Theological Commentary: Click Here
As difficult
as the last few chapters have been, this chapter is straightforward. It really can be summed up in a simple
sentence. Do what’s expected of
you. Maybe said a little better we would
end up with this sentence. When
insurmountable power beckons, get in line behind it.
The problem with
this is that it doesn’t sit well with those of us who aren’t necessarily
party-line junkies. The free-thinkers of
the world don’t care for this kind of thinking.
That’s where the difficulty resides here. While it is good tactical advice, we have
issues in implementation.
Take the
first section of this chapter. It seems
that the point here is to obey the king.
After all, when someone with absolute power and makes a demand, how do
you say no? How do you disobey the king
when the king is judge, jury, and executioner?
See what I
mean? It’s great tactic advice. Obeying the king will keep you out of
trouble. But what if the king asks you
to do something wrong? The story that comes
to mind is when David tells Joab to put Uriah the Hittite in the middle of the battle
so that Uriah dies and David can take Bathsheba for a wife. What does Joab do? He obeys.
But does he do the right thing?
That’s the rub. He keeps himself
from trouble, but is it right?
This is why
the author tempers this advice with the words about not having the ability t
retrain the spirit. In other words, we
cannot stop the process of death. We
cannot be the Lord over life. What the
author is trying to say is that in this world and in this life, sometimes we
have to make the best with what we are given.
Sometimes we can only choose the lesser of two evils instead of an
actual good.
This is how
we come to the end. While we are not given
the power to retain the spirit, to stop death, or even always choose
righteousness, there is someone who can.
God can. Therefore, those who
fear Him will be in the right place. Those
whose eyes are on God will be able to put their lives in His hands and obey His
decrees.
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