MAKING SENSE OF LIFE’S MYSTERIES
ECCLESIASTES 8:10-17
Each and every one to some extent has this desire to understand why things happen the way they do, who’s responsible and why? But the problem is we don’t always get the answers we are looking for. Our world is filled with unresolved mystery. There are countless numbers things in this life that we can’t make heads or tails of.
We are continuing our sermon series through Ecclesiastes entitled “Lessons Learned Under the Sun” and in today’s text (Ecclesiastes 8:10-17), Solomon is going to help us “MAKE SENSE OF LIFE’S MYSTERIES.”
As we have discussed already, Solomon is an expert on life if there ever was one. Though this is the case, however, that does not mean that he has all the answers to life’s questions. Throughout this book, he addresses many of life’s mysteries and is going to revisit a few of these in our text for today. First, Solomon observes…
THE WICKED ARE OFTEN TREATED HONORABLY
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 vanity.
Solomon in this verse shows how backwards our world is by mentioning how the wicked often end up being praised and honored in this life on the day of their death and are given a funeral worthy of a saint. A few weeks ago I mentioned in ancient Jewish culture ones funeral was very important. So many would seek to live righteously in order to have an honorable funeral. So Solomon here in this verse is miffed by this injustice of the wicked treated honorably on their death day.
And we can relate right? We have a lot of despicable people buried in honorable graves don’t we? There have been world leaders throughout history who are praised for being incredibly strong and courageous leaders who were really wicked and violent men. Each one of us can think of countless numbers of actors, athletes and musicians who have died who are praised by our society because they were masters of their craft while their off stage and off the field lifestyle was wicked.
And because this is the case Solomon reasons, like many would, "If you seek to live your life in a righteous way only to see wicked men praised at their funeral—what’s the point? This is vanity!"
JUSTICE IS OFTEN DELAYED WHILE EVIL THRIVES
11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
Another mystery to Solomon is one he addressed in chapter 3; "Why is justice delayed?" Solomon explains here that this is one of the main reasons evil thrives. I mean what’s the motivation for criminals to commit crime? The chance they might get away with it.
If our justice system always got there man and appropriate punishment was given out 100% of the time there would be less crime wouldn’t there? Most if not all criminals commit crimes hoping they will get away with it and many of them do.
This is Solomon’s point in this verse. He says,
11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.
Solomon is deeply troubled by this. I mean he is thinking to himself, “If the wicked were swiftly sought out, arrested and convicted, this would send the proper message to those set on doing evil.” Instead Solomon shows us here that the opposite is true. Justice is delayed and as a result criminals are encouraged and crime increases.
For those of you frustrated by this mystery of life, let me remind you of Solomon’s words in chapter 3:17 when he is making sense of the injustice that is ever present in our world. Solomon says,
17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.
Solomon says here that even though justice is delayed and at times denied in this life and though evil thrives, a time is coming when perfect justice will take place because it will be carried out by God.
But that’s what is to come right? That’s above the sun—that’s a vertical and eternal perspective. Here on earth—"under the sun" Solomon says that we have to deal with this mystery of justice being delayed while evil thrives.
THE WICKED OFTEN OUTLIVE THE RIGHTEOUS
12 Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. 13 But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
In 7:15, Solomon says “There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.” In this passage, Solomon shares his frustration with his readers about the fact that he has observed that the righteous are often snuffed out in this life while the wicked live on for years and years and live a long and prosperous life.
And because this is the case, Solomon explains in chapter 7 that at first glance it seems as if the way of the sinner is better. But remember that in chapter 7, Solomon addresses this issue with an “under the sun” perspective. He says, “Under the sun” this is frustrating—“under the sun” the way of the wicked does seem more desirable because they do live long lives with little heartache.
In 8:12-13, however, Solomon addresses this issue once again but gives an “above the sun”—vertical perspective on this mystery of life. Though it may be true that a sinner can do evil a hundred times over and continue to prosper in this life, Solomon says, “I know that life is still better for those who fear God.”
