Commentary - Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

Bird's-eye view

Here the Preacher, Solomon, gives us a memorable and somewhat melancholy illustration of a truth he has been circling for some time. The world, being what it is under the sun, does not run on the principles of righteous gratitude. It is a place of vanity and striving after wind. In this brief parable, we see wisdom deliver, and we see the world forget. This is a snapshot of the world's economy, which is always an economy of ingratitude. A great king, representing overwhelming worldly power, comes against a small and helpless city. All the usual metrics point to a swift and brutal destruction. But an unexpected variable is introduced: a poor, wise man. His wisdom trumps the king's strength, and the city is saved. But the punchline is a hard one, the savior is forgotten. This leads Solomon to a series of conclusions about the nature of wisdom, its inherent superiority to brute force, and yet its fragility in a world populated by fools and sinners.

This entire account is a profound, albeit veiled, picture of the gospel. Christ, the poor wise man from the insignificant town of Nazareth, delivered His people from the siege of the great king, Satan. He did so not with weapons of war, but with the profound wisdom of the cross. And what was His reward from the city He saved? He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. The world He saved did not remember Him, and in fact, turned on Him. Yet, as Solomon concludes, wisdom is still better. The victory was still won. This is a hard-headed look at the way of the world, but it is not cynical. It is realistic, and it points us to the ultimate reality that true wisdom is vindicated by God, even when it is forgotten by men.

Outline

The Forgotten Savior

The central figure in this parable is the poor wise man. He is the hinge on which the entire story turns. His wisdom is effective, powerful, and salvific. Yet he is anonymous and quickly forgotten. This is a recurring theme in Scripture. Joseph delivered Egypt, and by extension his own family, through his wisdom, but a later Pharaoh arose who "did not know Joseph" (Exod. 1:8). The world has a very short memory for its benefactors, especially when those benefactors remind them of a standard of righteousness they would rather ignore. Mordecai saved king Ahasuerus's life, but his good deed was buried in the chronicles until God providentially brought it to light (Esther 6:1-3).

This pattern finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivered us from a siege far greater than the one described here. He rescued us from sin, death, and the devil. And the response of the world was to crucify Him. The response of many within the church is often to forget Him, to neglect His word, and to live as though He had not bought them at a great price. The world values pomp, circumstance, and visible power. The poor man's wisdom is quiet, unassuming, and therefore easily despised. But God's economy is different. In His kingdom, the first are last, and the last are first. The wisdom that the world despises is the very wisdom of God, powerful for salvation.

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 13 Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me.

Solomon begins by flagging what he is about to say as a matter of great personal significance. This is not a minor observation; it is a weighty piece of wisdom that struck him profoundly. The phrase "under the sun" reminds us that we are observing the world in its fallen state, the ordinary course of human affairs apart from overt, miraculous intervention. This is how things generally go. And what he saw, he labels as "wisdom." He is about to illustrate what true wisdom looks like in action, and also how it is received. It was "great to me," he says, indicating that this is a lesson we ought to pay close attention to.

v. 14 There was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and built large siegeworks against it.

Here the scene is set. The odds are impossibly long. On one side, a "small city with few men." It is insignificant, lacking in resources, and undermanned. On the other side, a "great king." This king represents the overwhelming power of the world. He has the men, the resources, the technology ("large siegeworks"), and the will to crush this little city. The city is surrounded, cut off, with no apparent hope of escape. This is a picture of the people of God in any given generation, seemingly helpless before the great powers of the world that are arrayed against them.

v. 15 But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he provided a way of escape for the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

Here is the dramatic turn. The deliverance comes not from a mighty warrior or a wealthy benefactor, but from a "poor wise man." His poverty is significant. He has no worldly clout, no resources to buy their salvation. All he has is wisdom. And that wisdom is sufficient. He "provided a way of escape." The Hebrew is literally that he "delivered" the city. His wisdom was more effective than all the king's horses and all the king's men. This is a direct challenge to the world's valuation of things. Wisdom, not strength or wealth, is the decisive factor.

