“[There was] a little city, and
few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and
built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and
he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's
wisdom [is] despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise [men are]
heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom [is]
better than weapons of war...”
I recently read something about Alexander the Great that illustrates this passage. “When Alexander the Great was about to destroy the city Lampsacus, his old master Anaximenes came out to meet him. Alexander, suspecting his design, that he would intercede for the city, being determined to destroy it, swore that he would not grant him anything he should ask. Then said Anaximenes, ‘I desire that you destroy this city.’ Alexander respected his oath, and the city was spared.”
To be sure, Alexander was a great man, but, as Job tells us, “Great men are not always wise.”
There are seven pearls, so to speak, in this shell of truth.
1. Wisdom can be found among obscure places and people. “Little city...few men.”
2. Wisdom is not limited to position. “A great king...a poor wise man.”
3. Wisdom is to be used for others, to help deliver them from dire circumstances. “By his wisdom delivered the city.”
4. “Wisdom is better than strength.” It’s not brawn but the brain of the wise that wins out.
5. Wisdom many times gives birth to jealousy in those who do not possess it. “The poor man’s wisdom is despised and not heard.”
6. Wisdom is heard best in quiet. “Heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.”
7. Wisdom is the best of all weapons. “Wisdom [is] better than weapons of war
True, such wisdom is soon forgotten by the ones who have been helped by it. But the wise man is wise enough to know, his “All wise God” hasn’t!”
Richard. D. Sandlin
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