Year 5, Day 338: Ecclesiastes 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

I’m going to talk about authority, but not in the sense of the opening verses where we are told to obey the king because of God’s ability to work through the king.  Instead, I’m going to talk about authority in the context of life and death.  This is the second topic that Solomon addresses in this chapter.

Solomon addresses the age old question.  Why is it that righteous people often die before their time, yet unrighteous people prolong their life through their misdeeds?  After all, only the good die young, right?

Solomon puts this idea into context.  Yes, the unrighteous might be able to prolong their life now.  The unrighteous might be able to continue to live longer because of their ability to plot, manipulate, scheme, cheat, etc. 

But is the narrow spectrum of the years of this life really how we want to determine the final answer?  Won’t God give a far more superior answer?  Won’t eternity give a better perspective on who really prolongs their life with God?

That’s authority.  We think that we have authority in the here and now.  And on a very limited scale, we do have some authority.  But on an eternal perspective, God has the authority.  Only when we live in and through Him do we get to live knowing an authority that is eternal.

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