Words of the Wise Ecc 12:11
Words of the Wise Ecc 12:11
"Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd." Ecc 12:8-11
As Solomon concludes the book of Ecc, we find here a statement regarding the use of Truth, and its connection to teaching/preaching.
Why is this relevant?
If you are a Christian, then preaching/teaching the Truth, in some way, shape, or form is something Christ has entrusted to you. He has committed to you both the word and work of reconciliation (2Co 5:18-19) and the Philippines are commended for being lights in the world, as they hold forth the word of life (Php 2:15-16).
If you are not a Christian, Solomon, having shown the vanity of the world, points you to the written word of God, the Bible, where you will find Truth.
So to begin, in verse 8, Solomon repeats his theme statement of the book: "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity." Not that they are inherently evil, but they divert from the truth and God/Christ, and can never satisfy, because they do not last, they fade and rot away.
But then in verse 9 he says, "but because I am wise" ("and moreover" means "but because"), "I will still teach the people knowledge."
In light of all he has said about "vanity," he does not succumb to a "forget it," "nothing matters," "nothing I do matters" mindset. Rather he thinks, the one thing that does matter, the one thing I can do is "still teach the people knowledge." He makes a personal decision "I will STILL teach the people." I will continue to do what I know is right, what I know matters, what I know will produce good in them, what I have been doing all along.
He has shown that the things of the world, the projects, the money, the fame, the pleasures are vanity, BUT the teaching of knowledge, from the Bible, is not vanity!
So we will look at what Solomon does, because what Solomon does, is what all we who are preachers and teachers should do. Pastors, teachers in any venue what-so-ever: Sunday School, Bible Studies, dads and moms at home with family devotions, we should teach knowledge, from the Bible, to those whom we are teaching.
First, Solomon uses "preach" and "teach" inter-changeably.
"because the preacher was wise, he still taught ... "
There is a lot of discussion about the difference and/or similarity between preaching and teaching. We do not want to make such a difference that people think we are saying "preachers don't teach and teachers don't preach."
All who preach must teach, and all who teach will also preach.
Think of teaching as the impartation of knowledge, of facts; we tell them, this is what the verse says, this is what the words mean; don't miss this word, it means XYZ. This phrase modifies this word.
Think of preaching as motivation: based on what the verse says, this is what we are to believe, and this is how we are to live.
Preaching and teaching go hand-in-glove; you cannot have one without the other!
Second, it order to preach/teach Solomon says "he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs."
"Good heed," meaning he thought about what topic would be of most help to those whom he was teaching; he thought about his audience.
"Sought out," means he investigated. Having considered his audience, he looked for the best portion in the Bible to teach on.
"Set in order," meaning he arranged his sermon, his lesson, in an order of presentation to be of most help to them. As with a well planned dinner, we don't serve coffee and cake first, then the mail course, then the appetizer. There is an acceptable order to the meal. It may have 10 courses, but it is a unified whole, a planned out, single event, arranged to be eaten in the best order, building upon each other, to compliment each.
Application: Teach what is relevant to your audience, and make your sermons/lessons organized, in a logical, well flowing order, to be of most good to them.
Three, where did Solomon look for these words? The Bible: "that which was written."
And why from the Bible, why from what is written? Because those words are "upright and truth," and those words do not change! The Angave have a very high regard for what is written, because they know their oral stories can be changed; but if it written, it does not change!
"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." Psa 119:89
God's word, his mind, his will, Truth, is for ever, it has no beginning: it is always and forever, from eternity past, to today, and into eternity future, the same! Settled, like a fence post that we plant in the ground, not to be moved.
It was settled in heaven first, because it is of God. The word of God is a revelation of his mind and his will, of who he is. He does not change, it cannot change. And then God committed it to a book, THE BOOK, as God the Holy Spirit spoke to chosen men, whom he "moved" (2Pt 1:21), directing their minds as they wrote, so that the specific words of the Bible are truly words given to us by the Holy Spirit (1Co 2:13).
Application: Use the Bible. Do not preach men's thoughts, preach God's words. Whether as a pastor in your church, a Sunday School teacher, a Bible study leader, dad/mom to your children, going through one book at a time, basically verse by verse, explaining what is says, and then what it means, as to what we should believe and how we should live, at a depth of teaching appropriate to the audience, is the best method to teach the Bible. As they grow, get deeper; make them theologians!!
And so another application: You must know the Bible. That needs no further statement! You cannot teach what you don't know. You must be a theologian.
Four, these are not wise words, but words from wise people, ie, people to whom God has given wisdom.
If the phrase was wise words, it could lead us to think "truth" is relative/subjective: that which is true for you, but not for me. YouTube is full of video "words of wisdom from the ancients," etc. Solomon is not saying that. These are words from wise people, NOT inspired people, but wise people.
So who are "wise people?" The Bible says that God's people, saved people, people born-again by the Holy Spirit, who then lives in them, have the mind of Christ. Certainly someone who has the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16) is a wise person. John talks of unction/anointing, saying things some of us are probably are a little uncomfortable hearing:
"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." 1Jn 2:20
"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 1Jn 2:27
The Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth (Jhn 14:17, 15:26, 16:13), and that is the name Jesus uses for him, gave his words to men to write in the book, the Bible. He then leads us into a proper understanding of those words, not by inspiration, but by illumination, like a flashlight, shining on the meaning, and leading us into truth, into the true meaning of the verses. And here is the safe-guard: the Holy Spirit is not giving new truth, he is illuminating the truth he previously caused to be written in the Bible. If someone says they have a "new understanding," but it contradicts what is written in the Bible, it is NOT of the Holy Spirit, for he does not contradict himself!
