No Guarantees

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 ¶ 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. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

These verses make some other valid observations about life on planet earth. Fleetness of foot doesn’t guarantee victory in a race; strength and might do not guarantee victory in battle; skill and intelligence do not necessarily put bread on the table; intelligence, diligence and skill do not necessarily produce wealth; and expertise does not guarantee a beautiful product. I think the point being made is that knowledge, talent, skill and hard work do not guarantee success. “Time and chance happen to all”; as Solomon declares in Proverbs, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1)”

Fish are susceptible to being caught in the net of the fisherman and birds in the snare of the trapper. The statement is not a reference to it being wrong to fish and hunt game for food, but it is obvious that the result is “evil” to the fish or bird that is caught/snared; the net or snare is the “evil.” So too are the times in which we live called “evil.” We live in times that have been cursed and made evil by the choice of man to sin and rebel against his Creator. The “god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air,” and the “father of lies” is Satan—the adversary of God and man.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

The curse of sin not only leaves man vulnerable to the attack of wicked men and evil spiritual forces of darkness, it leaves man vulnerable to the effects of the curse upon the earth caused by acts of nature. God is still sovereign, however, and scripture records that He can and will intervene according to His purpose in protection and/or refinement of His own and in judgment of His enemies.

Ezekiel 14:21 “For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?”

Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

In context here, however, I believe the reference is to the physical death of man. Just as surely as the fish or bird meets its end unexpectedly in the net or trap, so too is man subject to facing unexpected death. That truth should directly affect how we live—the choices we make.