Ecclesiastes Chapter Eight, Hasty To Do Evil

Ecclesiastes 8:2 I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. [3] “Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.”

The word, “say,” in verse 2 is actually interpolated, and not a part of the original text. For instance, the HCSB removes “I say,” entirely. The LXX does likewise. All manuscripts do seem to agree that the word, “say” is not in the original text, however. Even without this addition, the text reads the same. 

Chapter 5 detailed vows, or oaths, performed in the house of God. The NT gives an example of this, when we read, “And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul,” Acts 23:12. A further example of course is the rash vow of Jephthah, from the period of the Judges, Judges 11:30, 31. Jephthah suffered from the warning in Ecclesiastes 5:2, while the Jews that bound themselves by an oath suffered from the consequences of Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5. The Jews thought that their sacred service was to kill Paul in God’s name. Jephthah, wanting to honor Yahweh for his victory, simply did not think through the ramifications of his choice of words.

For Israel (or any nation, for that matter) the injunction is to keep the king’s command. Now, royalty is a rarer breed these days, but every government has a federal head, in the case of the United States, a president. For an American citizen, the injunction here would be to obey the command of the federal authority, represented by the president of the country. Christians are commanded to obey the government under which we find ourselves residing, Romans 13:1. However, when the king’s command (as it were) is entirely contrary to God’s command, the higher authority is to be obeyed, because the human government has erred, trespassing in issuing commands for which they have no authority. My example from Scripture would be the midwives in Egypt, who did not obey Pharaoh, Exodus 1:17. For this, though their lives might have been imperiled, God dealt well with them because they obeyed God’s given commands over those who would subvert them, Exodus 1:20.

The preacher recommends that when in the audience of the king, not to be hasty. Haste is eschewed in Ecclesiastes. Once again, the preacher formerly warned about not being rash (or hasty) when speaking, lest you make a vow that condemns you. Furthermore, he commends the patient in spirit, Ecclesiastes 7:8. Our haste brings condemnation because haste implies lack of thought, forethought of going in, or afterthought as to what we have wrought. The ESV renders verse 3, “Do not be in a hurry; leave his presence, and don’t persist in a bad cause, since he will do whatever he wants.” If called before the king, we are to keep his commandments, and not to persist in “an evil thing,” or “a bad cause.” In other words, we are to abstain from law breaking or rebellion against the king’s rule. Why? For one thing, “Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same,” Romans 13:3. The authority has power to do what he wills within the scope of his dominion. A Christian may honor God by obeying the government in all things that do not attempt to overtly supersede Christ’s Lordship in our lives. For instance, even if the government finds abortion and homosexual marriage acceptable, a Christian that adheres to the Bible and reveres it as God’s word cannot consent or condone it. But if we are part of an evil thing, then expect the authority’s wrath. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters,” 1 Peter 4:15. “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently?” 1 Peter 2:20.