Ecclesiastes
8 reminds me that I have become a YouTube Handyman. It is amazing to
see how many “how to” videos are available that show and tell the
process to complete home repair projects. Even jobs I have never
tried become possible and at times, it can make me overconfident.
Very few jobs go perfectly and when the unexpected happens, I am
suddenly in over my head and realize the solution is beyond me. Then
I have to bring in an expert and trust the professional. Solomon
begins, “Who
is like the wise? Who
knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their
face and changes its hard appearance“.
This is how I look when the project works. I beat my chest and call
my wife to watch the toilet flush. But Solomon is referring to the
wisdom needed by an earthly king whose decisions affect human lives.
People do not have replaceable plastic parts. Talking to the king’s
advisors, he adds “Obey
the king’s command… because you took an oath before God.
Do
not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence“.
He notes one of the hazards of the job, “Since
a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, ‘What are you
doing?’“. Don’t we
do that with God all the time? Something does not go as we plan and
we question God. Are you in the middle of a human repair project?
Solomon
continues discussing the king’s authority on earth, “Whoever
obeys his command will come to no harm“.
Some rulers will not change, “For
there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a
person may be weighed down by misery“.
We are all unique and different and our lives do not always go
according to the same plan. Solomon rightly notes our limitations,
“Who can
tell someone else what is to come? …no one has power over the time
of their death“. We
control so little and often it seems that one problem leads to many
others and we find ourselves in unfixable situations. Solomon adds,
“Wickedness
will not release those who practice it“.
Satan loves to isolate us to think we are alone, and unfixable.
Damaged people sometimes believe they are worthless.
Solomon
closes with his observation that man’s fixes are often insufficient
at best. We point fingers and blame and even condemn others, “There
is a time when a man lords it over others to his own
hurt“.
Other times we delay punishment and encourage more crime, “When
the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s
hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong“.
Even when we want to do the right thing, we don’t always succeed,
“I know
that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent
before Him“. All of us
have observed the result, “The
righteous get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked get what the
righteous deserve“. In
frustration we just live in the middle of an unfinished construction
zone pretending it is fine, “there
is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink
and be glad“. He
concludes that we need to rely on the Savior, “then
I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under
the sun… Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really
comprehend it“. Have
you come to the limit of your ability? Jesus is called, “the
Author and Finisher of our
faith” (Hebrews 2:12).
And the apostle Paul gives us this referral, “He
who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the
day of Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 6:1). Will you call on the Master today?