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Ecclesiastes, part 24, Rejoice Always

Ecclesiastes 8:15 says,

¹⁵ So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry [samakh, “rejoice, be glad, be cheerful”], and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

Koheleth’s logic is that because justice is delayed, outcomes are unpredictable, and human control is limited to his level of authority, we should receive life’s daily goods as God’s gift rather than demanding explanations that God has not given. As Paul would say, “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Be content with that which God has given or revealed. Do not be discouraged just because your search for wisdom has limitations.

Enjoyment here is an act of trust and rest, not indulgence. Enjoyment does not replace labor; it accompanies it. Koheleth does not tell us to stop working or withdraw from responsibility; he says to work honestly, receive joy humbly, and endure patiently.

Ecclesiastes 8:16, 17 continues,

¹⁶ When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.

Koheleth testifies to his own intense inquiry, observation, reflection, and sleepless inquiry, yet the result is not mastery, but recognition of one’s limits. Human wisdom can describe injustice, recognize delay, and analyze patterns, but it cannot penetrate God’s full purposes, predict outcomes, or force some resolution.

Hence, we ought to trust God, believing that He knows what He is doing and that all things work together for good in the end. Verse 17 is the final word of the chapter. He emphasizes three things: (1) God’s work exceeds human understanding, (2) no escapes this limitation, and (3) even the wise must be humble and simply rejoice that our sovereign God is both wise and good.

Koheleth’s response is neither revolt nor despair. Godly wisdom not only inquires into God’s secrets, but also knows how to live joyfully without knowing all the answers.

Everyone Experiences Problems

Ecclesiastes 9:1, 2 says,

¹ For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. ² It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.

Everyone will experience both good and evil and with love and hatred in the world. This comes upon all men regardless of who they are, whether righteous or unrighteous. “It is the same for all,” Koheleth says. We all have this in common. The difference is in how we handle what life gives us. So James 1:2-4 counsels us:

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect [complete, spiritually mature], lacking in nothing.

No doubt James was referring to Ecclesiastes, because in the next verse he says,

⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James appears to be more optimistic than Koheleth. This is because Koheleth, though wise, had reached the limits of his ability to know the mind of God. He had concluded (with Paul) in Romans 11:33, 34,

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ³⁴ For who has known the mind of the Lord?”

Nonetheless, God does indeed give wisdom to those who ask. The Holy Spirit imparts knowledge of things that are beyond our ability to know, and He imparts understanding and wisdom to those who are willing to pay the price. I once asked God for wisdom while I was facing some serious challenges in life. In my immaturity, I thought that God was guilt of child abuse, so I asked the age-old question: “Why me?” His response was, “You have asked a great deal from Me.”

Before you ask why, perhaps you should discover the asking price. Grace is free, but revelation can be quite expensive. I too asked for wisdom, and He said, “I’ll trade you for a pound of flesh.” Revelation is a fire that burns the flesh. John the Baptist called it “chaff” in Matthew 3:12. We have no idea just how much flesh there is to burn or how painful it can be. Fortunately, He burns it incrementally over a lifetime.

Death—The Great Equalizer

Ecclesiastes 8:3-6 continues,

³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. ⁴ For whoever is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. ⁶ Indeed, their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Here Koheleth shows the most basic apparent injustice in the world. All die, whether they are righteous or not. The penalty for Adam’s sin has been imposed upon all men equally. Mortality is the disease that makes men weak and corruptible. We are born, we grow up and remain insane until we die. Insanity, in God’s view, is an abnormal condition. We were created to be perfect reflections of God Himself, having been created in His image. Adam was called to be sane, but sin made him insane.

Was God unjust in condemning all men to death? If God is sovereign, why did He not prevent this from happening? Did He make a mistake? Did sin take Him by surprise? Why did He allow the serpent access to the Garden of Eden? Why did He not put a fence around the tree? Why did He not cover the pit (of death) to prevent Adam from falling into it?

The sovereignty of God has been challenged by religious philosophers for thousands of years, because it makes God responsible. To remove that responsibility, religious philosophy shifts all the blame to men alone. That is how the idea of “free will” took root. But in doing so, they also denied God’s right as the Creator, and the problem was compounded by rejecting the law of God, which makes the Owner responsible for that which He owns.

The law regarding the ox that gored (Exodus 21:32-36) shows that the offending ox was to be put to death, but the owner still had to pay for the damages. Punishing the ox did not relieve the owner of responsibility and liability. Hence, one cannot put the entire blame upon mankind. Men were judged with the death penalty (mortality), but God’s own law holds Him ultimately responsible. Therefore, God was compelled to restore the lawful order, and He did so by assuming responsibility for the sin of the world (1 John 2:2).

This problem is resolved only by the restoration of all things. All injustice is temporary and will be resolved at the White Throne judgment at the end of the age. Everything lost in Adam will be restored in Christ. “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Just as we were all made liable for Adam’s sin—a fundamental injustice—so also Christ’s righteous act on the cross reserved this injustice on behalf of the same “all.”

Koheleth, however, usually limits his comments to that which is “under the sun.” In chapter 8 he does not discuss an afterlife nor the final judgment. If everything ends in death, then all is futile, or “vanity.” The obvious answer is that there is a resurrection and a final judgment until the great Jubilee restores all things and subjects all things under the rule of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:27).

Koheleth’s Final Advice

Ecclesiastes 8:7-9 gives his conclusion:

⁷ Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. ⁸ Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.

In other words, be happy in life, even if you don’t have all the answers. Have “a cheerful heart.” God approves of your labor, and even though you eat bread “by the sweat of your face” (Genesis 3:19), just do your laundry and remain clean. Enjoy your own wife whom you love during the time that God has allotted to you. Consider this to be “your reward in life.”