Living with Injustice; Waiting for Judgment
Ecclesiastes 8:2-17

2 I say keep the command of the king
Do not be terrified because of your oath before God.
3 Go from his presence [i.e. to do what he says]
Do not delay in an unpleasant matter.
For he will do whatever he pleases.
4 For the king's word has authority
and who will say to him, "What are you doing?"
5 The one who keeps a command will not know an unpleasant matter
and the wise heart knows the time of judgment
6 Because for every event there is a time and a judgment
For the wickedness of man is heavy upon him.
7 For no one knows what will be
for who can tell him when it will be?
8 There is no man who has power to retain wind with wind
And no one has authority in the day of death
And there is no discharge from battle
And wickedness will not save those who practice it.

Ecclesiastes 8:2-8

  1. The Wise Man Knows There Will Be a Judgment (2-6)
    1. Do not fear to obey the king's command
      1. Possible translations of verse 2,3a:
        1. One Hebrew phrase may be translated either "Do not be hasty" or "Do not be terrified" and may attach either to the end of verse two or the beginning of verse 3. Another phrase, "Do not stand" may also mean "Do not delay."
        2. Keep the king's commandment for the sake of your oath before God. Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing. - NKJV. This is the standard take on this verse. It is possible, but the Hebrew syntax more naturally leans in a different direction.
        3. Keep the king's command because of your sacred oath. Do not be terrified; go from his presence, do not delay when the matter is unpleasant - NRSV. This is a much more natural rendering of the Hebrew syntax. But the phrase "Do not be terrified" more naturally goes with "because of your sacred oath."
        4. Observe the king's command and do not rush into a vow to God. You should leave his presence and not persist in an evil matter. - Tremper Longman III. This accords best with the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. This is the most natural rendering yet of the Hebrew syntax. But there does not seem to be any reason in context for the advice not to be hasty in vowing to God. (However, that concept is definitely supported in Ecclesiastes. C.f. 5:2,5)
        5. Keep the command of the king. Do not be terrified because of your oath before God. Go from his presence. Do not delay in an unpleasant matter. - My own. I believe this takes the best elements from the translations suggested above and gets at the heart of the text. The question is whether a man carrying out the command of the king will be judged if the king's command is bad. The Preacher answers that we should not be terrified by our oath to serve the king or decline to do what he commands.
      2. The subject of earthly authority is broached again
        1. 4:1 "On the side of the oppressors there is power; but [the oppressed] have no comforter."
          1. But now the question is, what if I am called to carry out the orders of the oppressor?
          2. Surprisingly, though the oppression is evil, The Preacher advises us to obey what the oppressor tells us to do.
        2. 5:8 "If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them."
          1. And now, the thought turns to the question, who is the highest official over them all?
          2. Perhaps he will keep the king in check.
      3. Do not be terrified because of your oath to God
        1. You have vowed to serve the king
        2. Yet the king calls you to do something that will have bad results
          1. The Preacher is not so much considering the question of being called directly to violate God's Law
          2. For then we should decline like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego, like the apostles who said it is right to serve God rather than men.
          3. Yet the actions contemplated may indeed be wicked on the king's part (e.g. the execution of the innocent or the prosecution of an unjust war) or they may have bad repercussions for the one carrying out his commands.
          4. In these cases, The Preacher says, keep the king's command.
        3. Without this assurance, we might see the situation as a Catch-22
          1. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't
          2. If you keep the king's command, you'll be committing evil
          3. And if you disobey the king's command, you'll have evil committed against you.
          4. It would almost be in keeping with The Preacher's theme to leave you with this dilemma and tell you "this also is futility."
          5. But The Preacher is making slow and cautious progress, if not toward optimism, then toward a gentler pessimism. By chapters 10 and 11 he'll actually be admitting you can accomplish a few things in this life through careful planning. I.e. you can't beat the bank over the long haul, but you can lose a little more slowly if you're careful.
      4. Go from his presence = Don't stand around waiting. Do what he says. This thought is repeated.
      5. Don't stand = Don't stand around. Don't delay
      6. Don't delay even when the matter is evil/unpleasant.
        1. The word can mean evil - but remember the brakes put on that above. The king cannot command you to do any evil thing (such as deny God).
        2. But it can also mean unpleasant, grievous, etc. as in 5:13, 6:2, 7:3
    2. For the king rules with godlike authority
      1. This has been alluded to in v. 2 with regard to the oath before God to serve the king.
      2. Now it is made more explicit.
      3. With the word of the king there is power. (Just as God speaks a powerful word)
      4. And who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
        1. Almost identical to Job's words: "He snatches away; who can stop him? Who will say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12)
        2. Similar sentiments are expressed of God in Isaiah 45:9, Jeremiah 18:6, Romans 11:34,35.
        3. This parallel is deliberate
        4. One is as powerless before the sovereignty of the king as before the sovereignty of God (3:1-8).
        5. Therefore don't fear to carry out his bad or wicked commands. How can you stop him? The sin is his, not yours.
      5. He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful
        1. "Harmful" translates the same phrase as "evil matter" or "unpleasant business" in verse 3.
        2. In other words, carrying out his evil business won't make you the author of that evil business.
    3. A wise man knows there will be a time for judgment
      1. Most translations render this "the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure" (NIV).
        1. But there is no precedent for translating "judgment" as "procedure" or "custom."
