Time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

9 min readJul 25, 2024

Ecclesiastes chapter 9: this is the theme of the end of life, but also of the coincidence of unforeseen events that can tip existence:

For I took all this to my heart, even to search out all this, that the righteous ones and the wise ones and their works are in the hand of the [true] God. Mankind are not aware of either the love or the hate that were all prior to them. 2All are the same in what all have. One eventuality there is to the righteous one and the wicked one, the good one and the clean one and the unclean one, and the one sacrificing and the one that is not sacrificing. The good one is the same as the sinner; the one swearing is the same as whoever has been afraid of a sworn oath. 3This is what is calamitous in all that has been done under the sun, that, because there is one eventuality to all, the heart of the sons of men is also full of bad; and there is madness in their heart during their lifetime, and after it — to the dead ones!
4For as respects whoever is joined to all the living there exists confidence, because a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. 6Also, their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.
7Go, eat your food with rejoicing and drink your wine with a good heart, because already the [true] God has found pleasure in your works. 8On every occasion let your garments prove to be white, and let oil not be lacking upon your head. 9See life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity, for that is your portion in life and in your hard work with which you are working hard under the sun. 10All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheʹol, the place to which you are going.
11I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. 12For man also does not know his time. Just like fishes that are being taken in an evil net, and like birds that are being taken in a trap, so the sons of men themselves are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly.
13Also this I saw as respects wisdom under the sun — and it was great to me: 14There was a little city, and the men in it were few; and there came to it a great king, and he surrounded it and built against it great strongholds. 15And there was found in it a man, needy [but] wise, and that one provided escape for the city by his wisdom. But no man remembered that needy man. 16And I myself said: “Wisdom is better than mightiness; yet the wisdom of the needy one is despised, and his words are not listened to.”
17The words of the wise ones in quietness are more to be heard than the cry of one ruling among stupid people.
18Wisdom is better than implements for fighting, and merely one sinner can destroy much good.

Does God Protect Us?

Before understanding God’s thinking on the subject of our personal protection, it is important to consider three important biblical points (1 Corinthians 2:16):

1 — Jesus Christ showed that the present life which ends in death has a provisional value for all humans. For example he compared the death of Lazarus to “sleep”, which by definition is temporary (John 11:11). Further, Jesus Christ showed that what matters is to preserve our prospect of everlasting life rather than seeking to “survive” a trial at the cost of serious compromise: “Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). The word “soul”, depending on the context, is to be taken in the meaning of life (Genesis 35:16–19). The apostle Paul, under inspiration, showed that “real life” is that centered on the hope of eternal life in paradise: “safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future, so that they may get a firm hold on the real life” (1 Timothy 6:19).

When we read the book of Acts, we find that sometimes God allowed the test of the Christian to end until his death, in the case of the apostle James and the disciple Stephen (Acts 7: 54–60; 12: 2). In other cases, God decided to protect the disciple. For example, after the death of the apostle James, God decided to protect the apostle Peter from an identical death (Acts 12:6–11). Generally, in the biblical context, the protection or otherwise of a servant of God is often linked to his purpose. For example, while it was in the midst of a shipwreck, there was a collective divine protection from the apostle Paul and as well as all the people on the boat: “This night an angel of the God to whom I belong and to whom I render sacred service stood by me and said: ‘Have no fear, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and look! God has granted to you all those sailing with you’” (Acts 27:23,24). The collective divine protection was part of a higher divine purpose, namely that Paul was to bear witness to kings (Acts 9:15,16).

2 — This question of divine protection must be placed in the context of the two challenges launched by Satan and particularly in the remarks he made regarding the integrity of Job: “Have you not put up a protective hedge around him and his house and everything he has?” (Job 1:10). To answer the question of integrity of Job and all of mankind, this challenge from the devil shows that God had to, in a relative way, remove his protection from Job, which could well apply as well all of humanity. Shortly before he died, Jesus Christ, citing Psalm 22:1, showed that God had taken away all protection from him, which resulted in his death as a sacrifice (John 3:16): “About the ninth hour, Jesus called out with a loud voice, saying: “Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Matthew 27:46). Nevertheless, concerning humanity as a whole, this withdrawal of divine protection remains relative, for just as God forbade the devil to directly kill Job, it is evident that the same is true of all of humanity as worldwide group (compare with Matthew 24:22).

