Ecclesiastes 10:16 - Meaning and Application

Solomon here shows how much a nation’s happiness depends on the character of its rulers. A people are in a better or worse condition according as their princes are good or bad. When rulers are childish and pleasure-loving, the whole land suffers.

He says, “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child” (Ecclesiastes 10:16). He does not mean a child in years, for Solomon himself was young when his kingdom was blessed under him. He means a ruler who is childish in understanding, weak, foolish, changeable, irritable, easy to mislead, and slow to do business. A body stumbles when the head is dizzy. Solomon may have spoken with a glimpse of his son Rehoboam’s bad rule in mind (2 Chronicles 13:7). Rehoboam acted like a child all his life, and his family and kingdom suffered for it.

It is scarcely better when rulers “eat in the morning,” meaning they make a god of their appetites and live for food and drink. If the king is childish, the nation may still do somewhat better if the princes and advisers are wise, faithful, and serious about their work. But when leaders give themselves to pleasure and put bodily enjoyment before public duty, they become unfit for service. Judges who love luxury and eat to indulge themselves, rather than to strengthen themselves for duty, can do little good for a nation.

On the other hand, a people are blessed when their rulers are generous, active, temperate, and diligent in business. The land is blessed when the sovereign is ruled by honor, when the king is “the son of nobles” (Ecclesiastes 10:17), meaning a man of noble spirit. Such a ruler scorns what is base or shameful, seeks the public good, and puts it before private advantage. True nobility comes from wisdom, virtue, fear of God, kindness, and a ready will to do good.

The land is also blessed when the magistrates care more about doing their duty than pleasing their appetites. They should eat at the proper time (Psalm 145:15). We should not take our food at the wrong time, lest we lose the comfort of God’s provision. Magistrates should eat to gain strength, so their bodies can serve their souls in the work of God and the service of their country. They should not eat for drunkenness, making themselves unable to do anything for God or man. In particular, they must be fit to judge, for wine can make them err (Isaiah 28:7), and drinking can cause them to forget the law (Proverbs 31:5). It is a blessing when those who have the most power over resources also know how to deny themselves.

He next shows how harmful laziness is in both private and public affairs (Ecclesiastes 10:18). Through much sloth and neglect, the roof leaks, the house falls into decay, and what was once sound becomes unfit to live in. If people will not work hard at their callings, tend their shops, and manage their own affairs, they will soon fall into debt and backwardness. Instead of leaving more for their children, they will leave less.

The same is true in public life. If the king is a child and takes no care, and if the princes eat in the morning and refuse hard work, the nation loses. Its honor is damaged, its strength is weakened, its borders are pressed in, justice is hindered, the treasury is drained, and the whole order of the state breaks down. All this comes from the sloth of self-seeking rulers, who should instead be the “repairers of the breach” and the ones who “restore paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

He then notes how eager people are, both princes and common people, to get money, because money serves so many needs (Ecclesiastes 10:19). He seems to put money before merriment. A feast is made for laughter, meaning for enjoyment and friendly company, not for the foolish laughter that is madness, but for the sober joy that wise people may enjoy together. In a higher sense, spiritual feasts are for spiritual joy, the holy gladness found in God.

Wine makes life cheerful, but money answers many things. Money rules many matters, because it can buy food, clothing, a house, and provision for children. A feast cannot be made without money, and people are not truly ready for joy unless they have the means to support life. Money, by itself, cannot feed or clothe anyone. Yet as the tool of trade, it can supply the needs of this life. What can be obtained, often can be obtained for money.

Still, money answers nothing for the soul. It cannot obtain pardon for sin, the favor of God, or peace of conscience. The soul is not redeemed, and is not sustained, by silver and gold that decay. Some understand this verse as speaking of rulers. It is bad for a people when their leaders turn to luxury and feasting, because public work is neglected and heavy taxes are then used to support such excess.

Finally, he warns subjects to be careful not to harbor disloyal thoughts or secret schemes against the government, because such things are likely to be found out (Ecclesiastes 10:20). Even if rulers make mistakes, we should not be quick to attack their rule or tear it down. We should rather try to make the best of it.

The command teaches our duty: “Curse not the king,” not even in your thought. Do not wish harm to the government in your heart. Sin begins in the mind, so its first stirrings must be checked, especially the sin of treason and rebellion. “Curse not the rich,” meaning the princes and rulers, in your bedroom or in secret meetings with those who are against the government. Do not join such people, listen to their secret talk, or share in their plots.

The reason is our safety. Even if the plan is kept very quiet, “a bird of the air shall carry the voice,” and what has wings will tell the matter to the king, who may have more eyes and informers than you know (Ecclesiastes 10:20). What you think is hidden may be exposed to your shame and ruin. God sees what people do and hears what they say in secret, and when he wills, he can bring hidden things to light in surprising ways.

Would you not want to avoid harm from the ruling powers, and not be afraid of them? Then do what is good, and you will receive their praise, as Paul says in Romans 13:3-4. But if you do what is evil, you should be afraid.