Ecclesiastes 8:1-10 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 8:1-10. Let’s go!
Ecclesiastes 8:1 (NIV)
1 Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.
On verse 1: Wisdom has this way of transforming a person from the inside out.
Ecclesiastes 8:2-6 (NIV)
2 Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
3 Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
4 Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
On verses 2-6: Qohelet instructs his readers on how to conduct themselves in front of their king. Since Jesus is our king and His word is supreme (v4), may we obey His commands (v2), not be in a hurry to leave His presence (v3), and stand up only for causes that please Him (v3). Those who obey His commands will come to no harm (v5a). Wise people know how to conduct themselves before this King (v5b-6).
Ecclesiastes 8:7-8a (NIV)
7 Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
8 No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death…
On verses 7-8: We have no control over the day of our birth and very little control over the day of our death. But we can control is how we lived in that little hyphen between the day of our birth and the day of our death.
Ecclesiastes 8:8b-10 (NIV)
8…As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.
10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried–those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
On verses 8-10: Qohelet here recognizes that living wickedly is a short-sighted way to live, for one’s wickedness will always catch up to him in the end. God is just and will hold every person accountable for the way they lived.
Jesus, You are my King. Since I’m always in Your presence, may I be wise enough to know how to conduct myself before You while I live on this earth. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
