THE BETTER LIFE, LIVED UNDER THE SON

“On Following the Leader”
Ecclesiastes 4:13-16
Bob Bonner
January 17, 1999

If you could choose anyone to be the President of the United States, whom would you choose? If you can’t think of a person, then could you tell me what you would want him/her to be like and what priorities you would place on his/her agenda? 

If we could choose anyone to be the world leader or President of the United States, most of us would choose someone of integrity. Most likely, we would also want someone who would make his priority those issues that we believe are most important. Yet understanding a little bit about human nature and politics few of us share the same list of priorities around which we believe the president should build his administration’s agenda. Furthermore, due to our human nature, even as Christians, our list of priorities as to what we believe the president should make as his top objectives would eventually reveal our selfish interests, not God’s. We might think they are God’s primary interests, but as I look back over the past forty years of Christians and their political agendas, even though I may agree with some of it, I can’t honestly say with conviction that any of these agendas revealed that which was nearest and dearest to God’s heart.

God knows that even Christians cannot choose the best leaders to bring about the best results for all people, because none of us are truly pure of heart. In the end, all we can say about God and government, is that in His infinite wisdom God has permitted various leaders with various levels of integrity and skill, mixed with various forms of government to bring order and protection to human society.  As I have studied biblical history I’ve found that God often gives us the leadership we deserve. But once in a while, when we least deserve it, He raises up a King Josiah, or King Solomon to bring peace and order to our world.

Whether we think that our present leaders are good or bad, godly or ungodly, God, through the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 13:1, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

At a time like this it is important for us to gain some wisdom as to this subject of what makes a good leader and what makes a good follower. What kind of followers allow a leader to do his job? Whether you are speaking about being good followers or leaders as citizens of this country or good followers and leaders as members of Christ’s church or good followers or leaders as a member of a household, what is a key ingredient to being a good follower or leader? 

An answer to those questions is revealed in our passage for this morning, Ecclesiastes 4:13-16. Seeing as almost everything to which Solomon put his pen contains the ingredient of wisdom, you can be assured that to be a good follower and leader, wisdom is always a key ingredient. Solomon tells us many times where the origin of true wisdom is found. According to the book of Proverbs, we learn that, “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”  So, to truly be a wise and good leader, or a wise and good follower, one must be a person who holds dearly whatever it is that God wants.

But there is something that I have discovered, Just because I may be a godly leader, does not assure me success in leading people. A successful leader will only be as successful as his followers are truly desirous of making God the number one leader over their lives. If you have ungodly, selfish, wicked followers, who are out for “numero uno” or themselves, your potential for being a successful leader is nil.

At this moment, you and I are either one or the other. We are either called by God to be a leader, or to be a part of the laos, which is Greek for a body of people. It’s the word from which we get our word, “laity.” We are either followers, the laity, or leaders in our homes. We are either laity or leaders in this fellowship. We are either laity or leaders in the governing of our nation.

Looking strictly through the lense of this world’s wisdom, our passage of Scripture for this morning, gives us some insights as to the typical happenings of both the leader and the laity. Because verse 15 points to the expression, “under the sun” we can assume that although these verses contain some wisdom in them, they do not contain the perfect or complete wisdom needed to understand what’s most important in being a good leader or follower. This wisdom from “under the sun” is strictly the best wisdom that humans can offer without God’s perspective. The expression “under the sun” refers to Solomon’s point of view of life during the time that he had turned his back on God and had gone off on his own to discover wisdom. 

Hence, we need to look beyond these verses of Solomon to some truths shared in the New Testament to get the complete picture of wisdom in this area of being a good leader and follower.

It is important for us to tie this section together with the previous verses, verses 4-12., for they do not stand alone. In fact, verses 13-16 could even be an illustration of what happens to a leader if one ignores the principles taught in verses 4-12.

In verses 4-12, we saw that when it comes to our work, we humans tend to be driven to succeed by rivalry or competition.  We are driven by our own selfish interests.  It is this need to be better than the Joneses that causes people to work feverishly at accumulating more stuff, more awards or to be better looking. And if we don’t think we can compete, then our tendency is to go the other way, to fold our arms and drop out. Neither of those extremes, being a dropout or being driven to be the top dog are healthy. In verse 6, Solomon told us that the wise worker finds the balance between the two extremes; that of being involved, but learning that you don’t have to be top dog to be successful at living.

