[Ecc 7:10-14] God Has Made the One As Well As the Other.(Lim)

    Israel in the Wilderness

Ecclesiastes 7:10-14

¹⁰ Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?"
       For it is not wise to ask such questions.

 ¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing
       and benefits those who see the sun.

 ¹² Wisdom is a shelter
       as money is a shelter,
       but the advantage of knowledge is this:
       that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

 ¹³ Consider what God has done:
       Who can straighten
       what he has made crooked?

 ¹⁴ When times are good, be happy;
       but when times are bad, consider:
       God has made the one
       as well as the other.
       Therefore, a man cannot discover
       anything about his future.

             When Moses led people out of the land of Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, we remember how the Israelites were quite enthusiastic about leaving the land of slavery.  However not too long after their massive exodus from Egypt, we see them complaining for not having any food to eat.  Then later, they complain about eating manna everyday and getting tired of it.  Each time, they reminisce about the days in Egypt when they could eat variety of food instead of manna. 

            So often in our lives, when things are tough, we talk about how good life was sometime in the past.  So Solomon points this kind of tendency in us and admonishes us in verse 1.

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.

            Perhaps the thought behind such expression comes from discontentment.  Discontentment stems from a belief that one deserves something better than what he has.  Another way to look at this is to say that discontentment is absence of gratitude.  When people are not happy or satisfied with their current situation, they often talk about the past as if everything was perfect when in fact that is not true.  They merely try to remember only the good things and conveniently forget the bad things.

            Obviously, such attitude doesn’t help the situation in any context.  In the family, if a member loudly complains and wonders aloud why the days in the past are better than the current days, rest of the family would not feel encouraged or motivated.  Rather such question would bring down the entire family.  Instead of dealing with what is happening in the present and looking for ways to overcome the current challenges, being selective with the past and comparing the days gone by with the present circumstances is highly unproductive.  What is possibly to gain from such perspective?  Comparing the present with the past as if things were so much better before is to delude oneself from the facts. 

            So, Solomon would tell us that it is not wise to ask such question that looks back and fosters the seed of discontentment where everyone looks around for someone to blame.  Whether in a family or in a work environment, such negative attitude can lower the morale of the entire family or entire organization.  There is nothing to gain from such question. 

            As Christians living in this world, we want to always focus on how we can do better rather than pout or talk about the days gone by.  We come together as a family or as an organization and look for ways to bring improvement.  When we approach with an attitude that looks forward to the future, we can plan and do something about it.  However, when we continue to reminisce about the past without being objective about how things truly were, no one will be motivated.  Rather, everyone would find themselves deflated and demoralized. 

            Reminding ourselves of the greatest gift God has given us through His Son Jesus Christ should always inspire us in difficult times.  The hardest work has been already accomplished by Christ Jesus, our Lord. No matter how bleak our life seems, thinking about what Christ has done for us should give us strength and hope that we can go through whatever is troubling us currently. 

            And Solomon continues with his thought in verse 11.

 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.

            Wisdom helps us see the rays of hope in midst of dark clouds.  Indeed life can be difficult at times but we want to see the sun that is behind all the cloud that covers the sky.  Just because the clouds cover everything right now doesn’t mean sun is not there.  We want to see sun through the clouds. 

            Wisdom reminds us of this simple truth.  When we are feeling down, wisdom that comes from God gives us the assurance that our Father in heaven knows what we are going through and just like an inheritance, wisdom benefits us to maintain positive outlook on our life.  We can rely on wisdom that comes from God to work through any dark times we might face.  Solomon continues on in verse 12.

Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

            In troubling economic times, money provides certain security.  Solomon compares wisdom to money in the sense that just as money provides shelter or protection so does wisdom for the person who possesses it.  Although money may not necessarily preserve the life of its possessor, wisdom does according to Solomon.  As important as money is, wisdom in a sense is even more important for us.  Jesus tells us about the rich man in Luke 12:16-20 who thought to himself that he would build bigger barn to store all his grains and his goods.  This man would say to himself, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” He assumed he would live on according to his own plan not recognizing that on that very night God would demand his life from him. 

            Such is the flawed thinking of man.  If this man had wisdom, he would have known that God is control of all things and that God intervenes in our affairs.  Although this man may have had more than enough money to last him for decades to come, he did not have wisdom to know that all things come from God and that God determines what happens to us.  And this is why Jesus tells us that God would call him, “You fool!”  Obviously in this rich man’s case, money did not preserve his life. 

            On more serious note, wisdom that leads us to eternal life does preserve our life.  It is common knowledge that we all die and to face judgment.  If we truly have the wisdom, we would make preparations for what is to come after our death here on earth.  We see so many people who are oblivious to this truth and continue to go on living as if this life is only life that matters.  Much to their shock, they will pass from this life only to find out that what is in the Scriptures was not myth but reality.  By then, it would have been too late for those who did not heed the message of Gospel. 

