Daily Devotions
Ecclesiastes
"For what more has the wise man than the fool?"
Text: Ecclesiastes 6:8
THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH
It was common to make comparisons to arrive at an understanding. Solomon compared the wise man to a fool.
“For what more has the wise man than the fool?
What does the poor man have,
Who knows how to walk before the living?”
Ecclesiastes 6:8
1. “For what more has the wise man than the fool?”
a) The wise man appears to be much better off than the fool.
b) “The wise man”
i) He has obtained knowledge.
ii) He has attained wisdom.
iii) His knowledge would stand him in good stead.
c) “The fool”
i) He has disdained knowledge.
ii) He survives in life.
iii) He may be in trouble if he faces a crisis.
2. But what more does the wise man really have that he is much better of?
a) In the back of Solomon’s mind was the spectre of death.
b) Would the wise man really be better off if he stared at death in the face?
c) Solomon expressed a veiled doubt here.
d) He did not come up with a full statement on this subject at this point of time.
THE POOR MAN
Solomon then looks at “the poor man”. He has already described the rich man earlier. He had a clear advantage over the poor man because of his wealth. What about the poor man who never became as wealthy?