Why Does God Make Both Good Times and Bad?
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“In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him” (Ecclesiastes 7:14).
As such, one question we frequently hear is, “Why does God make both good and bad times?”
Throughout Ecclesiastes, we see Solomon juxtaposing human wisdom with the wisdom God gave him. All people wonder about God’s ways, even though we will never understand Him fully. We have to read the book and keep the whole message of the Bible in mind to see how Solomon arrives at “the end of the matter” in Ecclesiastes 12.
What Is Solomon’s Point?
When we analyze Ecclesiastes 7:14 within its context, we can better understand what Solomon means. There are five important points we must consider.
1. We Are to Consider God’s Ways
As Solomon wrote chapter 7, he forms his thoughts much like the proverbs he wrote. He makes a statement about “wrong thinking,” so “right thinking” follows on its heels. For instance, in Eccl. 7:5, Solomon wrote, “Better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to the song of fools.” In other words, the rebuke given by a wise man will mean more than the platitudes spoken by a fool (which seem like inane songs compared to a wise rebuke).
God is the focus of Ecclesiastes 7:14. He is Creator (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:28; 42:5; John 1:1; Romans 1:25), Sustainer (Psalm 54:4; 55:22; 1 Corinthians 1:4-9), and Shepherd (John 10:11, 14, 16; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4) of all. Included in all are the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
God is not capricious. He is good and just and merciful (among all His other perfect attributes), and what we read in the Bible is the narrative of God’s redemptive plan (the gospel) unfolding over all history.
Also of great importance, the Bible tells us God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts ours (Isaiah 55:8). So, when we look at this passage and ask why God makes both good and bad times, we need to consider the Source of each.
2. We Will Have Days of Prosperity
Prosperity, as used here, does not mean what we often immediately think when we see that word. It’s not wealth, per se. Everything belongs to the Lord God. Not an item we “own” is ours (Psalm 50:10). If we prosper in any way, it’s a loan from God, and it’s often a test of both our stewardship and faithfulness to Him (Malachi 3:10).
Remember, it’s a test and never a works-based method to gain God’s favor, for we are saved by grace and our works are in response to His kindness in saving us (Ephesians 2:5-10). We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:9, 19). That’s spiritual prosperity.
God desires to give us good things (Matthew 7:11; James 1:17). We need to remember God gave us the greatest gift of all, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16), and because of Jesus, we who believe in Him have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). Our spiritual prosperity is our greatest asset because as the Lord sanctifies us, we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
And so, of the two above, the prosperity of wealth may ebb and flow for us. We regard Job and his status as the “greatest of all the people of the east” (Job 1:3). One day he had everything money could buy, but then a meeting in heaven changed things. The spiritual prosperity we enjoy as Christians is ever growing, and that’s God’s goodness working in us through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. We Will Have Days of Adversity
Our minds may once again go straight to Job, who was, “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). His standing before God was so important to the narrative that followed, the Lord made sure we know it right from the start.
Job was afflicted with the loss of property, his children, and even his health. But it was just for a time as the Lord worked His purpose of displaying Job’s faith (Job 1:22) and teaching us the valuable lesson that whatever befalls us on earth, God is always behind the scenes working for His good pleasure (Psalm 147:11; Luke 12:32) and for our good (Job 42:12-13; Romans 8:28-30).
We get to observe as Solomon wrestled with the difference between earthly pleasures (Ecclesiastes 1:2) and godly virtue (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). His conclusion is that man is to, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
4. Don’t Fall into Idolatry of Either Extreme
God made the days of prosperity and the days of adversity, and He has reasons for each. The most important reason is to focus our attention on God, and worship Him as our everything! We can easily make idols out of the good and evil that befalls us. The Bible has much to say about both (Deuteronomy 8:3; 1 Kings 8:47; and 2 Chronicles 33:12-13, to name a few.)
As Matthew Henry said, “We must have an eye to God and to his hand in [everything] that [befalls] us.” The thing is, we aren’t owed prosperity (Romans 8:28-39).
5. Trust God’s Plan
Ecclesiastes 7:14 ends with “So that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” We are God’s workmanship, not our own (Ephesians 2:10). Our days are numbered by Him, not ourselves (Psalm 139:16). Only the Lord knows the future and the good and bad it holds. It’s more than enough to trust our Creator.
