walking the streets scaling the heights propounding its notions and what I want to do is simply track a line through it with you.

Identifying, first of all, in verses 1 to 4 folly as we find it on the street folly as we find it on the street or falling if you like down at ground level, the opening statement.

Here is an illustration that would have been immediately understood by the writers, readers as dead flies give perfume a bad smell so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor and in the process of making perfume, often of a more ointment construction than some of the perfume that would be used today more like ability of oil than the squirts from those tiny little bottles. It would only do one small fly. Although it is a tiny creature. It could spoil the whole fragrance very easily and he said in the same way. It doesn't take much folly to outweigh wisdom and honor. You could have built a reputation in your life for many years.

Over a period of 20 or 30 years.

You can be known for being a wise and honorable citizen and then in a moment of foolishness. You can mark that reputation tiny amount of falling may destroy a family room and a reputation bring heartache into a marriage what he is saying in the opening verse of chapter 10 is simply an illustration of the way in which he is concluded. Chapter 9 wisdom is better than weapons of war. One sinner destroys much good. It takes far less to ruin something than it does to create in common parlance, it is easier to cause a stink and it is to create sweetness in a foolish impulse in a sudden lapse of judgment something beautiful. Maybe Arab heritability spoil as a just a word to our young people here this morning in a foolish impulse or in a sudden lapse of judgment something beautiful, namely your virginity. Maybe air apparently spoil you don't have to remain a virgin for all of your life just for the next five minutes and then for the five minutes after that and particularly for the five minutes when all hell lets loose against you with a big :-) and the leering grin of someone who says everybody does this one lapse in judgment.

One foolish encounter, and you remove from yourself that which is unique and precious to therefore you have to set moral sentries. The same is true regarding any fall into sin. Watch out for the unguarded moment, the damage caused by the hasty word by the irritable tempered by the rudeness of manner by the occasional slip by the supposedly harmless eccentricity. All you know he does that with everybody.

Don't worry. He puts his arm around everyone.

You don't have to worry about in don't be too quick to assume that that's the case, verse two points out that when we add in this way, it is ultimately an issue of the hearts for those of you are left-handed. Don't allow this verse to unsettle you.

Let me read translated for you in a way that I think does justice to the emphasis that it bring the wise man's heart leads him a right.

The fool's heart leads him astray as a point that he's making the folly here is not primarily that of the mental deficiency, but of moral perversity. The full he says inclines to the less valuable the fool inclines to what is wrong. To the extent as he then points out in verse three that this kind of foolishness isn't easily disguised and he provides is at with a comic picture the kind of fooling you find portrayed constantly in Shakespeare's place. Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and he shows everybody how stupid he is. Something about the way a fool walks where full expresses himself.

It is absolute foolishness to see these drunken people come down the street they they are so terrific by the look foolish in Scotland and in traffic jams after imbibing vast amounts of alcohol in football matches in the soccer matches is and is not uncommon for policeman to be chasing gentlemen who have decided that in order to be the crutch that is on the pavement. It will simply walk on the roofs and the moods of cars so they welcome the cars down and try to get out of the parking lot and you can see them coming. They don't have to say I think they're just really foolish. They don't have to open their mouth's against the enemy on going again this morning that I dear sanity about those dreadful masks the people where with the dogs hands on them and wine walk through this region, clean, and what in the world is not about it's hard to convince other people across the country. This is a you know this is a rarefied atmosphere in which we live and is fairly no high-level tone when the people are going around eating dog biscuits and barking and everything that they don't they don't have to do much of the B was a wonderfully bunch of people they are. Who are those people who do that while I don't know who's behind that some of you may be behind those mesh for all I know.

I'm going to know some of you would surprise me a little bit now when you cross references with what is says in the book of Proverbs, you will discover that that when the fool is approaching. You will be able to sense it, because other people are leaving as the full approaches people leave what he says in Proverbs 17.

Why is everybody backing off because they can see him coming the flu. Salem listens to what is being told. He says in and looks all around but he doesn't actually pay attention again in the same time. When he speaks voluminous Lake anticipates that the individual is not everything as to say, and the fool is not the person you should use to deliver your mail. It would be better to jump your feet off and to send an important message with a fool.

So says Solomon. Proverbs 26, six and verse four. The writer warns all of the way foolishness can make us rush out of an opportunity for employment because we take 1/2. I read verse four again and again until I figure out what it really meant.

I think this is what it means if a fools rank anger rises against your ruler's anger rises against you.

Do not leave your post calmness can lay great errors to rest when he's describing here is the foolish pride which quickly takes the half and storms out. Says Kidner, it may feel magnificent to resign your post ostensibly on principle, but actually in a fit of pride. It is in fact less impressive and more immature than it feels. Some of us tragically can see our faces in this verse we decided that because of this or that of the next think our pride being wounded.

We were going to put up with any one of theirs, and although no no one-on-one allow this person is boss sitting up in room 43 to get angry when I was just at the drop of a hat no-no.

We are out where gone.

And so we began to pack a box in the way we ran down the stairs we slammed the board room door and out we went, felt so good for a moment we go to the bottom of the stairs realized that we didn't have a fountain pen that our wife gave us for our Christmas we had a horrible dilemma how to do a back up again and everyone sitting around the room had just stormed out in a huff, however, was like night. The people just Logan insanity. We went and we took our pen. We walked out and as a door cloak we could hear just went foo foo foo foo foo foo fool will interesting thing is, of course, that the anger of the ruler is often driven by the same kind of trying that the foolish person exercises and taken 1/2 so better to have only one person in a huff than two people in the half better.

Just leave your boss enough of, and have a common answer for then get two people in the present tense, practical wisdom, pleasure had something planned for tomorrow morning telling special along these lines, perhaps Ecclesiastes 10 verse four. I will be an antidote to your foolishness through patients, a ruler can be persuaded from verse 2550 and through patients, a ruler can be persuaded. The fact is that patients and Fawley seldom hold hands walking down the street. Patients and Fawley usually don't hold hands as they walk down the street while from Fawley on the street to Fawley in high places. That's what he's referring to in verse five and following, and also verses 16 and 17. Fawley apparently knows no class distinctions. I've seen the sort of ruler sort of error that arises from a certain kind of ruler, where fools are put in high positions. Apparently there have been fools in government consistently throughout history. And when you have the leadership that is described in verse five than the other peoples of six and seven shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Now each of us reads these verses in light of our understanding of contemporary history as well, and what we need to recognize is that what he is saying here is that only when what is natural and sensible and orderly is in place will wisdom frying and when what is unnatural and not sensible and disorderly is in place than it gives the opportunity for Fawley to expand. I recognize that the notion of princes raises the ire of the average American, and therefore it would be difficult for us to difficult for me to convince you of the importance of of the Prince here. Of course I don't have to do so because the main things in the plain things in the plain things in the main things and what he is saying is this, that when you have chaos in the realm of leadership when you're Fawley making decisions and it does not live in high places along but it bleeds down into the very structure of society. Therefore it is imperative that we see as we exercise our democratic privileges to it that we do not put a foolish leadership in place.

George III, one of the kings of Great Britain was known for talking to the trees and Windsor Park and just gives you cause for concern. When you find your king you're supposed to bow down before talking to a gigantic oak tree before he has his morning coffee. Caligula, the Roman Emperor was so out of it that he proposed that his horse be elected, a consul, and he kitted out with a beautiful marble stall and purple blankets and suggested that members of the Roman population, and bow down before his horse.

Verse seven provides an apt summary of revolution made me think immediately of the overthrow of the czar of Russia a particular interest in upholding czarist Russia, but I have observed that mayhem in the chaos that are. That was part of the Russian Revolution and every revolution since where wrong people are placed in or assume for themselves.

Leadership and we need to move on from here, but we should note in passing that when individuals are incapable of making right choices in their private lives when their guilty of dreadful errors in judgment than they are not to be entrusted with the wider responsibilities of government and with the great influence that their position would give them. Surely that's the import of verses 16 and 17. The contrast between them. First of all, he pronounces a wall and then he pronounces a blessing. Woe to you, all land whose king was a servant, and whose princes feast in the morning. First, a ruler without wisdom surrounded by decadence. Lassiter you all land, when your president is of noble birth. When princes eat at the proper time and they do so for strength and not so that they might get smashed and run around like crazy people tremendous sense and is made perfect sense and perfect sense and every generation Fawley on the street. Fawley in high places.

Thirdly Fawley at work verses 8 to 11. In verse 15 Fawley at work. Whoever digs a pit may fall into it over breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. He goes through these various things and if chapter 10 may be summarized under the heading.

Be sensible than this little section may fall under the heading. Be realistic in the pits, which traps its maker. You will find if you read, for example in the Psalms that it is a picture of poetic justice in Psalm seven verse 15 Sam nine verse 15 Sam 35 verse seven. You will find that this whole picture of digging a pit and then falling into yourself is a picture of poetic justice and the grabbing impact of an unnoticed serpent is the image in the Old Testament of a lurking retribution verse 10 provides us with blinding glimpse of the obvious. If the ax is dull in his edges on sharpened. You don't have to beat like crazy on the wound and all you going to do is smashing and crashing and bump it but if you would take the time to sharpen the ax before you begin.

And of course your endeavor will be met with far greater success, but the fool says I don't want to take time to sharpen the acts. I don't want to take time to make preparations, let me just give me nothing and let me get asset so he flails away makes a dreadful mess and any sensible person, particularly his wife can see that if only he would've taken a couple of minutes to have the thing sharpened and all of the wood would've been chalked and we would be ready to leave now, but instead we got wood all over the place. Perspiration running down his back a little more skill and a little more strength and things would be so different. Fawley blisters ahead when it should wait Fawley delays on Julie when it is time to proceed. The work of a fool.

Verse 15 is just an absolute weariness to he doesn't know the way to town. He makes things needlessly difficult for himself.

He can get lost as we say and elevated folly knows no class distinction, we find foolish behavior. The chaos that it creates at street level as well as in high places were listing the Truth for Life Alastair Bragg encouraging us to be sensible and realistic. It is increasingly challenging to be sensible and realistic in a world that has largely discarded God's instructions for marriage or for gender or for human sexuality. In fact, as we seek to uphold our views, we often face harsh backlash.

So what's the best way to respond. We want to recommend a book that will help explain the book is titled being the bad guys how to live for Jesus in a world that says you shouldn't. This is a brand-new book that takes a fresh look at the current messaging that's bombarding us through our phones or TV even in our schools. The author of the book helps us figure out what's happening. How did we get here and what we do now. This is an extremely relevant book.

If you find yourself preoccupied or overly worried about the new norms for lifestyles in our world will be comforted and helped by reading being the bad guys you can request your copy of the book being the bad guys, would you give a donation online at truthforlife.org/donate or call us at 888-588-7884 by the way, if you're traveling this summer. You don't have to miss a single program if you download the Truth for Life mobile app to your phone or your tablet. The app provides you with direct access to Alistair's daily messages and a whole lot more search for Truth for Life in your app store and download the app today for free above Lapine. We hope you have a great weekend and are able to worship with your local church this weekend. Join us Monday for the conclusion of today's message will learn why Christians of all people ought to be able to thoroughly enjoy life. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by truth for like Learning is for Living