May 12
Reading: Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 I say: Keep the king’s command, because of God’s oath to him. 3 Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. 4 For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way. 6 For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him. 7 For he does not know what is to be, for who can tell him how it will be?
8 No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death. There is no discharge from war, nor will wickedness deliver those who are given to it. 9 All this I observed while applying my heart to all that is done under the sun, when man had power over man to his hurt. 10 Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.
11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. 12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
Ecclesiastes 8 begins and ends with an effort to know wisdom. But this is found to be futility, though the effort is admirable.
Most of the chapter is given to exploring the futility of political action and seeking to right the wrongs and bring justice to an unjust world. “This also is vanity.” (vs. 10)
A person might as well obey the king, or whoever has the political power. (vss. 2-7) After all, what do you know anyhow? Everyone thinks he knows what is going to happen, but really no one does.
More than that, you who might want to right the wrongs of the earth, how much control do you even have over your own life? (vss. 8-10) How much do you even know about that? Amid all the pundits and political action efforts the most that any wise person can really say is that it is best if I would just fear God. (vss. 11-13) I don’t know much, but I know that.
Worse yet is the obvious vanity of injustice that appears so often in this world (vs. 14) The good people get bad things and the bad people get good things. How mixed up is that? Who can understand it? Who can fix it? No one. Even if you are somewhat successful, things will go back to bad within a generation. The best one can do is seek to be content in God’s world. (vs. 15)
The chapter concludes with a lament. (vss. 16-17) No matter how hard the wise person tries to understand what God is doing in God’s world, he or she ends up in confusion. There seem to be no answers when we want them. If we are honest with ourselves, this is our existence unless God does something miraculous for us.