Then in verses 7-12, Solomon showed us that a key to finding and maintaining that balance is to have a true friend or partner. One, who before God, will hold you accountable. One to whom you and I will listen, when they speak. We saw last week, that the best and only true partner that any of us can have is Jesus. Jesus, together with another human friend who is committed to knowing and following Jesus, can enable us to withstand anything this world throws at us.

In this passage, Solomon points to the work of a leader...in this case, a king. These verses illustrate the importance of having a partner to hold you accountable, even if you are the king. As you look at these verses and this illustration of the need for even a king to have a partner, you can’t help but see two realities that are operating in the dynamic of leaders and followers in our world: One involves the instability of political power or leadership (politicians come and go) and the other concerns fickleness of people whom they choose to follow.

Let’s look at verses 13-14, and the instability of political power. In these verses, Solomon gives us a contrast between the relatively young and poor, or underprivileged person who is forced to live humbly, and the wealthy, older, very privileged influential proud king. Solomon writes, “A poor, yet wise lad is better than an old and foolish king who no longer knows how to receive instruction.”

Let’s clarify a few terms used in this verse so as to get a better grip on what Solomon is driving at here. First, the “wise lad” does not refer to someone who is real young, but rather someone who is not real old, like a king who has ruled for 50 years. This lad could, and most likely does, refer to one who is in his late teens up to his early forties.

That which makes this poor younger man so rich is that he possesses wisdom, humility and teachability. The obvious most recent wisdom that Solomon has just talked about in the previous verses is that wisdom dictates that you don’t operate in this life as a lone soldier. You find yourself a partner to whom you will listen. Hence, we can assume that this young man has learned the value of having a partner and he has learned to listen to his partner. As a result, even though young, he is called wise.

Whereas in contrast, the old foolish king, who once knew how to receive instruction from someone, like a partner, has now become too big for his britches, too arrogant, too much the top dog, too full of himself so that he doesn’t feel he needs to listen any longer to anyone. For, he is the king! He doesn’t need a partner. He doesn’t share his seat of glory with anybody. Solomon said elsewhere, in Proverbs 11:2, that “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

The expression “receive instruction” in Ecclesiastes 4:13, means more than just someone tutoring the king in some subject. The term “instruction” is a stronger term that refers to an admonition or warning, something that a wiser person would want to heed, but an arrogant old foolish leader would typically ignore.

History shows that there has been many a king who has not listened to the wisdom of those around him concerning when they should or should not have gone to war, and as a result have lost their kingdoms. Proverbs has something to say about the wiser king in this regard. Solomon once wrote, in Proverbs 24:5, “A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.” Wise is the king who has many wise advisers to whom he listens, especially when he is contemplating war.

To this Solomon adds, back in Ecclesiastes 4:14, “For he [that is, the wise lad] has come out of prison to become king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.” The “prison” could refer to a literal prison, or a place of servitude or volunteer slavery, where a person can’t pay his debts and so becomes another’s slave until he does. Or, this term “prison” could simply be used poetically in contrast to one who is a king, to state that this lad is in no position of influence. Sometimes it is hard to tell which “prison” Solomon has in mind when one is studying his poetry. But either way, all of the possibilities end up taking you to the same place. In comparison to the king, the wise poor lad lacks influence in the beginning. But because he is willing to listen to others, he will quickly rise to the top of leadership.

Often, when Solomon writes about wisdom concerning a particular issue of real life, he does so with a specific historical event in mind. Scholars disagree as to which, if any, specific historical issues Solomon had in mind here. We could cite many examples, but which one is the one he may have had in mind, we don’t know for sure. Two such possible examples which come immediately to my mind are Solomon’s father, King David, and his forefather, Joseph, the vice-pharaoh of Egypt.

