Ecclesiastes 10:18

By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. BY MUCH SLOTHFULNESS - Hebrew, dual: By double slothfulness: or, sloth with both hands. THE BUILDING - literally, the joining of the rafters; namely, the kingdom, the edifice of state (; ). IDLENESS OF THE HANDS - (; .) THE HOUSE DROPPETH - by neglect to repair the roof in time, the rain gets through....

16-20 The happiness of a land depends on the character of its rulers. The people cannot be happy when their princes are childish, and lovers of pleasure. Slothfulness is of ill consequence both to private and public affairs. Money, of itself, will neither feed nor clothe, though it answers the occasions of this present life, as what is to be had, may generally be had for money. But the soul, as it is not redeemed, so it is not maintained with corruptible things, as silver and gold. God sees what men do, and hears what they say in secret; and, when he pleases, brings it to light by strange and unsuspected ways. If there be hazard in secret thoughts and whispers against earthly rulers, what must be the peril from every deed, word, or thought of rebellion against the King of kings, and Lord of lords! He seeth in secret. His ear is ever open. Sinner! curse not THIS KING in thy inmost though...

Verse 18. _BY MUCH SLOTHFULNESS_] This is remarkably the case in some countries. Houses are not repaired till they almost fall about the ears of the inhabitants. We have an adage that applies to all such cases: "A stitch in time saves nine....

Foolish rulers, by their weakness, self-indulgence and sloth, bring decay upon the state: nobleness and temperance insure prosperity: yet the subject must not rebel in word or thought against his king. Ecclesiastes 10:16 A CHILD - Rather, young. The word is applied to Rehoboam 2 Chronicles 13:7 at the time of his accession to the throne, when he was 41 years old. EAT IN THE MORNING - A sign of intemperance (compare Isaiah 5:11). Ecclesiastes 10:17...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 10:1 Section 11. _A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, _and is sure to make itself conspicuous. ECCLESIASTES 10:1 DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOR. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle's warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muse

BY MUCH SLOTHFULNESS THE BUILDING DECAYETH,.... Or, "by slothfulnesses" g, The word is in the dual number, and so may signify the slothfulness of the hands, as Aben Ezra, of both hands, and of both feet; or the various kinds of slothfulness, as the Arabic version, slothfulness both of body and mind; or of all sorts of persons, superiors and inferiors, princes and subjects; and with respect to all things present and future: and, as through slothfulness a material building decays; or a "beam", as the word signifies, the raftering of a house, the roof, which consists of rafters and beams joined together when the tiling is decayed by winds and rains, or any breaches made in the rafters, and no care taken to repair, the whole falls in, and the house is in ruins: so figurative buildings, families, churches, and kingdoms, come to nothing, through the sluggishness of masters of families, ministe...

CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. Here are a number of observations and all show that there is a practical value in wisdom and that it has certain advantages. These maxims are of a different kind than the proverbs in the preceding book. There we are face to face with the wisdom which is from above, here it is the wisdom of man. The name of the Lord is not mentioned once, Similar philosophic utterances can be traced in the literature of other ancient nations. They need no detailed annotations....

ECCLESIASTES 9:17 TO ECCLESIASTES 10:15. EXPERIENCE CRYSTALLISED IN PROVERBS. Ecclesiastes 9:17 to Ecclesiastes 10:3 forms a series of proverbs perhaps due to the sage who worked over the original book. In Ecclesiastes 9:17 follow _mg.;_ the contrast is between the quiet but sure voice of the wise and the noisy pretentious clatter of an arch-fool. With Ecclesiastes 9:18, _cf._...

BUILDING DECAYETH. the roof falleth in. DROPPETH THROUGH. leaketh....

_By much slothfulness the building decayeth_ The maxim, though generalised in form, and applicable to every form of the evil which it condemns, may fairly be contemplated, in relation to its context, as having a political bearing. There, _laissez-faire_, the policy of indolent procrastination, may be as fatal to the good government and prosperity of a state as the most reckless profligacy. The figure is singularly apt. The fabric of a state, like that of the house (Amos 9:11), needs from time to time to be surveyed and repaired. "Time," as Bacon has said, "alters all things" (houses of both kinds included) "for the worse." "The TIMBER FRAMEWORK of the house decays." The decay may be hidden at first (this seems the point implied in the relation of the two parts of the proverb) but the latent cause soon shews itself in a very patent effect, "The house LETS IN THE RAIN," there is the