Ecclesiastes 8:16 Commentary and Bible Study

What great and mysterious words are found in these next two verses! Solomon had set himself a vast task and he realised that in fact it was a task that was beyond any human being. He had aimed to explore all earthly goings-on and to investigate every aspect of man’s ceaseless activity. Is there a purpose to life? Does history have some goal, some direction? What are activities that human beings should engage in during their short lives? What is the meaning of death, and how can we gain anything permanent from life with such an event ahead of us which none of us can avoid? He acknowledged that such is the industry of men and women that this activity goes on day and night. As part of his experiment, he had tried living for pleasure, for the passing moment. What convinced him to see his need of forgiveness, of salvation, of divine help? He saw the work of God – that a man cannot find out the work done under the sun. He saw that God is frustrating, limiting, and humbling human beings constantly. As a result of the fall, God has refashioned the world and limited what we can do, what we can achieve. Despite ceaseless intellectual activity day and night, this world remains a world in chaos. There are people labouring night and day to figure out this world, to do away with inequality, injustice, war, and oppression; to eradicate sickness, hunger, and poverty. There are politicians and scientists and thinkers and their intellectual endeavours never cease, but they cannot make sense of the world or improve it.