Ecclesiastes 8

Jack Abeelen
A Heavenly Citizen With An Earthly Address
Ecclesiastes 8
Recorded On:4/7/2013
Study ID: 13ID1381
All quotations from this

This chapter is about government oversight and how to view it.

"Some Christians believe that it is best if they just separate from the world – period. That if they could somehow cloister themselves and hang out amongst only the saints and hide themselves, that any involvement in the world is a stumbling block to them, that that is the best way to serve, and so they live that way. Even in the 5th century, when monasticism was in vogue, there were folks who really believed that living in a cave in the desert all of your life was the best way to be holy. That fellow, Simon Stylites, who embraced the notion that somehow it was holier to remove yourself from the world rather than be involved with it, sat in the deserts of Egypt, and he began to live on top of various pillars, and they went higher as he got older. He spent thirty-seven years living on a pillar, eventually died, and the Coptic church made him a saint. He is honored by many around the world as a godly man who shows us what it means to be separated from the world." -JA

"I say: Keep the king's command, because of God's oath to him. Be not hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand in an evil cause, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way."  -Ecclesiastes 8:2-5

Solomon viewed submission to the king as duty.

There are two times when civil disobedience is permissible:

1. When you are forced to do what God has expressly  forbidden.
2. When you are kept from what is expressly commanded.

But these instances are far and few in between, exceptions.

Submission to God can be forced.