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God works in the way He does "that men should fear before Him" (3: 14). This is the
conclusion of the whole matter:--
"Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God
shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or
whether it be evil" (12: 13, 14).
The complexities of this span of time, the inequalities, the time and chance which
happen to all, the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering, all these and more make
up the olam set in the heart of man. The relief that comes to the mind when one learns
that a time is THERE when the crooked shall be made straight, when every work shall be
brought into judgment, is beyond words. It enables one to obey the injunction, "Fret not
thyself because of evildoers.......because of him that bringeth wicked devices to pass"
(Psalm 37:). God has a purpose and a work that transcends all our thought, "Wait
patiently for Him". This wholesome scriptural fear is verily a safety-valve in the midst of
the baffling problems of Providence, "He that feareth God shall come forth of them all"
(7: 18). "Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days are prolonged" (so that
Asaph-like we are tempted to say "I have cleansed my heart in vain: nevertheless what
saith the scripture), "Yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God"
(8: 12).
Let us return for a moment to chapter 3: Does it not seem strange at first sight for
Koheleth to interpolate between his weighty references to the work of God with regard to
the age such things as eating and drinking?
"I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good during
his life. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his
labour, it is the gift of God" (3: 12, 13).
Verily it is the gift of God, this strange unearthly peace in the seething strife of this
world. No longer like the caged eagle do we beat ourselves against the bars; we know,
and in that knowledge of Him we realize that all is well. We can enjoy the "good" of our
labour, and thank God for His gift. The endless circle of human experience, after all, is a
faint echo of the mighty purpose of the ages.
"That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been: and God
SEEKETH that which is past" (3: 15).
How often is this glorious statement of the goal of the ages perverted into a sentence
of threatening, "God requireth that which is past", meaning the sinner's past life.
"That which IS TO BE, hath already been."
Revelation restores the lost paradise of Genesis. The new creation brings us back to
the state of bliss which obtained before man or Satan fell. The whole work of redemption
is to seek the lost and bring it back. "God SEEKETH the past." Israel's restoration is
spoken of in the language of their past. "I will restore thy judges AS AT FIRST"