Expect the Unexpected

In other words, the written Word of God imparts to the believer the ability to make the right decision at the right time for the right reason or motive. What that means then is you cannot live a wise life and be a distant companion of this Book. If you do not have a relationship that is living and committed to the Truth of this Book, since wisdom comes from outside of us through this Book, then you will not have wisdom. The wisdom of God and the Word of God go hand in hand. Wise people aren't necessarily the smartest people on the SAT scores. Wise people are those who are submissive people to the Scriptures because it's in God's Word where wisdom is found. Wisdom might not win the most applause in this world.

It might not gain the largest audience or win the political debate. But God's wisdom is always right. Would you like to walk wisely?

Stay with us because we're going to explore how to do that next. This is Wisdom for the Heart and today Stephen Davey has a message for you called, Expect the Unexpected. A woman by the name of Daisy Alexander put a handwritten note inside a whiskey bottle and put it into the Thames River in London in 1937. And two years later she died.

It had traveled nearly 13,000 miles over a span of 12 years. A man by the name of Jack Verme was walking along that sandy stretch, lost in his thoughts about his life. His restaurant business had gone bankrupt.

He was now at the age of 55 nearly penniless. But then Jack spotted that bottle half buried in the sand, still watertight. He noticed the note inside which read, To avoid all confusion I leave my entire estate to the person who finds this bottle. The note was dated June 20th, 1937. Now it's nearly 1950. Signed by a woman who used to live in London Jack had never heard of. Though heavily contested and a series of court battles ensued, the note was finally and officially determined to be in fact the legitimate last will and testament of Daisy Alexander, the daughter of Isaac Singer, the heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune.

Jack Verme was awarded her portion of that fortune which in today's economy would have been worth 10.6 million dollars. And it was his. Almost makes you want to go to the beach and look for whiskey bottles. The moral of that story as I read it recently could be you never know what's going to float into your life. Or maybe life is full of surprises. Or perhaps we could put it this way, expect the unexpected in life. Now Solomon evidently has that particular thought on his mind and heart. Life is filled with the unexpected. So what can you cling to as life unveils one surprise after another? And Solomon then rattles off a list of surprises here in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Turn with me there today for some more inspired truth that may be hard to swallow, but it's the truth upon which you can securely plant your feet and your heart.

We're now in Ecclesiastes 9 and we're at verse 11. Again I saw that under the sun, remember that means I've observed life down here under the sun and this is the way it tends to play out in the human race. Here's what I've observed. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

It's as if Solomon says let me show you five unexpected surprises that you don't see coming over the course of my lifetime. I've observed this. First, if you go back to the beginning of this text, the race is not always won by the fastest runner.

That would be in principle form what he's writing. The race isn't always won by the fastest runner. Sometimes strange things happen. Solomon adds in verse 11, the battle isn't always won by the strongest army, like little Israel a few decades ago.

So much smaller than all of that combined force of those Muslim countries. Unexpected victory. Solomon says here's another surprising event in life I've seen. Third, the necessities of life aren't guaranteed for the wisest person. He writes in verse 11, nor bread to the wise. What that means is the wisest person isn't guaranteed even basic food. Wise people can go hungry. Wise people can become even homeless to give in some unexpected occurrence or event in life. Number four, wealth isn't the automatic result for the careful investor. He writes here, nor riches to the intelligent.

You could translate that. Nor riches to the discerning. The idea. You hear the expression today about somebody that they're shrewd investors and you automatically assume they're the ones making the money. They're shrewd investors. But one of the surprising things about life, Solomon writes here, is shrewd experience isn't an automatic return. I have observed down here under the sun that shrewd investors sometimes lose everything. And somebody who doesn't know beans about investing wins the motherlode. You can have your career all planned out.

You can have your investments all buttoned down and then what? An accident occurs. A virus strikes. An illness hits. And everything turns upside down. Solomon has a fifth surprise he's seen take place under the sun.

Here it is. The promotion isn't always awarded to the best employee. He writes again in verse 11, nor favor to those with knowledge. The word he uses for knowledge is a word that means know-how. We would call it skill set. The person who has the skill set for the job. The person who deserves the promotion. Well, everybody knows that's the guy with the job skills. That's the gal with the know-how.

That's the person in the office you go to because you're stuck, you're stumped, you need an answer, you need a solution, and they're the ones that are able to provide it. Well, Solomon writes here, they're not necessarily the ones given the favor. They're not given the promotion.

