Ecclesiastes 9 ONE EVENT It is impossible for us mere mortals to understand all that God has done in creation, the eternal past, nor what He will do in the future. So, it is futile for us to think we can know all He is doing now, and the reasons behind all we can observe. For some people who depend on themselves, their good works or their own understanding, God is like their favorite vending machine. What they choose to put in will result in being able to decide what they get out. Hopefully, to their minds, it will be more than they put in.
The Preacher wisely came to understand that we cannot understand all that goes on “under the sun,” let alone in the entire universe. Only God is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. In spite of man’s exalted opinion of himself, we are limited to this little space of time we call life. This is infinitesimal compared to God’s work that covers eternity as an eternal “now” to Him. His work encompasses all of creation, all of His on-going activities now and forever. So how could we ever conceive of knowing more than a limited view of things except for the fact He has given us His word to let us know what He wants us to know. It is enough for us to know Him, “and Jesus Christ who Thou hast sent.” He knows us and those two things are really all that we are capable of understanding at this present time of our existence. Other things are “yet to follow.”
Presently what we know is we are alive, and like every living thing, one event happens to all. We die! Believers live in a “more sure hope,” in regards to the future, even though the future also is out of our hands. It is under God’s control and no one knows what the demands of our own life will hold, whether it will be good or bad. It is enough that we know God, and by faith, our trust is in Him to do with us as He sees fit.
This life and this universe are not the result of random events or circumstances. It is under God’s control with order and purpose displayed wherever we look. Any and all work we have done is assessed and remembered by God as to what it is and why it was done. That is why it is important that believers in Christ live by “the faith of (in) the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” We can’t judge by the circumstances of life whether we are the objects of divine favor or not. There is no distinction in the “one event” that happens to all. Death levels everyone by that one event. Beyond our powers of observation is the fact of God’s omniscience, and the “Judge of all the earth (will) do right.”
To some people it doesn’t make any difference what you do, because as far as they are concerned, “When you’re dead, you’re dead.” And to them that is the end of everything. So, they don’t hesitate to continue in sin with “madness in their hearts.” In contrast, hope is the confident expectation that God is as good as His word. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen.” A contemptable living scavenging dog, is better than the body of an admired, but dead lion. The Preacher was not contrasting life now with afterlife in verse five, but is contrasting life and death. All the emotions that make a person who he or she is, leave the body at death. Those in Old Testament times did not have a clear understanding of life and immortality. That came to light through the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – the Gospel. That makes the future understandable.
God doesn’t approve of irresponsible living, but because He has given us so much to enjoy, the preacher recommended enjoying what you have while you can. The white clothes and oil on one’s head, were for special joyous occasion when they wanted to look their best. Celebrations were enjoyed and to look your best indicated your spirit was uplifted, even though many questions remained unanswered regarding life and why things are the way they are. Some things are beyond our capacity to grasp, or else they are unnecessary for us to know. The enjoyment of married life, and the ability and privilege to love another person and share life together, gives joy and value to life. That is not available in the meaningless pursuits of wealth, fame and material possessions.
When we do what we do as to the Lord with enthusiasm and heart, we are able to maintain an appropriate perspective on life as we live it now, rather than be concerned with what might have been, or what will be. The world we live in is limited and imperfect, as are we. Sin has left its mark on all mankind does, making it imperfect no matter how hard we strive for perfection. Even creation suffers because of man’s sin. The best and brightest do not always come out on top. Faith doesn’t change the realities of life, but it does show there are more realities than what we might experience in life. The fastest don’t always win every race because the unexpected happens, and success is unpredictable. We are not able to be dogmatic in our planning because there are other forces at work in our lives beside our own will. So, we are always right to say, “God willing.”
That which is wise and overlooked is not offended because people don’t recognize it. Wisdom has a higher motive than being put on a pedestal and being honored by people. Wisdom can see a problem bigger than can be dealt with in an ordinary way. Rather than go public to declare its own virtues, wisdom identifies the problem, finds a suitable answer to the problem, goes about to solve it, and then steps back out of the limelight – often never being acknowledged or appreciated. Human planning fails: wisdom succeeds, and benefits all. But like love, wisdom does not exalt itself. So, the poor wise man is not remembered. It may because he was poor, or it may be because he didn’t want credit to be given to him. It was enough that the city was saved as far as wisdom was concerned. That was the result of his wisdom and the objective he wanted. Wisdom is usually undervalued until needed, and often by then, it is too late.
The wise man whose quiet words have weight, can be undermined by the loud declarations of a leader of fools. Such people threaten and bluster about themselves and what they are going to do. Some even will declare war when some wise words of diplomacy could bring a solution that would be much better. Wisdom is not appreciated by most people who want to do things their way. Consequently, foolishness and irresponsible decisions are made that create chaos and meaningless living. Take time to think, plan, pray and prepare before taking action. Actions made on human emotion and intellect only, usually fail. Wisdom takes advantage of intellect and guide emotions. Wisdom is always there to be found but it doesn’t come at the push of a button on a computer.