13-15 One day as I was observing how wisdom fares on this earth, I saw something that made me sit up and take notice. There was a small town with only a few people in it. A strong king came and mounted an attack, building trenches and attack posts around it. There was a poor but wise man in that town whose wisdom saved the town, but he was promptly forgotten. (He was only a poor man, after all.)
16 All the same, I still say that wisdom is better than muscle, even though the wise poor man was treated with contempt and soon forgotten.
17 The quiet words of the wise are more effective
Than the ranting of a king of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than warheads,
But one hothead can ruin the good earth.
Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 (The Message)
These verses remind me of the story found in 2 Samuel 20. After King David returns from the attempted coup by his son Absolum, he has to deal with Sheba, son of Bikri, who leads a rebellion against David. Sheba runs and hides in a town that is attacked by Joab leading David’s army. A small town is besieged by an army. A wise woman goes to the wall of the town and calls for Joab, declare’s the town’s loyalty to David and asks what must be done. Joab says they are only after Sheba. The next morning the head of Sheba is thrown down to the army and the town is saved. The woman is only remembered as “a wise woman.”
Many times we face what seems to be a big problem that is overwhelming us. We are overwhelmed with waves of doubt and visions of all the terrible repercussions that might happen. At those times it often helps to find a faithful friend whom you consider wise, to sit and discuss your dilemma with. .Take time to breath, pray, and talk with a friend to figure out the key issue in the midst of the dilemma. Finding that key detail helps us cope with the bigger picture. The Teacher advocate wisdom rather than trying to muscle our way out of a big problem in our own power.
Today we celebrate July 4th when we signed the Declaration of Independence. This is certainly an example of a small group standing up to the larger, more powerful. I am not prepared to say if that was wisdom but it certainly changed the history for us. Lord, give us the wisdom we need for the battles we fight.
“Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:12)”
On the Way to Wonder 