Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 (ESV Strong's)
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
Life’s Tragedies are Indiscriminate
One of the glorious truths believers cling to is the ultimate sovereignty of God. We believe that God is in total control of our lives. We believe God is providential in the world around us. We believe that God takes all the events in the world and crafts them into a marvelous story for His glory (Romans 8:28). That is what makes the above verses (and those like them) in Ecclesiastes so difficult to ponder. In chapter nine Solomon is speaking very fatalistically. Note how he begins the chapter that leads us up to the above verses:
Ecclesiastes 9:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
Death Comes to All
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.
The arranges of the ESV Bible entitled this section “Death Comes to All.” That is a good title for these passages. That is Solomon’s point throughout the chapter. That is the “events” that happen to “us all,” that Solomon is referring to. That is the “time and chance happen to them all,” he is speaking of in verse eleven. Solomon is not denying the sovereignty of God but simply giving into the “chance” happenings of this world. Solomon wants us to know that neither the swift, the strong, the intellectual, the rich, or the wise can escape the fate off all men: Death. Solomon wants all men to realize that death is the final step, no matter the path they took to get there. But, it is not only death. All things that happen to man kind can and will impact all men. God is NOT the cosmic BIG GUY in the sky to protect us from all ills of life. God promises to carry us through the famine, not to keep us from the famine:
Psalms 33:19 (ESV Strong's)
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
Man relies upon their strength, riches, knowledge and power. Yet, these will not deliver them from the ultimate end of life. These can not deliver them from cancer. These can not deliver them from car accidents or plane crashes or hurricanes. God does not promise to keep us from those things, but only to carry us through those things. He is our ultimate source of security and strength. Solomon is not telling to cease to be swift, or to become weak, or to not seek knowledge and wisdom. He is telling us that by simply having THOSE things we will not escape the events of life and death. But, we do know that with faith in God we will be cared for in the midst of the events of life. That is the walk of faith for all believers in the sovereign power of God.
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