Five, there is a unity of scripture, which Solomon clearly states when he says, "from one shepherd." There is one author of scripture, the Holy Spirit, who speaks the mind of one person, Jesus. The shepherd refers to Jesus. The Holy Spirit reveals the mind of Christ to us. He does not speak about himself. Here is where our Pentecostal and Charismatic brothers and sisters are off. They promote the Holy Spirit rather than Christ. But he promotes Christ. We are Christians, not Pneumosians; we follow and speak of Christ.
Hear what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit's work of revelation:
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." Joh 16:13-14
Jesus clearly says the Holy Spirit gets Truth from him, Jesus, and speaks it to us, even to the point that the Holy Spirit will cause them to remember what Jesus had said to them when he was with them, not giving them additional Truth.
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Joh 14:26
Six, next Solomon says the words that are written are "upright:"
- they teach us of righteousness: what is in accord with God's personal nature
- they teach us of godliness: how we are to live to be like God, God likeness
- they teach us truth: what we are to believe
The Bible teaches us what God is like in his person, and tells us to be the same. God himself says to us:
"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1Pe 1:15-16
Holiness of life is living in conformity to God's character. God does not say, "be holy AS I am holy," but "FOR/BECAUSE I am holy." We cannot be holy to the same degree that God is holy, ie we cannot be perfectly holy, we still have the old man within, and we still sin, but we are to follow the same road of holiness, we are to conform to God's character imitation.
The Greek word for sin, which is "hamartanō" means "miss the mark," if we stray off the road, we "miss it," that is sin. Non-conformity to God's nature, deviating from that pattern, is sin.
Regarding Truth, the Bible teaches us Truth, not relative truth, but eternal unchanging truth.
God being the eternal un-changing one (I Am that I Am) does not change, and so is his mind, his thinking, his person, his will, and his moral character, never changes; his word does not change, it is "settled forever in heaven."
"For I am the LORD (I Am that I Am), I change not" Mal 3:6
Seven, next Solomon uses two (2) pictures to describe the written word.
They are like "goads" which a shepherd would use.
They are like "nails" which a builder would use.
Goads. What is a goad?
- A goad is a long stick with a pointed end used for prodding animals.
- An agent or means of prodding or urging; a stimulus.
- A pointed instrument used to urge on a beast; hence, any necessity that urges or stimulates.
This has to do with how we live. What we are to do and what we are not to do. Where we may go and where we may not go. The sheep wants to veer off the correct path, the shepherd pokes it with the goad to get it back on the right path. The Bible is a book that tells us how to live! It tells us what sin is, and tells us, "Do not sin!" It tells us that the fear of the Lord is the basis of wisdom, because when we fear God, we don't sin, and that is good!
Application: It is proper for us in our preaching and teaching to say "That is sin. Do not do it."
The nail imagery regards the objective, eternally settled nature of Truth. There is only one settled Truth. Two mutually exclusive ideas cannot both be true. Either the sun is the center of the solar system or the earth is? Either "The World Turtle" is true or it is not.
The World Turtle, also called the Cosmic Turtle or the World-Bearing Turtle, is a mytheme of a giant turtle supporting or containing the world. It occurs in Hinduism, Chinese mythology, and the mythologies of some of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Is that true? Or did God speak the world into existence out of nothing, without a "World Turtle?"
Roman Catholic teaches that Mary is co-redemptrix, is that true?
Whereas the Bible says: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." 1Ti 2:5-6
Mormonism teaches that Jesus and Lucifer are "spirit brothers;" is that true?
Whereas the Bibles says: "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" Heb 1:5
That is why we say two mutually exclusive things cannot both be true; that there is only one Truth.
The nail imagery fastens the truth so it cannot be moved, and puts it out for public display. God wants to be known, and so he committed Truth to a book for all to read. Truth is not hidden, God does not want Truth hidden! That is why we translate the Bible into the common languages of the world.
The nail imagery speaks to Truth being fastened, un-movable. Truth is stable, it does not change.
And it is fastened out in the open, in the Bible, for any and all people to see and read. God wants to be known!
An application to we Christians, is to hold the Bible, the Truth, out for public display, both in public, and in our personal inter-actions with people; we must point them to Truth.
Eight, and Solomon used "acceptable words."
Verse 10, they will be "acceptable words," ie words that people can easily accept. This does not mean, he preached what people wanted to hear ("itchy ears" 2Ti 4:3), or that he shied away from unpleasant of unpopular topics, think of Proverbs, where he is quite blunt about many things. But it means that Solomon used every day, regular language. As Paul says about himself in 1Co 2, he did not use the words of the worldly wise, of intellectuals, he did not use "lawyer talk" or "doctor talk." Paul did not try to sound like an intellectual, he spoke so the average Joe Blow would understand what he was saying. Solomon also wanted his instruction to be easily accepted, and so he talked like everyone else did, using everyday language.
It means using analogies that fit the audience. No NJ Mafia illustrations in IN; use farm illustrations.
To the Jew, Paul became a Jew; to the Greeks, a Greek; not regarding sin, but so that he fit in, and win some them to Christ; and a large part of this is how we speak, and the words we use.
Application: Do not use highfalutin language meant to impress people; use words appropriate to your audience, culturally, age wise, etc. When you have to use specific theological terms, that they might not be familiar with, yes use them, but give good simple definition, using language they do understand.
Our job is to teach people from the Bible, preaching to them to encourage right belief and right living, so that they will not be deceived by the Devil as he uses the vain things of the world, but rather that they will pursue eternal life, and godly living in Christ.
This is what Solomon is talking about.
15 January 2026