May 30 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 30—Ecclesiastes 10:4–7

⁴If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,
     for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: ⁶folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. ⁷I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves.

Devotional:

Foolishness has always been a source of misery in the history of humankind. Our four verses target foolishness in positions of power, and it is fair to say that folly tends to do "best" for itself when invested with power. One of its hallmarks is that it produces people who will listen neither to warnings nor to entreaties, although 10:4 suggests that there are exceptions among those who wield power.

If this text is viewed in isolation from the rest of the work, distortions are almost certain to be the result. But we have already learned from 4:1-3 that Qoheleth is quite skeptical in regards of the political process. He has no illusions about the corruption of those who have executive authority. There is no Camelot, and he puts no stock in princes. Instead, lack of wisdom brings about astonishing reversals. There are those who are meant to rule – —or, rather, who have the right to rule (either by hereditary or other privileges)—but they don't, due to conspiracy and the promotion of folly in high places. This is a common scenario in our world. We have lost count of the many revolutions and military coups that have left people wondering about the meaning of the word "progress." From Pinochet to Idi Amin, Sadam Hussein and the fundamentalist revolution in Iran, we have no trouble citing a handful of examples only from the last five decades that would cement the point.

But reversal of fortune is also a redemptive concept. The gospel has a way of debasing the mighty and exalting the lowly (Luke 1:50-53). The result is not a circus of political dilettantes and would-be potentates, but a world of justice and peace, in short, the kingdom of heaven.

God has made his children kings and priests (1 Pet. 2:9), but who has believed our report, or who wants to know it? The world does not recognize God's people because it has not known him. So, like our Savior Jesus Christ, we walk incognito. But the day is coming when all creation will witness the glory of Christ and his people. This is not a fairy tale. Peter says, "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever" (1 Pet. 5:10-11).

For now, folly will often be set in high places, slaves are riding on horses and princes are walking on the ground like slaves. We can only do what our Lord has done when he walked the earth, namely, carry the treasure of the gospel "in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Cor. 4:7). Yet, the name of Jesus is God's guarantee of a world to come in which righteousness dwells. It will be realized through one final reversal that will set all things right: The resurrection of the dead.

The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.