By David J. Stewart | September 2014
Ecclesiastes 9:11, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
In our text verse, king Solomon is toward the end of his life. After living
a life of sin, mistakes and foolish decisions as the wisest man in the world
(like marrying 700 wives and adding 300 concubines), he pens the book of
Ecclesiastes (under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit), which means “THE
PREACHER”!
Solomon writes Ecclesiastes from the perspective of a saved, yet worldly man, who is looking back in hindsight over his wasted life to tell us what he has learned. Solomon had everything that this temporal life has to offer, yet he “HATED LIFE”! Ecclesiastes 2:17, “Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” Solomon didn't realize until he was an old man that everything he had worked so hard to build, secure and achieve in life was going to be given to someone else, and he couldn't take any of it with him (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19).
In Ecclesiastes 9:11 Solomon makes the classic statement that “TIME AND CHANCE HAPPENETH TO THEM ALL.” God has given to us a free will to decide for ourselves. When you think about it, life is really just a series of decisions. The little decisions that we make each day eventually affect the major decisions and events in our life. Having said that, God doesn't make those decisions for us, neither the little decisions nor the big decisions.
Also, because we live in a fallen world since Adam's sin in Eden (Romans 5:12), our decisions often affect what happens to others in life. For example: If an idiot drinks booze, and then gets behind the wheel of a car, crashing into you and taking your legs off, God didn't make that happen! God in His omniscience knew that the incident would happen, and allowed it to happen in His permissive will, but the Lord didn't force that fool to drink alcohol. God is responsible for everything that happens to me, but I am responsible for everything that I do. It's important to understand that God has given us tremendous freedom and responsibility that accompanies liberty. If we abuse, neglect and misuse our freewill as an occasion to do evil, then there are consequences, for us and others who are affected by our decisions. This is why it is so important that we do right in God's eyes, according to the Scriptures. God will judge all mankind, as individuals in eternity, for each work (Ecclesiastes 12:14), word (Matthew 12:36) and thought (Proverbs 24:12).
I read in the news years ago about a state trooper who stopped to assist a motorist whose car had broken down alongside the highway. A car swerved into the disabled car and took the officer's legs off instantly. The trooper sued the motorist for failure to maintain their personal vehicle. Here's an article about umpteen lawsuits because of tragic accidents. I don't call drunk-driving incidents “accidents,” because when people drink alcohol it is deliberate! Drunk-driving deaths are murder! Accidents are a part of life, and I hate getting hurt, as I know you do too.
In fact, most accidents are caused by other people. I once heard about two mechanics in mechanical school who were use a hydraulic press to remove a bearing from a shaft. The proper way to remove a ball-bearing in to place the pressure on the inner race. Well, these two guys placed the pressure on the outer race. There are two races in a ball-bearing, which are basically metal circles, and the ball-bearings ride in between them. When they applied tons of pressure to the outer race, the bearing broke apart and the ball-bearings became flying bullets. One of the balls shot across the shop and took out the eye of another student, blinding him. Ouch!
I could tell you hundreds of such stories. A wife was standing in the garage while her husband was working under the car. The jack turn screw came loose just enough to lose pressure and the vehicle came down on him. All she needed to do was tighten the screw on the jack and use the handle to jack up the car. She could have easily saved her husband's life. Instead, she ran into the house and called 911, but when the paramedics arrived 20 minutes later, he was dead from suffocation.
I had a car fall onto me back in 1994 while changing a starter underneath. It was a frightening experience and I almost died that afternoon. I was on top of a creeper, and a front-wheel drive Ford Toronado was on top of me.
