Ecclesiastes 3:18

I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. I SAID IN MINE HEART. The use of the same formula here as in Ecclesiastes 3:17 shows that this is a second solution of the difficulty in Ecclesiastes 3:16, that wickedness is permitted to be in the place of judgment. CONCERNING THE ESTATE OF THE SONS OF MEN, THAT GOD MIGHT MANIFEST THEM. The estate of fallen man is so ordered (these wrongs are permitted) that God might "manifest" - i:e., thereby prove them. Or else 'purify them;' Hebrew, baaram-literally, to separate; so to purge (Ezekiel...

16-22 Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from present vexations and a future account. Both return to the dust from whence they were taken. What little reason have we to be proud of our bodies, or bodily accomplishments! But as none can fully comprehend, so few consider properly, the difference between the rational soul of man, and the spirit or life of the beast. The spirit of man goes upward, to be judged, and is then fixed in an unchangeable state of happiness or misery. It is as certai...

Verse 18. _THAT THEY MIGHT SEE THAT THEY THEMSELVES ARE BEASTS._] The author of _Choheleth_ has given a correct view of this difficult verse, by a proper translation: "I said in my heart, reflecting on the state of the sons of men, O that God would enlighten them, and make them see that even they themselves are like beasts." These words are to be referred to those in authority who abused their power; particularly to the corrupt magistrates mentioned above....

That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the ground Ecclesiastes 3:20. And though the destinies of man and beast are different, yet in our present lack of knowledge as to God’s future dealing with our spirits...

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 3:1 Section 4. In confirmation of the truth that man's happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how _Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life._ ECCLESIASTES 3:1 The providence of God disposes and arranges every detail of man's life. This proposition is stated first generally, and then worked out in particular by means of antithetical sentences. In Hebrew manuscripts and most printed texts Ecclesiastes 3:2 are arranged in two parallel col

I SAID IN MINE HEART CONCERNING THE ESTATE OF THE SONS OF MEN,.... He thought of the condition of the children of men, their sinful and polluted state; he weighed and considered in his mind their actions, conversation, and course of life; and was concerned how it would go with them at the day of judgment on account of the same. Some render it, "I said in mine heart after the speech of the children of men" r; speaking in their language, and representing the atheist and the epicure, as some think the wise man does in the following verses; though he rather speaks his own real sentiments concerning men, as they are in their present state, and as they will appear in the day of judgment; THAT GOD MIGHT MANIFEST THEM; or "separate them" s; as the chaff from the wheat, and as goats from the sheep; as will be done at the day of judgment, Matthew 3:10; or "that they might clear God...

2. FURTHER RESULTS OF THE SEARCH CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The times of man under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1)_ 2. When then is the good? (Ecclesiastes 3:12) 3. Concerning judgment and the future (Ecclesiastes 3:16) Ecclesiastes 3:1. There is a time for everything. Twenty-eight “times” are mentioned, beginning with the time of birth and ending with the time for peace. Everything has a fixed time: Life-death; seeding-harvesting; killing-healing; breaking-down building-up; weeping-laughing; mourning-dancing, etc. These are the times of the entire race; that is what human life

MAN NO BETTER THAN THE BEASTS. Ecclesiastes 3:16. Both in the administration of the law and the observances of religion, wickedness is prevalent; righteousness is here equivalent to piety. Ecclesiastes 3:17 is the insertion of the orthodox glossator; Qoheleth does not regard God as vindicating the godly. Ecclesiastes 3:18 links on to Ecclesiastes 3:16; the corruption already alluded to is God's way of showing that man, despite his vaunt of intelligence, is really on a level with the beasts. They share the same breath, and when it leaves them, the same end, death. Note...

GOD. Compare Ecclesiastes 3:11, and note on Ecclesiastes 1:11. GOD MIGHT MANIFEST THEM. God hath chosen them to show them that even they are beasts. BEASTS. living creatures. As opposed to man. mammals: as opposed to creeping things. quadrupeds: as opposed to wild beasts. cattle....

_I said in mine heart_ The word "estate" expresses fairly the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which may be rendered "word," "matter," or "subject." In the next clause for "that God might manifest them," we may better read, THAT GOD MIGHT SEPARATE, SIFT, OR TRY THEM, _i.e._in modern phrase, He leaves the disorders of the world unredressed, as part of man's probation. This comes into the heart of the seeker as a partial explanation of the disorders noted in Ecclesiastes 3:16. _that they might see that they themselves are beasts_ The pronoun in the original has, as in the English version, the strong emphasis of iteration, that THEY ARE BEASTS, THEY BY THEMSELVES. The thought implied is that without a higher faith of some kind whether in the Divine Righteousness or in Immortality, is not yet defined Man stands, as having only an animal life, on the same level as