Ecclesiastes 9:11 Kommentar

Solomon, in this chapter, for a further proof of the vanity of this world, gives us four observations which he had made upon a survey of the state of the children of men in it: - I. He observed that commonly as to outward things, good and bad men fare much alike (Ecc 9:1-3). II. That death puts a final period to all our employments and enjoyments in this world (Ecc 9:4-6), whence he infers that it is our wisdom to enjoy the comforts of life and mind the business of life, while it lasts (Ecc 9:7-10). III. That God's providence often crosses the fairest and most hopeful probabilities of men's endeavour, and great calamities often surprise men ere they are aware (Ecc 9:11, Ecc 9:12). IV. That wisdom often makes men very useful, and yet gains them little respect, for that persons of great merit are slighted (Ecc 9:13-18). And what is there then in this world that should make us fond of it?

The preacher here, for a further proof of the vanity of the world, and to convince us that all our works are in the hand of God, and not in our own hand, shows the uncertainty and contingency of future events, and how often they contradict the prospects we have of them. He had exhorted us (Ecc 9:10) to do what we have to do with all our might; but here he reminds us that, when we have done all, we must leave the issue with God, and not be confident of the success. I. We are often disappointed of the good we had great hopes of, Ecc 9:11. Solomon had himself made the observation, and so has many a one since, that events, both in public and private affairs, do not always agree even with the most rational prospects and probabilities. Nulli fortuna tam dedita est ut multa tentanti ubique respondeat - Fortune surrenders herself to no one so as to ensure him success, however numerous his undertakings. Seneca. The issue of affairs is often unaccountably cross to every one's expectation, that the highest may not presume, nor the lowest despair, but all may live in a humble dependence upon God, from whom every man's judgment proceeds. 1. He gives instances of disappointment, even where means and instruments were most encouraging and promised fair. (1.) One would think that the lightest of foot should, in running, win the prize; and yet the race is not always to the swift; some accident happens to retard them, or they are too secure, and therefore remiss, and let those that are slower get the start of them. (2.) One would think that, in fighting, the most numerous and powerful army should be always victorious, and, in single combat, that the bold and mighty champion should win the laurel; but the battle is not always to the strong; a host of Philistines was once put to flight by Jonathan and his man; one of you shall chase a thousand; the goodness of the cause has often carried the day against the most formidable power. (3.) One would think that men of sense should always be men of substance, and that those who know how to live in the world should not only have a plentiful maintenance, but get great estates; and yet it does not always prove so; even bread is not always to the wise, much less riches always to men of understanding. Many ingenious men, and men of business, who were likely to thrive in the world, have strangely gone backward and come to nothing. (4.) One would think that those who understand men, and have the art of management, should always get preferment and obtain the smiles of great men; but many ingenious men have been disappointed, and have spent their days in obscurity, nay, have fallen into disgrace, and perhaps have ruined themselves by those very methods by which they hoped to raise themselves, for favour is not always to men of skill, but fools are favoured and wise men frowned upon. 2. He resolves all these disappointments into an over-ruling power and providence, the disposals of which to us seem casual, and we call them chance, but really they are according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, here called time, in the language of this book, Ecc 3:1; Psa 31:15. Time and chance happen to them all. A sovereign Providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes, and teaches them that the way of man is not in himself, but subject to the divine will. We must use means, but not trust to them; if we succeed, we must give God the praise (Psa 44:3); if we be crossed, we must acquiesce in his will and take our lot. II. We are often surprised with the evils we were in little fear of (Ecc 9:12): Man knows not his time, the time of his calamity, his fall, his death, which, in scripture, is called our day and our hour. 1. We know not what troubles are before us, which will take us off our business, and take us out of the world, what time and chance will happen to us, nor what one day, or a night, may bring forth. It is not for us to know the times, no, not our own time, when or how we shall die. God has, in wisdom, kept us in the dark, that we may be always ready. 2. Perhaps we may meet with trouble in that very thing wherein we promise ourselves the greatest satisfaction and advantage; as the fishes and the birds are drawn into the snare and net by the bait laid to allure them, which they greedily catch at, so are the sons of men often snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them, before they are aware. And these things too come alike to all. Men often find their bane where they sought their bless, and catch their death where they thought to find a prize. Let us therefore never be secure, but always ready for changes, that, though they may be sudden, they may be no surprise or terror to us.

