ECCLESIASTES 8.9-13

9. All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every
work that is done under the sun: There is a time in
which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

10. Then I saw the wicked buried, who used to come and go from the place of holiness, and received praise in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.

11. Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

13. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God.

Worldly success may be illusory and transient, as we saw in the previous section, and although it is all too easy for us to envy rich crooks and powerful despots, but their lot may not always be a happy one. One man can rule over another one to his own hurt, says Solomon – possibly referring to the burdens of office and the hassle of management which may result in ill health and premature death due to stress, lack of exercise and over indulgence in food and drink. Promotion to a position of greater power is not always a desirable option -- as many discover when they rise to a level of incompetence and unhappiness, as the “Peter Principle” teaches.

Sometimes there are even wicked people working in places of holiness, such as the Church and the priesthood, says Solomon – and sometimes their deceitful charade of righteousness succeeds to the very end of their lives, so that they may even be eulogized at their funeral by those they have deceived, although not by those they abused.

Speaking to the Jewish religious leaders, the money-loving Pharisees, Jesus says, Quote: “God knows your hearts. That which is esteemed among men is an abomination in the eyes of God” (Luke 16:15).

Even so, Solomon seems to be saying, do not let yourself fret over such wicked individuals, who naively think that they are acting with impunity, with the result that they may go from bad to worse – enslaved by the evil in their hearts, which are fully set in them to do evil.

Paul appears to be speaking of such men when he warns of false so-called Christian leaders who were influenced by evil spirits and whose consciences had somehow become hardened and insensitized, saying, Quote: “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timohty 4:2).

What the wicked fail to realize, Solomon explains, is that God, the Judge of all men, has already passed sentence on them, although he has not yet executed that sentence. In a warning to all such people, the apostle James tells us that when that time does finally come, Quote: “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13). Tyrants be warned!

Finally, Solomon reminds the righteous, yet again, that this is not God’s world. Although the Kingdom of God has not yet arrived, the Good News is that one day it will – at which time it will be well for those who fear God, as Jesus explains in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12), but it will not be well for the wicked, whose shadowy existence will finally cease!