8:16–17 Grammatically, verse 16 contains a somewhat complex series of clauses that set the stage for verse 17, which reports that the Preacher examined (or “saw”) all the work of God and concluded that it was impossible to “find it out” or comprehend it entirely. On the meaning of the verb “to find” cf. comment on 3:9–11 (at v. 11). When Ecclesiastes speaks about God’s “work” (Hb. maʿaseh: 7:13; 8:17; 11:5) or of what God “does” (Hb. ʿasah: 3:11, 14; 7:14), it is referring to God’s work of providence.42 It is not the past works of God in creation or redemptive history that are unknown, nor is it the certainty of a future consummation of God’s kingdom that will make the world “beautiful in its time” (cf. Introduction: Theology of Ecclesiastes), since these truths are infallibly revealed in Scripture. Rather the Preacher refers to the regular, daily working of God’s providence in the ordinary lives of men and women that so often proves perplexing. The wise person will therefore make no pretense of being capable of fully explaining God’s “work” (8:17).

Verse 16 offers another example of the interaction between the Preacher and his “heart,” representing the more intellectual capacities of his mind (cf. comment on 1:16–17). He reiterates, as he had earlier, that he had applied his heart to understand with wisdom the “business” done on earth. In context it is the Preacher’s “heart” that did not “sleep” day or night (cf. 2:23). Even though his admittedly brilliant mind/heart was ceaselessly observing and evaluating every aspect of the cosmos, God’s “work” of providence remained an impenetrable enigma. There is probably a distinction to be discerned here between the “business that is done on the earth” by men and the “work of God,” who is in “heaven” (cf. 5:2). The Preacher is able to gain occasional insights into the business of mankind, but that which God is doing often seems enigmatic.

The inscrutability of divine providence can be viewed as a frustrating limitation or as a liberating reality. In the end a great many things lie outside man’s control and his ability to grasp. This is a reminder that God does not expect the typical believer to be a prophet who can accurately foretell the future. Rather, the faithful are “servants” and “soldiers” under God’s benevolent authority who ought to focus on pursuing what is “good” for man (cf. comment on 6:10–12 [at v. 12]).

9:1–6 As in 8:16, the Preacher mentions in 9:1 that he again “laid to heart” a particular task, namely, to understand the truth that the righteous and the wise are in God’s hands. In context this refers not to their eternal destinies but to the course of their lives in this world. When verse 1 states that man does not know whether “love or hate” awaits him, this is speaking of human relationships rather than of divine favor or disfavor (cf. comment on 3:2–8 [at v. 8]; discussion of 9:6 below). One cannot know in advance whether one’s life will be marked by harmonious and friendly relationships with others (“love”) or by strife and enmity (“hate”). The faithful must be prepared for either possibility, since in reality everyone experiences both to one degree or another. The great assurance the believer does have is the knowledge that he or she is safely “in the hand of God” (v. 1).

As disturbing as it may be (v. 3 calls it an “evil”), the same fate comes to everyone: death overtakes both the righteous and the wicked as well as the wise and the foolish (vv. 2–3). Neither personal righteousness nor great wisdom can redeem a person from death, for only the Lord can ransom a soul from Sheol (Ps. 49:15). Death is therefore a predictable and universal event that comes only once upon a person (Eccles. 9:5–6; cf. Heb. 9:27). Rather than gratefully making use of the fleeting time allotted to them to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, [and] gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11), however, the hearts of many are filled with “evil, and madness” while they live (Eccles. 9:3).

From the Preacher’s frequent musings on the subject of death—his laudatory comments on the benefits of going to the “house of mourning” (e.g., 7:2) and on the release death can provide from worldly troubles (e.g., 4:2–3)—one might be tempted to draw the conclusion that he views death as a benevolent force. However, he definitively excludes this possibility in 9:4 with his colorful statement that a “living dog is better than a dead lion”—it is better to be alive in humble circumstances than to be dead, even if one had attained a position of power and glory in life. Death ought always to be viewed as an enemy to be defeated (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26).

To highlight this point the Preacher draws attention to some of the disagreeable features of death in Ecclesiastes 9:5–6. The Preacher describes the dead as “knowing nothing” (v. 5); he himself had no firsthand experiential knowledge of what occurs beyond the grave, and when he wrote these words no one had “descended into the abyss” (Rom. 10:7) and returned to report on it. The OT is generally reticent with its details regarding mankind’s intermediate state, though the Preacher will make some important additional comments on this subject in Ecclesiastes 12 that indicate the expiration of bodily life is not the last word for the human soul (cf. Introduction: Theology of Ecclesiastes). In any event he sees the quest for wisdom and knowledge as coming to an end at the moment of death. Moreover, he notes that the dead receive no more “reward” (9:5) or “share” (v. 6) in human life under the sun. The word used in verse 5 (Hb. sakar) could also be rendered “wages,” thereby indicating that the time of “toiling” is over for the deceased and that there is nothing more that they can enjoy as compensation for their labors.

As yet another one of death’s indignities, it causes people to be forgotten, a point noted early in the book (1:11). The love, hate, and “envy” (or possibly “zeal”; Hb. qinʾah) of men and women also perish when they do (9:6). This refers to their various relationships with others, which are always either favorable or unfavorable. The perishable nature of love and hate in this verse serves to confirm that it is human rather than divine “love or hate” in view in verse 1. The point of it all is that one’s labors come to a definitive end at the moment of death. It is only those who “die in the Lord” who can truly “rest from their labors” and whose “deeds follow them” into eternity (Rev. 14:13).

9:7–10 The sobering weight of the Preacher’s remarks are, as so many times before, counterbalanced with the reiterated call to enjoy food and drink (Eccles. 9:7), beautiful clothes and physical beauty (v. 8), the blessings of marriage (v. 9), and one’s labor (v. 10). Although the Preacher has urged such things before (e.g., 2:24–26), the motivation mentioned in this instance is that “God has already approved what you do” (9:7). It hardly needs to be said that this is not to be understood as a blank check allowing a person to engage in any sort of behavior. The Preacher assumes that the hearer is one of the “righteous” (9:2) who engage in sacrificial worship out of true faith. Nevertheless, the statement highlights the sovereign grace of God towards his worshipers; he bestowed his gracious gifts upon them even while they were sinners. Now in response to his grace they can pursue their labors heartily and enjoy his blessings with gratitude.

9:11–12 Despite the certainty of death described in verse 1–6, there is one unpredictable feature to death: its timing. Man does not know when his “time” (Hb. ʿet) will come (v. 12). Indeed, death often comes suddenly at an “evil” or inopportune time. Without a doubt, the Lord has a plan for all things, which will come to fruition in his proper time (3:11, 14). Nevertheless, from man’s perspective there is a great deal of apparent randomness to life, so that the Preacher can say that “time and chance happen to them all” (9:11). Despite the general pattern of biblical teaching that speaks of long life and blessing to the wise and godly, it is not always the case that those with the greatest physical, intellectual, or spiritual powers will succeed and prevail. Everyone should be prepared to encounter many such anomalies in the course of one’s life.