Thursday, October 30,
2025 ▫ Read Ecclesiastes 8:1–14
Questions from the Scripture text: What sort of man
does v1 commend? What effect does his wisdom have upon him? Whom does v2 say to
obey? Why? Against what two things does v3 warn? What does the king’s word have
(v4)? How great is his power? What happens to whom in v5a? What does the wise
man’s heart understand (v5b–6a)? Against what does this timing and judgment mitigate
(v6b)? What limitations are there to the king’s timing and judgment in v7? What
other limitations are there upon the king, and all men (v8a–b)? Who else are
unable to overcome this (v8c–d)? What sometimes happens to those in authority
(v9)? What sometimes happen with the wicked (v10)? What is the effect, when
they are not made into a warning for others (v11)? But with whom will it
actually be well (v12)? Why won’t it be well with the wicked (v13)? What is
sometimes the case on the earth (v14)?
How are earthly authorities a
solution to some of the challenges of a fallen world? Read Ecclesiastes 8:1–14 looks forward to the
hearing of God’s Word read in the public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In
these fourteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God
has given earthly authorities to restrain some of the effects of sin, and to
remind us that He ultimately answers all sin.
In the last portion of chapter 7, Solomon was
wrestling with the doctrine of total depravity. In this world, there is a
limited but beneficial solution to the sinfulness of man in the godly authority
of a king (v1–6). The problem is the king is not God (v7). He cannot rule over
matters of the spirit (v8). He does not have in his hand the ultimate power of
death and judgment. So even the wise and godly kings, even the solution of
having a wise or godly king is very limited. And it's not only limited by the
finitude of an earthly king. But the other limitation is that kings are often
wicked (v10–14).
God is the one who has established authority.
He's the one who's set kings over you (v2), and especially if he's given you
this wise king who the sternness of his face is changed by genuine wisdom, by
the fear of God (v1). What a blessing that is. And so you submit in the first
place because you have an oath to God in your submission. Whether or not you
swore an oath to God, it's implied because he's the one who has set the king
over you. And so you have to keep the king's commandment because God set him
over you.
Secondly, all authority is beneficial to some
extent. Our wickedness and the chaos of every man ruling himself is so bad that
even hard and wicked authority does have some benefits. But if God gives you a
wise king, how much better even! He said, do not be hasty to go from his
presence. v3 is still talking about the wise king. Do not take your stand for
an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him. And if it's a wise king, what
pleases him is going to be to punish you. Especially if the “Him” in this case (as
may likely be) is not the earthly king, but God.
So you have the wise king, he's doing what
pleases God (v3); he's maintaining his authority (v4–5); he is discerning about
the right timing of things and the right way to do them (v6). He understands
from God that there's appropriate times for particular things and appropriate
decisions to be made according to the wisdom of God and the righteousness of
God, which are especially opened to us, of course, in the word of God. Having a
wise king, wise authority is a great blessing. And whether we're talking about
over a nation or over a household, having governing authority in which the
authority is maintained, and God is pleased, and His word governs the right
timing of things and the right judgments or decisions of things. This
significantly mitigates the experience of misery in a fallen world, in a sinful
world. Even as sinfulness and misery increase (v6b), yet God in His mercy by
this gracious gift of authority and especially wise authority, godly authority,
mitigates against sin and misery. What a blessing that is.
And yet, It is limited. Even the wise and good
king can only go so far. He does not know what will happen, so who can tell him
when it will occur (v7)? So there are times and judgments that belong to him
(v5–6), but then there are times and judgments that come in God's providence.
He doesn't know what will happen, and he doesn't know when it will happen. This
is similar to the secret things belong to God, but the revealed things are for
us and for our children (cf. Dt 29:29). In the revealed things, a wise and
godly king is a great blessing. But the revealed things are not the only
things. There are the secret things. And even a wise and godly king is only a
very limited solution.
For instance, no one has power over the spirit
to retain the spirit (v8a). He can't issue a decree that everyone will be
righteous. The actual condition of the soul belongs to God. And the king is
unable to perpetually extend the life of the righteous. No one has power over
the day of death (v8b). Thankfully, the wicked do not extend their lives either
(v8c–d). That power belongs neither to wickedness nor to righteousness; it
belongs to God himself.
And a final limitation for the wise king (before
we get to the wicked king_ is that a wise king may have a wicked people in
which case his reward for his wisdom is grief and pain of his own (v9), and
even sometimes to be assassinated, to be killed. The godly sometimes are killed
by the wicked because they're godly.
Beside the other limitations of even the wise
king, one of the limitations of earthly authority is that most authority is
wicked or has been wicked, even among God's people. They do not sufficiently
punish the wicked, so that their name is not made infamous (v10). What's the
first harm of having wickedness and authority? They don't punish the wickedness
that is under them. And since they don't execute sentence against an evil work
speedily, the beneficial restraining effect of godly authority on the hearts of
sinners is not enjoyed (v11). Evil men are going to do what they can get away
with. If God gives godly authority in order to keep them from getting away with
it, so that it restrains the wickedness that is coming from the internal heart
of the evil man, that's a great benefit. But if the civil magistrate does not
execute speedy sentence upon those who do wickedly, then those who have the
internal wickedness lose the external restraint and wicked behavior runs
rampant.
The solution isn't in the judgment seat of the
earthly magistrate. It's in the judgment seat of God (v12). No one ultimately
gets away with their sin. The longest life in this world is but a shadow (v13),
and the judgment seat of God is not going to miss anything. So, do not be
lulled into a false sense of being able to get away with sin, just because
earthly authorities aren't punishing it, or because God might not kill them for
a few more years of this life, which is such a brief and passing shadow. Do not
be fooled by the patience of God. The patience and forbearance of God are meant
to lead you to repentance (cf. Rom 2:4). Not for you to say, look, you can do
sinful things and get away with it. No. The wicked store up wrath against
themselves for the day of judgment (cf. Rom 2:5). None of that wrath is lost.
It's all stored up and it will all be meted out, executed.
So there is a vanity which occurs on earth
that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked,
and there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the
righteous (v14). Earthly results are temporary, and it may seem that it's out
of balance, but don't be fooled by it. This also is vanity. It's mist that's
going to be burned off in a moment
So, In a world full of depraved sinners,
authority is a gift from God for the restraint of sin. Godly authority is a
very good gift from God. But it is a limited gift from God. It cannot govern
the spirit. It cannot determine or change or overrule divine providence and the
secret things that belong to the decree of God. Even the godly authority may
govern to his own hurt. And the greatest limitation is how harmful ungodly
authority is, particularly in failing to restrain our sin—perpetuating the
illusion that you can get away with sin.
How might your view of authority need to be improved? How are your
specific earthly authorities being used by God to mitigate the effects of sin? What
are you tempted to trust earthly authority to do, that really belongs only to
God? What do you need to remember, when it seems like the wicked are “getting
away with it”?
Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for how we have not made
proper use of the gift of authority. We have not submitted to those whom You
have set over us. And, at other times, we have trusted in the government as if
it were God. Forgive us for thinking and acting as if the wicked could get away
with their sin. Make us to see Your kindness and patience, and grant that we
would respond with repentance, we ask through Christ, AMEN!
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