Reflections on Ecclesiastes 8

 

Ecclesiastes 08 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Who is smart enough to explain everything? Wisdom makes you cheerful and gives you a smile.
   
2. If you promised God that you would be loyal to the king, I advise you to keep that promise.
   
3. Don't quickly oppose the king or argue when he has already made up his mind.
   
4. The king's word is law. No one can ask him, "Why are you doing this?"
   
5. If you obey the king, you will stay out of trouble. So be smart and learn what to do and when to do it.
   
6. Life is hard, but there is a time and a place for everything,
   
7. though no one can tell the future.
   
8. We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death. There is no escape in time of war, and no one can hide behind evil.
   
9. I noticed all this and thought seriously about what goes on in the world. Why does one person have the power to hurt another?
   
10. I saw the wicked buried with honor, but God's people had to leave the holy city and were forgotten. None of this makes sense.
    
11. When we see criminals commit crime after crime without being punished, it makes us want to start a life of crime.
    
12. They commit hundreds of crimes and live to a ripe old age, in spite of the saying: Everyone who lives right and respects God will prosper,
    
13. but no one who sins and rejects God will prosper or live very long.
    
14. There is something else that doesn't make sense to me. Good citizens are treated as criminals, while criminals are honored as though they were good citizens.
    
15. So I think we should get as much out of life as we possibly can. There is nothing better than to enjoy our food and drink and to have a good time. Then we can make it through this troublesome life that God has given us here on earth.
    
16. Day and night I went without sleep, trying to understand what goes on in this world.
    
17. I saw everything God does, and I realized that no one can really understand what happens. We may be very wise, but no matter how much we try or how much we claim to know, we cannot understand it all.
    

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This chapter of Ecclesiastes might best be understood by approaching it with two questions: What are the benefits of wisdom? and What are the limitations of wisdom?  As for the benefits of wisdom, Solomon first says that wisdom brightens a person's face, removing the sternness that would otherwise be there. Is this because a wise person is lighter in heart which is reflected in a more pleasant demeanor, or as one commentator suggests, is it that the wise person knows how to act graciously and avoid brash behavior, and this more pleasant behavior is reflected in a more pleasant appearance? I lean toward the first understanding, that the brighter face is a result of a lighter heart, as the Contemporary English Version also understands it to mean - "Wisdom makes you cheerful and gives you a smile." (CEV)

Another benefit of wisdom, according to Solomon, is that a wise man understands and practices proper decorum in the presence of the king. We might apply this to any person of authority. It is best, he says, to obey the orders of the king and not to oppose him once his mind is made up. By so doing, one can stay out of trouble. He says, "a wise heart knows the right time and procedure," in other words, a wise person learns what to do and when to do it. The right thing at the wrong time is not good, and there is no proper time for a wrong thing.

Furthermore, the wise man restrains himself in the face of an uncertain future. He understands there is a right time and procedure for everything and patiently discerns when it is right to do something. Neither the wise man nor the foolish one know what the future will bring. Neither can control when they will die, but the wise man does not resort to wickedness in an effort to stave off the inevitable day of his demise. Just as the wind cannot be restrained, and no one has authority over when he will die, nor does anyone get a break during a war, neither can any one hide behind evil. As Solomon continues in verses 9-13, he emphasizes the outcome for those who try to hide behind evil. Those in authority will bring harm to them. This point also references the earlier statement about proper decorum before the king. Failure to obey the king, or obey the laws, will result in harm to oneself. There will be some people, however, who will persist in wickedness since justice is often slow to work its course. When sentencing for criminal acts is delayed, those with a bent toward crime will continue in crime thinking there will be no recompense. But whether the criminal gets his due before the justice system or not, it will not go well for him before God. Solomon is still speaking here to the benefits of wisdom. The wise man avoids this course and persists in doing the right thing at the right time.

Now we come to the limitations of wisdom, starting with verse 14. First Solomon recognizes that there are injustices in life for which the wise cannot understand. Why do righteous people sometimes get what the wicked deserve and the wicked sometimes get what the righteous deserve? This is an ageless question to which only God has the answer. In addition, Solomon sought to pursue the depths of wisdom and found it was an endless task that could not be accomplished. Man cannot understand all there is to understand. It is beyond him. Although wisdom is good and has it benefits, man is limited in his ability to acquire it. So what is Solomon's conclusion? Much the same as in earlier chapters - enjoy the fruit of your labor. Be content with what you have and accept the life God gives you.