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"And it seemed great to me"

Text: Ecclesiastes 9:13

AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE

Solomon sought wisdom wherever he could find it. He came across an experience that “seemed great” to him.

“This wisdom I have also seen under the sun,
and it seemed great to me:
There was a little city with few men in it;
and a great king came against it, besieged it,
and built great snares around it.”
Ecclesiastes 9:13-14

1. “This wisdom I have also seen under the sun”

a) Wisdom may be found “in the streets”.

b) Nuggets of wisdom may be found almost anywhere.

i) Each experience offers a piece of wisdom or two.

ii) It is a matter of observation and analysis.

2. “And it seemed great to me”

a) As Solomon studied the experience

i) He found it interesting.

ii) He found it had an important lesson to offer.

b) The experience seemed “great”.

i) It was not insignificant.

ii) It was relevant to life.

3. “There was a little city with few men in it”

a) The incident was described here.

b) It concerned a little city.

c) There were not too many inhabitants in the city.

4. “And a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it”

a) A great king came across the city and decided to conquer it.

b) What the king did to conquer the city.

i) He besieged the city.

This was a common practice. Small cities tend to surrender before too long.

ii) “Great snares”

These were built so that no one would escape from the city.

c) Would the great king succeed this time round?

i) The great king may have taken this approach on previous occasions.

ii) He may have had good success in the past.

iii) He assumes that this plan would succeed again.