Ecclesiastes 3:22 Commentary and Bible Study

Here again, Solomon comes to a summary statement, counsel for the man of God living in a fallen world but walking with the Lord and having found the pearl of great price, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. The realities of this chapter, the great ignorance from which we suffer with regard to the events of life, our inability to resist the sovereign decrees of God concerning our situation, the corruption of justice, and the reduction of man to the level of an animal – all these things the Christian has to live with, as much as the unbeliever. How does he cope with these uncomfortable truths which are designed to humble the rebellious and bring man to an end of himself? The answer is simple: he lives in the context of eternity and he walks by faith. He trusts God to bring him to his journey’s end and leaves in God’s hands the many decisions which determine the boundaries of our lives. He is content to live without seeing the whole picture, because he is confident that he is loved by God, and his loving heavenly Father will not allow him to be harmed and will, in his case, reverse all the ill effects of the curse. The words ‘what shall be after him’ should not be understood to refer to the afterlife, as if a man could be at peace while not knowing where he was going after this life. Although it is not Solomon’s business to address that subject here, it is quite certain that he believed in the afterlife as did his father, David, as shown in the Psalms. What Solomon is referring to is what happens on earth after he has departed from this world. What will happen to his property? What will become of his children? What events will shape the history of his nation? The godly man does not need to know the answers to these questions in order to live a godly life. He can leave these things along with many other imponderables in the hands of the Lord, and that is enough.