Ecclesiastes 9:15

15 Someone lived there who was poor, but so clever that he could have saved the town. But no one thought about him.

Ecclesiastes 9:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 9:15

Now there was found in it a poor wise man
Christ, who is man, though not a mere man, but God as well as man; who was so in purpose, covenant, and promise, before his incarnation, since truly and really so; and "poor", as it was foretold he should be, and who became so for the sake of his church and people, ( Zechariah 9:9 ) ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 ) ; yet "wise", even as man, being filled with wisdom, in which he increased, and gave such evident proofs of; on whom the spirit of wisdom rested, and in whom the treasures of it were hid, ( Luke 2:40 Luke 2:46 Luke 2:47 Luke 2:52 ) ( Isaiah 11:2 ) ( Colossians 2:3 ) ; he was found here by God his Father, who exalted one chosen out of the people, and made him Head over the church, who is the firstborn among many brethren, ( Psalms 89:19 Psalms 89:20 ) ; Or "and", or "but he found in it" F9; that is, Satan, the great king, found him here, contrary to his expectation, and to his great regret; and he by his wisdom delivered the city;
the church, from all enemies; from Satan and all his principalities and powers; from the world, the men and things of it; from sin, and all its sad consequences; from the law, its curse and condemnation; and from the second death, ruin and destruction: and though this deliverance was both by power and by price, yet also by wisdom; for the deliverance and redemption of the church by Christ is the fruit of infinite wisdom; it is a wise scheme to glorify all the divine perfections; to mortify Satan, and save sinners, and yet condemn sin; see ( Ephesians 1:7 Ephesians 1:8 ) ; yet no man remembered that same poor man:
before the deliverance wrought, as Aben Ezra and others; it never once entered into their thoughts that he could ever be their deliverer; they never imagined he had a capacity to advise, direct, or assist, in such service, or bring about such an affair: so Christ, when he appeared in the world, the Jews saw nothing that was promising in him; they could not believe that he was sent to be the Saviour and deliverer of them, and therefore rejected him, ( Isaiah 3:2 Isaiah 3:3 ) ( John 1:10 John 1:11 ) ; Or, "after it", so the Vulgate Latin version, "no man hereafter remembered" took no notice of him after he had wrought this deliverances; bestowed no honour upon him, nor returned him thanks for what he had done; but he continued to live and die in obscurity and meanness: thus Christ, though he ought to be remembered and spoken well of, and the glory of salvation should be ascribed unto him, and thanks should be given him for it; yet there are none comparatively, or; but a few, who, like the Samaritan, glorify him on account of it. But if any choose to understand these words of political wisdom, and the use of it, by which sometimes a mean and obscure person does more good than others can by their power and strength, though he meets with no reward for it, I am not averse to it; and which agrees with what follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (hb aumw) "et invenit in ea", Mercerus, Drusius, Amama; "sed invenit in ea", Rambachius.

Ecclesiastes 9:15 In-Context

13 There is something else I saw, a good example of how wisdom is regarded in this world.
14 There was a little town without many people in it. A powerful king attacked it. He surrounded it and prepared to break through the walls.
15 Someone lived there who was poor, but so clever that he could have saved the town. But no one thought about him.
16 I have always said that wisdom is better than strength, but no one thinks of the poor as wise or pays any attention to what they say.
17 It is better to listen to the quiet words of someone wise than to the shouts of a ruler at a council of fools.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. he could have . . . him; [or] he saved the town. But later on no one remembered him.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.