Month: March 2023

8Who is like the wise man?
And who knows the interpretation of a thing?
Wisdom makes one’s face shine,
and the hardness of one’s countenance is changed.

² Keep the king’s command because of your sacred oath. ³ Do not be terrified; go from his presence, do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever he pleases. ⁴ For the word of the king is powerful, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ Whoever obeys a command will meet no harm, and the wise mind will know the time and way. ⁶ For every matter has its time and way, although the troubles of mortals lie heavy upon them. ⁷ Indeed, they do not know what is to be, for who can tell them how it will be? ⁸ No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the day of death; there is no discharge from the battle, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it. ⁹ All this I observed, applying my mind to all that is done under the sun, while one person exercises authority over another to the other’s hurt.

God’s Ways Are Inscrutable

¹⁰ Then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is meaningless. ¹¹ Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the human heart is fully set to do evil. ¹² Though sinners do evil a hundred times and prolong their lives, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they stand in fear before him, ¹³ but it will not be well with the wicked, neither will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

¹⁴ There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people who are treated according to the conduct of the wicked, and there are wicked people who are treated according to the conduct of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. ¹⁵ So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun.

¹⁶ When I applied my mind to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how one’s eyes see sleep neither day nor night, ¹⁷ then I saw all the work of God, that no one can find out what is happening under the sun. However much they may toil in seeking, they will not find it out; even though those who are wise claim to know, they cannot find it out.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What is the value of wisdom, according to Solomon? What does it do for a person?

2. What issue does he take up next? What does he advise? What reason does he offer to support his advice? What role does wisdom play in this situation? Do you agree with his advice here?

3. What do we all have in common regarding our future? How do you feel about this conclusion?

4. How does the writer describe humans? How does he feel about this situation? What contradictions does he mention? What other examples does he identify? How does he feel about this state of affairs?

5. What is Solomon’s advice about living under these conditions? Why does he feel this way? What does he conclude about understanding what is going on?

Consider

Are you concerned about the injustice in our world? Does this make you confident about the future, or are you uncertain? How does God help you deal with apparent contradictions between what is right and what seems to be rewarded?

8:1. Interpret — the Hebrew word here actually means “explanation.”
Shine — Solomon uses a figure of speech, not unlike the familiar blessing in Numbers: the Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace, [6:25-26].
8:4. Who can say to him — Isaiah expresses the same idea, but about God: Woe to you who strive with your maker, earthen vessels with the potter!  Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, “What are you making?” Or “Your work has no handles”? [45:9].
8:5-6. Whoever obeys — Solomon here links wisdom with obedience to the king – wisdom will help the person find the right time and manner to act, even in a difficult situation.
8:7-8. No one — Solomon uses the person’s own death as the prime example of uncertainty: even though we know we are going to die, none of us can prevent or delay it – or escape the consequences of our own sinful actions and choices (“wickedness”).
8:9. Authority over another — injustice comes from humans’ ability to hurt one another.
8:11. Sentence against — the Bible mentions three types of punishment: death by stoning or burning, and mutilation. Other cultures included drowning and impalement.

Prison was used only for debtors or political opponents, or a person awaiting trail.
8:12. Yet I know — here Solomon affirms his own belief that our actions in this life do have consequences [v. 13, also check Proverbs 2:21-22 and 10:27], even though he must acknowledge the seeming contradiction in verse 14. He concludes that we cannot understand God’s approach to justice (“meaningless”). 
8:15. Nothing better — Solomon concludes, yet again [check 2:24, 3:13, 5:18] that we should enjoy life. The key here is the phrase “for people in this world.” Solomon is not making any judgment about the future.
8:17. No one can find out — the Hebrew is even stronger, with three negative expressions: “a person cannot understand all that God has done; no person can discover its meaning; even a wise person cannot comprehend God’s plan, no matter what the person claims to know.” 
Isaiah echoed this idea: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts, [55:9]; as did Paul: O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? [Rom 11:33-34].

Memory Verse
Wisdom makes one’s face shine, and the hardness of one’s countenance is changed, [Eccl 8:1]

Next Lesson
Take life as it comes – Ecclesiastes 9

7A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death, than the day of birth.
² It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting;
for this is the end of everyone,
and the living will lay it to heart.
³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of countenance the heart is made glad.
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
⁵ It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise
than to hear the song of fools.
⁶ For like the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of fools;
this also is vanity.
⁷ Surely oppression makes the wise foolish,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
⁸ Better is the end of a thing than its beginning;
the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit.
⁹ Do not be quick to anger,
for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
¹¹ Wisdom is as good as an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun.

