# Ep 138: A Parable for Pursuing Christian Fellowship (Ecc 4:13-16).

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890/ep-138-a-parable-for-pursuing-christian-fellowship-ecc-4-13-16
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890/ep-138-a-parable-for-pursuing-christian-fellowship-ecc-4-13-16.md
Podcast: [Old things New Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890)
Published: 2026-02-24T19:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/p/ep-138-a-parable-for-pursuing-christian
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/188863680/53869ecec4822a3a93fc9e3f2794c238.mp3
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Duration seconds: 769

## Resource

Pray Read: Ecc 4:4-16. Meditation Now we have a peculiar little story in verses 13 through 16, it’s almost a parable. Solomon tells the story of a foolish old king who did not know how to take advice. We will open this up a bit more later, but for now notice the old king. What was the defining mark of this king? That he did not know how to take advice. He did not listen to people. He had cut himself off from good advice. And so the poor and wise youth was better than the hard-hearted and isolated old king. Envy and laziness both tend towards isolation, but here is another cause: the inability to listen. Listening to no one but ourselves is a sure way to reach a dead end in life. You can have all the riches in the world, but a poor wise man who listens is better than a rich king whose heart is hard. Fearing God requires a listening heart. It requires a heart that listens to God, and a heart that listens to good advice from others. It requires a heart that looks for good advice from others. If we see this tendency in ourselves, the tendency not to talk with others, we ought to take note of this warning. If you simply do not talk to others there cannot be a relationship. That is a danger in itself. The tendency to argue with others, or an argumentative spirit, is an indicator of someone who does not listen. The tendency of inattention, giving people only half of our attention; or perhaps of talking too much, these are not good signs. Someone with a tendency to talk a lot may struggle to listen. There may be a tendency not to show real interest in others, for this foolish king would not have been one to ask sensitive questions of others to better understand them. It may be someone who interrupts, someone who formulates what he wants to say while the other is talking. It ma…

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## Transcript

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