They're passed over. So why do these five events take place so unexpectedly? Why does the fastest runner not win?

Why does the biggest army get defeated? Why does the wise person go hungry? Why does the careful investor lose his shirt? Why does the smartest employee get passed over?

Why? He gives us the answer at the end of verse 11, because time and chance happen to them all. That is, it comes out of nowhere. Notice, for man does not know his time, that is, his seasons of life. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them. He's not talking about death. He's talking about the unexpected seasons of life. They occur because of time and chance.

Now, let's pause for a moment. There are only two times in the Old Testament where this word chance appears. The other time it appears is in 1 Kings 5 and verse 4, where it can be translated events.

Both times, the word appears, it's a negative context. Old Testament language scholars believe it could best be translated accidents. So you might circle the word chance and write into the margin of your Bible the word accidents.

In fact, language scholars believe that time and chance are to be combined so that you can render it or understand it as untimely accidents, untimely events. That's the way it is with trouble, isn't it? Trouble never warns you, I'm coming tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock. Never comes at a good time. When is trouble ever timely? Well, that came at just the perfect time.

I needed that flat tire. No, it's always untimely because it's unexpected and we're unprepared. Like, he's illustrating for us, like a fish. That fish is out there swimming around minding his own business. Suddenly, it's caught. That bird is flying around just singing a song and then suddenly the net, the net appears.

Unexpected, unwanted, unprepared. And now, with that, Solomon, the preacher, he calls himself, gives us a rather discouraging illustration, a case study to prove his point. Look at verse 13.

I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun and it seemed impressive or great to me. There was a little city with few men in it and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it. So you've got this little city with only a few men in it. More than likely, he's referring to there were only a few men who could bear arms.

Only a few of them could fight. And against this little city comes a great king. Here's the contrast.

You pick up on the impossibility of this contrast. A little city against a great king and he essentially comes out of nowhere and builds siege works. That word siege works represents the same Hebrew word Solomon uses earlier for the word net.

See, now these people, like that bird, are going to be caught unexpectedly in an untimely fashion and they're unprepared in the net. Now verse 15. But there was found in it, this little city, a poor wise man and he by his wisdom delivered the city. But no one remembered that poor man. But I say that wisdom is better than might that the poor man's wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.

Let me break this down. Solomon says, I've seen this poor commoner, this peasant. He's utilizing his wisdom to save this little city and instead of marking that day with a parade, he's forgotten. No honor.

He's shoved aside. And if Solomon's context is maintained here, somebody more popular and somebody more powerful probably walked away with all the credit. So this guy's forgotten. And that plays again into the theme we've seen, haven't we, brothers and sisters, under the sun that fame is fleeting and people are fickle.

This guy won the day. Where is he? And that's why we to this day talk about someone having 15 seconds of fame, not 15 days, not 15 years, 15 seconds.

This guy doesn't even get 15 seconds. He goes unrewarded and to top it all off, he's quickly forgotten. Now, you might look at a text like this, filled with unfortunate surprises, curious surprises, a discouraging case study, and come to the conclusion, Solomon is going to tell us, forget wisdom. It isn't worth it. It doesn't pay off or pay up. It doesn't make your life easier. You don't feel the tape on your chest because you're coming first.

So why bother? But instead, what Solomon does is he anticipates that we would think that we were going to think that way after these illustrations and that case study. And so what he does now is he kind of slips into giving us three encouragements or clarifications regarding wisdom.

Let me give the first one to you in principle form. Wisdom might not win the most applause, but it's still right. Look at verse 16. But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man's wisdom is despised, or you could render that rejected. Now, you might take your pencil or pen and circle that word better.

It's going to show up in each one of these three clarifications in this text. It's better. Wisdom is better.

You could understand that word meaning in that context. It is right. This is the right way. This is the right thought pattern. This is the right path. This is the right choice. This is the right thing to do.

So he's saying, in spite of everything that happens, I just want to remind you that wisdom is still right. It's still right. Even if you get passed over, it's right.

Even if you don't win the race, it's right. I want to add this thought here. I didn't know quite where to put it, but there is the Gospel in this case study. The Lord, the peasant, the commoner. He's poor, but he's wise. He's disregarded by the crowd, rejected, humbled unto death, even death on a cross.

Why? To save man's soul, the little city that doesn't have a chance. And then what happens? He goes unrewarded. And to this day, forgotten, except by the few who've been delivered. Today, like him, beloved, you might be rejected because of your biblical thinking and lifestyle and opinion, but it's far better to follow Christ, to be rejected by earth and accepted one day in heaven. Wisdom might not win the most applause, but it's still right. Wisdom might not win the most applause, but it's still right.

