Young Wise Poor better than Old Foolish King and Common Destiny for All (Ecc 4: 13-16)

YOUNG WISE POOR BETTER THAN OLD FOOLISH KING AND COMMON DESTINY (ECC 4: 13-16):

The author of Ecclesiastes is the son of the King of Jerusalem and he is born with the silver spoon, enjoying all the privileges from his childhood. Still, the author says that the poor who is wise and young is better than the king who is foolish and old. Usually, the Old is said to be wiser and better but here the author writes and complements certain things by thinking more than the factor of age or experience itself. The author perceives that wisdom distinguishes efficiency. Also if we could think deeper, a wise and poor youth has great experiences and understanding of the ordinary people and he knows what they need, better than the old king who is foolish. The young and poor person is from the lower position in which he is captured by many social stigmas in society to the position of the throne. In his own kingdom, he had born poor and he had seen many people becoming poor.

The author looks at all the human beings who were living in the face of the earth under the sun, along with the young person who stands in the king’s palace. There arises some person in the place of someone and the second takes the place of the previous person. Though succession is mostly by the heirs of the person, it need not happen always like it, and there could be successors who are very ordinary and normal in the sight of people, unexpectedly.

The people led by the ruler continues to follow him, as there is no end for all the people to be together, as well as the issues that arise because of them never end. The people who were existent before the ruler will be there during his rule and there will be newer generations that arise during his reign. But most of the people who come after the existence of the ruler will not know him to the fullest and most of them will not rejoice in him, though he is very great with all his accomplishments and accumulations. Also, those come after the ruler who will not show interest in the past but more concerned towards the present and the near future. The author concludes that all that man toils and gains whether being with higher power during the tenure of life has its own limitations which are surely a vanity and vexation of the spirit, as it doesn’t gain anything for the man though he may gain the entire world.

Stimulations for Self-Reflection:

1.    Who is better than whom?

2.    Why the Poor wise youth is better than an old foolish king?

3.    Where does the poor and wise young person come from?

4.    Who does the author consider or see?

5.    Who has no end? How?

6.    Who will not rejoice towards whom? Why?

7.    What is the conclusion of the author? Why?

8.    What could be the best quality for a leader or ruler?

9.    How do you think that past events help in life?

10.    What could be the best reward that could be sought for a meaningful and purposeful life?