Ecclesiastes 9:13 - Meaning and Application

Solomon still urges us to value wisdom as necessary for keeping peace and doing our work well, even though human life is full of frustrations and disappointments. He had just said that bread is not always given to the wise (Ecclesiastes 9:11), but he does not mean to put wisdom down or discourage us from seeking it. He still holds to his earlier truth, that wisdom is greater than folly as light is greater than darkness (Ecclesiastes 2:13). We should love wisdom, follow it, and let it guide us because of its own worth, and because it helps us serve others, even if it does not bring us wealth or honor.

The wisdom he describes here is the kind that lets a man serve his country out of pure concern for its good, even when he gains nothing from it. He may not get thanks, or even public praise. Yet Solomon says this seemed great to him, because a public-spirited heart in a private life is something noble and excellent.

He then gives an example, likely from a real event in a nearby country, of a poor man who used his wisdom to do great good in a time of public danger. There was a little city, not a great prize for anyone to own, and only a few men in it to defend it. Against it came a great king with a large army, and he besieged it, either out of pride, greed, or revenge. He built strong siege works against it and expected to take it quickly. How much unfair trouble proud rulers cause for harmless neighbors.

The city needed no such threat, and the king gained little from it. Yet he still poured effort and expense into taking it. In the same way that some people greedily try to add house to house and field to field (Isaiah 5:8), great kings often try to add city to city and province to province, as though they alone should rule the earth. But did strength win the day? No. In that little city, among the few men inside, there was a poor wise man, a man of understanding who still had no place of power or profit. If offices were given according to merit, such a man would not have remained poor.

Being wise, he served the city even though he was poor. When trouble came, the people found him and asked for his help (Judges 11:7). By his wisdom he delivered the city, either by giving careful advice to those under siege or by arranging a wise settlement with the attackers, as the woman at Abel did (2 Samuel 20:16). He did not reproach them for ignoring him before. He did not say he was poor and had nothing to lose, so he did not care what happened to the city. Instead, he did his best, and God gave success.

This shows that private feelings and personal hurt must give way to the public good when the welfare of many is at stake. Yet the city still treated him badly. Because he was poor, no one remembered him after the danger passed. His good service was not noticed, no reward was given, and no honor was shown to him. He stayed as poor and unknown as before. Riches were not for this man of understanding, and favor was not for this man of skill. Many who have truly deserved well from their prince or country have been poorly paid. We live in an ungrateful world. It is good that useful people have God to trust in, because he will be their generous rewarder. Among men, great services are often envied, and good is repaid with evil.

From this example Solomon draws several useful lessons. First, wisdom is highly valuable and a great blessing to a nation: wisdom is better than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). A thoughtful mind, which honors a person, is better than a strong body, since many animals are stronger than man. By wisdom a person can accomplish what strength could never achieve, and can outthink those who might otherwise overpower him. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, whether used to attack or defend (Ecclesiastes 9:18). Here wisdom means religion and godliness, since the wise man is set against the sinner. This is better than all military skill and equipment, because it brings God to our side. Then we are safe in the greatest danger and helped in the greatest tasks. If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Second, wisdom has real power, even when it seems outwardly weak. The words of wise people are heard in quiet (Ecclesiastes 9:17). What they say, when spoken calmly and with thought, may be listened to and respected, even if they are not rich or powerful enough to speak with loud confidence. Such words can win the point and move people more than the loud shouting of a ruler over fools, who chose him because he makes noise and blusters, and who think he can carry the day by force of voice. A few careful arguments are worth many big words. People who resist threats may still yield to fair reasoning. But angry passion weakens reason instead of helping it.

Third, wise and good people must often be content with the comfort of having done good, or at least tried to do it, even when they do not get the praise they deserve. Wisdom equips a person to help his neighbors, and he offers that help. Yet if he is poor, his wisdom is despised and his words are not heard (Ecclesiastes 9:16). Many people are, in effect, buried alive in poverty and obscurity who might be a great blessing to the world if only they were properly encouraged. Many a pearl is lost in its shell. But a day is coming when wisdom and goodness will be honored, and the righteous will shine forth.

From what he had seen of the great good one wise and virtuous person can do, he now draws the opposite lesson: one wicked person can do great harm and block much good. “One sinner destroys much good.” A sinful life is a wasteful life. A sinner uses up many of God’s gifts, both from nature and from his providence, for the service of sin. Good sense, gifts, learning, a good temperament, a good estate, good food, good drink, and many other good things are all misused and lost that way. In the end, the purpose for which God gave them is spoiled.

He who ruins his own soul destroys much good. One wicked person can also do great harm to others in a town or country. A person whose business is to corrupt others can undo the work of many good laws and much faithful preaching. He can draw many people into his harmful ways. One sinner may ruin a town, just as Achan, the man who took the forbidden spoil, troubled the whole camp of Israel (Joshua 7:1). The wise man who saved the city would have received the honor and reward he deserved, but one sinner blocked it and lessened the service done. Many good plans for the public good have been ruined by one sly enemy. The wisdom of some would have healed the nation, but because of the wickedness of a few, it would not be healed. So we should learn who the true friends and enemies of a kingdom are: one saint does much good, and one sinner destroys much good.