![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/Ecclesiastes_7_27-29.jpg)
| “Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God.” |
| —Ecclesiastes 8:2 |
We continue looking at what King Solomon wrote, as he examines the consequences of humans who choose to live their lives without a relationship with God. In some ways, the picture that Solomon paints gets darker and darker.
In today’s passage of Scripture, Solomon makes declarations regarding obedience to a king. On the surface, this may seem self-aggrandizing because Solomon is, after all, a king. But, upon a careful reading, we can properly suspect that the king to which Solomon refers is actually God Himself. Thus, these words of Solomon urge humans to obey the God of the Universe, the One who created them, and the One who sustains them.
Notice what Solomon wrote, as found in Ecclesiastes 8:1-8:
Who is like the wise? Who knows the explanation of things? A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.
Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God. Do not be in a hurry to leave the king’s presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery. Since no one knows the future, who can tell someone else what is to come? As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
As we begin a new day, Solomon’s words are worth making a part of this day and every day: we should always—always—obey our King.
