Though there is much for us to learn about the world around us and there is much we can learn from the past, in Ecclesiastes 3:11 “yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end”. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn or grow in knowledge and wisdom, it is that we also should remember to enjoy the days of our lives. Though it is true that in Ecclesiastes 3:16 “instead of justice there was evil; instead of righteousness there was wickedness”. God has established a time for judgement in Ecclesiastes 3:17 “God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time of judgment for every deed and every work.” Until then, it is good for us to have a spouse, one we can share our life with.
For Everything There Is An Appointed Time
This Also Is A Gift of God
Ecclesiastes 3:10–15
God has put a memory of the past in us, we learn from it, we are interested in it. But there seem to be two parts to our history.
- There is the body of human knowledge that records what we know about the world around us. We have seen this body of knowledge, the record of human discovery growing at an ever increasing rate. Even so, “no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end” in Ecclesiastes 3:11.
- And, there is the record of activities in our lives that show the way people have lived. Though this changes from generation to generation, and there are conveniences that we enjoy today, the more important thing is for us to enjoy the life God has given us as in Ecclesiastes 3:12–13 So I realized that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy themselves during their lives. 13 And for anyone to eat and drink, that is, to enjoy the fruit of all his toil, this also is a gift of God.
Instead Of Justice There Was Evil
Ecclesiastes 3:16–22
Solomon describes life as he has experienced it in its fallen state in
Ecclesiastes 3:16 I saw something else under the sun: instead of justice there was evil; instead of righteousness there was wickedness.
Many others have also wondered, how is it those bad things happen to good people? Or we might also ask, how is it that wicked people rule? The wise man that Solomon was, answered this question in
Ecclesiastes 3:17 So I said to myself, “God will surely judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time of judgment for every deed and every work.”
Our problem is we want that judgement to happen right now, but God has chosen to hold that judgement until the end (see Revelation 19 and Matthew 25:31-46). Yet, there is something that had not been revealed even to Solomon and that is the entrance of Light into the world through Jesus Christ. We now know that we have “life and immortality” in
2 Timothy 1:10 but has now been disclosed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought to light life and immortality through the gospel.
I Saw All The Oppression That Occurs Under The Sun
Two Are Better Than The One
Ecclesiastes 4:7–16
God has made us as social beings, but even more than that, he made the relationship between a man and a woman to be enduring. Here, a man that is all alone lamented in
Ecclesiastes 4:8 Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. He laments, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity—it is an unhappy business!
and then he describes the benefit of having a spouse in Ecclesiastes 4:9–12:
- They enjoy their reward better together.
- If they fall they have help up.
- They keep each other warm.
- They are safer together.
-
Then there is the problem of aging because we gain wisdom and knowledge and perhaps even position but when we close the door on input from others we become like the foolish king in
Ecclesiastes 4:13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to receive advice.
Even though this king had years of service and many people around him, all of that is forgotten in
Ecclesiastes 4:16 There is no end to all the people, to all who were before him. Yet the later generation will not rejoice in him, for this also is vanity and chasing wind!
Fulfill What You Vow!
Ecclesiastes 5:1–9
There Is A Grievous Evil Under The Sun
Ecclesiastes 5:10–20
Study Verses
- Ecclesiastes 3:10–15 This Also Is A Gift of God
- Ecclesiastes 3:16–22 Instead Of Justice There Was Evil
- Ecclesiastes 4:7–16 Two Are Better Than The One
Today’s Reading
- Ecclesiastes 3:1–22
- Ecclesiastes 4:1–16
- Ecclesiastes 5:1–20