ENTERING INTO THE CITY: REMASTERING THE STRATEGY OF HOWS - 2

ENTERING INTO THE CITY: REMASTERING THE STRATEGY OF HOWS - 2

Ecclesiastes 10:15 needs to be understood anew. 

"The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city" (KJV). Let me give you another version. That's going to be ESV.

"The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city."

Mark, "...for he does not know the way to the city."

So, there's a way to the city. It means if there's a destination in mind, there's a direction to take to reach it. There cannot be a successful arrival at the city without having followed the pathway that leads there in the first place. 

The verse is not saying the city is difficult to find. It is saying that wisdom begins with understanding the pathway to your destination. Many people have strength, zeal and ambition but they lack knowledge of the route. You want to study abroad and need scholarship for that. However, do you know how to obtain a scholarship, write the necessary proposals etc? Do you even know what group to join where profitable scholarships are dropped and explained to people?

"How to get there" is the problem! His problem is not the absence of effort; it is the absence of direction.

No amount of walking can compensate for walking in the wrong direction or using the wrong strategy. You won't still be able to enter into your apartment if you're using the wrong set of keys. 

Consider a camping expedition. Suppose you decide to spend three days camping in a forest. Your excitement alone is not enough. You must first ask:

Which forest are we going to?

What is the terrain like?

What dangers exist there?

What equipment should be taken?

What food will sustain us?

How will we obtain clean water?

What if someone gets injured?

What is our means of communication?

How do we return safely?

You see, a wise camper studies the environment before entering it. He carries a map, compass or GPS, adequate food, clean water, shelter, first-aid kit, appropriate clothing, fire-making equipment, emergency supplies etc. 

The foolish camper simply says, "let's go." His enthusiasm becomes his frustration. 

He becomes hungry because he planned no food. 

He becomes cold because he packed no shelter.

He gets lost because he carried no map.

His labour becomes weariness because he did not know how to enter the wilderness.

Consider capturing an island nation also. Imagine a military commander says, "we shall conquer that island." The next question is not, "how many soldiers do we have?" The next question is, "how do we get there?" 

Since it is an island, where are the ports?

Which beaches are suitable for landing?

How deep are the surrounding waters? 

What naval defenses exist? 

What weather conditions prevail? 

Which routes are mined? 

How much fuel is required? 

Where will supplies come from after landing? 

What intelligence exists about the enemy?

Without answering these questions, even the largest army may never reach the battlefield. 

History teaches this repeatedly. Many military campaigns failed before a single battle was fought because commanders underestimated logistics, geography, weather or supply lines. They didn't put things in place that could guarantee correct entering. 

The battle is often decided long before the first sword is drawn. As for you, master the principle being taught here once and for all. 

Every destination has its road to it.

Every achievement has a process.

Every city has roads.

Every kingdom has gates.

Every opportunity has laws.

Many people admire success but never study the pathway that leads to it.

They desire the destination but despise the process.

They want the crown without learning the kingdom.

They want influence without understanding people.

They want wealth without learning value creation.

They want ministry without learning Scripture and character development.

The lesson is that God rarely blesses mere desire. He blesses wisdom. That is why Proverbs says, "wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7)." 

Before God gives you a city, He often teaches you the 'road' to it. You shouldn't have a home without knowing how it runs. 

Before God entrusts you with influence, He teaches you stewardship.

Before He opens a door, He teaches you how doors work.

The fool asks, "how do I get there quickly?" The wise ask, "what is the preparation to get there?"

That is the difference between movement and progress. One expends energy; the other reaches the destination. As Ecclesiastes teaches, it is possible to labor greatly and still become weary simply because one does not know how to go into the city. Wisdom is knowing the way before beginning the journey at all. 

Let me tell you a story of how an army did vain labour for ten years before discovering for once how to enter and take their intended city. 

Have you heard of the story of the Trojan Horse. It is one of the most famous episodes in ancient Greek mythology and military history.

Although, it's often associated with history, the details come primarily from epic literature, especially the Roman poet Virgil's Aeneid and references in Homer's Odyssey.

Historians debate whether the event happened exactly as described, but the story has become a timeless lesson in strategy (learning how to enter), deception, and warfare.

The conflict was between the Greeks (Achaeans), a coalition of Greek kingdoms led by King Agamemnon of Mycenae and The Trojans, inhabitants of the wealthy city of Troy, ruled by King Priam.

According to Greek mythology, the Trojan prince, Paris visited Sparta and either abducted or eloped with Helen, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus. Since Helen was considered the most beautiful woman in the world, the Greek kings united to recover her and punish Troy.

