Dead Fly Doctrine
What Is Dead Fly Doctrine?
Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
Ecclesiastes 10:1
Dead fly doctrine teaches the importance of recognizing the two different lives you will inevitably live. Either you will live a life of wisdom or a life of foolishness. There is no in-between. Even a little bit of foolishness ruins wisdom and honor.
There's no middle ground. You're either wise or foolish, just as you're either Christian or unbeliever. A little bit of foolishness ruins wisdom.
Understanding dead fly doctrine is the difference in which path you will end up on. We may recognize obvious evils, like killing someone, but distinguishing wisdom from foolishness requires understanding this chapter provides.
Chapter nine showed the benefits of wisdom, creating a high quality of life. Now chapter ten shows what it's like to be foolish. With these comparisons, you'll see why wisdom is so much better.
Imagine giving your wife perfume with dead flies floating in it on Valentine's Day. It's horrific. It gives off a stench. Dead flies represent a small amount of folly that ruins everything good.
The Benefit of Dead Fly Doctrine
A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.
Ecclesiastes 10:2
The wise man's heart leads him right—toward power, authority, and good things. The fool's heart leads him left, toward misfortune. The wise man's heart leads him aright; the fool's heart leads him astray.
The heart is the control center. If wise, it directs toward soundness and things pleasing to God. Foolishness is an absence of thinking—without careful consideration or understanding.
Folly means not thinking in a way that advantages you. It's like not knowing a door opens or pushing when it says pull. Wisdom is understanding something and reacting accordingly.
You are programmed with sin from birth to be foolish. You need the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ to make you wise. Without pursuing scriptural wisdom, preaching, and fellowship, your life will stink.
Even the smallest amount of foolishness ruins wisdom and honor. But Jesus is your wisdom. View life through Christ and the gospel. When foolish, you are forgiven and can resume wisdom.
Diving into foolishness happens when you stop viewing the world through Christ—what He did and taught, as recorded in Scripture.
Examples of Dead Fly Doctrine
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.
Ecclesiastes 10:4
Practice calmness in conflict, especially with authority. Don't respond without thinking—that's foolishness. Your calm disposition can put offenses to rest. Blessed are the peacemakers.
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.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7
Folly flips the order of things. Slaves on horses and princes on foot show disorder due to foolishness. This applies to roles in society, marriages, friendships, and workplaces.
Wisdom enables permanent, lifelong, enjoyable marriages and success everywhere.
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.
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.
Ecclesiastes 10:8-11
Foolishness in work—like digging without care or using a dull blade—leads to harm. Wisdom brings success.
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? The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
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...
Ecclesiastes 10:12-14
Fools start with nonsense and end in madness, multiplying useless words. Their toil exhausts because they lack direction.
Even in your thoughts do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.
Even in your thoughts do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air may carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.
Ecclesiastes 10:20
Be wise in private as in public. Nothing is truly secret. Wisdom leads right in every area—with authority, relationships, work, speech.
Dead fly doctrine: A little foolishness ruins your life. Its benefit: Wisdom controls you into a high quality of life that glorifies God. Heed Solomon and embrace wisdom.
