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 reality is to admit that it is true. Humanity has invited the judgement of this curse upon ourselves by rejecting God. We deserve it. In fact, we deserve far worse. The corruption of our world, and all the suffering that follows, is our fault, not God’s.
The second thing to see is that, especially as Christians, it is actually acceptable to be grieved by this common curse. That is what we see Solomon doing here. In verse 17 he says that he hated life because what was done was grievous to him. And to an extent, he is right. The fall and all its effects are a hateful thing. We ought to despise sin and all its consequences. Solomon is not just a bitter old man who hates life. He is not a grumpy pessimist. He is a man who looks on the world through the eyes of wisdom and is deeply disturbed and burdened by the reality of death. He finds it grievous, he says in verse 17. He hates what has happened to this world.
As we walk with Solomon here, he shows us something profound. He shows us that it is acceptable and necessary to grieve over the devastating effects of sin. It is acceptable to weep over the grave of a loved one, because death is a horror. It is acceptable to be deeply disturbed by the common curse under which we all live. It is acceptable to feel a surge of hatred when you see a body struck down by sickness, hatred at the existence of sin in this world. Because this reflects the heart of God. God hates sin. He hates it so much that his plan through Christ is to eradicate it completely. He will not tolerate one iota of evil. His mission is to obliterate all sin, darkness, and moral pollution in his world. He hates it.
So it is acceptable to be disturbed by sin. In fact, when you gain wisdom, that should be a normal response. This is why Solomon says in 1:18 that in gaining wisdom you will also gain vexation and sorrow, because you will increasingly come to see the world as it truly is.
One thing to keep in mind here, however: we have an advantage over Solomon. As we grieve over sin and learn to hate it and all its consequences, we also learn to long for the world to come. Solomon did not have the benefit of God’s full revelation. Many things were not yet revealed. The afterlife, for instance, was far more mysterious to him than it is to us. So learn from Solomon. Learn to grieve and to hate death. But do not wallow in it, as Solomon is tempted to do here. Let your grief drive you to Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 15:19, the Apostle Paul says that if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Yet in spite of the grief of death, in spite of the frustration of the common curse, we know that we have our hope in a Saviour who has conquered death. The One who came to earth and healed, who made the blind see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear. The One who gave his life so that we, his people, might have life abundantly. We belong to a Redeemer who is reversing the curse.
And in this sense, the grief and trials of life are actually a mercy. They are friends in disguise, blessings thinly veiled as curses. That may sound strange, but suffering in this life is a blessing, because it teaches us to run to Christ. It weans us off lesser goods and forces us to look to the greatest good, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. Suffering teaches us to set our hope in Christ.
As you struggle, you may be tempted to bitterness. You may be tempted to foster hatred in your heart as you feel the burden of the common curse. In fact, arm your mind, because in this life you almost certainly will be tempted to hate life. Arm your mind with this knowledge: the path of suffering is the necessary path to glory and true fulfilment in Christ.
When our Saviour walked on this earth, he felt and lived with the weight of the common curse. This is why we sing that he was a man of sorrows. Isaiah says he was acquainted with grief. He knew what it was to live in a body that grew weary. He knew what it was to stand by the tomb of a loved one and weep. He experienced the longings and burdens of this life. He knew what it was to stare into a tomb and feel the coldness of death creeping towards him, more deeply than we ever could.
Yet in spite of this, in spite of the horror he faced, he walked the road to Calvary.
And my friends, no matter what sufferings you bear, no suffering can compare to his – which he endured for your sake. He endured mocking, rejection, shame, pain, bleeding, whipping. And above all this he endured the holy wrath of God against sin. He suffered the anguish of ten thousand infinite hells heaped upon his shoulders.
Brothers and sisters, we do not have a Saviour unfamiliar with suffering. We have a Saviour who has suffered more deeply than any of us ever will. He walked that path.
So remember this in a dark world, when you are tempted to hate life. Think often on it. Look to Christ upon the cross. Though the world sees him hanging there and thinks he is a fool, remember: the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.
We may suffer sickness; Solomon is right. We may lose loved ones to death, and it will hurt. It will tempt you to bitterness. It will tempt you to hate life. But in all this we can be sure: Christ has conquered. He did die on a Friday. But he rose on a Sunday. And in his resurrection is our hope.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are most to be pitied. But we do not have hope only in this life. Christ is risen. He is coming again. You will see Him soon. The sun will rise, and darkness will be no more. SDG.
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