- I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. -
When I was a kid, I got in an argument with my cousin when I explained that humans were in fact mammals. He hated the idea we were “animals.”
Turns out the Bible had my back. I should’ve just quoted these verses!
Kidding aside, these are some difficult verses to understand, and trust me the next three are even stranger.
Let’s remember the section we read just before we got to these passages.
We were talking about how man’s institutions are corrupted, and that God can act as our perfect judge, living out the ideals we erect.
Why does this idea then come to Solomon’s mind? How does it connect?
In our post a couple of weeks ago, we showed a picture of lady justice. She’s pretty iconic, so you are likely familiar with the image.
She stands in a toga holding a scale aloft in one hand with a blindfold over her eyes. What does this mean?
The one who weighs the deeds of man must do so not by their personal bias (sight) but by a measurement separate and decided upon.
Why is she required to do this? Because she also holds a sword, the power over life and death.
Think about the institutions we have that embody this idea. A speedy right to trial by a jury of your peers and presumed innocence until proven guilty.
Now, we have a strange habit of saying the following: I am great because my country/institutions/company/religion are great.
What’s the problem with this thinking? You are none of those ideas! They are all ideas that reside above you.
If you’re a Christian, you also realize many of them came to us by revelation. That means human reasoning didn’t create them; God told them to us.
C. S. Lewis also makes the salient point that human reasoning is a gift from God.
What separates man from beast? Is it not our reasoning and institutions?
Ah, now it makes sense. We are beasts, and the things that separate us from them are God, not ourselves.
We know this. We share their same anatomical structure. We have lungs, hair, skin, bones, two eyes etc. etc.
Just like beasts, we die in horrible, embarrassing ways – to violence that eviscerates, to diseases that incapacitates, to old age that humiliates.
Without God, these institutions we erect are like facades, convenient ways for our minds to create stories that ennoble us.
But with Him, they can become a presence, a direct sense of His righteousness.
Until then, we and the beasts all breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat each other.
The word vanity that has showed up again? It can also mean a short breath, like vapor on a windshield that evaporates before your eyes or the sigh you make before you breath no more.
Look to the beast and see your fate devoid of God.