Ecc 8:13 | KingComments | STEP | The Preacher not only sees, not only observes with his eyes, but he also applied “his mind to every deed that has been done under the sun” ( ). The words “[another] man to his hurt” refer to those over whom authority is exercised. Power corrupts. A man with power, but without God, always uses his authority wrongly. The Preacher has seen another thing and that is the treatment that “the wicked” received when they were “buried and going away” (Darby Translation) into the grave and what happened to those who “used to go in and out from the holy place” ( ). There are few things as appalling as the sight of wicked people that are prosperous. What makes you even sicker is when wicked people die and people honor them with the blessing of religion. They are given a solemn funeral and are buried with splendor. The wonderful words that are spoken about them, come from the mouths of their admirers who are just like them or would like to be like those wicked people. What really makes you sick, is the destiny of the ones who acted rightly, “those who used to go in and out from the holy place” against the background of the honor that those wicked people are given. They are forced to go “out from the holy place”, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is so called because the temple is there . These troublemakers, those pious men who did not participate in the admiration of the wicked people, must be forgotten. In their behavior and words they remind people of the righteous God. Therefore: Away with them! That also means that there is no funeral for them in the holy city, which is a horrible thing for a God fearing Jew. The corrupt man thinks that there is no judgment at all and that God is absent, because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly ( ). And if there is any thought of God, then heaven's patience is interpreted as proof of approval. That is an extra stimulus to continue doing evil. The “hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil”, which means that the heart is wicked; the heart is the source and it remains wicked. Man is not interested in the patience of God Who wants him to repent. Instead man continues to sin and in that way he is “storing up wrath for himself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds” ( ). The first part of is directly connected to the observation of . On earth we see that a sinner can sin “a hundred times” without having any obstacle on the way. He experiences – of course unconsciously – the truth of , that the sentence against his evil deed is not quickly executed. That is why he continues tirelessly to sin, a hundred times, without even noticing the slightest hint of a judgment. Then we see in the second part of something of the faith of the Preacher. He cannot reconcile with the thought that the wicked can always go on and that they will also prevail. It is not like that either. He knows there is coming a moment that God will judge. The Preacher has knowledge of God. He knows that God is not with the sinner, but with those who “fear” Him, which is reverence Him and take His will into consideration. He adds a confirmation to it that such men “fear Him openly”, meaning that they live in fellowship with Him, with their hearts and eye focused on Him. It will be well for them. But for the evil man, who apparently can go his own way undisturbed, it will not be well. He will not lengthen his days, for he does not fear God. He has lived his life outside fellowship with God and end up in eternal death after his life, outside of fellowship with God. His life now is like a shadow: empty and worthless (cf. ). It is not real life, the shadow of death lies over it. In the Preacher adds what the fate of the wicked man is. When we read it, it seems that there is a contradiction between and . In it says that the sinner may lengthen his life and in it says that the evil man will not lengthen his days. The false contradiction disappears when we see in the light of life on earth and in the light of eternity. To see that the one verse does not conflict with the other, we need to look beyond this earthly life. That is what the Preacher does here, without explicitly mentioning that aspect. His words contain faith in resurrection. The days of the sinner can be lengthened on earth, but after his death he will rise to a resurrection of judgment because he has committed evil deeds ( ). It will be well at the resurrection for those who fear God. They will take part in a resurrection of life because they did the good deeds ( ). They will live forever in God’s presence.

‏ Ecclesiastes 8:13

The Mystery of God’s Government

The Preacher not only sees, not only observes with his eyes, but he also applied “his mind to every deed that has been done under the sun” (Ecc 8:9). The words “[another] man to his hurt” refer to those over whom authority is exercised. Power corrupts. A man with power, but without God, always uses his authority wrongly.

The Preacher has seen another thing and that is the treatment that “the wicked” received when they were “buried and going away” (Darby Translation) into the grave and what happened to those who “used to go in and out from the holy place” (Ecc 8:10). There are few things as appalling as the sight of wicked people that are prosperous. What makes you even sicker is when wicked people die and people honor them with the blessing of religion. They are given a solemn funeral and are buried with splendor. The wonderful words that are spoken about them, come from the mouths of their admirers who are just like them or would like to be like those wicked people.

What really makes you sick, is the destiny of the ones who acted rightly, “those who used to go in and out from the holy place” against the background of the honor that those wicked people are given. They are forced to go “out from the holy place”, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is so called because the temple is there . These troublemakers, those pious men who did not participate in the admiration of the wicked people, must be forgotten. In their behavior and words they remind people of the righteous God. Therefore: Away with them! That also means that there is no funeral for them in the holy city, which is a horrible thing for a God fearing Jew.

The corrupt man thinks that there is no judgment at all and that God is absent, because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly (Ecc 8:11). And if there is any thought of God, then heaven's patience is interpreted as proof of approval. That is an extra stimulus to continue doing evil. The “hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil”, which means that the heart is wicked; the heart is the source and it remains wicked.

Man is not interested in the patience of God Who wants him to repent. Instead man continues to sin and in that way he is “storing up wrath for himself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds” (Rom 2:5-6).

The first part of Ecc 8:12 is directly connected to the observation of Ecc 8:11. On earth we see that a sinner can sin “a hundred times” without having any obstacle on the way. He experiences – of course unconsciously – the truth of Ecc 8:11, that the sentence against his evil deed is not quickly executed. That is why he continues tirelessly to sin, a hundred times, without even noticing the slightest hint of a judgment.

Then we see in the second part of Ecc 8:12 something of the faith of the Preacher. He cannot reconcile with the thought that the wicked can always go on and that they will also prevail. It is not like that either. He knows there is coming a moment that God will judge. The Preacher has knowledge of God.

He knows that God is not with the sinner, but with those who “fear” Him, which is reverence Him and take His will into consideration. He adds a confirmation to it that such men “fear Him openly”, meaning that they live in fellowship with Him, with their hearts and eye focused on Him. It will be well for them.

But for the evil man, who apparently can go his own way undisturbed, it will not be well. He will not lengthen his days, for he does not fear God. He has lived his life outside fellowship with God and end up in eternal death after his life, outside of fellowship with God. His life now is like a shadow: empty and worthless (cf. Ecc 6:12). It is not real life, the shadow of death lies over it.

In Ecc 8:13 the Preacher adds what the fate of the wicked man is. When we read it, it seems that there is a contradiction between Ecc 8:12 and Ecc 8:13. In Ecc 8:12 it says that the sinner may lengthen his life and in Ecc 8:13 it says that the evil man will not lengthen his days. The false contradiction disappears when we see Ecc 8:12 in the light of life on earth and Ecc 8:13 in the light of eternity.

To see that the one verse does not conflict with the other, we need to look beyond this earthly life. That is what the Preacher does here, without explicitly mentioning that aspect. His words contain faith in resurrection. The days of the sinner can be lengthened on earth, but after his death he will rise to a resurrection of judgment because he has committed evil deeds (Jn 5:29b). It will be well at the resurrection for those who fear God. They will take part in a resurrection of life because they did the good deeds (Jn 5:29a). They will live forever in God’s presence.