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 9 Though the wise man, with all his wisdom, search, and labour, could not find out the causes and reasons of divine Providence, in the branches and methods of it; yet some things he did find out, and observe, in making this inquiry, and which he declares; as that good and wise men, more especially their persons and their affairs, were in the hand of God, under his guidance, government, and direction; and that an interest in his love and hatred was not to be known by the outward estate of men, Ecc 9:1; That the same events happen to good and bad men, who are variously described; that the hearts of wicked men are full of sin and madness as long as they live, and that they all must and do die, Ecc 9:2; and then the state of such dead is described, as being without hope, knowledge, reward, or memory; and without love, hatred, or envy, or any portion in the things of this life, Ecc 9:4. Wherefore good men are advised to live cheerfully, in a view of acceptance with God, both of persons and services; and eat and drink, and clothe well, according to their circumstances, and enjoy their friends and families; since nothing of this kind can be done in the grave, Ecc 9:7. Then the wise man observes another vanity; that success in undertakings is not always to persons who bid fair, and might hope for it, but looks like the effect of chance, Ecc 9:11; which want of success is often owing to their ignorance of the proper time of doing things, and to their want of foresight, thought, and care, to prevent evils; for which reason they are compared to fishes and birds, taken in a net or snare, Ecc 9:12. And concludes with a commendation of wisdom, illustrated by an example of it, in a certain person that delivered a city by it, Ecc 9:13; and though the man's wisdom was despised, yet it is preferable to strength, or weapons of war, or the noise of a foolish ruler, who destroys much good, Ecc 9:16.

I returned, and saw under the sun,.... The wise man returned to his former subject, concerning the same events happening to all sorts of persons, righteous and wicked, wise and unwise, Ecc 10:1; and enlarged upon it in his mind; and took notice of various things done under the sun, and made the following remarks: and whereas he had exhorted men to use all their might in doing the duties of their calling while they lived here; he suggests, that they should not depend upon, and promise themselves, anything from their own strength and wisdom; but have a regard to the providence of God, that superintends all affairs, and gives or withholds success as he pleases; since it may be observed, that the race is not to the swift; swiftness oftentimes is of no service to a man to escape dangers, as may be seen in the case of Asahel and others, Sa2 2:18; so the Targum, "men who are swift as eagles are not helped by running to escape from death in battle.'' Or the sense may be, that the swift are not always made use of in running a race; or, if they are, they do not always win the prize, something or other happens to hinder them; they fall, or become lame, when one more slow gets the advantage of them, Co1 9:24; and so in spiritual things, one that is ready to halt, as David says of himself, gets to heaven, and is saved, Psa 38:17; when others, at first starting or setting out in a profession, run well for a while, as the Galatians did, Gal 5:7; but afterwards drop and fall short; for "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God, that sheweth mercy", Rom 9:16; nor the battle to the strong: as not to the Midianites, nor to Goliath, nor to Abner, in whom Jarchi instances; victory is not always on the side of the mighty and the many, but oftentimes on the side of the weak and few; see Ch2 14:9; so in spirituals, such who go forth in their own strength against an enemy, trusting in it, fall; while weak believers, depending on the grace and strength of Christ, wrestle with principalities and powers, and come off victorious; neither yet bread to the wise: the Targum adds, in a time of famine, when their wisdom cannot help them; but the sense rather is, that skilful artificers, in any trade or business, do not always get the best livelihood, yea, sometimes want the necessaries of life, or eat the bread of sorrow, when persons of meaner capacities shall thrive and flourish; and even the wisest of men sometimes have been obliged to others for bread, as was the case of David, Sa1 21:3; and even of a wiser than he, our Lord himself, Luk 8:2; and as for the wise men of this world, the bread of life, Christ Jesus, is neither enjoyed nor sought after by them; nor yet riches to men of understanding; mention is afterwards made of a wise man that was poor, Jarchi instances in Job; and, on the other hand, sometimes fools are rich, as Nabal and others; and as for the riches of grace, and treasures of spiritual knowledge, they are not usually given to the wise and prudent Mat 11:25; Nor yet favour to men of skill; to men of knowledge and learning, whose genius and abilities might be thought sufficient to recommend them to the favour, affection, and applause of men, and yet oftentimes fall herein; such who have the art of address and persuasion are not always able to ingratiate themselves, and gain the esteem of men: Jarchi interprets it of the favour of God, and instances in Moses; than whom there was not a more knowing and understanding man in Israel, yet could not by his prayer find grace and favour to enter into the land: but the Targum is better; "neither they that know understanding are helped by their knowledge to find favour in the eyes of a king;'' but time and chance happeneth to them all; to the swift and strong, the wise, understanding, and skilful; or to the swift and slow, to the strong and weak, to the wise and unwise; everything befalls them just as it is ordered by divine Providence; for there is a certain "time" fixed by the Lord for every event; and whatever seems casual and contingent to man, and which he is ready to call "chance", is noticing but "decree" with God, firm and unalterable; Plato (e) has the same expression. The word signifies "occurrence" (f), or event, which is under the wise direction and order of the providence of God, with respect to whom nothing comes by chance; and it is rendered "occurrent", Kg1 5:4; and so it is here, by the Septuagint version, "occurrence" or "event"; and in the Targum, event by their star, which is fate: and Aben Ezra interprets it , the "superior ordination"; it is something we meet, or meets us, by divine appointment. Aben Ezra and Kimchi, who are followed by others, think that, from Ecc 10:4; to this, Solomon is speaking in the person of epicures and atheists; which is not likely, since it is not in character for such persons to talk of God's acceptance of men's works; of living joyfully with a wife; of this life being a life of vanity; and of death and the grave; and of diligence in working while the present life lasts. (e) , Plato de Leg. l. 4. p. 827. (f) "occursus", Montanus; "sive eventus", Mercerus, Rambachius; "occurrent", Broughton,

