In my previous study, I concluded from the text that the times or seasons (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) and the occasion for evil, whether by chance (nature) or by plan (man), occur to all people. These things happen to the righteous and the wicked alike, the wise and the foolish, rich and poor and the powerful and the weak. It makes no difference who we are, our times come to us from the hand of the Lord, and things simply happen. Nevertheless, the Teacher has shown us that the wise are able to change the course of life for the purpose of good. Nevertheless, the fool or the sinner is also able to destroy a lot of good, so that a wicked purpose should stand (Ecclesiastes 9:18; Proverbs 7:5-23). Moreover, and to the point of my present study, so is one foolish act committed by the wisest of men (Ecclesiastes 10:1). Therefore, one must beware of even a little folly!
In this part of his thesis, the Teacher begins by calling our attention to deadly flies and their destructive influence upon the precious oil of the apothecary (Ecclesiastes 10:1; cp. Exodus 30:25). The more precious the ointment, the greater the tragedy in its destruction. The literal rendering of ‘dead flies’ is flies of death, and, if we take into account similar compound phrases such as “instruments of death” (Psalm 7:13) and “snares of death” (Psalm 18:5) one could make a case for poisonous or deadly flies being the Teacher’s intended meaning. In such a context the flies of death would answer to the folly, while the precious ointment would answer to the person whose honor and wisdom is at stake. Just as deadly flies would spoil the costly perfume, causing it to stink, which is the exact opposite of the purpose of the perfumed ointment, so a little folly would destroy the reputation of a wise and honorable man.
The odor of the precious ointment answers to the influence of the honorable man’s good name upon others (verse-1), and it is meant to attract those influenced thereby and draw them to the source of the odor, vis-à-vis ointment = reputation for honor and wisdom (cp. Song of Solomon 4:13-16). Thus, a man’s wisdom has an effect for good upon the society in which he lives. However, a little folly, represented in the deadly flies, found in the man’s character or behavior would have a very destructive effect upon a wise man’s influence on society.
At this point, I’m reminded of the time Jesus’ feet were anointed by Mary, just prior to his death. The odor filled the whole house (John 12:3). At that time Judas, the deadly fly, thought to make the ointment stink (John 12:4-5). The feet in the text point to Jesus’ walk, how he acted and what he said. Because of Judas, the deadly fly, Jesus was accused of both insurrection against Rome (Luke 23:2, 5) and blasphemy against God (Matthew 26:64-65; John 19:7). Yet, both Pilate and Herod found Jesus innocent of insurrection (Luke 23:14-15), and the Roman centurion declared Jesus innocent of the charge of blasphemy, saying he truly must have been the Son of God (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39), interpreting his witness of the acts of God (Matthew 27:45, 51; Luke 23:44-45), which occurred at the moment of Jesus’ death. The centurion applied them to Jesus’ crucifixion, as though God disapproved of how he was treated by the authorities. In fact, Judas, himself, repented and declared he betrayed innocent blood (Matthew 27:4). Nevertheless, although there was no folly in Jesus, and his innocence was proved, the mere suggestion[1] that folly existed, was deadly. Innocent blood was shed, due to the slanderous behavior of Judas, the deadly fly, who sought to cause Jesus’ precious ointment (Jesus’ character) to stink.
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[1] Actually, slander is a better word cp John 6:70-71, where the word used was diabolos (G1228; the Greek means slanderer: devil = slanderer)
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