It would be ludicrous to demand a man who is powerful enough to do whatever he pleases to give an account of his activities (Ecclesiastes 8:4; cp. verse-3). This is the kind of power mentioned in scripture that belongs to God (Job 9:12; Isaiah 45:9). Nevertheless, as the shadow is to the reality it represents, so the king is, at least in a limited fashion, with respect to God’s almighty power (Daniel 8:4; 11:3, 16, 36). Although the words: “what doest thou?” are applied only to God in the Bible (Job 9:12; Ezekiel 12:9; Daniel 4:35), the words would have no real meaning, unless the question was also inappropriate concerning a powerful human being. The king (Job 34:18), like the land owner, has unquestioned authority over what belongs to him and those subject to his authority (cp. Matthew 20:15).
The word of the king has power or authority over those through whom the Lord has anointed him judge. Moreover, to question that authority, especially in the king’s presence, shouldn’t be done lightly. In fact, even the lives of those whom the Lord, himself, sends to the king are in jeopardy, if they are sent to question or pass judgment upon what the king has done (1Samuel 15:10-23; 2Samuel 12:1-13; cp 1Samuel 16:1-2).
Whosoever keeps the king’s command won’t feel (KJV), that is, he won’t know (H3045) an evil thing (Ecclesiastes 8:5). I don’t believe the Teacher is concerned with a person willingly obeys the king and thereby avoids punishment. Rather, I believe the context demands that obedience to the king’s command is given reluctantly out of one’s respect for his oath to God (cp. Ecclesiastes 8:2). The sense seems to be that the king is oppressive, and the temptation might be to take matters in one’s own hands and remove him, through a coup or a rebellion. The word know (H3045) is the same word used for Adam’s knowing is wife (Genesis 4:1), which resulted in the birth of Cain. In other words, the knowing was an intimate act that produced results. In the context of the Teacher’s advice, if the wise man, out of respect for his oath to be obedient to God, is faithful to the king, then he won’t be a party in a wicked matter against the king.
The wise understand that the Lord has sentenced mankind to live through certain seasons (Ecclesiastes 8:6; cp. Genesis 3:14-19; Ecclesiastes 1:13; 3:1-8) and they need to be patient and permit the Lord to do his work during those seasons. Patience is necessary on the part of the wise, as they wait for God to correct the king, for the seasons do have a beginning and an end. The Lord will correct or remove the oppressor, but patience is necessary for the righteous, as he endures the appointed trouble of that season.
The Lord has so arranged the seasons of time in which man must live (Ecclesiastes 1:13; 3:1-8; cp. Genesis 3:14-19) that only the Lord knows how each season of time will work out or even how long the trouble within each season would endure (Ecclesiastes 8:7; cp. 3:11; 6:12). It isn’t given to men to know what God has placed in his own hands (Acts 1:7). Only what he has revealed to us about himself and his will can be known by those he created (Deuteronomy 29:29). Nevertheless, he works out all things so they would favor the righteous in the end (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11). Therefore, one needs to rejoice in each season, whenever that’s possible, for this is the portion of the righteous (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 5:19-20).
The king may be the image of God, in so far as his almighty power is concerned, but the king will not live forever, whether he is righteous or wicked. Moreover, although he is able to do all things according to his will, and may use that power to oppress men, he is, in the end, at the mercy of the Lord. Death is an end appointed to all men, and no one will escape, not even the king. Neither his power nor his wicked cunning is able to save him from the grave. The Teacher has applied himself to every labor worked out in the land of the living, and this is his account, as it concerns an oppressive leader. Additionally, this account is also his advice, as it concerns those who live under him by the will of God and are forced to endure his wicked ways (Ecclesiastes 8:8-9).
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