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feareth an oath. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is
ONE EVENT unto all.....madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go
to the dead" (9: 2, 3).
Surely had Ecclesiastes lived in this 20th century he would have heard the echo of his
words in the colloquial, "What's the good of ANYTHING--nothing!". A Proverb is the
wisdom of many in the wit of one, and--slang though it may be--it is the sub-conscious
finding of man at large.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest" (9: 10, see also
9: 5).
Here the writer reveals the identity of the one place whither all go, Sheol, the Hebrew
equivalent to Hades. The uncertain tenure of life also appeals to him:--
"For man also knoweth not his time: as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as birds
that are caught in the snare: so are the sons of men ensnared in an evil time, when it
falleth suddenly upon them" (9: 12).
Whatever the condition in which a man may live, he is wise never to so live as though
the rude intrusion were not bound to come.
"Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But,
if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of
darkness for they shall be many. ALL THAT COMETH IS VANITY" (11: 7, 8).
The survey concludes with the exhortation to the youth to remember his Creator while
the evil days come not. For:--
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return unto God
Who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth, all is vanity" (12: 1-8).
Thus ends the search and the survey. Dust returns to dust. Spirit returns to God the
giver. What an end! What can we say after viewing the travail, the labour, the
inequalities, the just suffering as the wicked, the wicked prospering as though just, the
time and the chance, the one event to wise and to fools, but Vanity, all is vanity! Is this a
sceptic's finding, or a believer's verdict? We dare to say that it is the finding of every
Scripture-taught believer. One thing, and one thing only, can alter the verdict--
RESURRECTION.
"If Christ be not RISEN, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.....if
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.....if in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (I Cor. 15:).
That the teaching of the apostle is similar to that of Ecclesiastes when resurrection is
removed from the argument is manifested by the fact that he echoes Eccles. 2: 24,
8: 15, where Koheleth, looking at the just man who suffers like a wicked man,
commends mirth saying:--
"Eat, and drink, and be merry."