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| “So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands…” |
| —Ecclesiastes 9:1 |
At this point in our study of the words from King Solomon, as he struggles with trying to imagine what life is like for those humans who do not have a relationship with God, we find Solomon trying to punctuate his analysis with these words, found in Ecclesiastes 9:1-6:
So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
Here Solomon paints a word picture of hopelessness. The fate of human beings rests in God’s hands. Yet by himself and herself, no human can know what God intends. Unless a person has a relationship with God, it is impossible to know what one’s ultimate fate might be.
In contrast, we who belong to God through His Son, Jesus, know who we are and whose we are. As the Apostle Paul states in 2 Timothy 1:8-12:
So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
God has chosen us to belong to Himself. Therefore, we do not need to wonder about our ultimate future. We will spend eternity with Him in everlasting glory. But, for those who do not yet have a relationship with God, well, that’s another story.
