◄ Ecclesiastes 3:18 ►
I said to myself, "As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts."
Study Bible
I said to myself,

This phrase indicates a moment of introspection and personal reflection by the author, traditionally believed to be Solomon. It suggests a deep, contemplative thought process, common in wisdom literature, where the writer seeks to understand life's complexities. This internal dialogue is a hallmark of Ecclesiastes, where the author often wrestles with existential questions.

Ecc 2:1 I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure;…
Luk 12:17 So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do?’…
Ecc 1:16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown…

“As for the sons of men,

This term refers to humanity in general, emphasizing the universal nature of the observation. In biblical context, "sons of men" often highlights human frailty and mortality, contrasting with the divine nature of God. It underscores the shared human experience and the limitations inherent in being human.

Psa 144:3 O LORD, what is man, that You regard him…
Psa 8:4 what is man that You are mindful of him?…
Job 25:6 how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man,…

God tests them

The concept of God testing humanity is prevalent throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, testing often serves to reveal character and faithfulness, as seen in the stories of Abraham (Genesis 22) and Job. This testing is not for God's knowledge, as He is omniscient, but for humans to understand their own nature and dependence on God.

Exo 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread…
Deu 13:3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.…
Deu 8:2 Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you…

so that they may see for themselves

This phrase suggests a purpose behind the testing: self-awareness and realization. It implies that through trials and challenges, individuals gain insight into their true nature and limitations. This aligns with the biblical theme of self-examination and repentance, encouraging believers to recognize their need for God.

Ecc 8:17 Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find…
Deu 8:3 He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna…
Psa 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn…

that they are but beasts.”

This comparison to beasts highlights the mortality and base instincts shared between humans and animals. It serves as a humbling reminder of human limitations and the inevitability of death, a recurring theme in Ecclesiastes. This perspective is echoed in Psalm 49:12, which states that despite human pride, without understanding, people are like the beasts that perish. It emphasizes the need for divine wisdom to transcend mere earthly existence.

Psa 49:20 A man who has riches without understanding…
Psa 73:22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast…
2Pe 2:12 These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct…

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Preacher (Qoheleth)
Traditionally identified as King Solomon, the Preacher is the author of Ecclesiastes, reflecting on the meaning of life and human existence.

2. Sons of Men
This term refers to humanity in general, emphasizing the universal nature of the message.

3. God
The sovereign Creator who tests humanity, revealing their nature and limitations.

4. Beasts
Symbolic of the mortal and finite nature of humans, highlighting the shared fate of death with animals.

5. Testing
The process by which God reveals truths about human nature and existence.
Teaching Points
Understanding Human Limitations
Recognize that human beings, despite their intelligence and achievements, share the same mortality as animals. This humbling truth should lead to a reliance on God rather than self.

Purpose of Testing
God's testing is not to harm but to reveal truth. It is an opportunity for self-reflection and spiritual growth, encouraging us to seek wisdom and understanding from God.

The Reality of Mortality
Accepting our mortality can lead to a more meaningful life. It encourages us to focus on eternal values rather than temporary pursuits.

Humility Before God
Acknowledging our limitations should foster humility and dependence on God, recognizing that true wisdom and purpose come from Him.

Living with Eternity in Mind
While we share mortality with beasts, humans are unique in their ability to seek and know God. This should inspire us to live with eternity in mind, prioritizing our relationship with God.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does recognizing our mortality influence the way we live our daily lives?

2. In what ways can understanding that God tests us lead to spiritual growth and maturity?

3. How does the shared fate of death between humans and animals challenge our perspective on life's priorities?

4. What are some practical ways we can cultivate humility and dependence on God in light of our human limitations?

5. How can we balance the reality of our mortality with the hope of eternal life as taught in the New Testament?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 3
The fall of man introduces the concept of mortality and the shared fate of death with animals.

Psalm 49
Discusses the mortality of humans and the futility of trusting in wealth, paralleling the theme of human limitations.

Romans 8
Explores the creation's subjection to futility and the hope of redemption, providing a New Testament perspective on human and creation's condition.

James 1
Speaks about the testing of faith, which produces perseverance, offering a broader understanding of God's purpose in testing.
Sermons
The Conclusion of Folly or the Faith of the Wise?W. Clarkson Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13, 22
Before and After ChristW. Clarkson Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
The Common Destiny of DeathD. Thomas Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
The Darkness of the GraveJ. Willcoc Ecclesiastes 3:18-22
People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Animals, Beasts, Cleanse, Estate, Heart, Manifest, Matter, Myself, Order, Prove, Regard, Sift, Sons, State, Surely, Test, Tested, Testing, Tests, Themselves, Thus
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ecclesiastes 3:18-19