        2. Certainly, "judgment" is the uniform meaning of this Hebrew word in Ecclesiastes:
          1. 3:16 - In the place of judgment-wickedness was there, in the place of justice-wickedness was there.
          2. 5:8 - If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things
          3. 11:9 - Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
          4. 12:14 (The Conclusion of the matter) - For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
        3. So this is clearly a theme of the book. It is the most natural reading. And it fits in context.
      2. Lit. The wise heart will remember the time and judgment, but better to read as "time of judgment."
      3. That is, although the wise man cannot personally judge the king, he will remember that such a time is coming.
      4. Therefore he will not be frustrated by the king's evil commands.
      5. NKJV translates 6b as "Though the misery of man increases greatly."
      6. A better translation would be "Because the wickedness of man increases greatly."
        1. Since there is so much wickedness, there must be a time for justice because there is a time and a place for everything.
        2. Compare this with Paul's thought in Romans 3:25-26 that God's passing over these sins required the sacrifice of Christ lest God be shown to be unjust.
  2. Yet No One has Any Power (7-9)
    1. No one knows when the judgment will be
      1. He does not know what will happen - i.e. in the future.
      2. So who can tell him when it will happen.
      3. The wise man may "know" the time of judgment,
        1. But that doesn't mean he knows when it will be
        2. He only knows that it must come
    2. No one has any power over anything
      1. No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind
        1. Many argue for translating the word "wind" as "spirit"
          1. Both in Hebrew and in Greek, there is a single word for both concepts.
          2. Thus The Preacher would be saying no one has the power of spirit to retain his spirit.
          3. And that would be elaborated on in the next phrase "No one has power over the day of death."
          4. This is certainly plausible.
          5. And the day of death is referred to as the day when "the spirit returns to God who gave it" (12:7)
        2. But I tend to think of this illustration as cut from the same cloth as "chasing after the wind," a concept to which The Preacher often alludes.
        3. And the translation "retain the spirit" for "stop" or "restrain" seems forced.
        4. Nevertheless, there may be a deliberate pun involved.
        5. With or without the pun, though, this statement certainly sets up the next one: It is just as difficult to have power over the day of one's death as it is to restrain wind with wind.
      2. No one has power in the day of death
        1. Not even the godlike king
        2. But also, not the wise man who knows the time of judgment.
        3. So we're sobered a little in this respect. Knowledge is not power after all.
      3. There is no discharge in war - Not sure what to do with this. Just take it at face value as another metaphor for futility.
      4. Wickedness will not deliver those who practice it
        1. The king may be wicked, but he will die
        2. And his wicked oppression gives him no authority over that day.
        3. And he will have no authority in the time of judgment.
    3. The only time we do know is the time of oppression
      1. This is a transition to the next section
      2. The Preacher looked around to confirm his impression that there will be a time of judgment.
      3. But all he could confirm is that there was a time of injustice, of man ruling over another to his own hurt.
        1. That is, not to the hurt of the one ruling
        2. But rather, ruling over a man to the hurt of the man being ruled.
        3. All clear?
  3. The Judgment Does Not Appear to Be Coming (10-15)
    1. The Preacher Sees No Justice in the World
      1. Verse 10 may be the most difficult in the book. Here are some possible translations of the first part:
        1. Then I saw the wicked buried
        2. Then I saw the wicked drawing near to the place of holiness (Requires an unsupported textual emendation, reversing two letters.)
      2. The next part has some translational problems, but boils down to (someone) coming and going in the holy place.
      3. And of the next:
        1. And they were forgotten in the city where they had done thus
        2. And they were praised in the city where they had done thus
        3. And those who had done justice were forgotten in the city
        4. And those who had done justice were praised in the city (This and point b require a supported textual emendation of a single letter from a "k" sound to a "b" sound. The two Hebrew letters are quite similar and sometimes a copyist will mistake one for the other.)
      4. Now let's mix and match:
        1. The "drew near" emendation is unnecessary and unsupported. We can make sense of the passage without it. So kiss it good-bye.
        2. The "praised" emendation is supported and tempting. What would be "futile" about the wicked being buried and forgotten?
        3. But, wait! Oddly enough the word translated "thus" in 3a and b can also be translated "right." It would be futile if those who had done right were forgotten.
      5. So here it is: "Then I saw the wicked buried; and they had gone in and out of the place of holiness (i.e. they were remembered through burial and had had a place of respect in life). Meanwhile those who did right were forgotten in the city."
      6. There! It's got all the themes we want:
        1. The reversal of place of the wicked and the righteous (Cf v.14)
        2. The fact futility follows even into death
        3. The need for remembrance and the forgetting of those who had done great things ( 4:13-15)
      7. Because of incidents like this, men are made bold to do evil
    2. Yet by Faith He Says Justice Must Come (12-15)
      1. He cannot discern this by observation
      2. His eyes tell him that the wicked are not punished nor the just recompensed
      3. Still he believes it will be better for those who fear God
      4. Even though this flies in the face of his observations.
      5. For on earth he has seen just men to whom it happens according to the way of the wicked and vice versa.
      6. There's just no discerning by sight whether there will be a time of judgment, only that the time is not now.
    3. So He again Commends Pleasure (16)
    4. Because God's Ways Are Inscrutable (16,17)

Go on to Week 10 (9:1-2)

Go back to Week 8 (6:10 - 8:1)

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