It Just Don’t Make Sense!

Ecclesiastes 8:9-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.

10-Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity.

11-Because the 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 does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

13-But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

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.

15-So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.

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. (NKJV)

Ecclesiastes 8:9-I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other.

10-I have seen wicked people buried with honor. Yet they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are now praised in the same city where they committed their crimes! This, too, is meaningless.

11-When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.

12-But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.

13-The wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows.

14-And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless!

15-So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

16-In my search for wisdom and in my observation of people’s burdens here on earth, I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night.

17-I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim (NLT)

Verse 9-He is saying, “I’ve had time to invest in thinking and watching what goes on in this world, and to try to make sense of the things that happen in this world!”

“Why people hurt other people?”

(Sometimes you hear about certain crimes and they just don’t make any sense…Why they kill their spouse, instead of divorcing their spouse, or why they kill the kids, instead of letting the spouse have custody.)

Verse 10-I have seen people who are wicked and evil, and committed crimes and yet in the very city they have committed those crimes, they are honored and revered.

(We have seen celebrities who have committed crimes, or displayed horrible acts of humanity and yet the world treats them honor and respect.)

Verse 11-Because people commit crimes and either they are not caught, or it’s years before they are convicted, or even charged with the crime, then other people think they can get away with a crime.

(We to have seen people who have committed crimes and it seems like they just get a slap on the wrist, or now days they get more press than the victims!)

Verse 12-Even if a person gets away with it a 100 times, I know that the person who follows God, is better off!

(We know that person might get away with things in this life, but we all have to stand before God!)