The mystery of wisdom! Just when you think that you have
become a little wiser, it escapes you, yet again! And yet, it is undeniable
that wisdom can be acquired. There are people who by learning, observation, experience,
by keeping company with the wise (Prov. 13:20) have become wiser. In
this regard I wish to pay my tribute to Dr. Jay Adams (January 30, 1929 -
November 14, 2020), the father of the modern biblical counselling movement. He went
home to his eternal reward yesterday. He was a wise man, saturated in the
Scriptures, and I thank God for his help and influence at a time in my seminary
studies, when I needed it so much.
In the book
of Proverbs Solomon encourages his son “to
make his ear attentive to wisdom” (Prov.2:2). The pursuit of wisdom
was Solomon’s great passion. As a fallen man, he did not possess it perfectly.
We observe this in his marital and family relationships. But in other ways he
was profoundly wise. Remember that he had asked God in particular for wisdom
when he became king (1 Kings 3:12). The subject of wisdom remains a
prominent theme in all of Solomon’s writings. As we now survey Ecclesiastes
8 we take note that the subject of wisdom
starts (8:1) and ends (8:17) Solomon’s conversation.
8:1 “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.“
The wisdom
Solomon has in mind is a rare gift (see 7:25–28). He speaks of godly
wisdom. It is possessed by God fearing people[1].
God fearing people are those that know the Word of God and they know themselves,
and they know what to do in the light of these two truths. The wise person is not just a person who is
intellectually wise. Their wisdom comes out of a spiritual fountain which is
from God. They act in line with biblical principles. A wise person possesses
the ability to interpret a matter, and its resulting calm assurance produces a shining
or radiant face (8:1b). Wisdom softens one’s face. Wisdom is a reflection of the softened heart
and mind that is instructed by God. It
is given to them that ask God (Jas.1:5)
The wise
heart is a discerning heart. This heart does not merely know the difference
between right and wrong, but it also knows the difference between right and
almost right. Such discernment is needed by anyone aspiring to the office of an
elder.
A wise person
lives in the presence of God and reflects the character of God. One of God’s
chief attributes is His love. The love of God is one of the communicable
attributes of God. God expects us to love.
David
Powlison (1949-2019), another noted Biblical Counselor spoke about
the blessing of being in the
presence of ‘God saturated, wise love’[2]:
“Wise love makes a huge difference in other people’s
lives… genuine care, a searching question, sympathy and understanding, a timely
and true word of God, practical aid, patience in the process- these are life
giving.”
Pray that God
would be pleased to raise up many such people among us in these needy days!
Pray for this gift in yourselves and seek it in and from God in the Scriptures
and by prayer.
The last verse of our chapter in 8:17 however brings us back to earth: [16] When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one's eyes see sleep, [17] then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.
Here Solomon
confesses the frustration of the wise person who says, “I know,” but as soon as they say that, they also know that they cannot
possibly understand everything about the work of God. No one, except our Triune
God possesses it perfectly, completely and without limit.
Therefore
there will be aspects of theology and of our human experience that will remain
mysterious and elusive. There will be times when we look back and see how much
we have grown in knowledge and wisdom, but there are also times when we have to
confess that we have no wisdom or words. Job’s situation comes to mind. None of
those wise and theologically articulate friends of Job possessed sufficient
wisdom to understand the true nature of Job’s suffering. They thought that what happened to him was
simply the result of his sin. We learn however that the key to Job’s suffering
was with God.
At times the
reason for our suffering is plain, particularly when our own stupidity and
hardheadedness has been the cause of our suffering (1 Pet. 4:15). But there are times when it does have a divine
origin (1Pet. 4:16). Pastor-
elders need to possess this kind of wisdom when shepherding their flock.
And so Solomon
reflects upon various matters that would
require wisdom that can be acquired through knowing God and His will, whilst
admitting that at other times that conventional
wisdom will simply not be enough. Let’s
follow Solomon’s thought processes:
1. 8:2-6 Wisdom
In Dealing With Our Political Leaders
(i)
V.2: Know your place with respect to
the political rulers that God has placed above you. Here we learn that submission to authority finds its basis in “the oath of God”. According to the Bible,
kings occupy their offices by God’s decree. [That also implies that kings must
know that they are accountable to God]. In
submitting to our rulers we are in fact obedient to God, who is above every
earthly king (Rom. 13:1-7).
(ii)
V.3a:
Respect to the king/ president of a country
is indicated in 8:3, “Be not hasty
to go from his presence.“ We call it,
‘observing protocol’. He tells you when
to go.
(iii)
V.3b: Citizens must beware of getting
involved in an ‘evil cause’. The king is called by God to deal
with evil.[3]
That is one of the functions of good government: keeping law and order. A
particular form of that will be addressed in 8:11.
If the king promotes evil in any way that would contradict the authority
of the Word of God, then God will hand that government over. Handing over
means, self- destruction, since all sin is, in essence, self- destructive.
Sadly, this always causes hardship for a country’s citizens. That is why we
need to take the prayer of 1 Timothy 2:1-2 seriously!
(iv)
V.4 warns about demanding an
explanation for the king’s decisions.
The statement, “who may say to him,‘What
are you doing?’” needs some common sense explanation. When the nation appoints a president, it
expects him to rule in the interest of the whole nation. That means that I
cannot just step up to him and say, “What
are you doing?”, when he does not act quite according to my liking. He has, after all a nation to govern!
He cannot listen to everyone’s protests. So, as a citizen I must observe the
required protocol. I can certainly appeal through proper channels, particularly if the president is in danger of
making a wrong moral choice.