¹² For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to the one who possesses it.

¹³ Consider the work of God;
who can make straight what he has made crooked?

¹⁴ In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other, so that mortals may not find out anything that will come after them.

¹⁵ In my vain life I have seen everything; there are righteous people who perish in their righteousness, and there are wicked people who prolong their life in their evil-doing. ¹⁶ Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good that you should take hold of the one, without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God shall succeed with both.

¹⁹ Wisdom gives strength to the wise more than ten rulers that are in a city.

²⁰ Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.

²¹ Do not give heed to everything that people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you; ²² your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others.

²³ All this I have tested by wisdom; I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. ²⁴ That which is, is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? ²⁵ I turned my mind to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the sum of things, and to know that wickedness is folly and that foolishness is madness. ²⁶ I found more bitter than death the woman who is a trap, whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are fetters; one who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is taken by her.

²⁷ See, this is what I found, says the Teacher, adding one thing to another to find the sum, ²⁸ which my mind has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found. ²⁹ See, this alone I found, that God made human beings straightforward, but they have devised many schemes.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What other book of the Bible does the first part of this chapter remind you of? [See Notes]. Why do you think the author used this style here? What is the general theme of these sayings?

2. What advice does the writer give in these verses? How do you respond to the advice? Which seems the most important to you? Why do you feel this way?

3. What does the author conclude about life? About death? About living? About money? About wisdom? About God? Why does the writer reach this conclusion?

4. What does the writer describe in the second part of the chapter? What does he conclude about behavior as a result of this finding? How do you respond to his suggestions?

5. What does the author say about wisdom in this section? About sin?

6. What was the writer trying to accomplish? How well did he succeed? Why did he end as he did? What did he discover about wisdom and “folly?” Where else is this image used, [see Notes]?

7. What is the author’s conclusion? What was his goal? How hard did he search? What did he find? How do you feel about his conclusion? Why? 

Consider

Have you tried to figure out why your life is the way it is? What conclusions did you reach? How has God helped you relax and trust him for your future? How has that worked for you?

7:1. Precious ointment — Old Testament writers used this as a symbol for reputation, as well as joy and prosperity. Solomon says it’s important to maintain a good reputation throughout your life. 
7:2-14. Better . . . — Solomon urges the reader to seriously consider the brief time we have in this world in the next thirteen verses, (which are really a collection of proverbs about the brevity of our lives) and concludes that this is how to gain wisdom. David expressed the same thought in Psalm 90: The days of our lives are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of you anger? Your wrath is as great as the far that is due you, [10-12].
7:6. Crackling of thorns — thorn bushes make a lot of noise when they are thrown on a fire, but they give very little heat and burn only a short time. David compared burning thorns to swarming bees, [Ps 118:12].
7:13. Make straight . . . crooked — Solomon advises us to accept life as it is (“the way God does things”) because we can neither change nor figure out why God has done something a certain way.
7:14. One as well as the other — so hard times are not a sign of God’s displeasure any more than prosperity is a sign of God’s favor, and we will not discover any pattern or rationale in this life.
7:15. Seen everything — Solomon

acknowledges the seeming contradictions in life (good people dying young and evil people living long). So he encourages us to be moderate: don’t depend on our righteous behavior (which is impossible anyway, see verse 20) to give us a long life, and don’t ignore what we know is right just because someone else apparently “got away with” bad behavior. Solomon still believed in God’s judgment [3:17].
7:19. An echo of Proverbs 21:22.
7:23. All this . . . was far from me — Solomon repeats his goal from 1:6, but acknowledges his failure to always “be wise.”
7:26. Woman who is a trap — Solomon repeats his image of “folly” or wickedness from Proverbs 1-9, and reaches the same conclusion: only the “wise” or morally upright person will escape her wiles.
7:28. I have not found — Solomon was looking for people “who are pleasing to God,” [v. 26].
One man . . . but a woman — “Man” in this sentence is the Hebrew “adam” which means humankind, while “woman” is a metaphor for a subset of “humans” in this poetic construction: I might find one in a thousand; no, it’s even less than that.
7:29. But they have devised many schemes — God did not cause this situation, “they” – the Hebrew means both men and women – were created virtuous but turned and followed their own “schemes.”

Memory Verse
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools, [Eccl 7:5]

Next Lesson
Obey the King and enjoy yourself — Ecclesiastes 8