He says in v. 13,
13 But it will not be well with the wicked; neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.
Solomon’s point here is that though the wicked often outlive the godly and though it seems as if they get away with sin time after time, he says, “The wicked will not lengthen their days like a shadow.”
Shadow here refers to the influence of one’s life after death. For example, though leaders like Pharaoh, Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab, and Herod (From the Scriptures) and Nero, Stalin, Mao and Hitler (From History) were big stuff in their day, the shadows of history now paints their picture in terms of the despicable and repulsive. The shadow that they have cast has been shortened.
So a good question to ask yourself is this? “After I’m gone will I prolong my days like a shadow—will I leave a lasting and godly legacy behind?" The best way to do so according to Solomon is to “Fear God.” Three times we see this phrase in vv. 12-13. Solomon is basically saying here, “You want to make an impact for the kingdom of God, live your life in awe of, astounded by, amazed at, and captivated by the one true God.”
Another mystery of life that Solomon has observed under the sun is that…
THE RIGHTEOUS OFTEN SUFFER WHILE THE WICKED ARE REWARDED
14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
As we have talked about in earlier chapters, as a student of life and a good one at that, one of the observations that Solomon makes when looking at life “under the sun” is that there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of justice in this life.
Solomon revisits this frustrating mystery once again in v. 14. He basically says that he has observed that the righteous often get what the wicked deserve while the wicked get what the righteous deserve.
Truth is no matter how righteous and faithful God’s people are, they still suffer in this life while the wicked are rewarded. Once again, we know this to be the case in our world don’t we? We often see the innocent dealt discipline while the guilty get off scott free. But what we find throughout the Scriptures and throughout history is that God works in and through injustice and proves time and time again that He is on the throne and He is to be trusted no matter what.
Could it be that when we are looking back at the difficulties of our life from “above the sun” with God that instead of questioning Him like we do today, we will in fact praise Him for the great work He has done in and through these difficulties of life?
THE HARSH MYSTERIES OF LIFE CANNOT BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD UNDER THE SUN.
15 And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 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.
Though the Scriptures are crystal clear on the essentials—though we have everything we need to be saved and to live rightly for God, there are some things about God and His ways that are mysterious—they are beyond us, which is what we have been talking about today.
If you are you the type of person who has to have an answer for everything, according to this passage you are destined for disappointment because this world is filled with mystery. Through many difficult days and sleepless nights Solomon says he applied himself diligently to find the answers to life’s mysteries and after many wrestles days and sleepless nights he comes to the conclusion that many of life’s mysteries are unanswerable.
In vv. 16-17, Solomon concludes that there are things that God does that cannot be understood by us. It doesn’t matter how wise you are and how much you claim to know, Solomon is clear that there are certain mysteries in life that are beyond us.
Deuteronomy 29:29 clearly tells us,
29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." Deuteronomy 29:29
There are secret things about God’s person and His work that we don’t know and probably could not wrap our minds around if God did reveal them to us. But like we have said before, this should not discourage us but should in fact encourage us because it shows us how great our God is. His person and His ways are beyond us. We can’t wrap our minds around all He is and cannot comprehend all He does. That’s how great He is.
In the past, I used to get upset by the fact that there were all these questions that I could not answer—mysteries I could not explain. Mysteries like, “Why do the wicked prosper? Why does evil thrive? Why do bad things happen to good people?”
But as I continued to study the Scriptures here’s what I found. I found that what God wants from me more than anything else is not for me to know all the answers to life’s mysteries. What God wants is for me to know that “He is God and I am not.” What God wants is for me to leave the secret things to Him and simply come humbly before him and trust in Him, and follow Him, and live for Him and enjoy my life in Him.
And that’s what God wants from you as well. He’s not concerned with what you know. He's concerned with who you know.
