Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 – Death is inevitable so live wisely

The day Adam chose to disobey God, his life was shortened and death was guaranteed. Ever since then every person born into the human race shares his fallen nature with the certainty of experiencing death. We are told in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” However, we notice that most people only seriously think of death when they are struck by a deadly disease or know someone who is struck by a deadly condition. Truth be told, for us who are healthy and well, we do not think of death’s imminence until we visit a wake, attend a funeral or visit a columbarium. It is in those moments that the imminence of death becomes crystal clear and we remember that life always ends in death. This realization has an impact on our perspective concerning how we ought to live.

People are usually occupied with the pleasure or solving life’s problems that they hardly give time to think about their future and the end of life. In Ecclesiastes 8, Solomon had engaged in a deep reflection in his search for wisdom to live life. In verse 8 he concluded that no one can determine the day of his or her death. He had entertained the thought that the wicked seem to have a good life. And was wondering why the just and righteous God would not bring a swift end to the wicked for the evil deeds they were committing. Instead, they seemed to be prospering despite their wickedness. But now in verse 10, as he recalled the burial of the wicked, he was jolted to shift his whole perspective concerning life and death. It must be said that being aware of mortality always brings some clarity into the issue of life and death. Here standing beside a grave, Solomon realizes that death comes sooner than one thinks. Good or bad, righteous or evil, everyone dies. In the second part of verse 10, he wants us to know that everyone, even wicked people who are prominent in the country, or in church when they are dead they will be forgotten.

However, in verse 11 Solomon felt that punishment for the wicked isn’t swift enough. Perhaps he was thinking that they should be struck dead instantly. The delay he suggested could be the reason why the hearts of the wicked were not changed. But we know that people do take the grace of God for granted. Man’s heart is desperately wicked and would spurn the patience of God. Nonetheless, righteous living is still to be preferred to wayward living. Living a righteous life honors God and we will be surely rewarded. Don’t trifle with sin. It will hold you longer than you are willing to stay, take your further than you are willing to go and make you pay more than you are willing to pay. 

Solomon’s assertion in Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 is that wicked people seem to do well and not punished immediately. However, he knows that perfect justice will ultimately be served on them. They may try to prolong life so they frantically try to live as long as they can. But they will not get so much as a day more than what God has apportioned to them. There is no way the wicked can prevent the nightfall of death. Like a shadow that go away in the night, the wicked will also disappear at nightfall. But turning to the godly, verse 12 assures that they will have great hope because they fear the Lord. He knows that it will all be well for those who fear the Lord, for every reverential act they practice, is ever before the eye of the Lord. It is certainly better to live reverentially for the Lord. The same cannot be said of those who live without giving any thought for God. Things will not be well with them ultimately. So, let us present our whole being to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. For it is the only right and acceptable way for a God who deserves the best from our lives!