A Little Fall of Rain

A Little Fall of Rain

Time moves, imperceptibly but inexorably. Day by day and minute by minute we step forth into an unknown. Solomon continues to prove his wisdom by calling our attention to the fundamentals. If all of our knowledge, supposition, and conjecture is based on fantasy, then all that flows from it, no matter how studiously crafted, shall lead us nowhere. But knowledge based on a foundation of Biblical truth needn’t be complexly woven, intensely ferreted out, or even painstakingly dissected to be worthwhile. “All share a common destiny–the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.” (Ecclesiastes 9:2) A simple fact, a common refrain in this book, but a truth assiduously ignored by much of the world today. We are a society so obsessively focused on the now that we ignore the lessons of yesterday and pretend the consequences of tomorrow do not exist. Living in only the instant we find ourselves is not inherently evil or wicked. “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7) But an insistence on the present without an appreciation of yesterday and an ignorance of what awaits us is tantamount to a lie. Solomon knows this, so even more often than he implores us to eat, drink, and to find joy in the work and time God has given to us, he stresses another word. Meaningless. 

To highlight this point, Solomon emphasizes the role of chance in our world. “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesaistes 9:11) There is so very little in our lives that we can actually control. We can see this when we witness others act in some strange or inexplicable way. Many times it is out of a desire to exercise a degree of control that otherwise is denied to them. Exacting a toll for one’s uncertainty or pain can bring a certain sense of stability in lives so upended or chaotic. If one skims through the headlines on a given day, this practice seems to be everywhere. It is wisdom to recognize that control will elude us. It is not meant for us to have. So much so that it cannot be gained. Solomon was a wise, well liked, extraordinarily wealthy king. If one person could hold incredible dominion over his subjects and nation it would be him. “And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment–wickedness was there, in the place of justice–wickedness was there.” (Ecclesiastes 3:16) “Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed–and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors–and they have no comforter.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1) “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.” (Ecclesiastes 5:8) Even Solomon lacked the authority to stamp out these things under his reign. 

“Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” (Ecclesiastes 9:12) We are helpless creatures are we not? Why fight against this illustration? It may be certainly damaging to our pride to ascribe to such a description, but in all honesty we must see the truth in it. If the rains come, who could stop it? We are as subject to the winds of fate as we are to the actual winds. Incapable of stilling either of them. Susceptible to the vicissitudes of fortune and judged mostly by how we react to situations rather than how we manufacture them. But in our reactions it helps to be mindful of Solomon’s assertions. Speaking of the dead he reminds us, “Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:6) All of our most earnest proclamations, our most heartfelt moments, our darkest thoughts, will slowly ebb away, like our accomplishments, our name, and so on. But as we’ve covered before, the lines of Scripture do not end here. Time and chance may happen to all men, but as we are shown later on (centuries and centuries later as it turns out) this is not a cruelty. “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45b) It may be that Solomon’s words leave you melancholy, but a sermon on a mount in the far flung future (to Solmon anyway) points out the truth behind them which show them to be far more inspiring. And while it may be cold and lonesome during the storm, we can’t be arrogant enough to forget that (as the song reminds us) rain will make the flowers grow. 

“So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 13:35) A moment’s appreciation for the wisdom of Solomon that we finally discern more of what he saw when Jesus explains it to us directly. What seems dispassionate or uncaring in Ecclesiastes seems so natural and even hopeful in Matthew. That is the power of an unbroken promise, of a faith rewarded. That is the power of an unshakeable God and a perfect Savior. The fulcrum on which the history of man pivots. To turn despondent realization into enduring hope. We begin to understand then that there is design. Just because we do not see it, does not discount its assured and loving direction. Just because we don’t understand it, doesn’t make it villainous. We view too many things as happening to us, when we ought to understand they are happening for us. An easy statement to make out of the rain, but truth doesn’t change with the clouds. It endures. It perseveres. Because it is not of our design, but belongs solely to the One who authored it. The One who directs fate and controls the winds. A Hand that moves, imperceptibly but inexorably. To bring His people home.   

Jordan Williamson