Useful Bible Studies > Ecclesiastes Commentary > chapter 3

God is the perfect judge

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17

Today, many people are unsure whether God will be their judge. The author of Ecclesiastes believed that fact strongly. And he had evidence to prove it.

God has arranged our world so that everything has its proper time. For example, unripe fruit tastes awful. So does fruit that is too old. But when the fruit is completely ripe, it is beautiful. And that is true about every human activity too (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Ecclesiastes 3:11).

If God has arranged a time for everything, then clearly he has arranged a time for judgement. God cares very much about right judgement. All that he does is good, right and proper. He has arranged this world so that there is a proper time even for the smallest things. Clearly he would not neglect the proper time for judgement; he considers it very important (Deuteronomy 17:8-13).

The author of Ecclesiastes expresses shock. He saw the judges and he heard their judgements. Of course any human judge makes wrong decisions sometimes. But the situation was much worse than that. These judges did not even care about what was right and proper for them to do. They cared only about their own importance. Or, they cared only for the person who could give them a large gift (Proverbs 17:23; Micah 3:11).

Job understood this matter (Job 24:1-12). He asked why God had not yet chosen a time to act as judge. The author of Ecclesiastes believed that he knew the answer. That time must still be in the future, he explained. And when God acts as judge, his judgements will be perfect. That must be correct, because God has chosen a proper time for every activity.

Next part: Life after death (Ecclesiastes 3:18-22)

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