They assembled a massive fleet of about a thousand ships and sailed across the Aegean Sea to besiege Troy. The Greeks laid siege to Troy for ten years. Despite being powerful warriors, they could not capture the city because:

Troy had enormous defensive walls.

The Trojans had excellent commanders, especially Hector.

The Greeks repeatedly failed in direct assaults.

After a decade of not entering, neither side had achieved victory. The Greeks then realized they needed something more powerful than brute force.

They needed deception. The mastermind of this was Odysseus, king of Ithaca. He proposed building an enormous wooden horse. Several reasons are traditionally associated with this. 

Horses were sacred to the Trojans.

A horse could be presented as a religious offering.

It would appear to be a symbol of surrender rather than a weapon.

So, the horse was constructed large enough to conceal an elite group of Greek soldiers inside. Among them was Odysseus himself.

The Greeks then did something astonishing. They burned their camps, boarded their ships and sailed away from Troy. At least, that's what the Trojans believed. In reality however, the fleet is hidden behind the nearby island of Tenedos, waiting for darkness.

The Trojans looked out from their walls and saw:

No Greek army.

No camp.

Only one enormous wooden horse left behind.

It looked like the war was finally over.

In their strategy of entering, the Greeks deliberately left behind one man named Sinon. When captured, Sinon pretended he had been abandoned by the Greeks. He told the Trojans a carefully crafted lie:

The horse was a sacred offering to the goddess Athena.

If the Trojans destroyed it, Athena would punish them.

If they brought it inside Troy, the city would receive divine protection.

It was a psychological warfare and not everyone believed Sinon. A Trojan priest named Laocoon warned everyone, "beware of Greeks bearing gifts." He even threw a spear into the horse but according to the legend, two enormous sea serpents emerged and killed him and his sons.

The Trojans interpreted this as a sign that the gods favored the horse.

King Priam's daughter, Cassandra also warned that Troy would fall if the horse entered the city. She possessed the gift of prophecy but had been cursed so that no one would believe her. Her warnings were ignored.

The Trojans celebrated what they believed was the end of the war. They therefore:

Opened the city gates

Dragged the giant horse through the streets.

Placed it in the center of Troy.

They held a great festival.

There was feasting, music, dancing and drinking. By nightfall, the city was asleep. Late at night, Sinon secretly opened the horse and the hidden Greek soldiers climbed out.

They quietly killed the guards. They opened Troy's massive gates.

The Greek fleet returned from behind Tenedos. Thousands of Greek soldiers poured into the city.The Greeks attacked while the Trojans slept. The city was overwhelmed. King Priam was killed with many Trojans dead. Others were taken into slavery.

The magnificent city that had resisted for ten years fell in a single night, not because of a superior force but because of a change in how to enter.

Strategy is KEY!

That is how to enter. The strategy succeeded because it exploited human psychology. The Trojans wanted the war to be over. They believed what they hoped was true. They mistook a gift for goodwill. They ignored wise warnings. They celebrated before the danger had passed.

The Greeks won not by breaking the walls from the outside, but by strategizing correctly. They merely changed something and ten years labour was immediately justified. 

Today, the term "Trojan Horse" refers to anything that appears harmless or beneficial but conceals a hidden threat.

Examples include:

Computer malware disguised as legitimate software.

A deceptive business offer.

A political strategy that secretly advances another agenda.

Any gift or opportunity that hides danger.

The story remains one of history's and mythology's greatest illustrations that strategy, patience and deception can sometimes accomplish what years of direct assault cannot. It has become a classic case study in military strategy, psychology, intelligence and leadership.

And you are leaders. Those I'm writing to are or are leaders to be. This is how to enter the city. If you don't learn how, you'll only remain at the entrance, locked outside by wide giant gates. 

Accomplishments only become accomplishable by taking the very roads to them. I think what is keeping a lot of us from ever entering the city or succeeding is our thinking that things will just happen for us without investing time, effort and resources in acquiring the necessities for our entry (where we're aspiring to enter).

Entering needs mapping. It requires your intentionality. You must be like a general planning a war, seated in a conference to estimate its costs, risks and returns.

Just don't go and hit your head on the wall. Talk to yourself first. Counsel with God also and where possible, other men.

May you be found to be an observer of this law instead of a trespasser, who persistently knocks to bleeding without the gates being flung open to him. 

Olusola ADEJUMO,

M'Wings. 

Morning Wings Ministry,

Nigeria.

morningwingministry@gmail.com

+234 81 3704 6812

27/07/26

2:58pm