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On the one hand I understand why they made a chapter 8 but, on the other hand I don’t. Chapter 8 is a continuation and reinforcement of chapter 7. It almost could have been one long chapter. So, what’s the purpose of chapter 8? I’m going to take things out of order, a little bit; I think it’ll help bring clarity to the chapter.
One of the most troubling questions we all (believers and non-believers) face is the: “If God then why (bad things happen to “good” people, do the evil prosper and flourish, etc)…? This was mentioned in chapter 7. This is also a central question to the book of Job. We’ll study it in depth then.
14 There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
-Ecclesiastes 8:14 (NKJV)
Realizing we’re stuck in endless cycles that seem to be going nowhere, this question will inevitably come up and hit even harder than it would have otherwise. This is true because of the frustration of pursuing things which are good and right and beneficial to ourselves and others, but don’t ultimately satisfy our deepest need. Even more insidious is thinking this malicious side of life is God’s intent. Because we’re in an elevated state of angst, this error in our thinking becomes more plausible as a legitimate line of thought. Once that happens the answer is obvious, God is at fault for our turmoil/ suffering. Because God is at fault then he is in fact sadistic and the enemy. Because he is the enemy he must be opposed and Heaven must be overthrown. Therefore-JIHAD! This rebellious attitude will unfortunately manifest itself in the real world in various ways; take a look at the world today.
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9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.
-Ecclesiastes 8:9 (NKJV)
One very sinful downside to the savior complex/ slacktivist Christianity is to demonize those who don’t instantly bend the knee and confess activism as lord. Those with the sense to slow things down and examine a little what may, in fact, be happening find themselves in the “out-crowd” while the “in-crowd” is rabidly calling for their demise. Tragically, those who prefer to give in to their self-stimulatory lusts of the flesh and have contempt for slowing things down will, ironically, suffer the unintended consequence of working for their own destruction, and never realize it.
There are too many references throughout the Bible for the principle of: God will not be mocked, a man (and woman-the “sinless” sex) will reap what he (she-women have no exemption regardless of what society wants us to believe, they may claim unlimited victimhood now but God will strip that nonsense away on Judgment Day and they will be held individually accountable for their sin) has sown. A man/ woman reaping what he/ she has sown is not just a threat, it is a promise. This promise is very consistent throughout all of scripture. Adoni Bezek is one example in the Old(er) Testament. The Psalms are loaded with references about one setting a trap for his neighbor and falling into it himself, and the like. The New(er) Testament has references to being judged by our own standard, etc. I can’t list them all here because they’re so common.
The point…
It is overwhelming to know without doubt life is vanity, a chasing after the wind. It is not helped by the fact we can easily observe things, which in our opinion, are not “fair” or “just”.
2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. 3 Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”
-Ecclesiastes 8:2-3 (NKJV)
The reality is this: God is sovereign, He does what he does for his own reasons and does not justify Himself to us. This is a bitter realization for our intellect but…it is what it is and there’s no way to get around it. This will create a conflict with our emotional side. Either we accept it or, we won’t. It doesn’t change the reality we face. We’re called to be obedient nonetheless and have no justification for becoming angsty and fomenting rebellion.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.
-Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 (NKJV)
Why is all this important?
The clock is ticking. We’re all headed toward a morbid date with an inescapable destiny. Our faith needs to be resolved before (not “if”) that happens.
I’ll end this study of chapter 8 with the title for the next section, inserted by those who wrote the New King James translation: