Chapter 9

1 Like things happen to good and bad. 4 There is a necessity of death unto men. 7 Comfort is all their portion in this life. 11 God’s providence ruleth over all. 13 Wisdom is better than strength.

1. All this. That is, the problem of the adversity of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked.

I considered. Solomon exercised his mind in the endeavor to solve the problem.

The righteous. A man’s deeds declare him for what he is. By his fruits he will be known (Matt. 7:15–20).

The hand of God. His will is supreme. The hand is figurative of power and authority (Deut. 33:3; Isa. 62:3).

Love or hatred. It is often difficult to know what purpose lies back of the various experiences of life. For the most part, these experiences illustrate the working of cause and effect (see Gal. 6:7). At times God may overrule for the accomplishment of that which in His wisdom He knows is best. But every experience may, in the providence of God, become an opportunity for character development.

All that is before them. Human reason alone often cannot fathom the vicissitudes of life, the nature of God’s plans for the life, or what lies in the future. Several ancient versions take the first Hebrew word of v. 2, hakkol, literally, “the all,” as the last word of v. 1 and read it as hebel, “vanity.” In the Hebrew consonantal text this represents a change of but one letter, a b for a k, which are very similar (see Vol. I, p. 22), either of which might easily be mistaken for the other. Accordingly such versions read, “everything before them is vanity” (RSV). See on v. 2.

2. All things. For the most part the same fundamental experiences come to all men. Nature gives of her bounties to all (Matt. 5:45). Rain and sun, storm and calm, come upon good and evil men alike (see Job 9:22).

One event. In Ruth 2:3 the same word is translated “hap,” in 1 Sam. 6:9 “chance,” and in 1 Sam. 20:26 “something hath befallen.”

Righteous. That is, morally upright.

To the good. All ancient versions, except the Targums, add, “and to the evil,” which seems necessary to complete the parallel.

The clean. Probably a reference to ceremonial cleanness.

Him that sacrificeth. That is, the man who is punctilious in his compliance with the outward, ritual requirements of religious life.

As is the good. In the widest, most comprehensive sense.

He that swareth. See on Lev. 19:12; see also Deut. 6:13; Ps. 63:11; Isa. 65:16. The man who fears a legal oath is generally one who has no intention of carrying out the obligation and whose conscience makes him afraid to “swear” (see Num. 5:19–22). Compare also the teaching of Christ (Matt. 5:33–37) and that of the apostle James (James 5:12).

3. This is an evil. Solomon is still unreconciled to the fact that good men and bad alike die.

Full of evil. All sin is devoid of reason and good sense. It does not seem reasonable that the majority should prefer the enjoyments of this life to an eternity in the new earth.

Go to the dead. Literally, “after it to the dead [ones]” (see Job 30:23; Isa. 14:9; 38:18; Eze. 32:18).

4. Hope. This emphatic Hebrew word translated “hope” is given as “confidence” in 2 Kings 18:19 and Isa. 36:4. The verb root has the meaning of “trust” (see Ps. 25:2; 26:1; 28:7).

A living dog. The dog is depicted in the Bible as the most despised of all animals (Ex. 22:31; 1 Sam. l7:43; Prov. 26:11; 2 Peter 2:22), and is so regarded today in Eastern countries. The dog is a symbol of the viciously wicked (Ps. 22:16; 59:2, 6, 14; Isa. 56:10, 11; Rev. 22:14, 15).

A dead lion. The lion is set forth as a symbol of majesty and might (Prov. 30:30), and, accordingly, of God and Christ (Rev. 5:5; cf. Hosea 13:4–7).

5. The living know. They are able to plan and make preparations for death, which they know they must meet.

Dead know not. See Ps. 88:10–12; Ps. 115:17

A reward. Not a reference to eternal rewards, whether of death for the wicked (Rev. 20:11–15) or of immortality for the righteous (see Rev. 21:1–4; cf. Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 15:51–54). Solomon is here speaking of enjoying the fruits of labor in this life.

The memory of them. That is, the memory of them in the minds of the living, not their own mental faculty of memory. This is clear from the meaning of the word zeker, “remembrance,” “memorial,” and from its usage in the OT. Without exception it refers to “remembrance” about persons or events, never to the faculty of memory (Job 18:17; Ps. 31:12; Ps. 112:6).

Forgotten. That is, “lost.”

6. Also their love. Love, hatred, and envy are generally the strong, ruling emotions during life; but in death they function no more.

Is now perished. In Hebrew this verb is in the singular number, by which attention is called to each passion individually.

A portion. When a man is alive he has a part to play, and may enjoy the reward of his labors. But death terminates his role in life. Job expresses the same truth (Job 14:10–14), as does the psalmist (Ps. 30:9), and the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 38:10).

7. Go thy way. Make the best of life, advises Solomon; do not sit idly brooding over the seeming inequalities and futilities of life.