What Is Good?
The Lord Jesus provides us with a definitive answer to what is good, “And He said to him, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). Of course, He is talking here about God, and therefore, Himself.
If we seek good, we keep our lives focused on Christ and His provision. Only He can perfectly keep the commandments, so there’s no better place to be than in Christ. When we believe in Christ, we love Him, trust Him, and rest in His good sufficiency.
In the Old Testament, when the exiles returned to Jerusalem to begin construction of the wall, Ezra and Nehemiah both referenced “the good hand of the Lord” being upon them as they enacted His will in the rebuilding (Ezra 7:9; 8:18; Nehemiah 2:8). They gave all glory to God.
The creation, in its pre-fall state, was declared “good” by the Lord God. Man was good until sin enveloped Adam and plunged humanity into death. Humanity could no longer be good or even live, apart from Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22). We Christians carry Christ’s imputed righteousness within us because He atoned for our sins on the cross, and that is good news!
What Is Bad?
Anything that is against God’s perfect will is bad. Let’s again go all the way back to the beginning of mankind. When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in His presence in the Garden of Eden. All things were accessible to them except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9, 17).
We can equate bad with evil, but the tree itself was not bad (because all things at that point were good). Evil (bad) was inaugurated into humanity by Adam and Eve’s choice to rebel against God’s command. Their sinful act caused death, and Adam’s sin nature to pass on to all of his descendants.
What Then Is Solomon’s Purpose in Writing Ecclesiastes?
Scholars agree the main theme of Ecclesiastes is, “without God, all of life is vanity.” Pastor John MacArthur adds, “Solomon was writing, probably in his latter years (no later than ca. 931 B.C.), primarily to warn the young people of his kingdom, without omitting others. He warned them to avoid walking through life on the path of human wisdom; he exhorted them to live by the revealed wisdom of God” (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14).
When we ponder questions about God’s creation of both good and bad times, it’s important to look into what the Bible says about God, His Word, and His character.
The wisdom books of the Bible (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) offer Christians much to ponder, as does the rest of Scripture. We, as astute students of God’s Word, realize that though the Bible has many genres, it has but one straightforward, unified narrative: God’s redemptive plan unfolding throughout history and culminating in the creation of the new heavens and new earth by the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:5).
Throughout history, however, much good and bad has occurred, and God is sovereign over it all. Solomon addressed this in Ecclesiastes.
What Is the Context of Ecclesiastes 7:14?
Throughout Ecclesiastes, King Solomon shares a profound and personal look at a life spent pursuing those things which prove empty and meaningless. Solomon gives us insight into his quest in chapters one and two. “And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind” (Eccl. 1:17). In chapter 2:1a, Solomon makes a disturbing statement, “I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.’” Solomon knew exactly what he was doing as he tested the pleasures of the world. And, more importantly, Solomon knew and loved the Lord God (1 Kings 2:45).
Ecclesiastes serves as a journal of warning to those who would seek a life apart from God, and Solomon is masterful with his descriptions. Early in the book, he wrote, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Solomon, the Preacher (Ecclesiastes means preacher), preaches the nothingness of worldly prosperity with his God-given wisdom.
How Can We Apply This Knowledge to Our Lives?
Our key in all of this is to remember God is sovereign over the good and the bad. In God’s economy, the word good is far superior to our feeble thoughts and experiences of good. He has given us His Word as a testimony to Who is good (Mark 10:18), and what is good. God’s creation in its original, pre-fall state is good (Genesis 1:31), and the new heavens and new earth brought by the Lord Jesus Christ is good (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:5).
It will be so good that God will again dwell with men (Revelation 21:3), death will be no more (Revelation 21:4), tears will be wiped from our eyes and no more will there be mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4).
“Solomon's conclusion in Ecclesiastes is that the ultimate duty of humanity is to ‘fear God and keep His commandments’ because He will bring every act to judgment, both good and evil, and this is what brings true meaning to life. After exploring life's futility, the teacher of the book concludes that a life devoted to God, rather than chasing fleeting desires, is the only way to find lasting purpose and avoid the vanity of a life without meaning.”
Throughout Scripture, the Lord God shows us the differences between good and bad and the consequences of both. Belief in Christ is our only key to understanding what the Lord God reveals in His Word about both.
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