Ecclesiastes 3:14 - Exposition

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever. A second thing (see Ecclesiastes 3:12 ) that Koheleth knew , learned from the truths adduced in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 , is that behind man's free action and volition stands the will of God, which orders events with a view to eternity, and that man can alter nothing of this providential arrangement (comp. Isaiah 46:10 ; Psalms 33:11 ). Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it . We cannot hasten or retard God's designs; we cannot add to or curtail his plans. Septuagint, "It is impossible to add ( οὐκ ἔστι προσθεῖναι ) to it, and it is impossible to Lake away from it." Thus Ecclesiasticus 18:6, "As for the wondrous works of the Lord, it is impossible to lessen or to add to them ( οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλαττῶσαι οὐδὲ προσθεῖναι ), neither can the ground of them be found out." God doeth it, that men should fear before him. There is a moral purpose in this disposal of events. Men feel this uniformity and unchangeableness in the working of Providence, and thence learn to cherish a reverential awe for the righteous government of which they are the subjects. It was this feeling which led ancient etymologists to derive θεός and Deus from δέος , "fear" (comp. Revelation 15:3 , Revelation 15:4 ). This is also a ground of hope and confidence. Amid the jarring and fluctuating circumstances of men God holds the threads, and alters not his purpose. "I the Lord change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed" (Ma 3:6). The Vulgate is not very successful: Non possumus eis quid-quam addere, nec auferre, quae fecit Deus ut timeatur , "We cannot add anything unto, or take anything away from, those things which God hath made that he may be feared."