"Once more I saw under the sun that the race is not won by the swift; nor the battle by the strong, nor does bread come to the wise, riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the learned; but time and death will happen to them all. "He who is bound by manacles and by heavy lead chains is oppressed: "for wickedness sits upon a talent of lead" [Zach. 5, 7.], and in the Psalm it says, "they weigh on me like a heavy burden" [Ps. 37, 5.]. It is not talking about that race, about which is said, "I took up the race, and I kept my faith" [II. Tim. 4, 7.]. But that man is swift and his spirit is not weighed down, nonetheless even he is not able to arrive at the goal without God helping him. But when there has been a war against adverse leaders, about whom it is written, "make war sacred" [Ier. 6, 4.], even a strong man will not be able to win with his own strength. This is also true of the sons of man and the wise who cannot have living bread for the spirit, except through encouraging wisdom: "Come, eat my bread" [Prov. 9, 5.]. And since there are riches, about which the apostle says, "riches come through good deeds" [I Tim. 6, 18.], and in another place, "you have been made rich in every utterance and knowledge" [I Cor. 1, 5.]; it must be understood that a wise man cannot amass these riches, unless he receives them from God, who possesses them. In another place these riches are mentioned too: "redemption of the spirit for man is his own riches" [Prov. 15, 8.]. However learned a man is, he will not be able to find grace too, unless accompanied by wisdom and given by God. Paul also knows this: "I worked more than all men," he says, "yet not I but the grace of God which was with me". Then again he says, "His grace in me was not in vain". And right to the end man does not know when the time will come, when the unknown fate and end of all things will come. This reading is according to "anagoge". But in order to explain this more easily, I should mention that the epistle to the Romans agrees with this verse: "So then it is not of him that wants, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy." [Rom. 9, 16.] He also says this: "there is no bread for the wise", this example is proved every day for many people, who although they are very wise, still do not have the necessary sustenance for life. And: "there is no grace for the knowledgeable". For you may see in the Church that the ignorant and unskilled prosper. And this is both because they have nourished their boldness, and followed the fluency of their tongue, while they do not think about what they say, they think that they are wise and learned, and as if they have the greatest favour of the populous, which delights and is brought together more by more polished words. On the other hand a learned man lies in obscurity and suffers persecution; and not only does he not have grace in the people's eyes, but also fades away through poverty and hunger. But these things happen because all things occur by uncertainty, and there is no retribution of merit in this world, but in the future.

Those who believe that human things are guided by providence do not ascribe anything accomplished by humans to their own effort. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.” He does not say that no one should build or no one guard the city but that one should remember: if the Lord does not grant success to the effort, both the effort and those who strive for it will be without success. It is up to us to start, but it is up to God to grant success. We start to build the house; God helps and perfects the construction. We guard our own city and are watchful of that decision to guard it, but God preserves it, undestroyed and undefeated by the aggressors. This is also expressed in Proverbs: “Keep your heart with all vigilance.” But even if you yourself keep your heart with all vigilance, say nevertheless to God: “You, Lord, will guard and preserve us.” This thought is also affirmed by Paul, when he says, “So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.” He does not prohibit running towards the goals of our endeavor and to desire them. But he does prohibit belief that they are reached through one’s own effort. Many who have had this expectation have been found without success in their efforts.Question: How should we understand “the swift?” Answer: You can understand it clearly in the visible world: Some who are runners run fast, but in spite of that they still do not always escape their pursuers. And the slow are often not caught because the pursuers sometimes stumble. Therefore it is up to God, not to the swift, to finish the race.… The strong do not necessarily finish a war victoriously. Goliath was strong, and the war nevertheless did not end well for him. He was struck down like someone unarmed, like one who is not a general or someone inexperienced in war. For David the war ended successfully, although he did not trust in many armed forces. Rather, he defeated this mighty giant “in the name of the Lord.” Goliath, on the other hand, who was so proud of himself, had no success in war.

