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!)
Verse 13-A person who is wicked not live long
(Evil people will self-destruct, either they will harm themselves or harm others and be put to death.)
Verse 14-Good people are often treated as though they were bad, and bad people are often treated as though they were good.
(We see people who seem to get all the breaks, all the chances, all the opportunities and they are constantly doing evil things, then good people seems like they can catch a break.
The guy who gets a ticket for 5 miles over the speed limit, and the guy who drives home drunk, 5 times over DWI limit.
We have all said at times, “Where’s a cop when you need one!” or “I hope there is a cop down the road!”)
Verse 15-So, you minus well, eat, drink and be merry, because the world doesn’t make any sense!
(You see a lot of people who have nothing more to live for than filling their belly and trying to be happy. Now there is nothing wrong with enjoying life, but there is more to life than eating and drinking.)
Verse 16-When I look around me, I realize there is no end to suffering, it goes on day and night, or to put it another way, it seems like people are hurting or being hurt all the time.
(Seems like there is one catastrophe right after another, I don’t know how people cope with all the things that happen in this world, without the Lord? No matter what happens to me or what I have to go thru, I always have the Lord!)
Verse 17-No one can understand all the things that God is doing behind the scenes.
(Even people who think they can explain God or His ways, the truth is they can’t!
Isaiah 55:8-9- “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
