This, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favour. The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t. It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. (Ecclesiastes 9:1–3)
Solomon is now turning the corner in his journey. He’s bringing everything to a climax. I suppose we could say he’s coming to terms with reality. Thus far, chapter after monotonous chapter, his journal has been devoted to an exposé of emptiness. In effect he is saying, “I’ve tried all those things and they do not satisfy. Allow me to save you the trouble, dear reader. Let me introduce to you to that which has substance—the things you can count on. These things are reliable. I know, I’ve been there!” And then he presents to us the major realities that give life definition and meaning. There are four of them stated or implied here.
The Sovereign Hand of God
Among the absolute, inevitable realities, first and foremost there is the sovereign hand of God. Regardless of rank, status, colour, creed, age, heritage, intelligence, or temperament, “the hand of God” is upon us.
Being in the hand of God is not synonymous with or a guarantee for being economically prosperous, physically healthy, shielded from pain, enjoying a trouble-free occupation, and having everyone smile and appreciate us. As Solomon wrote “Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him” (Ecclesiastes 9:1 NASB 1995). But what does help is the knowledge that behind whatever happens is a God who loves us and cares, who hasn’t lost a handle on the controls.
The picture isn’t complete yet. There’s another inescapable factor that various human philosophies would try to diminish:
The Absolute Certainty of Death
Death awaits us all. You can count on it. As Euripides, a Greek poet, once said, “Death is the debt we all must pay.” This theme is repeated over and over again throughout Scripture.
When we give attention to Solomon’s journal, we are reading the “fine-hammered steel” of a man telling us the truth, not the least of which is the absolute certainty of death.
If you think the first two realities were tough to handle, wait until you hear the third.
