Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
I am seeing this part of Ecclesiastes as a rejoinder to the overarching message in the Bible’s book of Job. According to that wisdom, the race does go to the swift, the battle to the strong, etc.. The Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes seems to say, “Not necessarily.” Rewards and punishments wait for certain times and places. Sometimes logical consequences do not follow actions and events. Chance exerts its influence at such times. Random chaos takes over now and then.
Life is messy; it is neither orderly nor predictable. It has been this way since biblical times.
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