No Crystal Ball for Us
For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. Ecclesiastes 9:1 NASB
In the hand of God – Michael Fox clarifies Koheleth’s comment: “Literally, ‘in God’s hand.’ This means that God has the overall control of human lives, rather than predetermining every detail. The righteous and wise might be expected to shape their future by righteous deeds and wise choices. That, after all, is what wisdom is for. But God’s enigmatic control of human destiny cripples wisdom’s ability to do so. . . The divine psychology is opaque . . .”[1]
That’s really the problem in a world without revelation and faithful commitment, isn’t it? We just don’t know. And since we just don’t know, we can never be sure that what we do will bring about the results we desire—for good or evil. As Koheleth notes, in the end God determines how it all works out, and unless He shares His plans with us, we just bumble along hoping we are going to be okay. God’s hand is invisibly operating in our human world. He steers history where He wants it to go. We are just along for the ride. As Fox writes: “Life itself is toil . . . and the best thing humans can do is grasp random moments of respite.”[2]
Do you feel discouraged when you read Bible verses like this? It would be odd if you didn’t. But Koheleth’s verses are only part of the biblical text, not the whole story. They are an important part because they eliminate any whitewash of our situation in the world. These verses are the biblical reality check. But they also provide motivation for faith. If there are no real answers from “inside the box” (i.e., within human understanding), then we must look somewhere else for purpose, reason, and destiny.
The Greeks learned long ago that the only other places to look are either tradition or revelation. Tradition is a more-or-less escape solution. It basically says that the reason we keep on going is because we have always just kept on going, that there is nothing more than the eternal circle and our small part in it. It’s an answer, but not a very comforting one. This “circle of life” perspective amounts to no more than knowing that the atoms that make you will one day be distributed into other things. You have contributed to continuation, but whether you were good or bad, whether you had righteous deeds or didn’t, it really doesn’t make any difference. Disney might make you think that the good lion wins in the end, but the reality is that ethics has nothing to do with continuation.
The other avenue is revelation. Of course, there are many different forms of revelation. The Bible is only one of these. So, choose wisely (as if it matters). Some revelations don’t give you any more hope than tradition. They are just another version of the circle. Some revelations jar our embedded sense of right and wrong. We become pawns in some cosmic battle. I don’t mind getting shot for the right reasons, but getting shot because God wills it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me. Revelation without compassionate ethics just plants more atoms in the ground. Perhaps that’s why the biblical revelation seems to work. It offers hope, not bliss. It is compassionate, not vindictive. It is based on the single idea that God loves what He makes. It makes living worthwhile, purposeful, understandable—even if the details still seem opaque.
In the end, the biblical revelation is still a choice. I am not rationally compelled to accept it. But I have some very good reasons to choose. The alternatives are just too depressing.
Topical Index: God’s hand, destiny, revelation, choice, Ecclesiastes 9:1
[1] Michael V. Fox, The JPS Bible Commentary: Ecclesiastes, p. 61. Cf. Fox’s comment on the textual corruption of the end of verse one and the beginning of verse two.
[2] Ibid., p. 60.
