Ecclesiastes 3:17 Commentary and Bible Study

Reflecting on the absence of justice under fallen man’s administration, Solomon comes to a deep conviction in his heart. He writes as a man who had come to the end of a great experiment with the world and now returned to God. He had seen the desperate situation in the world, but it did not drive him to despair for, though he loved righteousness and justice and grieved that he did not see it, he knew that ultimately God’s justice will prevail and the world will not be moved from its foundation. God will judge the righteous and the wicked and every failure of justice on earth will be corrected by that final everlasting judgment. Therefore let those who think they can take advantage of their position on earth and pervert the cause of justice for their own selfish ends – let them remember that though God allows them to get away with evil for a time, every matter will finally come under his jurisdiction on the day of judgment, and those who have abused justice on earth will be punished the more severely, because they sinned with clear knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. The last phrase repeats the words of chapter 3:1, ‘a time for every purpose …’. By this repetition Solomon emphasises that the two things are linked together. There is a time set by God for every purpose on earth, including those seemingly meaningless changes and reversals of life, and there is a time set for the final judgment when God will undeniably intervene. As world history inevitably unfolds, so that last day will come, and when it comes it will provide a sufficient answer to all that has gone before. This is a comfort to the righteous and a warning to the wicked. It enables the believer to wait patiently in the face of many sorrows that he cannot now understand because he knows that all things are in the hands of a loving heavenly Father. But it tells the wicked that though they are temporarily allowed to get away with evil, a day is coming when they will be called to account for everything.