Episode Details

Pray

Read: Ecc 2:12-14.

Meditation

Solomon’s point in this passage is not so much to highlight the value of wisdom, which we considered in the previous meditation. He does far more of that in the Book of Proverbs. No, his purpose here is to point out a certain frustration in life that seems to be at work in spite of wisdom: the reality of the suffering of the wise.

You see, we may be living wisely, but as Solomon goes on to say in verse 14, “yet I perceived that the same event happens to all.” As he observes the world, takes it all in, and reflects on it, he notices something. He notices that whether a person is foolish or wise, he might just as easily be struck down by a common evil. This troubles Solomon deeply. And so he says in verse 15, “Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity.”

If we are to make sense of this, we need to start by being honest. Solomon is right. Calamity may strike both wise and foolish people, the godly and the godless. We should not hide from that fact, nor put up a fake Christian veneer that pretends these difficult truths are not real (such as the prosperity gospel teaches). True Christianity is not about living an ignorant life in search of some false happiness. We are called to have a realistic view of things. And so let us be clear: this happens. One person might spend his life drinking, living immorally, being a godless person; another might live wisely, honouring God, obeying him, pursuing Christ. And both might be struck by cancer.

This is a great source of vexation to Solomon. Wisdom, so it seems, is not the answer, because it does not offer deliverance from these troubles. And so Solomon asks the question: Why live wisely if things might go wrong just as easily? What is to be gained from it? Ultimately, he says, the bottom line is that we all die anyway. Verse 16says: “the wise dies just like the fool.” And so he finishes with that most troubling comment: “and so I hated life.”

Before we explain this, let me say one thing: perhaps you can relate to Solomon here. Perhaps you sense this reality. Perhaps you have struggled with it. Things do not seem just. Why be a Christian if we are just as prone to troubles and difficulty? What is the point?

So how are we to understand this? How do we make sense of the fact that these things happen? And how do we make sense of Solomon’s reaction? Christians are not supposed to hate life, are they? Are we not supposed to meekly, calmly, and happily accept everything?

There are a couple of things that help us see what is going on here, and how we can learn to fear God through it.

The first thing, again, is to admit that Solomon is right. There is a common curse that afflicts the godly and the ungodly alike. We are all vulnerable to sickness and death.

Let me put it this way. You might be familiar with the idea of God’s common grace. He sends his rain on the just and the unjust alike (Mt 5:45). Many godless people enjoy countless blessings from God. They enjoy food, shelter, families, friendship, a beautiful world in which to live. Theologians call this the doctrine of common grace. God extends his common goodness to all people.

But something we do not often consider is the doctrine of the common curse, and this is what we see Solomon wrestling with here. When Adam fell and mankind was cursed, things like sickness and bodily death entered the world. In this present life, whether you are one of God’s people or not, we are all afflicted with the common curse of our race. In Psalm 90, Moses also wrestles with this reality. All people are subject to sickness and bodily death. That is the way it is in this present life.

The first step in dealing with this unpleasant and difficult realit