The Teacher’s account of an oppressive leader continues and Ecclesiastes 8:9 serves as a pivot point for two different, but similar, ideas that concern his life and legacy. All men are sinners and the king is no exception, but there is a season in which a king governs his subjects to their hurt (Ecclesiastes 8:9), but no one, not even a wicked leader is able to escape death (Ecclesiastes 8:8). Eventually, he will die, leave his holy office, where he sat in the place of God (Deuteronomy 1:16-17; 10:17; 16:19), and be buried, probably with honors, for men will choose to forget the wickedness of an evil king (Ecclesiastes 8:10).
Nevertheless, this honor given the wicked is meaningless. First of all, the dead have no consciousness of it and couldn’t appreciate the perverted honor given them, and, secondly, it won’t indefinitely strengthen the hand of the wicked who remain. There is an appointed end to every season, and men are powerless to change those times and seasons (cp. Ecclesiastes 3:1-80). Nevertheless, men choose to forget the evil committed by a wicked king, because it is to the advantage of the evil men, who remain and profited by his wickedness. The Psalmist says the Lord stands in the assembly of the mighty and judges among the gods[1] (Psalm 82:1). He asks how long they intend to practice unlawful activity and accept the persons of wicked men. How do they accept their persons? The leaders appointed by the king judge against the poor and the weak, because they have corrupted themselves by accepting bribes from the wealthy (Deuteronomy 16:18-19). Corrupt and greedy men profit by keeping the poor and the weak in subjection to their will, and this practice is kept in place by corrupt leaders who govern according to a bribe (Psalm 82:2-4).
If the wicked king had governed according to the Law and executed righteous judgment speedily, this kind of corruption wouldn’t exist. Men would fear to do wickedly and, for the most part, justice would prevail for the poor and the weaker folk of society. Whenever justice is delayed, the hand of the wicked is strengthened (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
Nevertheless, in the words of the Teacher, this is meaningless, for, ultimately, all things will be set right. No matter how often the sinner does his evil work, he cannot prolong his time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 17). Nevertheless, it will be well for the righteous who fear the Lord, for he is able to cause all things, even the wicked things done by evil men, to work for the good of those who serve the Lord (Ecclesiastes 8:12; cp. Romans 8:28; 2Thessalonians 1:5-7).
On the other hand, this will not be so for the wicked. Though they appear strong and able to prosper in their wickedness by keeping justice and righteousness at bay, they are unable to change the times and the seasons the Lord has sentenced mankind to be occupied in (Ecclesiastes 1:13-14; 3:10; cp. Genesis 3:14-19). Therefore, they are much weaker than they believe themselves to be and are as helpless before God as the poor and the weak are before them in the days of their wicked deeds (Ecclesiastes 8:13).
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[1] The term god refers to one in authority. The Lord is the supreme authority or the God of gods. In Psalm 82 (quoted by Jesus in John 10:34-36) men in authority, called gods, have corrupted themselves by taking bribes to judge against the poor and the fatherless, the weak of society. Nevertheless, the Lord God will judge them for the evil they do (Psalm 82:1, 8).
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