Secondly, wisdom might not gain the largest audience, but it's still right. Notice verse 17, the words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of rulers, of a ruler among fools. In other words, the loudest voice isn't always the wisest voice.

That sometimes the proof that it is not wise is that it has to be loud. Solomon is effectively describing a loudmouth leader. In fact, the loudmouth leader is encouraged here because he's surrounded by a world of fools. Notice he writes, he is a ruler among fools.

They're not helping him any. Remember, a fool is somebody who defies and denies the authority of God. That's who the fool is in the word of God.

Sometimes those people have the microphone. Sometimes those people have the large audience and the following. So Solomon is essentially saying here, wisdom might not have the largest, certainly not the loudest point of view, but wisdom is still right. Thirdly, wisdom might not win the biggest argument, but it's still right. Notice verse 18, wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Yes, he goes on with realism to say, one sinner can destroy so much good. One fool can tear down and destroy. In fact, Solomon points out the disheartening reality that one person can destroy so much that is good. Just look at Hitler. Look at the destruction that came because he was believed. Just look at Darwin and the destruction because he's been believed. They defy God, they aim their weapons at his truth.

Solomon says, even the one rebellious sinner seems to destroy things faster than wise people can build them. Don't veer from wisdom because it's still right. It might be the minority opinion, but it's right. It might get shouted down, but it's right.

It's right. What exactly is wisdom? This wisdom which is better. Well, from passages of scripture, the Hebrew word for wisdom is described, personified, illustrated as a way of life.

Let me give you a concise definition here. Wisdom is the God-given ability to make the right decision for the right reason, at the right time, and with the right motive. Wisdom is action.

It's acting. It's making, living the right decision for the right reason, at the right time, and with the right motive. And so, wisdom is the God-given ability to make the right decision for the right reason. And so, understand this, that apart from the Spirit of God, you can't do this.

You can't live wisely. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God. That is, he is the personification of divine wisdom, 1 Corinthians 1.24. So, the person who rejects Jesus Christ loses out on wisdom. Yes, they can make a right decision, but it might be for a selfish reason.

They can make a right decision, but with the wrong motive, or at the wrong time, or for the wrong reason. But the ability to make the right decision for the right reason, at the right time, having the right motive, is an act of wisdom that comes from God. Because if you lack this wisdom, where do you go? You go and ask God, who dispenses it, James tells us in chapter 1, verse 5, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, and God gives it. God communicates his wisdom to us through his word. Paul reminded Timothy when he wrote, but you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you wisdom, 2 Timothy 3, 15 to 70. This is why you saturate your mind and your heart with the word of God. King David wrote, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Psalm 19, 7. In other words, the written word of God imparts to the believer the ability to make the right decision, at the right time, for the right reason or motive. So what that means then is you cannot live a wise life and be a distant companion of this book. So if the last time you've looked at this was last Sunday, you will not have wisdom. If you do not have a relationship that is living and committed to the truth of this book, since wisdom comes from outside of us through this book, then you will not have wisdom.

That's not a threat. That's a reality. Wise people are not the smartest people on their SAT scores. Wise people are submissive people to the scriptures.

Wisdom might not win the most applause, Solomon warns us, but it's still right. Chances are you're not going to find a bottle half-buried in the sand carrying a note that changes your life, but you have been given an inspired note, signed as it were by God. So you walk through life with the author and finisher of your faith, and in the analogy I gave you earlier, he is that poor peasant who is disregarded and unwanted, but who died for you and for me.

Because of his death on the cross, he didn't look like much then, but now he is ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father in glory. And so the encouragement then is, even though these realities exist, even though these five surprises continue to happen, even though trouble comes in an untimely fashion, and we need to learn to expect the unexpected, let's do it. Walking with him, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You know, before this day is over, you're going to have an opportunity to put this message into practice as you wisely apply God's Word to the circumstances of your life. I trust that God will use this reminder from Ecclesiastes to encourage you to walk wisely. Thanks for tuning in today. This is Wisdom for the Heart. Stephen Davey is working through a series called Pursuing Wisdom Under the Sun. We'll continue through this section of Ecclesiastes next time. Between now and then, be sure and visit our website, wisdomonline.org, so that you can access all of the resources we have to help you grow in your faith. Thanks for listening and be with us next time for more wisdom for the heart. you