Ecclesiastes 8:1-17--Wisdom, Authorities, and Inequities

Ecclesiastes 8Christian Standard Bible

Wisdom, Authorities, and Inequities
8 Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A person’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

2 Keep the king’s command because of your oath made before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants. 4 For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. 6 For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though a person’s troubles are heavy on him. 7 Yet no one knows what will happen because who can tell him what will happen? 8 No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; no one is discharged during battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practice it to escape. 9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to all the work that is done under the sun, at a time when one person has authority over another to his harm.

10 In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they did those things. This too is futile. 11 Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil. 12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before him. 13 However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.

14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile. 15 So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

​16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night), 17 I observed all the work of God and concluded that a person is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a person labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; even if a wise person claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.

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Solomon says the wise people are usually happier people because they can figure out the answers to life's questions and maybe even get some happiness out of helping others figure out the answers to these questions.  I think it's a plea from Solomon to his son to choose wisdom.

Solomon then gives some wisdom of how to act before the king.  First, obey the king's commands so you are not brought before him in judgment.  Don't expect good things if you are meeting the king for him to punish you for doing wicked things.  Next, know when it is time to excuse yourself.  The king's time is valuable, and he has lots to manager.  Don't waste his time with frivolous matters or asking him to take action based on you telling lies.

Do not question the king's authority, for the king gets his authority from God Himself.  You should pray to the LORD for relief from a bad king.  Typically, the one who obeys and honors the king has nothing to fear.  Beyond this, the wise person knows there is a right time and place for everything and discerns the best time and manner to approach the king on a particular matter.  Even though a matter weighs heavy on your heart, that doesn't mean that it must be an emergency for the king (or even make his list of urgent or important things to take care of).  The wheels of justice may turn slowly.

The king is in need of prophets who can speak to him with the authority and certainty that only the LORD can offer, for even the wisest men are not certain of the future.  Only the LORD can be certain of that and reveal it to His prophets to reveal to His kings.  Only God can control nature--don't ask the king to do something impossible for him to do.  If you need a miracle, you need to talk to God about that.  The king may have the authority to execute capital punishment, but he cannot control when someone will or will not die.  Life and death are in the hands of the LORD.  Don't ask the king to discharge a son from his duties during wartime (especially during battle) because you don't want him to die.  The son swore allegiance to God, king, and country, even to the point of death.  Don't think that you will get what you want by practicing witchcraft and divination either--for the powers of darkness also don't have the authority over life and death (without getting permission from God).  We see this in the book of Job.  A man may try to usurp this authority by murdering a fellow man, but that is why capital punishment exists (see the Noahic Covenant).  It will not go well for murderers and manslaughterers who shed innocent blood.

​The wicked die as the LORD punishing them for their wickedness, yet they are given the same kind of funeral to honor them as the righteous man.  Why can't we be honest about the kind of life that someone lived?  It is not speaking ill of the dead to tell the truth about them and warn the next generation to not live like them.  Not all souls will "rest in peace" and go to heaven.  There are two kingdoms of people with two very different destinies, and we need to be honest about which kingdom someone was part of when they die.

Justice against evil should be executed quickly so as to not let others feel like the king or the nation turns a blind eye to wickedness or in any way winks at it.  The wicked man should have a fair, but speedy trial followed by the just punishment that he deserves (whether that is a beating or confinement or the death penalty).  Even though it may appear that people get ahead in life by doing evil, Solomon knows that the LORD will fulfill the promise that He has made to the righteous--even if that promise is fulfilled in the coming kingdom.  It will not go well with the wicked when they stand before the LORD, the King of King and Lord of LORD, on the Day of Judgment.

Solomon is upset that sometimes innocent people get punished and guilty people get let go.  The justice system of humans isn't perfect, and we know the LORD hates injustice, but He Himself will balance the scales of justice and hold all to account, even if we miss something here in this life.

Solomon once again calls on all people to milk this life for all that it is worth--to fully enjoy what God has made for them.  Life is short and God doesn't intend for us to be miserable.  We should serve Him with gladness, but we should also have some fun will doing it.

Solomon's last thoughts in this chapter is that even with many sleepless nights, there are some mysteries that even the wise man cannot wrap his mind around.  They are there to let us know that only God is wise enough to know these things.  Do not listen to those who say they know things that are unknowable by man.  It is okay to not know everything at this time.  One day, the LORD will allow us to understand everything so that there will be no more secrets and mysteries.  We will no longer need to ask questions or teach anything to each other for we will know everything He intends for us to know.