     2233   Son of Man

Ecclesiastes 3:18-21

     4604   animals, nature of
     9021   death, natural

Library
Eternity in the Heart
'He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also He hath set the world in their heart.'--ECCLES. iii. 11. There is considerable difficulty in understanding what precise meaning is to be attached to these words, and what precise bearing they have on the general course of the writer's thoughts; but one or two things are, at any rate, quite clear. The Preacher has been enumerating all the various vicissitudes of prosperity and adversity, of construction and destruction, of society and solitude, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'A Time to Plant'
'A time to plant.'--Eccles. iii. 2. The writer enumerates in this context a number of opposite courses of conduct arranged in pairs, each of which is right at the right time. The view thus presented seems to him to be depressing, and to make life difficult to understand, and aimless. We always appear to be building up with one hand and pulling down with the other. The ship never heads for two miles together in the same direction. The history of human affairs appears to be as purposeless as the play …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

For what Christian Men of Our Time Being Free from the Marriage Bond...
15. For what Christian men of our time being free from the marriage bond, having power to contain from all sexual intercourse, seeing it to be now "a time," as it is written, "not of embracing, but of abstaining from embrace," [1977] would not choose rather to keep virginal or widowed continence, than (now that there is no obligation from duty to human society) to endure tribulation of the flesh, without which marriages cannot be (to pass over in silence other things from which the Apostle spares.) …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Marriage

But Thou who Both Hast Sons, and Livest in that End of the World...
11. But thou who both hast sons, and livest in that end of the world, wherein now is the time not of casting stones, but of gathering; not of embracing, but of abstaining from embracing; [2244] when the Apostle cries out, "But this I say, brethren, the time is short; it remains, that both they who have wives be as not having;" [2245] assuredly if thou hadst sought a second marriage, it would have been no obedience of prophecy or law, no carnal desire even of family, but a mark of incontinence alone. …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Letter xxvi. (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He excuses the brevity of his letter on the ground that Lent is a time of silence; and also that on account of his profession and his ignorance he does not dare to assume the function of teaching. 1. You will, perhaps, be angry, or, to speak more gently, will wonder that in place of a longer letter which you had hoped for from me you receive this brief note. But remember what says the wise man, that there is a time for all things under the heaven; both a time to speak and a time to keep …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Conclusion of the Matter
'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain; 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, 4. And the doors shall be shut in …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Self-Annihilation
Of Self-Annihilation Supplication and sacrifice are comprehended in prayer, which, according to S. John, is "an incense, the smoke whereof ascendeth unto God;" therefore it is said in the Apocalypse that "unto the Angel was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints'' (Chap. viii. 3). Prayer is the effusion of the heart in the Presence of God: "I have poured out my soul before God" saith the mother of Samuel. (1 Sam. i. 15) The prayer of the wise men at the feet of …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Introductory Note.
[a.d. 145-220.] When our Lord repulsed the woman of Canaan (Matt. xv. 22) with apparent harshness, he applied to her people the epithet dogs, with which the children of Israel had thought it piety to reproach them. When He accepted her faith and caused it to be recorded for our learning, He did something more: He reversed the curse of the Canaanite and showed that the Church was designed "for all people;" Catholic alike for all time and for all sorts and conditions of men. Thus the North-African …
Tertullian—Apology

The Lapse of Time.
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."--Eccles. ix. 10. Solomon's advice that we should do whatever our hand findeth to do with our might, naturally directs our thoughts to that great work in which all others are included, which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below--the salvation of our souls. And the consideration of this great work, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

"For they that are after the Flesh do Mind,"
Rom. viii. s 5, 6.--"For they that are after the flesh do mind," &c. "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." There are many differences among men in this world, that, as to outward appearance, are great and wide, and indeed they are so eagerly pursued, and seriously minded by men, as if they were great and momentous. You see what a strife and contention there is among men, how to be extracted out of the dregs of the multitude, and set a little higher …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

How the Silent and the Talkative are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 15.) Differently to be admonished are the over-silent, and those who spend time in much speaking. For it ought to be insinuated to the over-silent that while they shun some vices unadvisedly, they are, without its being perceived, implicated in worse. For often from bridling the tongue overmuch they suffer from more grievous loquacity in the heart; so that thoughts seethe the more in the mind from being straitened by the violent guard of indiscreet silence. And for the most part they …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

"Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the Flesh,"
Rom. viii. 4, 5.--"Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh," &c. If there were nothing else to engage our hearts to religion, I think this might do it, that there is so much reason in it. Truly it is the most rational thing in the world, except some revealed mysteries of faith, which are far above reason, but not contrary to it. There is nothing besides in it, but that which is the purest reason. Even that part of it which is most difficult to man, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Appendix 2 Extracts from the Babylon Talmud
Massecheth Berachoth, or Tractate on Benedictions [76] Mishnah--From what time is the "Shema" said in the evening? From the hour that the priests entered to eat of their therumah [77] until the end of the first night watch. [78] These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages say: Till midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says: Until the column of the morning (the dawn) rises. It happened, that his sons came back from a banquet. They said to him: "We have not said the Shema.'" He said to them, "If the column …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Ecclesiastes
It is not surprising that the book of Ecclesiastes had a struggle to maintain its place in the canon, and it was probably only its reputed Solomonic authorship and the last two verses of the book that permanently secured its position at the synod of Jamnia in 90 A.D. The Jewish scholars of the first century A.D. were struck by the manner in which it contradicted itself: e.g., "I praised the dead more than the living," iv. 2, "A living dog is better than a dead lion," ix. 4; but they were still more …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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