In David’s case, he came from a very poor, humble beginning. He was not looking to take over or rule. One day he is out tending his father’s sheep, and literally, the next day, he is playing music in King Saul’s court. Shortly thereafter, David becomes bosom buddies with King Saul’s son, Jonathon. Together, David and Jonathon, partners and friends, find victory over Israel’s enemies. And the reason they were victorious as friends is that they first listened to their chief friend, God and then to the people. As a result, Saul becomes intensely jealous of David and his victories and pronounces him “persona non grata.” Suddenly, our hero finds himself an outlaw. Eventually, Saul dies and the people rejoice, because they want David to be king. It’s a real rags to riches story. 

Another of Saul’s greatest downfalls was that he lacked wisdom and the ability to trust people or gain a partner or friend whom he could trust. On the other hand, David listened to men like Samuel, Nathan, Jonathan and Abigail, Nabal’s wife. He was willing to take admonition and correction from anyone. He learned the importance of not trying to rule alone. In return, the people loved him for it. They knew that if he didn’t do what they wanted, then it probably was because he had been listening to God, so they learned to trust him. In turn, David became the most successful king Israel ever had.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, also fits the description of this story. He was a young lad of no influence, traded into slavery in Egypt. However, like David, he was a young man who feared or stood in awe of God. He listened to and obeyed God’s voice and as a result becomes very wise and eventually, the head over his master, Potipher’s house. Then, after being falsely accused and subsequently thrown into prison, this wise, poor lad wins the trust of the head jailer over the prison and is given the responsibility to oversee the prisoners. Eventually, because of his wisdom, Joseph becomes the vice-pharaoh over Egypt and rules for about 80 years in that position. Another, rags to riches story.

But even then, both Joseph and David eventually died, and were quickly forgotten. Another ruler quickly filled their void, history moved on, and they were but a memory or story written about in the Old Testament.

As a result of watching how quickly people forget past great leaders, Solomon added verses 15-16, to his proverbs on leadership.  For, in verses 15-16, we read about the fickleness of followers. Solomon writes, “I have seen all the living under the sun throng to the side of the second lad who replaces him.” Understand there are three leaders being spoken of in these verses. First there is the king. Then there is the first young lad that comes up through the ranks and becomes king, in verses 13-14. And here you have a second young lad, one who has the vote of all the people who succeeds the first young lad who had replaced the first king. 

Solomon’s point is that the wisdom of the world, the wisdom that rules without God, which comes from “under the sun” is the wisdom that says “follow the leader that best serves your selfish interests of the day. Ignore the fact that he may be a known sexual pervert and liar. Why should those things concern you? If he can make sure that your wallet is still thick with dollars and you can enjoy your materialism, if your stomach is full, then who cares about the leader’s morals. Just follow after the one that best serves your interests. Loyalty, morality or commitment don’t really matter.”

Solomon continues in verse 16, “There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them, and even the ones who will come later will not be happy with him, [that is the second lad or third king] for this too is vanity and striving after wind.” Everybody is the friend of the leader one day, and the next day they are yelling, “Crucify Him!” You cannot make all the people happy all of the time.

Take King David, for instance. Solomon witnessed this reality under his father’s rule. King David brought peace to the land of Israel through his victorious leadership over the enemies of Israel. For the first time in Israel’s history, for forty years, Israel had begun to enjoy peace and prosperity. People loved David for it. It was David’s accomplishments that made Solomon’s rule as king, a piece of cake.

But then came along a young man, a son, a brother of Solomon’s, by the name of Absalom. He tried to bring about a coup, and take away the throne from his father. He rallied people together who had suffered from minor injustices under David’s reign. In comparison to what was best for the country as a whole and the stability of the nation, these followers of Absalom chose to ignore the greater needs of the country and sought after their own wishes. As a consequence of their selfish pursuits, a civil war broke out. Solomon watched many of his father’s previous loyal followers turn their backs on David to follow after Absalom, because Absalom was offering them a better deal. In the end, Absalom lost out, but David’s leadership was wounded by these fickle folks.

Bottom line, Solomon says that people are fickle. If you live to try to please people, you will get stung. If you live to exalt yourself you will get stung. What did wisdom teach Solomon, this leader, about people and being a leader? He writes for us, in Proverbs 29:25-26, “Fear of man [or fear of what others may think of you; playing to the crowd or to earn the approval of others] will prove to be a snare, [a trap] but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that man gets justice.”

