Sunday June 21, 2026 - "Isn't It Ironic?" Ecclesiastes 10:5-20, Dr. Cliff Holdridge, Senior Pastor

Ecclesiastes 10 holds up life under the sun and says, “Isn’t it ironic?” Solomon looks at the world plain and straight, and the text shows that life is full of reversals, surprises, and outcomes nobody saw coming. The final answer of Ecclesiastes is still to fear God and obey his commandments, but this section gets down into the ordinary stuff of leadership, work, speech, risk, laziness, money, and secrets.

Solomon first points to the irony of worldly leadership. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when foolish people get great authority and people of proven worth get pushed down low. Servants end up riding horses like princes, and princes end up walking like servants. Leadership chosen only by outward appearance, charisma, popularity, or strength can bring ruin, just like Saul. Leadership shaped by the heart, like David at his best, brings fruitfulness because it lives under God’s authority and serves rather than uses people.

The text then shows that ordinary life carries risk. Digging a well, tearing down a wall, quarrying stone, and chopping wood are normal, life-sustaining things, but each one can hurt a person. Solomon says life cannot be lived by eliminating all risk. Some risks are worth taking because the reward on the other side is greater than the fear on this side.

A dull axe shows the irony of hard work without wisdom. More strength is not always the answer. Wisdom sharpens the blade, slows down long enough to listen, plan, ask for help, and work smarter instead of just harder. The snake charmer shows the tragedy of wasted gifts. A gift not used is like a snake charmer who lets the snake bite people.

Words carry another irony. Wise words bring approval, but fools get destroyed by their own mouths. The babbler talks on and on, assumes foolish things, and reaches wicked madness. Speech can breathe life or death, and a person who thinks no filter is strength may actually be tearing down everything valuable.

The leisure life also turns upside down. Laziness promises ease but produces a sagging roof and a leaking house. Easy choices make life hard, while hard, disciplined choices can make life easier. Parties, wine, and money promise everything, but Solomon has already shown their limits. Money cannot buy salvation, restore every loss, or heal every ruin.

The greatest irony is Jesus Christ. Israel looked for a warrior king, but God sent a suffering servant. Christ did not defeat sin, Satan, and death by worldly strength, but by the weakness of the cross and the victory of the empty grave.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Leadership must live under authority Solomon’s warning about rulers making “a grave mistake” presses beyond politics into every place influence is given. Leadership becomes dangerous when it follows personal desire instead of standing under God Almighty. A leader who cannot follow Christ should not be trusted simply because of charisma, strength, or popularity. [36:41]
• 2. Risk belongs to ordinary life Ecclesiastes does not pretend faithful living can remove danger from the world. Wells, walls, stones, and axes are normal parts of life, yet each one carries real risk. Wisdom does not mean hiding from every possible loss, because some good things require stepping forward in faith when the reward is worth it. [42:45]
• 3. Wisdom sharpens the dull axe The dull axe exposes the exhaustion that comes from effort without wisdom. Harder swings cannot always fix what a sharpened blade would solve. Humility listens to wise voices, receives input, and admits that slowing down may be the very thing that helps a person succeed. [49:04]
• 4. Unused gifts endanger others The snake charmer has a gift for a reason, and the gift becomes tragic when it sits idle while the snake bites. God-given ability is never merely private property for personal satisfaction. A sidelined gift can leave people unserved, unprotected, and unblessed in places where God meant fruitfulness to appear. [51:12]
• 5. Easy choices make hard lives Laziness promises comfort, but Solomon pictures its real outcome as a sagging roof and a leaking house. The easier path often delays pain rather than removes it. Discipline can feel costly in the moment, but it may spare a person from the heavier cost of neglected responsibility.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [23:33] - Greeting and Return
• [24:25] - Ecclesiastes 10 Introduction
• [25:10] - The Irony of Life
• [28:58] - Father’s Day and Opening Prayer
• [29:55] - The Irony of Worldly Leadership
• [35:54] - Choosing Leaders Under Authority
• [40:07] - Ordinary Life Carries Risk
• [46:21] - Wisdom Sharpens the Axe
• [49:56] - The Tragedy of Wasted Gifts
• [52:20] - Words Can Build or Destroy
• [54:38] - The Babbling Fool
• [57:22] - Laziness Makes Life Harder
• [59:56] - Money Cannot Give Everything
• [60:51] - Secrets and the Greatest Irony of Christ

Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
“Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left. Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool. If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. He who quarries stones is hurt by them, and he who splits logs is endangered by them. If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer. The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor, but the lips of a fool consume him. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is evil madness. A fool multiplies words, though no man knows what is to be, and who can tell him what will be after him? The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility, and your princes feast at the proper time, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks. Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Even in your thought, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.” [24:35]

1 Samuel 16:7
“But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.'” [34:27]

Mark 10:42-45
“And Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'” [38:01]

Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” [53:50]

Observation questions

1. In Ecclesiastes 10, what are some of the upside-down pictures Solomon gives of leadership, work, and daily life?
2. In Ecclesiastes 10:8-10, what ordinary activities are described, and what dangers are tied to them? [40:07]
3. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, what contrast is there between how people tend to judge and how the Lord judges? [34:27]
4. In Ecclesiastes 10:12-14 and Proverbs 18:21, what specific effects do words have on a wise person and on a fool? [52:20]

Interpretation questions

1. Ecclesiastes 10 says it is a grave mistake when foolish people are raised up and people of proven worth are pushed down. What does that reveal about why leadership matters so much in a family, church, workplace, or nation? [31:24]
2. Jesus says greatness is shown through service, not through lording authority over others. How does that reshape what a strong leader should look like? [38:01]
3. The dull axe picture shows that more effort is not always the same as wisdom. Where might a person confuse exhaustion with faithfulness, when what is really needed is humility, counsel, and a sharper approach? [49:04]
4. Solomon says a fool multiplies words even though no one knows the future. Why are nonstop opinions and confident talk so dangerous, especially when a person speaks beyond what he actually knows? [54:38]

Application questions

1. Leadership is safest when it lives under God’s authority. In the places where influence has been given, is there a pattern of following personal desire first, or submitting decisions to Christ first? What would repentance look like there? [36:41]
2. Ordinary life carries risk, and some good things require stepping forward in faith. Is there a specific risk being avoided right now because fear feels louder than obedience? What makes that step feel costly? [42:45]
3. A dull axe makes a person work harder than necessary. Where does life feel especially frustrating or unproductive right now, and who could help sharpen the blade with wise counsel or practical help? [49:04]
4. Unused gifts leave people unserved. What ability, experience, or opportunity has been sitting on the sidelines, and who might be missing out because it has not been used? [51:12]
5. Words can breathe life or death. What kind of speech has been most common lately: encouragement, complaint, sarcasm, gossip, anger, or patient truth? What fruit has that speech been producing? [53:50]
6. Easy choices often make life harder later. Where has the “easy now” path been tempting lately—health, money, time, marriage, parenting, work, or spiritual habits? What would the harder but wiser choice be this week? [58:22]
7. Jesus is the greatest irony: the suffering servant is the true victorious King. When life feels upside down, how does the cross help a believer trust that God may be working in ways that do not look strong at first? [01:02:49]