“Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil…” Truly! Oh, how the truth hurts, eh? “…And after that they go to the dead.”
I am reminded of Romans 7, that well-known chapter in which Paul describes the struggle between his flesh and his new nature. Saved but still sinners are we! Declared righteous but still living unrighteously. Paul finally concedes in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
It makes me wonder, how and why does God keep putting up with me and my sin? The answer is found in Romans 7:25, “I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!” God is God, He always has been, and He always will be! Eternally holy, righteous, merciful, gracious, loving…forgiving. Eternally wise.
Coming back to Ecclesiastes, the dreadful view of man is followed with a bittersweet conclusion. In my opinion, it is not only an extremely sorrowing thought but also a mercifully hopeful one. “…And after that they go to the dead.” All sinners will die! This is the painful truth and result of sin. But think of the mercy of God too! Someday believers will no longer have to live in sin, held captive by corrupt bodies.
I will die, and I will no longer be a sinner after that. As one of my friends likes to say, “God is so smart.”
Indeed, God works all things together for good (Romans 8:28) to those are called according to His divine will. Death is a reminder of that. “Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil,” but someday, I will be one of those people whose hearts do not have evil in their vocabulary.
Every man has an evil heart,
Living in sin, from good they depart.
But someday all will pay as God said,
Every sinner will go to the dead.
But death will relive me from this sinful life!
Good-bye to idols, lying, and strife .
Someday to God I’ll depart, I will go,
Leaving the life of evil I know!
