Commentary - Ecclesiastes 8:10-13

Bird's-eye view

In this potent section of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher confronts one of the most vexing problems of life under the sun: the apparent prosperity and honor of the wicked, contrasted with the seeming delay of divine justice. This is a hard-headed look at reality. The wicked get funerals with pomp and circumstance, and their villainy is papered over and forgotten right in the city where they committed their crimes. This observation leads to a profound theological insight into human depravity. Because God is patient and does not drop the hammer of judgment the instant a sin is committed, the hearts of men become emboldened to do even more evil. They mistake God's patience for His absence or indifference. But the Preacher does not leave us there, in the slough of this apparent injustice. He pivots from his observation of the world to his bedrock conviction in the character of God. Despite all appearances, despite the sinner who racks up a century of sins and still lives a long life, the Preacher knows, with a settled, theological certainty, that the ultimate outcomes are fixed. It will be well for those who fear God. It will not be well for the wicked. The wicked man's life, however long it seems, is like a fleeting shadow, and it is so precisely because he does not fear God. This passage, then, is a masterful lesson in seeing the world as it is, while interpreting it through the lens of what we know to be true about God.

The central issue is the timing of God's judgment and how men respond to it. The ungodly see the delay and are confirmed in their rebellion. The righteous see the same delay, and it becomes a test of their faith, forcing them to trust in God's character rather than in their immediate circumstances. The Preacher is teaching us to have a long-term, eschatological perspective. The final score is not tallied at halftime. God's books will be balanced, and the decisive factor in that final accounting is not earthly success or reputation, but rather the fear of God.

Outline

Context In Ecclesiastes

This passage sits within a larger section (Ecclesiastes 6:1-8:15) where Solomon is applying his doctrine that a sovereign God alone gives the power to enjoy the vanities of this life. Without God, the world is nothing but a chasing after the wind. Chapter 8 begins with a commendation of wisdom and the need for submission to earthly kings. But this submission to authority naturally raises the question of justice. What happens when earthly authorities are corrupt? What happens when the wicked seem to win? Verses 10-13 are the Preacher's direct engagement with this apparent moral chaos. He has observed it all, he says. He has seen rulers abuse their power to their own hurt (8:9). This leads him to the specific and scandalous observation of a wicked man's funeral. This section, therefore, provides the theological anchor needed to navigate a world of injustice. It precedes the Preacher's conclusion that, in light of these inscrutable providences, the best a man can do is to rejoice in his work and enjoy the life God has given him (8:15), because the final accounting is in God's hands. This passage is crucial; it prevents the call to "eat, drink, and be merry" from becoming a call to hedonism. We rejoice precisely because we know that a holy and just God is in charge of the big picture.

Key Issues

Seeing and Knowing

The Preacher here models for us the two essential faculties of mature Christian wisdom: seeing and knowing. First, he sees. He is not a pietist with his head in the clouds, pretending the world is something other than it is. He looks right at the raw data. He sees wicked men, who should be driven from the holy place, instead being carried out for a respectable burial. He sees their sins forgotten. He sees that God does not strike evil men down with lightning bolts. He sees sinners living long and seemingly prosperous lives. He does not flinch from this. Any faith that requires you to deny the plain facts of your lying eyes is a brittle and worthless faith.

But after he sees, he knows. "Still I know..." This is the pivot of the entire passage. His knowledge is not derived from his immediate observations. His knowledge is theological, rooted in the revelation of God's character. He knows that, despite the confusing and often infuriating data of daily life, it will be well with the righteous and it will not be well with the wicked. This is the biblical realism that Ecclesiastes teaches. We must be those who see the world for the vanity that it is, but who know the God who is sovereign over all that vanity. Our knowledge must interpret our sight, not the other way around. To let our observations of this crooked world dictate our theology is to surrender to the vanity. To let our theology of a straight-shooting God interpret our observations is to find the path to wisdom.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is vanity.

The Preacher begins with a specific, galling observation. He has seen wicked men receive a full, respectable burial. Not only that, but these were men of some religious standing, men who "used to go in and out from the holy place." These were not just pagan thugs; these were hypocrites, pillars of the community, men whose wickedness was cloaked in a veneer of piety. And what is the result? Their evil deeds are "soon forgotten in the city." The eulogies are given, the respectable funeral is held, and a collective amnesia settles over the town. The man's true legacy of corruption is whitewashed. The Preacher looks at this whole charade, the pomp, the hypocrisy, the convenient forgetfulness, and declares it to be vanity. It is vapor, a puff of smoke. It is a profound injustice, a picture that is all wrong, a moral absurdity.

