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Wisdom Still to be Sought
v. 11. I returned and saw under the sun, throughout the world, in all circumstances and conditions of men, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, that is, by their own absolute determination and effort, neither yet bread to the wise, whose wisdom might be expected to provide food for himself in large amounts, nor yet riches to men of understanding, who would presumably know how to acquire them, nor yet favor to men of skill, although one might expect that a man of ability should be hailed with acclaim; but time and chance happeneth to them all, all the success of human endeavor depends upon circumstances and powers beyond their control, which, in turn, are in the hands of God.
v. 12. For man also knoweth not his time, he knows neither when death will overtake him nor the hour when some special work is expected of him; as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, their fate suddenly overtaking them, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, altogether unawares; so are the sons of men, all weak and sinful mortals, snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them, the unexpected suddenness of the capture being the point of comparison.
v. 13. This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
v. 14. There was a little city, and few men within it, to serve as its defenders against an enemy; and there came a great king against it, quite naturally in command of a large force, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it, in order to prepare for the storming of the city;
v. 15. now, there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city, several instances of this kind being recorded in history; yet no man, in the extremity of the siege, remembered that same poor man, whose cleverness might well have found a way of saving the city, if he had been given a chance.
v. 16. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength, that fact being universally conceded; nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard, his counsel is ignored.
v. 17. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools, the superiority of wisdom being established in spite of the fact that it is often neglected, for those who give heed to its advice will surely receive benefit, while even a king who listens to folly does so to his own hurt.
v. 18. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, it is more desirable than the greatest physical and martial strength; but one sinner, placing himself in opposition to the counsels of wisdom, Cf Jos_7:1-12, destroyeth much good, his folly quickly undoing the measures proposed by wisdom. It should be noted in this entire chapter that Solomon does not teach hopeless pessimism and fatalism, but a tender and mournful realism, relieved by his admonition to make use of the proper cheerfulness in enjoying the blessings of the Lord in this life.