Eld Ko Swee Chay

Introduction

Ecclesiastes 8:14-17 teaches us it is wise and biblical to accept the apparent paradoxes and injustices of man’s life on earth, that the righteous often suffer and the wicked prosper. Amid life’s complexities and challenges, we are to enjoy the fruit of our labours in the days of our life that God gives us with joy, gratitude and contentment. We must humbly accept the reality that man is unable to fully comprehend the work of God. We are to humbly submit to God in the mysterious works of His providence and His holy will, to acknowledge He is sovereign and all-wise, to have faith in Him, and to trust Him in all things.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 speaks of the sovereignty of God again. Man and all his works are in the hand of God, and man cannot fully comprehend it all. One thing is common to all mankind and is certain, and that is death. The living still can hope for salvation if they repent and turn to God.

Man’s life is in the hand of God (Eccl 9:1)

¹ For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

This passage is a continuation of the preceding subject: things “under the sun” seem to happen indifferently to both the righteous and the wicked. Its emphasis is that the outward estate of man does not determine who is an elect or a reprobate.

Solomon considered within his heart the enigma of all the contrasting experiences and drew the conclusion “that the righteous, and the wise, and their works are in the hand of God,” i.e. under the special care of God, protected by His power, governed by His providence, and safe in His approbation. This is a comforting statement, as Jesus said: “… no one is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (Jn 10:29b). But we cannot know or judge from the occurrences which take place in life who the objects of God’s “love or hatred”, favour or no favour, pleasure or displeasure are. We must not, like Job’s friends, pass judgment that because a man is afflicted with calamities, he is a sinner hated by God. Neither can we conclude that a man who is prosperous and healthy is righteous and loved by God. It is also important for us to know that we do not know everything under the sun. Therefore, it would be wise for us to not behave and talk as though we know everything.

Man’s death is certain (Eccl 9:2-3)

² All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. ³ This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

This passage emphasises that the good and evil things of this world happen to the good and bad, and one event that is common and certain to every man is death. Man cannot know upcoming evil, except this common event called death, which Solomon described as “an evil among all things that are done under the sun.” It doesn’t matter how one lives his life on earth, whether he is righteous, good and clean, or wicked and unclean; it doesn’t matter whether he is religious (“sacrificeth”), good, fearful to make oaths carelessly (“feareth an oath”), or he is non-religious (“sacrificeth not”), a sinner, swears rashly; one thing is for sure - “they go to the dead.” This is the reality of life. All will have to die one day. All will be there among the dead. This is the curse from God because of Adam’s sin.

But surely this does not teach us that how we live in this life has no consequences after death. Solomon wants us to consider the end of life and death and to live in the knowledge that no one will escape death. For after death, all must stand before God for judgement, which is the conclusion of the book of Ecclesiastes: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Eccl 12:14). We must realise that when we stand before God, it does not matter how hard we worked and how wealthy we were, the only thing that matters is how we had followed and lived for Christ and what we had done for Him. 

Solomon also highlighted the evil of mortal man, full of evil and madness in their hearts. This is why God shortened man's life span after the flood. The longer man can live, the more evil he can do. Death ends their evil-doings.

Knowing all these, we as Christians must make right with God while we are still alive; our hearts should never be full of evil and madness. We must cherish this life that God has given us, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to live rightly, meaningfully and fully for God according to His Word.        

Man’s hope while alive (Eccl 9:4-6)

⁴ For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

Solomon took an opposite view, for earlier on he had “praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.” (Eccl 4:2), because the living would have to endure sorrowful and bitter oppression without help and comfort. However, here he praised the advantage of life over death. While there is life, while we are “joined to all the living, there is hope.” To demonstrate this point, Solomon quoted a proverbial saying, “a living dog is better than a dead lion.” A dog was spoken of as the meanest and vilest animal (Matt 15:26), and in those days was not considered a pet and treated well like today; whereas a lion was looked upon as the noblest of beasts (Pro 30:30) and a symbol of power, greatness and majesty. In this context, this proverbial saying means that the meanest and vilest person who is alive is better than the noblest and mightiest person who has passed on. “Better” is with reference to having the hope of salvation. The noblest who die unconverted have no more hope; the vilest, so long as they are alive, have hope and can still receive salvation if they repent from their sins and turn to God.

Solomon described the sad state of the dead: they no longer know the actions and events of this world; they have no part in the reward or fruit of their labours; the memory of them will soon be forgotten; their love, as well as their hatred and their envy in this world, has perished; all their worldly possessions are no more theirs. So, they no longer have a second opportunity if they did not repent and believe in Christ before they died. They are in hell.  [Take note that Solomon described the fleeting nature of accomplishments and emotions under the sun and only the living can experience the things of life, but did not mention the state of the soul or deny that there is life after physical death.]

On the other hand, the living still have time to enjoy the fruit of their labours, but more importantly, they have opportunities to seek after God. Even the vilest of men, knowing they shall die, still have the opportunity to repent and turn to God. They can still make their life worthwhile and experience all the joys that life has to offer in Christ.

Conclusion

The life of a righteous and wise man is in the hand of God, safe and secure under His providential care. Man does not know and hence must not judge whether a person is loved or  hated by God simply by looking at the external factors. 

Man cannot know upcoming evil, except this one event that is common and certain to every man: death. Though this thought is unpleasant and sobering, the living should not despair of life, for they have advantages over the dead in that they still have hope to repent from evil and turn to God. Knowing these, the living must consider the end of life and death, take heed and realize the futility of their lives, seek after and make right with God, submit their lives to Him and live well and wisely for Him, through Christ who gives hope for eternal life.

AMEN.