8:1Wisdom is the abitity to see life from God’s perspective and then to know the best course of action to take. Most people would agree that wisdom is a valuable asset, but how can we acquire it? Proverbs 9:10 teaches that the fear of the LORD (respect and honor) is the beginning of wisdam. Wisdom comes from knowing and trusting God; it is not merely the way to find God. Knowing God will lead to understanding and then to sharing this knowledge with others.
Life Application Study BibleEcclesiastesChapter 8
Ecclesiastes 8
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1069, 1070
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
8Ecclesiastes 8
1softening its harshness.
Obedience to the King
22Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3Don'’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, ®for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble. 7Indeed, how can people avoid what they don’t know is going to happen? 8None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue the wicked.
The Wicked and the Righteous
99I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised* in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless. 11When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows. 14And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless! 15So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun. 16In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 171 realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.
Textual footnotes
- many Hebrew manuscripts read and are forgotten.
Life Application Notes 5 notes
8:10This verse probably refers to how we quickly forget the evil done by some people after they have died. Returning from the cemetery, we praise them in the very city where they did their evil deeds.
8:11If God doesn’t punish us immediately for sin, we must not assume that he doesn’t care or that sin has no consequences. When a young child does something wrong and is not punished, that child will be much more fikely to repeat the act. Remember, God knows every wrong we commit, and one day we will have to answer for all that we have done (12:14).
8:15Solomon recommends the remedy for life’s unanswered questions: joy and contentment. We must accept each day with its measure of work, food, and pleasure. Let us learn to enjoy what God has given to refresh and strengthen us so we may continue his work.
8:16,17Even if he had access to all the world’s wisdom, the wisest man would know very little. No one can fully comprehend God and ail that he has done, and there are always more questions than answers. But the unknown should not cast a shadow over our joy, faith, or work because we know that someone greater is in control and that we can put our trust in him. Don’t let what you don’t know about the future destroy the joy God wants to give you today.