Boy, what a lesson that is for us today. Many in the world today seek to find a leader who will give them what they think they deserve, what is rightfully theirs, whether it is or not. People look to the government to solve their ills. But Solomon the king, the head of his government frankly tells us, that no politician can be trusted or be depended upon when it comes to meeting human needs. Furthermore, no politician can really trust his constituents, because they can turn on him overnight as well. Only God can be just and not be bought. Only God can be trusted.

From these verses, I see some points that we need to keep in mind as followers and leaders. If you are a leader, be aware of a common trap of leadership. That trap is a spiritual deafness that tends to grow, the more powerful one becomes as a leader. Along with that deafness, comes this idea that “I need no partners to assist me. I’m in charge and I will do it myself.” From the laity’s point of view, they want a leader they know who will at least listen and consider their wishes. That leader after listening, may not think it best to follow their wishes, and the laity or the followers won’t mind so much, if they at least know they have received an honest hearing. If their leader doesn’t listen to them, then despite his humble origin and past successes, the crowd will flock to almost any newcomer, like an Absalom, who will listen to them. The people will become divisive.

To put it in the form of a crystalized point for future leaders, it would be this: Any boss or leader who believes he needs no partner or is beyond the need to have or listen to advisors will soon fall from favor.

Secondly, whether you are a leader, or laity, or followers, there is only one king who is wise and worthy to be followed: Jesus. We read in 1 Timothy 1:17, these words that refer to Jesus. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Again, over in 1 Timothy 6:15 we read about Jesus, “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” Jesus is all-knowing. Jesus is the sovereign king over all creation. He is and always will be the ultimate one to whom we will answer. Jesus is not just our ultimate partner and friend, as we saw last week, He is our king. Hence, when you have to make a decision as to whom it is that you will follow after, or as a leader when you wonder what direction you should take, and whether or not you should strive to please the people, there is only one person you should be concerned about pleasing and following. One person, who in the end will never lead you astray. And He is Jesus Christ.

Which leads us to the next obvious point, since people are fickle and can turn on you no matter what, wise is the leader who does not fear the approval of the people as much as he fears the Lord.  To the elders or those who seek to be leaders of any kind, as you seek to fulfill your role remember you are going to hear all kinds of advice, instructions, wishes from people who don’t even know that they have their own agenda or special interests. The only interests that you as a leader have to consider and follow after are those of Jesus. Following after what you believe God’s Word says about an issue may not make you popular all of the time, but you will be secure in knowing that God is on your side. When you walk with the Lord you stand a better chance of success than ignoring the Lord. 

However, walking with the Lord is no guarantee that you will see the favor of people or success here on earth, because of the fickleness of people. But in the end, since the Lord wins, His approval is all that matters, whether it is seized here or in eternity.

Having worked with a lot of people who have claimed to have trusted their lives to the ultimate King, Jesus Christ, I have discovered that they had their own agenda. Some may even have believed their agenda was biblical, only to find out that they were misguided or legalistic, the evidence of which would have been things like outspoken critical spirits, harshness, a lack of joy and tenderness. For those people, Jesus was only their “king” if he moved them forward in their agenda or fit into their small theological box. Jesus was only to be followed if Jesus didn’t starting changing the ways we do things in church. I’m secure with my traditions, don’t touch them! A wise spiritual leader seeks to do what honors the Lord most, not what pleases those who claim to know or follow Jesus but are marching to their own drum beat.

Finally, when challenges come into our lives, whether they be a technological threat, political threat or economic threat, don’t look to the government or political leaders to deliver you. God may use them to be His instrument of deliverance, but beware of looking to earthly political leaders to be your savior or shepherd. Jesus is the only Savior and Shepherd. He is the only leader you are to follow after whether you are in leadership or laity.

Allow me to close by reading the words to a hymn:

 All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name!

 Let angels prostrate fall;

 Bring forth the royal diadem,

 And crown Him Lord of all;

 Bring forth the royal diadem,

 And crown Him Lord of all!

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