Solomon gave a great lesson in preparation in Ecclesiastes 10:10. A woodsman may be a powerful and energetic person. Yet, he will exhaust his resources if he does not take the time to prepare himself for his task. There is an important lesson for us today.
Far too many have assumed the role of teacher without proper preparation. They have become like the men of Ephesus who are “wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying of the matters about which they make confident assertions” (1 Timothy 1:7). It is a dangerous thing for a man to teach others the eternal truths of God. This is why Paul warned Timothy to “pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching” (1 Timothy 4:16), and James said, “let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1).
What, then, should one do to “sharpen his axe”? First, he must himself be a faithful, trustworthy man (2 Timothy 2:2). This means that he will not take liberties with God’s inspired Word. He recognizes that it is perfect and complete, and he must not tamper with it (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Second, he must be willing to ‘burn the midnight oil’ in intense study. He has to be a “workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). How does he handle accurately the Word of truth? He does it by study. He does it by meditating on the Word ‘day and night’ (Psalm 1:2).
If we want to be successful, we will prepare ourselves. Solomon concluded this verse by noting that “wisdom has the advantage of giving success.” Let us not be lazy in the handling of God’s Word. It is too important that we get it right!
