Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

5. Work with the awareness that God will control the final outcome. Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

TEXT 9:11-12

11

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all.

12

Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:11-12

361.

What reason is given in verse eleven for the many inequitous situations found in life?

362.

Where do these unfair situations take place?

363.

What is it that man does not know? What is meant by this statement?

364.

Identify the lesson taught by the fish and the birds.

PARAPHRASE 9:11-12

Once again I took a hard look at things done under the sun and I found that many things are not as they appear. The fastest runner does not always win the race; the battle is not always won by the best trained warriors; the wise are not always the ones who have bread; the intelligent ones do not always hold the wealth; the skillful are not always the ones to win favor. Time and chance will catch up to them all. Neither does a man know when his time of misfortune will come. His moment of disaster will fall upon him like fish caught in an inescapable net, or birds trapped in a snare. Even so men are ensnared in such an evil time.

COMMENT 9:11-12

The truth of the advice offered in these two verses could be easily observed and is not dependent on divine revelation. We are confronted with five illustrations which demonstrate the lack of consistency in life. The effort exerted by the swift, the warriors, the wise, the discerning, and the men of ability should produce expected and predictable results. However, in each situation the opposite of that which one anticipates actually happens. This is the way life is under the sun. In addition, two illustrations of netted fish and trapped birds demonstrate that not only is the outcome of man's efforts unpredictable, his time of death falls upon him suddenly and without warning. The transitory nature of life is once more impressed on the minds of the readers. The Preacher has previously explored the injustices of life which on occasion discourages the godly and leads them to despair. He now assures his audience that it is wisdom that protects against despair and fortifies the godly against the contradictions of life.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 The race is not to the swift. The idea here is not that the swift loses the race to the slower runner because he is diverted from his goal by some lesser attraction or activity. Neither does it mean that the fast runner is over confident in his ability. The incident that causes him to lose the race is not of his doing. The closing thought in the verse qualifies all five of the illustrationstime and chance overtake them all. The term chance does not mean something gambled or that one has fallen down on his luck. It is best understood as an incident, and means a calamity or an unfortunate experience that one encounters in the pursuit of goals or objectives. Unavoidably tragedies occur among men as well as in nature which necessitates the changing or readjusting one's plans. The reason for this is that both man and his world labor under the mark of vanity. Paul argues for this same premise when he states, So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy (Romans 9:16).

A similar explanation is given to the remaining four illustrations. One would expect a different result than the one stated in each example, but the events of life often curtail the detailed and carefully laid plans. In the Christian age the lesson is the same, but there is the added act of trust which leads to the spirit of submission, goes beyond time and chance and leads one to pray, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that (James 4:15).

Ecclesiastes 9:12 We have just learned that great talent and planned activities do not guarantee success. His time may well mean one's hour of death, but it should also allow for calamitous events which hinder planned activities. Thus man's life and daily activities are out of his own hand. The events are not controlled by some sinister force, competitive with God, known as time and chance. Rather, in the exchange of love and hate as one lives his life out on the earth among the sinners and the righteous, he will come to realize that no guarantee of the fruition of any earthly activity is given. The two following similarities are offered to illustrate this truth. Just as fish and birds follow the course of daily routine and innocently go about searching out that which is essential to their livelihood, so man is engaged in similar activities. Without warning the fish and birds are trapped and their future is sharply altered. Just like the fish and birds the Preacher declares, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them. Evil means a time of misfortune and could refer to numerous events which befall men. Jesus used a similar figure of speech when he warned his generation of great calamity with the words, Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap, for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth (Luke 21:34-35). Even when God is directly involved in the sudden judgments upon evil men, the image of a net is often used. (Cf. Hosea 7:12; Ezekiel 12:13; Ezekiel 32:3)

FACT QUESTIONS 9:11-12

477.

What do the illustrations in this section demonstrate?

478.

What protects and fortifies the godly?

479.

Why does the swift lose the race? (Cf. Ecclesiastes 9:11)

480.

In what way does Romans 9:16 explain verse eleven?

481.

Identify the two meanings which could be attributed to his time in verse twelve.

482.

What is the specific lesson taught by the fish and birds?