Ecclesiastes 8:1
The question asked in the first verse confuses me. I can't tell of Solomon knows the answer or is presenting it in this way to lead the reader to the answer. Solomon's life was a mess toward the end. He seemed to have forgotten about God or was led astray by other gods and blinded by his gold and pursuit of wisdom. Who knows? God knows, He alone. That's the wisest thing we can acknowledge.
- The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
Wisdom affects our outward appearance. With it comes a brightness that replaces the hard, gruff appearance.
- When a king's face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.
Who is really wise?
Ecclesiastes 8:2-4
Solomon had many servants in his court. There are many warnings in the Proverbs about how one should act toward the king, whether you agree with him or not. To be in good standing, one must be obedient to the king. As a servant of the king, your oath must be firm and unbending; you must be committed to that service. As a servant, you have no right to stand up and protest before the king when you don't like what he's doing. He does what he pleases and is not answerable to his servants. This was the traditional, proverbial wisdom of that day.
Who is wise? The servant of God who recognizes that the Lord is King and remembers their place as a servant. As King, He does as He wills and is not accountable to explain Himself to us. We must remember ourselves as servants, act in respect and obedience honoring our commitment to Him.
Ecclesiastes 8:5-8
The wise and obedient servant to the king is characterized by the traditional wisdom. Wisdom knows the proper time and procedure; when to speak and when to hold your tongue is important. As is how to speak and how to approach and act in the presence of the king. The best a wise servant and do is understand these things and live life with this wisdom in play.
There are no guarantees to life, no one knows the future. The 'power over the wind' should be understood as the 'breathe of life'. We don't have control over the timing of our dying breathe. Those who practice wickedness are captive to it as those who practice war aren't excuse from fighting. Can we pull some wisdom from this for our relationship to our King?
In the presence of the king should we not approach humbly and thankfully that He would even allow us into His courts? Imagine the arrogant servant that marches in like hHe has every right. He gave us life when we were dead in the spirit. He gave His life that we might live eternally; should we not give our life to Him?
- Isn't our confusion about a matter an opportunity to trust rather than demand change?
- In our broken-heartedness, can we approach with humility and questions, expecting nothing more than compassion.
- In our hurt, can we ask for healing and expect nothing more than His loving care.
- In our concerns and temptation to be angry, can we see an opportunity to exercise grace.
These all sound good. Yet our rebellious nature, hard-heartedness and in the wave of emotions, we often forget our standing (or lack thereof) in the presence of our king. Yet, He still loves us.
Ecclesiastes 8:9-10
Solomon saw good men forget their place and humility; lording over others to their own demise. They were wicked men but they made their appearance at the temple. They played a part, put on a show and received a good burial in death. He saw the wicked revered and the righteous ignored and disregarded and it bothered him.
Ecclesiastes 8:11-13
The king's pursuit of justice or just delay in sentencing a crime gives way for wickedness. How quickly we can be come a mob. Suddenly, we know what's best and what should be done and how quickly it should be done. This shows up in our conversations constantly. Our trust in the king is thin and quickly taken back.
Solomon saw many things confusing about how the wicked were dealt with, yet hew knew this precept to be, in general, true: Even though the wicked appear to be getting by just fine at times, in the end, it is better for those that fear the Lord and are reverent before Him.
We know this to be true from the teachings from the whole counsel of God. We know that what we see with our eyes in this life and but a speck in the shadow of reality. All sin debt will be accounted for. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. Wrath belongs to Him, not us. While our eyes are opened to a wider view, it is still veiled and flawed. Our worldview is larger but still very small because we can't imagine eternity. While our flesh wants the wicked to suffer, we can't even imagine what we are wishing on a person in the context of eternal damnation. Maybe our actions would be better focused on desiring a changed heart for the wicked, instead of suffering.
Ecclesiastes 8:14-17
This tends to offend us deeply. What kind of God would allow this; the righteous getting what the wicked deserve and vice versa. It seems so meaningless and unjust. Unless of course, we might benefit from such a thing, then it seems more acceptable. For this is exactly what was done on the cross; Jesus took our sin to the cross. He took our place, being crucified as the wicked deserve. We, in turn, got His righteousness. How is that fair?! It's amazing love and grace
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Solomon returns to this idea of taking life as it sits before us today. Each day is a gift with no promises for tomorrow. Receive this day from God as a blessing. Humbly and thankfully thank your King for this day. Don't worry about tomorrow or the things we didn't understand from yesterday.
©2018 Doug Ford
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