Having advised his reader to embrace what is offered him from the Lord’s Table and having taken his pleasure in walking with the Lord in the labor given him, employing the knowledge he is gifted with, and performed his labor with all his might (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10), the Teacher now cautions his reader to not place his confidence in an expected outcome. Rather, he should leave the result in the hands of the Lord. Usually, the race, the battle, the course of life and wealth will go to those who are proficient or skilled in these matters. Nevertheless, not only does one’s living come from the Lord’s Table (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), and not only does life’s good depend upon one’s willingness to take pleasure in doing all things with integrity (Ecclesiastes 9:8), but other matters also creep to the foreground to affect the success of our labor. Chance or an unforeseen misfortune, even a surprising adversary, may challenge the outcome of our labor (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Having done all things well, the Teacher still advises us to leave the outcome to the Lord. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (cp. Job 1:21).
Not only are men ignorant of the seasons (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) that come from the Lord, but he is also ignorant of sudden mishaps and planned but secret adversarial objectives. Most often the prey doesn’t know the occasion of the hunter’s snare (Ecclesiastes 9:12), so evil can and will prosper over the just, until the season, when the Lord intervenes (verse-11; cp. Psalm 105:17-19).
We may presume such was the case in the example put forth by the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 9:13-15. Whether or not the small city is hypothetical or an actual city in one of the countries bordering Israel is not important. What is important is the truth the example expresses, for the Teacher considers it very important (verse-13). There came a time when the weak were opposed by the great and powerful, who thought to spy out the position of the weak. However, within the smaller group of folks was a wise man who, in the end, was able to deliver the weaker group of folks from the great and powerful. Thus, illustrating that the battle isn’t to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11).
One might assume, due to a sense of fair-play, that the wise man would have earned the respect and honor of the folks he delivered from certain death or slavery, but the Teacher has already shown us that life isn’t always fair (Ecclesiastes 9:3), and just as the battle isn’t with the strong (the poor wise man was able to keep the powerful king from victory), so bread or a better life doesn’t always go to the wise (Ecclesiastes 9:15; cp. verse-11). Why would this be so? It is because the wise man was poor. He wasn’t wealthy and powerful, which are well regarded in class-society. The poor are beneath the dignity of the wealthy and the powerful. Such is the case in life—all life. Jesus wasn’t received, because he was the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:54-57). Paul’s wisdom was rejected, because he wasn’t the captain or the owner of the ship (Acts 27:11). The poorer classes are subject to ridicule and disdain from the more affluent in society.
Nevertheless, the Teacher concludes wisdom is stronger than the great and powerful (Ecclesiastes 7:19; Proverbs 21:22; 24:5), even though it is normally despised by those who are foolish, who may inhabit positions of wealth and authority (Ecclesiastes 9:16; cp. verse-11). It often takes a great tragedy before the foolish will listen to the wise (Acts 27:21-26, 30-32), but afterward there is usually no honor or kind regard given the wise who saved those who couldn’t save themselves (Acts 27:42). The words of the wise are powerful in themselves. Thus, the wise are not as fools who need to be boisterous and loud in order to gain the support of others such as themselves. However, in the end fools will be defeated despite their number (Isaiah 42:2; Matthew 12:19; cp. Proverbs 10:10).
The Teacher concludes his argument in this part of his thesis by saying the wise are strong enough to change the course of life for the purpose of good, but so can the sinner. The fool is able to destroy the good done by the wise, if he can attract or exert his influence over enough folks who are wealthy and powerful in a given part of society—whether a city or a nation (Ecclesiastes 9:18; cp. Ecclesiastes 7:25-29; Proverbs 7:5-23).
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