Ecclesiastes 8:7

For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? FOR (HEBREW, kiy (H3588 ), AS BEFORE: BECAUSE) HE KNOWETH - an exemplification of man's "great misery" (Ecclesiastes 8:6). The sinner, by neglecting times (e.g., "the accepted time, and the day of salvation" 2 Corinthians 6:2), is taken by surprise by the judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:22; Ecclesiastes 6:12;...

6-8 God has, in wisdom, kept away from us the knowledge of future events, that we may be always ready for changes. We must all die, no flight or hiding-place can save us, nor are there any weapons of effectual resistance. Ninety thousand die every day, upwards of sixty every minute, and one every moment. How solemn the thought! Oh that men were wise, that they understood these things, that they would consider their latter end! The believer alone is prepared to meet the solemn summons. Wickedness, by which men often escape human justice, cannot secure from death....

WHEN - Or, as in the margin. For the meaning of this verse, compare marginal references....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 8:1 Section 5. There is no use in repining or rebelling; _true wisdom counsels obedience to the powers that be_,_ and submission to the dispensations of Providence_._ _However oppressive a tyrant may prove sure retribution awaits him. ECCLESIASTES 8:1 WHO IS AS THE WISE MAN?_ i_._e_._ _Who is like, equal to, the wise man? The somewhat sudden question occurs naturally after the results of the search for wisdom mentioned at the end of the last chapter. The thought is not, as in Hosea 14:9 and...

FOR HE KNOWETH NOT THAT WHICH SHALL BE,.... Or that "it shall be" b; that he ever shall have the opportunity again he has lost, nor what is to come hereafter; what shall be on the morrow, or what shall befall him in the remaining part of his days; what troubles and sorrows he shall meet with, or what will be the case and circumstances of his family after his death; FOR WHO CAN TELL HIM WHEN IT SHALL BE? or "how it shall be" c? how it will be with him or his; no one that pretends to judicial astrology, or to the art of divination, or any such devices, can tell him what is to come; future things are only certainly known by God; none but he can tell what will certainly come to pass; see Ecclesiastes 3:22; Jarchi interprets it of a man's not considering for what God will bring him to judgment, and that no man can tell him the vengeance and punishment that will be inf

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. Prudence before kings (Ecclesiastes 8:1)_ 2. Of the righteous and the wicked (Ecclesiastes 8:11) 3. The conclusion (Ecclesiastes 8:14) Ecclesiastes 8:1. What else had he seen? What were his further discoveries? He is still ardent in praising wisdom, though he had confessed “that it was far from him.” Wisdom makes the face to shine and the boldness of the face becomes changed. He cautions as to the governmental powers in the world, urges prudence and submission. He is a keen observer. But nothing can deliver from the power of the grave. The tyrannic rul

MAXIMS ON WISDOM AND GOVERNMENT. Ecclesiastes 8:1. Wisdom (like prayer and self-sacrifice; _cf._ Luke 9:29) transfigures the countenance, it takes the hardness or coarseness out of the face. Ecclesiastes 8:2. Honour the king, remembering his Divine appointment and the oath taken at his coronation; do not rashly leave his service or rebel against him. Or we may (so LXX) connect Ecclesiastes 8:2_ b_ with Ecclesiastes 8:3, but where an oath of God is in question be not hasty (_i.e._ in obeying the king); go

_For he knoweth not that which shall be_ The subject of the sentence is apparently the wicked and tyrannous ruler. He goes on with infatuated blindness to the doom that lies before him. The same thought appears in the mediæval proverb, "_Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat_," or, in our modern condemnation of the rulers or the parties, who "learn nothing, and forget nothing." The temper condemned is that (1) of the cynical egoism, which says, "_Apres moi, le deluge_," (2) of those who act, because judgment is delayed, as if it would never come....

C. ADMONITIONS TO USE WISDOM IN THE WORK OF SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE 8:19:18 1. Work in submission to the king. Ecclesiastes 8:1-8 TEXT 8:1-8 1 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam. 2 I say, Keep the command of the king because of the oath before God. 3 Do not be in a hurry to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4 Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, What are you doing? 5 He who keeps a royal command experiences no trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. 6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, when a man's trouble is heavy upon him. 7 If no one knows what will happen, who can tel

KINGS'COURTS NEED WARY WALKING 1-17. Be discreet in relation with a ruler. God's purpose must be carried out. His rule must be righteous, though this is often not seen in actual life. God's ways are just, and past finding out. The writer now enters on a subject which it would not have been wise to treat too plainly, viz. the need of showing tact in dealing with the arbitrary power of an absolute monarch. No part of the book is more decidedly at variance with the Solomonic authorship than this c....