11 Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.

Here we get to the root of the problem. The Preacher moves from observation to analysis. Why does this kind of wickedness flourish? He gives the reason in this profound verse. It is because God is patient. Because judgment is not immediate, men make a fatal miscalculation. They interpret God's forbearance as God's approval, or at least His indifference. The fact that the lightning bolt does not fall the moment the lie is told or the bribe is taken becomes, in the sinner's mind, a green light for more of the same. The delay of the sentence does not lead them to repentance, as it should (Rom. 2:4), but rather it causes their hearts to be "fully set" or "given fully" to do evil. It is like a criminal who gets away with a small crime and becomes emboldened to attempt a larger one. This is a deep insight into the nature of fallen man. Our hearts are so bent on sin that we will take God's own kindness and use it as fuel for our rebellion. The long fuse on God's wrath is not seen as a mercy to be embraced, but as an opportunity to be exploited.

12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may prolong his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

Now comes the great pivot from seeing to knowing. The Preacher pushes the problem to its extreme. He doesn't just talk about one or two sins. He posits a man who sins a hundred times over, a career criminal in God's sight. And not only does he get away with it, but he "may prolong his life." He doesn't die young; he lives to a ripe old age, enjoying his ill-gotten gains. This is the scenario that troubles the saints (see Psalm 73). But having stated the problem in its starkest terms, the Preacher makes his great affirmation of faith: "still I know." Despite all this contrary evidence, I know a fundamental truth about the moral structure of God's universe. It will ultimately "be well for those who fear God." The outcome is determined not by one's rap sheet or lifespan, but by one's posture toward God. And notice the qualification: "who fear Him openly." This is not a secret, private piety. The fear of God is a public orientation of one's life, a reverence for God that governs all one's dealings. This is the great dividing line of humanity.

13 But it will not be well for the wicked man, and he will not prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God openly.

Here is the other side of the coin, the necessary corollary. Just as it will be well for the God-fearer, "it will not be well for the wicked man." His apparent success is an illusion. The Preacher then seems to contradict himself. In verse 12 he said the sinner might "prolong his life," but here he says the wicked man "will not prolong his days like a shadow." There is no contradiction. A shadow lengthens as the sun sets. It is a picture of a full and complete day, ending in peaceful rest. The wicked man's life will not be like that. He may live a long time, but his life will be cut short in a different sense. It will be a life without substance, without true blessing, and it will end in abrupt judgment. His days, however numerous, are not "prolonged" in the sense of being filled with the favor of God. They are simply a tally of transgressions, leading to a terrible end. And the reason is stated plainly, as it was for the righteous: "because he does not fear God openly." This is the central issue. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and the lack of it is the beginning of utter folly and ruin, no matter how long it takes for the final bill to come due.

Application

This passage speaks directly to us in our own age of rampant injustice and celebrated wickedness. We look around and see men who despise God and His law elevated to positions of power and influence. We see them buried with honors while their victims are forgotten. We see evil deeds go unpunished, and we are tempted to despair, or worse, to become cynical. The Preacher's words are a bracing tonic for our souls.

First, we must be realists. We must see the world as it is. It is a fallen place, and we should not be surprised when the wicked prosper. To expect the world to operate on consistently godly principles before the final judgment is to set ourselves up for disappointment. We must have our eyes wide open to the vanity of it all.

Second, we must learn to distinguish between God's patience and His permission. When we see sin go unpunished, we must train our hearts to see it as a display of God's longsuffering, intended to lead sinners to repentance. We must not make the mistake the world makes, which is to see it as a sign that God doesn't care. And we must apply this to our own lives, recognizing that the fact we were not struck down after our last sin is pure mercy, and it should drive us to our knees.

Finally, our ultimate confidence must be theological, not circumstantial. We must learn to say, "Still I know." I see the headlines, I see the culture crumbling, I see the injustice, "still I know that it will be well for those who fear God." This is not wishful thinking. This is bedrock faith in the covenant-keeping God who has promised to judge the world in righteousness through the Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate guarantee that every account will be settled, every wrong righted, and every tear wiped away. Therefore, our task is not to despair, but to fear God openly, to live our lives in reverent submission to Him, and to trust that He will have the final word. And His final word for His people is always "well."