Ecclesiastes 5:9 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Ecclesiastes 5:9

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Myth number three is that super status is available to human beings, and the attempts of some to get it are achievable. No, it isn’t. It is a myth because all people are severely limited, for even the king eats from the soil of the field. The earth is a great leveller. The king who seems so great to the common man and so out of reach, is in fact in some respects no different to the lowliest artisan in the realm. He too has to eat and he too obtains his food from the same field as the common man. He also is a dependant being; he is powerless to just create food and lives by from the same soil as the serf, he must drink water from the same stream, breathe the same air, and be warmed by the heat of the same sun as all other members of his kingdom. So then while he tries to set himself on high and, if he is a corrupt man, tries to take advantage of his position to make even justice serve his own personal advantage, he is in truth no higher than any other man in the sight of God and his time will come to an end eventually. That inequality which the poor see in this world and which so intimidates them is not of the essence of things, but is a temporary arrangement which God allows for a season. Therefore, do not despair at injustice and do not let your souls be crushed by it, for God can just as easily turn the pyramid upside down, and indeed he has said that the first shall be last and the last first.That is a great disparaging of the king. You could take war heroes who are so admired, yet they have their failings and weaknesses. Even those credited with having done great things. Detailed examination of the best of men and women reveals another side to their personalities which makes them unworthy of hero status. All people are the same in nature and character. None are exalted above other. You must not talk about great human stature. Look at the true person and we are all alike – fallen men and women.

Application

The unbeliever needs to believe in the greatness of man, because he refuses to believe in the greatness of God. We are worshipping beings and the phenomenon of over-admiring human heroes is a substitute for true worship of God. We can construct a fiction in our minds and while we maintain the pretence, we can attribute characteristics which we can admire and praise highly to each other. But do we know the real person? How different is the living God, who is worthy of eternal praise and whose wonderful attributes will never change or disappoint!

Let no man be offended at this temporary situation and neglect to seek the Lord, because what he allows in this world does not indicate his preference and his own kingdom is of an altogether different nature, glorious in its equity and justice without exception. All the inequality of this world will be corrected when the high official and the official over him are judged by him who is over them all, at the last assize.

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Ecclesiastes 5:9 Commentary and Bible Study