(Ecc. 9:1-18) declare--rather, explore; the result of my exploring is this, that "the righteous, &c., are in the hand of God. No man knoweth either the love or hatred (of God to them) by all that is before them," that is, by what is outwardly seen in His present dealings (Ecc 8:14, Ecc 8:17). However, from the sense of the same words, in Ecc 9:6, "love and hatred" seem to be the feelings of the wicked towards the righteous, whereby they caused to the latter comfort or sorrow. Translate: "Even the love and hatred" (exhibited towards the righteous, are in God's hand) (Psa 76:10; Pro 16:7). "No man knoweth all that is before them."

This verse qualifies the sentiment, Ecc 9:7-9. Earthly "enjoyments," however lawful in their place (Ecc 3:1), are to give way when any work to be done for God requires it. Reverting to the sentiment (Ecc 8:17), we ought, therefore, not only to work God's work "with might" (Ecc 9:10), but also with the feeling that the event is wholly "in God's hand" (Ecc 9:1). race . . . not to the swift-- (Sa2 18:23); spiritually (Zep 3:19; Rom 9:16). nor . . . battle to . . . strong-- (Sa1 17:47; Ch2 14:9, Ch2 14:11, Ch2 14:15; Psa 33:16). bread--livelihood. favour--of the great. chance--seemingly, really Providence. But as man cannot "find it out" (Ecc 3:11), he needs "with all might" to use opportunities. Duties are ours; events, God's.

"Further, I came to see under the sun, that the race belongs not to the swift, and the war not to the heroes, and also not bread to the wise man, and not riches to the prudent, and not favour to men of knowledge; for time and chance happeneth to them all." The nearest preceding רא, to which this ורב ורא suitably connects itself, is at Ecc 8:17. Instead of redii et videndo quidem = rursus vidi (cf. Ecc 8:9 and under Ecc 9:1), we had at Ecc 4:1 the simpler expression, redii et vidi. The five times repeated ל is that of property, of that, viz., by virtue of which one is master of that which is named, has power over it, disposes of it freely. The race belongs not to the swift (מרוץ, masc. to מרוּצה, only here), i.e., their fleetness is yet no guarantee that on account of it they will reach the goal. Luther freely: "To be fleet does not help in running," i.e., running to an object or goal. "The war belongs not to the heroes," means that much rather it belongs to the Lord, Sa1 17:47. - God alone gives the victory (Psa 33:16). Even so the gaining of bread, riches, favour (i.e., influence, reputation), does not lie in wisdom, prudence, knowledge of themselves, as an indispensable means thereto; but the obtaining of them, or the not obtaining of them, depends on times and circumstances which lie beyond the control of man, and is thus, in the final result, conditioned by God (cf. Rom 9:16); (Note: But not Jer 9:22; this passage, referred to by Bernstein, is of a different nature.) time and fate happen to all whose ability appears to warrant the issue, they both time and fate encounter them and bar to them the way; they are in an inexplicable manner dependent on both, and helplessly subject to them. As the idea of spiritual superiority is here expressed in a threefold manner by הח (whence לה of the plur., also with the art. Ecc 9:1; Exo 36:4; Est 1:13), 'הן, and היּ, so at Isa 11:2, the gifts of "wisdom," "counsel," and "knowledge" follow each other. 'Eth is here "time" with its special circumstances (conjunctures), and pega', "accident," particularly as an adversity, disappointment of the word is used also without any addition (Kg1 5:18) of misfortune (cf. שיר פגעים, Psa 3:1-8; 91). The masc. יק is regulated after וף; 'eth can, however, be used in the masc., Sol 2:12; Bttch. 648, viz., "with the misapprehension of its origin" (v. Orelli). This limitation of man in his efforts, in spite of all his capacity, has its reason in this, that he is on the whole not master of his own life: