Setting – Death awaits the good and bad
Content – Solomon concludes this (v. 1 NIV) “…that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.” But he sees that everyone shares the same fate (v. 2 NIV) “All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them”, that is, all face death. An odd but true conclusion (v. 5 NIV) “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.” Those that are dead, (v. 6 NIV) “Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.”
So how are we to live understanding that death awaits us all? We are to (v. 7 NIV) “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” And (v. 9a NIV) “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun…”
Solomon concludes with two proverbs (v. 17-18 NIV) “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”
Application – Knowing that death is a sure thing for all mankind, we are to enjoy what God has given us. For the saved, this life is temporal (James 4:14) “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are {just} a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” but our life is eternal. This is not our permanent residence (thank God). God has prepared a better place for His children (John 14:3) “In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”
We need to be reminded often that sin has corrupted this world and there is little to hang onto in this life. The purpose of the saved is to call out to the unsaved beckoning them to relinquish the pursuit of this world for a better one to come.
Content – Solomon concludes this (v. 1 NIV) “…that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.” But he sees that everyone shares the same fate (v. 2 NIV) “All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them”, that is, all face death. An odd but true conclusion (v. 5 NIV) “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.” Those that are dead, (v. 6 NIV) “Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.”
So how are we to live understanding that death awaits us all? We are to (v. 7 NIV) “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” And (v. 9a NIV) “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun…”
Solomon concludes with two proverbs (v. 17-18 NIV) “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.”
Application – Knowing that death is a sure thing for all mankind, we are to enjoy what God has given us. For the saved, this life is temporal (James 4:14) “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are {just} a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” but our life is eternal. This is not our permanent residence (thank God). God has prepared a better place for His children (John 14:3) “In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”
We need to be reminded often that sin has corrupted this world and there is little to hang onto in this life. The purpose of the saved is to call out to the unsaved beckoning them to relinquish the pursuit of this world for a better one to come.
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