Solomon recognized that all we do, all the decisions we make and the actions we take, are leading to the most important day of our current lives. The day of days. Judgment Day.
Judgement Day is the culminating day when God will give meaning to everything we did in this life. “There is a time of judgement for every deed.” Paul encourages us to self-examine, but exhorts us to “judge nothing before the time” because God is the one who will judge. Not us.
“God will judge” means that God will decide. He will decide the purpose of all. His perspective will give meaning to all we have experienced. That ought to give us extra enthusiasm to seek His perspective now, by faith, that we might pursue a well-lived life.
As Solomon worked to discover what is true about this world and how best to interact with it, his seeking led to one unavoidable truth: he did not understand it all. He could not. He was a finite being with a heart to seek infinite truth.
This left Solomon with two choices: Try to control his circumstances and recreate purpose in his own image. Or, accept God as the arbiter or truth and do all he can to trust, serve, and submit to God’s purpose.
In doing the latter, Solomon shifts his time horizon. He knows by faith he will find meaning on Judgment Day. There is a time and purpose for all things, but we won’t necessarily discover them until much later.
When we tell our hearts to choose the perspective Solomon recommends, obedience to God and His commands makes perfect sense. Solomon tells us that when we engage with the uncertainties of this life through faith, it leads to wisdom, enjoyment, and gratitude in this life. But by faith it extends to an even greater horizon.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is about how to accept a proper perspective of reality. Only then can we make effective decisions about who we trust and how we live. This is the final in a series of six devotionals entered on Solomon’s teachings in Ecclesiastes. We pray it challenges and encourages you.