Eat thy bread. Bread and wine are here used figuratively of all the necessities and luxuries of life (see Gen. 14:18; Deut. 33:28).

Thy works. God provides bountifully the blessings of this life, and it is His will that men shall enjoy them. But the day comes when a distinction is to be made between the righteous and the wicked (Mal. 3:18), on the basis of whether they have used these blessings in self-gratification, or have used them to minister to the needs of their fellow men (Matt. 25:31–46).

8. Thy garments. White garments were worn on festive occasions, and were considered symbolic of joy and gladness. Angels appeared clad in white (Mark 16:5; John 20:12), and John saw the immortal saints thus clad (Rev. 6:11; 7:9; 19:8), symbolic of their purity of character and their state of joy.

Ointment. Literally, “oil.” It was an Oriental custom to apply oil to the head to cool the body and as a perfume (see Ps. 23:5; Amos 6:6). To fail to anoint the head was considered a sign of mourning or fasting (2 Sam. 14:2; Matt. 6:17). Oil is also used as a figure of God’s richest blessings (Ps. 92:10; 104:15; cf. Isa. 61:3).

9. Live joyfully. The clause reads, literally, “see life with a woman whom thou lovest.” Marriage was ordained to bring supreme joy, and the home to be a little heaven on earth (see Prov. 5:18, 19; 18:22).

Thy portion. That is, for a man to have a happy marriage. It was God’s design that man should live a happy life, in all good conscience. Man is to make full use of the privileges and responsibilities life brings him.

10. Whatsoever. He who is wise will put his heart into the tasks life brings him, in the realization that after death there will be no chance to make up for opportunities neglected in this life (John 9:4; cf. Gal. 6:10).

The grave. Heb. sheХol, the figurative realm of the dead (see on 2 Sam. 12:23; Prov. 15:11). This is the only mention of sheХol in Ecclesiastes. It is evident that Solomon believed in a state of unconsciousness in sheХol (see on Eccl. 3:19–21).

Whither thou goest. Death is the lot of all men, for “in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22; see on Eccl. 3:19–21).

11. The swift. Unlike men, the Lord is not dependent on the human qualities of physical and mental strength (1 Sam. 14:6; 17:47). Similarly, with man, it is not these outward qualities, which seem to give one man an advantage over others, that are most important in life.

Time and chance. There is a proper time, a right moment, for a certain task. When a man lets slip the appropriate time, his efforts will fail, in whole or in part, to accomplish what they might have, irrespective of the belated zeal he brings to the task.

12. Man. Literally, “the man,” the definite article stressing each individual’s relationship to the problem of death.

His time. Presumably a reference to death (see ch. 7:17), though it might also refer to any misfortune.

The snare. A figure depicting sudden disaster (Ps. 91:3; 124:7; Prov. 1:17; 6:5; Hosea 7:12).

13. It seemed great. Literally, “it was great,” that is, it made a deep impression.

14. A little city. The size of the place was insignificant; therefore its defenders, who were few, would be able to hold off attackers but briefly.

A great king. Commentators have speculated at length as to what particular city, if any, Solomon refers to. There is, however, no basis whatever for determining what city might be in the writer’s mind, or who was the “great king.” This may be a veiled allusion to some historical event.

15. Was found. Literally, “he found,” probably referring to the ruler of the city.

A poor wise man. Literally, “a man, a poor, wise one.”

Delivered. Compare 2 Sam. 20:13–22, where a city was saved by a wise woman.

No man remembered. When the crisis was past, the deliverer was ignored and forgotten. Compare Joseph’s experience (Gen. 40:23). Public acclaim is fickle and unreliable. This poor wise man was allowed to sink back into obscurity.

16. Wisdom is better. See ch. 7:19. The word translated “strength” is commonly used of a warrior’s strength (see Jer. 9:23, where it is given as “might”).

Despised. This poor man’s wisdom was not spurned in the sense of being ignored, but he himself was despised and pushed to one side once his service had been rendered.

His words. He had demonstrated sound judgment; but additional words of counsel, perhaps unwelcome, were not accepted.

17. Quiet. See Isa. 30:15.

Ruleth among fools. In a time of excitement a demagogue may be followed, to the nation’s great loss.

18. Weapons of war. The world today needs divine wisdom more than it does a stockpile of atomic and hydrogen bombs.

Destroyeth. One man may bring great loss upon a nation (Joshua 7:1, 4).

Ellen G. White comments

3    PK 78

5     AA 289; EW 59, 87, 262; GC 546; LS 48; 1T 39

5, 6 COL 270; DA 558; Ev 249; PP 685; 1T 298

6     GC 546

10   COL 346; Ed 267; FE 301, 316; GC 546; MH 153, 473; ML 131; 2T 504; 6T 432; 9T 127, 129

11   AA 313; 4T 410; 5T 180

12   AH 331

18   PK 85; PP 118; 3T 125