            As we grapple with this passage, we have much to be grateful for if we count our blessing to know Christ as our Lord and Savior.  How precious is the wisdom to know such truth and how much more valuable is this wisdom than all the money in the world?  Solomon now comments on God’s sovereign power over all things in verse 13.

Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?

            Our God is Sovereign God who rules the universe.  He is the creator of all things.  Because He is one and the only God, He is accountable to no one but Himself.  What He does, no one can question or second guess.  So Solomon asks, “Who can straighten what God has made crooked?”  This is rhetorical question as no one can.  When God has made certain things the way they are, we need to consider what God has done.  This considering is about reflecting on what God has done.  God does things for His purpose and for His will.  He is not bound by us or our own selfish desires.  Because He is Sovereign, He does what He pleases without our input. 

            When we encounter what God has done, we ought to quietly consider His will.  God does not make mistakes.  Anything and everything He does, God has His reason that surpasses all our understanding.  From minutest incident that affects one person to more spectacular events that affect millions, He does things according to His pleasure. 

            Even in terms of our own salvation, it is not we who choose Jesus Christ but God who compels us to come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Without the Holy Spirit leading us to come to Jesus, we would not have been able to.  Salvation from the beginning to end is the work of God, not dependant on us.  This is what we need to consider.  Who are we that God would choose us to come to know Christ and be saved from eternal destruction?  Is not by the grace of God that we are plucked from the pit of hell?  As we consider what God has done, the only response is to be in awe of God’s grace shown us without merit or work on our part.  Solomon continues with his thoughts on God’s Sovereignty. 

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

            As we live through this life, we go through various times filled with joy as well as sorrow.  Just as there are days of immeasurable happiness, there are days that seem so dark that we are disheartened and distressed.  Solomon would tell us to be happy when times are good but when times are bad, we ought to consider.  In difficult times, we often think in terms of extremes.  We often become guilt stricken and wonder aloud what we’ve done to deserve such heartache.  If we think in terms of this line of logic, when times are good, we would then wonder what we’ve done to deserve such happiness. 

            Quite clearly in both cases, we had nothing to do with either deserving or not deserving such consequences.  In spite of our deficiencies, God sends forth His goodness and mercy.  We neither deserved nor merit such blessings from God.  We are merely grateful recipients of His love.  Good times as well as bad times come from God.  God is not some kind of petty being that react to our every whim whether positive or negative.  At times, we have tendency to think of God in terms of cause and effect.  We assume because we did this, we get such and such from God.  Nothing could be further from truth.  God is not a gumball machine that if we put a quarter in, we get few pieces of gumballs.  Our flawed thinking is that if we do something then God does something as a result. 

            This can be somewhat difficult for us to understand and accept.  We want to apply our human understanding to our relationship with God.  But we want to remember that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. 

            When situations are bad, we simply consider in our hearts that God is still in control and that it is wise not to jump to foolish conclusions that make our God seem petty.   Simply reflect on it and continue on with the strength that God gives us when we are faced with difficult situations which we did not bring on ourselves.  Certain things are outside of our control and we certainly did not cause these things to take place.  When someone gets laid off from a job although he was working diligently and faithfully, trying to find some fault with that person is wrong way to approach this issue.  It may very well be that the company decided to let him go because of downsizing or unfavorable economic times.  Trying to somehow find blame with that person through spiritualization is not prudent.  Accept it at face value. 

            If someone else got laid off, should we then give credit to God saying that because I prayed to God that He saved my job but caused another person to lose his job so that he would now struggle to support his family?  Should we then give praise to God for preserving my job while there is someone else whose family must now face difficult times?  Solomon tells us that we cannot discover anything about our future. 

            Just because we are doing well does not mean that we will continue in this way.  We are not guaranteed certain level of lifestyle.  Whatever we have is from God and it is important to remind ourselves that we did not deserve what we have or what we don’t have.  We simply accept what God has given us and stay happy when times are good.  But at the same time, when things are bad, we accept that as well without trying to find someone to blame. 

            Indeed in life, we make decisions that warrant certain consequences but we ought to be careful on pegging it to God just because it is easier to do so than to look at ourselves and accept certain consequences as of our own doing.  If we are to go out in dead of winter somewhere in Alaska without proper protection, we would end up in hospital with frostbites and other unimaginable cold weather injuries.  For something like this, we couldn’t fault God as it is of our own doing.  If we make poor decisions concerning our life, we will naturally reap corresponding consequences.   If we steal from someone, we deserve to be punished for such activities.  We cannot blame God for something like that. 

            As we are but humans, we cannot foresee future and can only trust in God’s unchanging love.  We will face both good times and bad times throughout our lives.  We do not know what will happen tomorrow but yet we know that in our constantly changing circumstances, our God is still the same in His love towards us.