Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
Solomon concludes this section by imploring Rehoboam to seek the wisdom that God grants to those who live under heaven. The face of the fool who lives under the sun, without regard for God and the things of God, shows hardness: anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and confusion. None of his many pursuits – wealth, prestige, sex, homes, cars, education, entertainment, friends, drugs can dispel his despair for very long. On the other hand, a man’s wisdom makes his face shine, because he knows that joy is not found in his circumstances or in his possessions, but rather joy is found in a relationship with his Creator.
Ecclesiastes 8:2 I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God. 3 Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him, 4 for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?” 5 Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure. 6 For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him. 7 For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be? 8 There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
Rehoboam was not only Solomon’s son, he was also heir to the throne. Solomon knew that Rehoboam, like many headstrong children, was being influenced by his peers. Rehoboam consulted the young men who had grown up with him. 1 Kings 12:28 In this next section Solomon challenges Rehoboam to obey him, not because he is Rehoboam’s father, but because he is Rehoboam’s king.
Keep the king’s command because of the oath to God… Don’t persist in evil… Citizenship entails a loyalty oath and obedience to the laws of the land. In this case, the king was to be obeyed. In our case, because the United States is a constitutional republic, we are to pledge loyalty to the Constitution. Solomon was to uphold God’s law and whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm. Those who violate God’s law, even Rehoboam, the heir apparent to the throne, are subject to punishment. And, in our case, those who violate the Constitution, even presidents and Congress are, at least in theory, to be brought to justice. In fact, the checks and balances found in our Constitution were taken directly from the Biblical book of Deuteronomy. But that is another story for another time.
Ecclesiastes 8:9 All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt. 10 So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12 Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
As we have seen in recent history, both in our nation and in the nations of the world, when district attorneys refuse to prosecute criminals and when judges do not swiftly punish evil, wicked people become more and more bold in their corruption. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. In the reality that God has created, crime is effectively deterred by the swift and assured punishment of the guilty. This is why, in the Bible, God instructs his people to select leaders who are wise, discerning, and experienced. Deuteronomy 1:13
Mercy detached from Justice, grows unmerciful. That is the important paradox. As there are plants which will flourish only in mountain soil, so… Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety. We ought long ago learned our lesson. We should be too old now to be deceived by humane pretensions which have served to usher in every cruelty. C.S.Lewis God in the Dock, Eerdmans
When corrupt prosecutors try to justify their “humane pretensions” by citing such excuses as mercy, equity, privilege, bias, or discrimination when refusing to execute justice, they are actually disobeying their Creator who commanded; Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Leviticus 19:15 For justice to be just it must never show favoritism to either the poor or the rich.
Although it may not seem like it, Solomon guarantees us that though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times… it will be better with those that fear God, who are reverent before him.
Why?
Because at the final judgment before God when, at last, the scales of justice are balanced, it shall not be well with the wicked. That is why it would be truly humane and merciful toward the wicked to punish crime in this life while there is still time for them to take stock of their lives, repent, turn to God, accepting the free gift of life. This is not to say that our current penal system adheres to God’s standards. It does not. But the solution, which is being ignored by all concerned, is to be found in God’s Word. But again, that is a story for another time.
Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous 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. 15 Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which 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 the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night), 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.
Sure, here under the sun, things can seem unfair. There are righteous men who are punished and wicked men who are rewarded, and on this side of heaven we won’t be able to figure out why. However much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. In fact, trying to decipher all of God’s ways turns out to be an exercise in futility. It is vanity, hevel. Instead of wasting your time in trying to grasp what cannot be known by those living under heaven, Solomon recommends mirth! In other words, those who belong to God are to eat, drink, and be joyful in all of their labors, knowing that God is in control and that life doesn’t end in death.
An elegant song won’t hold up long
When the palace falls and the parlor’s gone
We all must leave but it’s not the end
We’ll meet again at the festival of friends
Smiles and laughter and pleasant times
There’s love in the world but it’s hard to find
I’m so glad I found you, I’d just like to extend
An invitation to the festival of friends
Some of us live and some of us die
Someday God’s going to tell us why
Open your heart and grow with what life sends
That’s your ticket to the festival of friends
Like an imitation of a good thing past
These days of darkness surely will not last
Jesus was here and he’s coming again
To lead us to his festival of friends
Whatever happens, it’s not the end
We’ll meet again at the festival of friends
Bruce Cockburn, In the Falling Dark, Festival of Friends, True North Records