But the second half of the verse is the tragic, earthly conclusion. "Yet no one remembered that poor man." Once the crisis was averted, the savior was forgotten. His poverty, which was no hindrance to his wisdom, likely made him easy to dismiss once the threat was gone. Men are happy to use wisdom in a pinch, but they do not honor it. This is the ingratitude of man on full display. They got the benefit of his wisdom, but they withheld the honor that was his due. This is a profound foreshadowing of Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). He delivered us, and the world forgot him.

v. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heard.

Solomon now draws his first conclusion from the parable. The first statement is an axiom: "Wisdom is better than strength." The story has just proven this beyond all dispute. The great king's strength was nullified by one man's wisdom. This is a consistent theme in the wisdom literature (Prov. 21:22; Eccl. 7:19). But the second statement is the "under the sun" reality. Though wisdom is objectively better, it is subjectively devalued. "The wisdom of the poor man is despised." Why? Because he is poor. The world judges by outward appearance. His words "are not heard." Not because they are untrue or unwise, but because the vessel is uncomely in the world's eyes. People listen to the man with the big army or the fat bank account, not the man who has nothing but wisdom.

v. 17 The words of the wise heard in restfulness are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools.

This verse contrasts the style of wisdom with the style of folly. Wisdom speaks quietly. Its words are "heard in restfulness." There is no need for bluster or volume. Truth has its own authority. On the other hand, the "ruler among fools" must shout. His authority is illegitimate, based on coercion and noise, not on substance. He rules "among fools," which is the only place such a ruler can find a following. The quiet counsel of a wise man, if heeded, is far more potent than the loud decrees of a foolish king. The problem, as the previous verse showed, is getting people to listen to the quiet voice when the fool is shouting.

v. 18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

The Preacher concludes with a final summary. He repeats the principle: "Wisdom is better than weapons of war." It is more effective, more powerful. The poor man's plan was better than the great king's siege engines. But then comes the final, sobering qualification: "but one sinner destroys much good." Here is the terrible asymmetry of our fallen world. It takes much wisdom, patience, and effort to build something good. A city can be saved by one wise man. But it can be destroyed by "one sinner." Think of Achan at Ai (Joshua 7). One man's sin brought defeat upon the entire nation. One fool with a match can burn down a forest that took centuries to grow. This is not a counsel of despair, but of realism. It reminds us of the constant vigilance required to preserve the good, and the catastrophic power of even a single sin. It drives us to the only one who could not be destroyed by sin, because He had none. Christ's perfect wisdom and righteousness are the only ultimate security against the destructive power of folly and sin.

Application

First, we must learn to value wisdom rightly. Our culture, and often our churches, are impressed by the wrong things. We are impressed by numbers, budgets, buildings, and worldly influence. We are impressed by the great king with his large siegeworks. God is not. This passage calls us to recalibrate our values. We are to seek wisdom, honor wisdom, and listen to the wise, even if they are poor and uncredentialed by the world. We must not despise the poor wise man, because often it is through such vessels that God delivers His people.

Second, we should not be surprised or discouraged when the world despises true wisdom. If they forgot the man who saved their city, they will certainly forget us. If they despised the words of the Lord of glory, they will despise ours when we speak in His name. We are not to seek the honor that comes from men, but the honor that comes from God. As Ronald Reagan reportedly had on a plaque on his desk, "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." The poor wise man got no credit, but the city was delivered. Our task is faithfulness, not the pursuit of fame.

Finally, this passage shows us the gospel in miniature. We were the small city, besieged and helpless. Satan was the great king, bent on our destruction. And Jesus is the poor wise man, who by His wisdom on the cross, delivered us. He became poor, He was despised, and He was largely forgotten by the world He saved. Our response should be the opposite of the city's. We must remember. We must be grateful. Our entire lives should be a memorial of thanksgiving to the one who delivered us. We remember Him at His table, we remember Him in our songs, and we remember Him by obeying His commands. For His wisdom is truly better than strength, and His salvation is an eternal good that no sinner can ever destroy.