Ecclesiastes 8:11-17 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ecclesiastes 8:11-17. Let’s go!
Ecclesiastes 8:11-14 (NIV)
11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.
12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.
13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.
On verses 11-14: Here we see a bit of Qohelet’s struggle. On one hand, as king of Israel, Qohelet believed that it was important to carry out sentences for crimes quickly; otherwise people will be emboldened to do wrong, thinking, “nothing’s going to happen to me anyway” (v11). On the other hand, Qohelet noticed that wicked men sometimes live a long time (v12) and life goes well with them (v14) while other more righteous people seem to get what the wicked deserve (v14). To Qohelet, this is absurd, “meaningless” (v14). Still, Qohelet hangs onto the belief that it is better to fear God than to be wicked (v12) and that ultimately it will not go well with the wicked, though Qohelet does not clearly describe how or why he believes that.
What can we learn from this? Do not be dismayed when you see wicked people living a long and seemingly blessed life, while righteous people are cut down seemingly before their time or live more difficult lives on earth. That’s because what you see on this earth is only one small part of the story. In eternity, the tide will turn, such that those who are wicked will be cut off while those who are righteous will have eternal, abundant life.
Ecclesiastes 8:15-17 (NIV)
15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth–his eyes not seeing sleep day or night–
17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.
On verses 15-17: For Qohelet there are certain things in this life which are beyond our understanding (v17). So Qohelet commends that people enjoy their lives and invest in their happiness by eating, drinking and being glad (v15).
What can we learn from this? Relying on our own powers of observation and logic, we’re not able to figure out what this life is all about. We need God to reveal to us what this life is about. That is why Jesus is so crucial, for Jesus came to reveal what God is like and what life is all about. Qohelet says that he “saw all that God has done” (v17), but he may be speaking prematurely. For centuries later, God would reveal Himself through Jesus Christ and show us what life really is all about.
Father, on my own strength, logic and understanding, I have no way of figuring out what this life is all about. But Your revelation – You revealing Yourself through Your Son Jesus – allows us to see what life is about. May we cherish each day we have and be glad in it. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
