This is about as depressed as I’ve heard Solomon so far. He begins by lamenting over the oppressed who have no comforter, and he ends by expressing gratefulness over those who have never even been born.
How low can he get? His sorrow is understandable because it is true that many people are mercilessly oppressed by people more powerful than them. As Solomon said in verse 1, “On the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter.”
I’m kind of struggling with this passage, but the main idea seems to be found in verse 18: “I said in my heart, ‘Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.'”
What? God tests us to show us that we are like animals?
Building off yesterday’s verse that mentioned God requiring an account of everything that man does, Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 contrasts worldly judgment with God’s judgment. The Preacher says, “Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, iniquity was there. I said in my heart, ‘God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.'”
“That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past.” The first part of this verse is almost identical to the first half of Ecclesiastes 1:9 and has already been discussed on Day 1 of my study through Ecclesiastes.
But the second half of the verse is significant, especially in the context of chapter three and the entire book: “And God requires an account of what is past.”
It is because He does it. He does it so that we might fear Him. And whatever He does is permanent.
Those are the main ideas that I pick up from the one verse that I am meditating on today.
What should I write about next? Are there issues that you are facing or that the church is facing today that need to be addressed? Take 15 seconds to let me know!
