Daily Devotions
Ecclesiastes
"A wise man's heart is at his right hand"
Text: Ecclesiastes 10:2
THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH CONTRASTED
Solomon continues with his observations about folly. In this text, the wiseman and the fool are contrasted. A proverbial saying emerges.
“A wise man’s heart is at his right hand,
But a fool’s heart at his left.”
Ecclesiastes 10:2
1. Left-handed and right-handed
a) About 90% of people are right-handed.
b) Leaving 10% left-handed.
2. The proverbial use of “the right hand”
a) It is associated with “righteousness”.
“I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
b) It is also associated with “honour”.
“The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand.'” (Psalm 110:1)
c) It is associated with God’s power to “uphold”.
“Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:8)
d) It is further associated with His strength.
“The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength.”
(Isaiah 62:8)
3. The proverbial use of “the left hand”
a) It stands for that which is the opposite of “the right hand”.
b) It is symbolic of that which is “lesser in significance”.
“Then Israel stretched out his right hand
and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger,
and his left hand on Manasseh’s head,
guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.”
Genesis 48:14
i) Israel’s right hand (Jacob) was on Ephraim (the younger son).
ii) His left hand was on Manasseh (the firstborn).
iii) The right hand was used symbolically to give the greater blessing.
4. “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand”
a) Wisdom must be both:
i) In the mind.
ii) And in the heart.
b) The person who is truly wise:
i) Given that he is right-handed, his wisdom would guide him aright.
ii) It would lead to blessing.
iii) It would yield strength.
5. “But a fool’s heart at his left”
a) For the fool, the reverse applies.
b) The right-handed person has a weaker left hand.
c) The foolish person would try and use his left hand as he would the right,
thinking that it would yield the same results.
d) The path of the foolish would lead to the opposite end.