Learning to Trust Through What Cannot Be Measured

Who is like the sage, and who knows the meaning of the adage:“Wisdom lights up a person’s face,So that deep discontent is dissembled”? I do! “Obey the king’s orders—and don’t rush into uttering an oath by God.” Leave his presence; do not tarry in a dangerous situation, for he can do anything he pleases; inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and none can say to him, “What are you doing?” One who obeys orders will not suffer from the dangerous situation.Someone wise, however, will bear in mind that there is a time of doom. For there is a time for every experience, including the doom; for calamity overwhelms. Indeed, what is to happen is unknown; even when it is on the point of happening, who can tell? No one has authority over the lifebreath—to hold back the lifebreath; there is no authority over the day of death. There is no mustering out from that war; wickedness is powerless to save its owner. All these things I observed; I noted all that went on under the sun, while people still had authority over others to treat them unjustly. And then I saw scoundrels coming from the Holy Site and being brought to burial, while such as had acted righteously were forgotten in the city.And here is another frustration: the fact that the sentence imposed for evil deeds is not executed swiftly, which is why people are emboldened to do evil— the fact that sinners may do evil a hundred times and their [punishment] still be delayed. For although I am aware that “It will be well with those who revere God since they show reverence, and it will not be well with scoundrels, and they will not live long, because they do not revere God”— here is a frustration that occurs in the world: sometimes someone upright is requited according to the conduct of the scoundrel; and sometimes the scoundrel is requited according to the conduct of the upright. I say all that is frustration. I therefore praised enjoyment. For the only good people can have under the sun is to eat and drink and enjoy themselves. That much can accompany them, in exchange for their wealth, through the days of life that God has granted them under the sun. For I have set my mind to learn wisdom and to observe the business that goes on in the world—even to the extent of going without sleep day and night— and I have observed all that God brings to pass. Indeed, human beings cannot guess the events that occur under the sun. For humans try strenuously, but fail to guess them; and even if those who are wise should think to discover them they would not be able to guess them.

Ecclesiastes 8:1–17 is a sobering meditation on the limits of human power. The Teacher (Qoheleth) walks through the courtroom of the king, the inevitability of death, and the maddening delay of justice—then arrives at a quiet confession: enjoyment is a gift, and reverence for God is the only sure footing. The chapter's question is not 'How do I gain control?' but 'How do I trust the One who does?'