(v)
V.5: “Whoever keeps a command will
know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the
just way.” The mention of a ‘proper
time’ introduces further issues involving timing (vv.6–8) in terms
of dealing with matters
of sin and evil and all of man’s
troubles. “For there is a time and a way
for everything” (v.6). We have seen this already in 3:1 ff. The
rest of v.6 clarifies the thought, “For
there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies
heavy upon him”. All our
problems, all our lack of wisdom ultimately originates from our sinfulness (see
Eccl 7:29), and this makes governing a nation (and church) very
challenging. Pray for your governing
authorities!
To summarize: To be a wise citizen means to be
obedient to the governing authorities; in so doing we obey God. We need to
understand and respect the demands of high office. We must not make the
governance of the country difficult by doing evil. We must not be tempted to
challenge the king in improper ways. We
must be possessed by the wisdom of proper timing in terms of addressing issues,
and we must understand the wickedness of
our own hearts. Pray for wisdom to be
a positive citizen of our country!
2. 8:7-9 Wisdom In Accepting Our Inability To Control Life’s Circumstances
(i) V.7 It is wisdom to accept that we cannot know the future. Only God has the ability to declare what the future holds (see Isa 46:10–11).
(ii) In v. 8, Solomon offers four examples of an individual’s lack of control over life:
a. No one can restrain the spirit [ruach Hebr.], speaking of inability to prevent death.
b. No one can control the day of their death. Only God knows the day or hour.
c. No one can discharge himself in time of war. If there is war, you have a moral duty to defend your country from evil. Citizens do not choose war, yet war happens in this fallen world. We cannot control it.
d. No wicked person will survive their wickedness. God will ultimately stop them!
What are we
learning here? What is written here to promote our wisdom? Mankind cannot
ultimately control or change the decrees of God. Many people find this very limiting and
perplexing, but ultimately it is wisdom to accept God’s sovereignty over all
aspects of your life. Pray for the
wisdom of humility and submission to
your sovereign God!
3. 8:10-17 The
Wisdom To Know That Those Who Fear God Will Do Well!
Again, Solomon reflects upon what he has seen (vv.9, 10… All this I observed… then I saw…”)
(i) V.10: [4] He observed wicked people being buried. These wicked people were known to have entered the “holy place” (the Temple) where they were praised, even while everybody knew that they were wicked. This unfortunately happens all too often in the church, where the wicked are allowed to undermine the holiness of the church, even receiving praise, when they should have been removed. “This also is vanity“, says Solomon. It takes wisdom and courage to deal with such matters, particularly when evil is deeply entrenched in the church. Pray for the purity of the church!
(ii) V.11 Here is an important insight! When the law does not deal with evil swiftly and decisively, the law loses its power.[5] We are familiar with this in Namibia. Delayed justice is justice denied. It is a terrible evil, and it will require wisdom and courage to address this problem. Pray that our judicial system understands this!
(iii) V.12 Solomon observes that an evil person might commit evil a 100 times and still live a long time. And in the light of v. 11, it may appear that Solomon attributes to God the same delay in justice that is so evident in human courts of law. But remember that God’s delayed justice is not because of His forgetfulness or inefficiency or inability to control evildoers. It is because of his patience and mercy with mankind! And so Solomon confidently declares, “still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.” This truth he holds to by faith. Pray that you may have the wisdom to know that evil cannot ultimately triumph!
(iv) V.13 The truth is that while a sinner “may prolong his life” (v.12), v.13 categorically affirms that the wicked “will not lengthen his days”, particularly when we think of life in the light of eternity. Many sexual perverts and child molesters may live to a ripe old age, but be sure that their sins will find them out before the throne of God. Pray for wisdom to know that justice will certainly be done when Jesus returns!
4. 8: 14-17 No
Person Can Ultimately Know God’s Ways
Here is the
climax of wisdom’s mystery.
(i)
It is
expressed in v.14. Wicked people
prosper and live healthily, and righteous people seem burdened and suffer. It all seems so unfair! This does not make sense. What wisdom does Solomon
have in response to this enigma?
(ii)
V.15 reveals the answer. Enjoy your God given pleasures while you can! This is the third time that Solomon gives
this advice (see 2:24–26; 5:18–20).
His point is that we should not waste our God-given joys by constantly
worrying whether life is fair or not! Worrying
about what’s fair or not brings us no joy, no peace, no rest, and no
solution. No one can understand the
ultimate reasons for what happens, because even the wisest person is but a fool
by comparison to God. It is important to understand that God’s wise providence
rules all that happens “under the sun”.
Pray that you may have the wisdom to
see this!
And so, Solomon reviews his pursuit of wisdom in vv. 16–17. In his search for wisdom he could eliminate sleep and still not succeed (v.16). The fact remains that we are incapable of discovering all of God’s work “under the sun.” There comes a time when we will have to say, “This is wisdom’s mystery! Paul’s conclusion, after he has written to the Romans concerning the electing grace and mercy of God, finishes his thoughts with these words in Romans 11:33–36. “How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
Chapter 8’s conclusion reverberates in the words of 1 Corinthians 1:20–25.
Human wisdom (influenced so strongly by our sinful nature) and unaided by God cannot help us. We need God’s wisdom for life! God displays His wisdom in the person of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Solomon’s words prepare our hearts for the necessity of the Gospel. No one possesses more wisdom than those that have met Jesus and walk with Jesus. They know the way home.
And that is the only wisdom that ultimately matters.
[1] The Fear of God in
Ecclesiastes: 3:1; 5:7; 8:12,13; 12:13
[2] Quoted in “The Biblical
Counselling Movement after Adams” by
Heath Lambert, p.16
[3] cf. Prov. 14:35; 24:21–22).
[4] Some
commentators consider verse 10 the most
difficult verse in Ecclesiastes
[5] See also Habakkuk 1:4
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