3 — We have examined above, that suffering can be the result of “unforeseen times and events” which make that people can find themselves at the wrong time, in the wrong place (Ecclesiastes 9:11,12). Thus, in general, humans are not protected by God from the consequences of the choice that was originally made by Adam. Man ages, gets sick and dies (Romans 5:12). He can be the victim of accidents or natural disasters. The apostle Paul, inspired, wrote it well: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but through the one who subjected it, on the basis of hope” (Romans 8:20; the book of Ecclesiastes is a detailed description of the futility of the present life which inevitably leads to death: “”The greatest futility!” says the congregator, “The greatest futility! Everything is futile”” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)).

In addition, God does not protect humans from the consequences of their bad decisions: “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a person is sowing, this he will also reap; because the one sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but the one sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit” (Galatians 6:7,8). As God has subjected mankind to futility for a long time, it allows us to understand that He has withdrawn His protection from the consequences of our sinful condition. Certainly, this perilous situation for all mankind will be temporary: “The creation itself will also be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). It is then that the whole of humanity, after the resolution of the devil’s challenge, will find the benevolent protection of God in the earthly paradise: “No disaster will befall you, And no plague will come near your tent. For he will give his angels a command concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will carry you on their hands, So that you may not strike your foot against a stone” (Psalms 91:10–12).

Does this mean that currently we are no longer individually protected by God? The protection that God gives us is that of our future, in terms of the hope of everlasting life, either by the survival of the great tribulation or by the resurrection, if we endure to the end (Matthew 24:13 ; John 5: 28,29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 7:9–17). In addition, Jesus Christ in his description of the sign of the last days (Matthew 24, 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21), and the book of Revelation (particularly in chapters 6:1–8 and 12:12), show that humanity would go through great misfortunes since 1914, which suggests that for a time God would not preserve it.

However, God has not left us without the possibility of protecting ourselves individually through the application of his benevolent guidance contained in the Bible, his Word. Broadly speaking, the application of biblical principles makes it possible to avoid unnecessary risks which could shorten our life in an absurd way: “My son, do not forget my teaching, And may your heart observe my commandments, Because they will add many days And years of life and peace to you” (Proverbs 3: 1,2). We saw above that fate does not exist. Therefore, the application of biblical principles, the guidance of God, will be comparable to looking carefully to the right and to the left before crossing the street, in order to preserve our life: “The shrewd person sees the danger and conceals himself, But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences” (Proverbs 27:12).

The apostle Peter insisted on being vigilant in view of prayer: “But the end of all things has drawn close. Therefore, be sound in mind, and be vigilant with a view to prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). Prayer and meditation can have a protective effect on our spiritual and mental balance: “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7; Genesis 24:63).

Some believe that they have been specially protected by God at a moment in their lives. Nothing in the Bible prevents to glimpse this exceptional possibility on the part of God, quite the contrary: “I will declare before you the name of Jehovah; and I will favor the one whom I favor, and I will show mercy to the one to whom I show mercy” (Exodus 33:19). This experience remains in the order of the exclusive relationship between God and this person who would have been protected, it is not for us to judge: “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can make him stand” (Romans 14:4).

THE SPIRITUAL MAN (Existential meditation on the biblical book of Ecclesiastes):

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The Promise of God. The complete explanation of Genesis 3:15.

English: http://www.yomelyah.com/439659476

Portuguese: http://www.yomelias.com/435612656

Spanish: http://www.yomeliah.com/441564813

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Catalan: http://www.yomeliah.com/441436117

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