Reflections on Ecclesiastes 9

 Ecclesiastes 09 (Contemporary English Version)

1. I thought about these things. Then I understood that God has power over everyone, even those of us who are wise and live right. Anything can happen to any of us, and so we never know if life will be good or bad.
   
2. But exactly the same thing will finally happen to all of us, whether we live right and respect God or sin and don't respect God. Yes, the same thing will happen if we offer sacrifices to God or if we don't, if we keep our promises or break them.
   
3. It's terribly unfair for the same thing to happen to each of us. We are mean and foolish while we live, and then we die.
   
4. As long as we are alive, we still have hope, just as a live dog is better off than a dead lion.
   
5. We know that we will die, but the dead don't know a thing. Nothing good will happen to them--they are gone and forgotten.
   
6. Their loves, their hates, and their jealous feelings have all disappeared with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens on this earth.
   
7. Be happy and enjoy eating and drinking! God decided long ago that this is what you should do.
   
8. Dress up, comb your hair, and look your best.
   
9. Life is short, and you love your wife, so enjoy being with her. This is what you are supposed to do as you struggle through life on this earth.
   
10. Work hard at whatever you do. You will soon go to the world of the dead, where no one works or thinks or reasons or knows anything.
    
11. Here is something else I have learned: The fastest runners and the greatest heroes don't always win races and battles. Wisdom, intelligence, and skill don't always make you healthy, rich, or popular. We each have our share of bad luck.
    
12. None of us know when we might fall victim to a sudden disaster and find ourselves like fish in a net or birds in a trap.
    
13. Once I saw what people really think of wisdom.
    
14. It happened when a powerful ruler surrounded and attacked a small city where only a few people lived. The enemy army was getting ready to break through the city walls.
    
15. But the city was saved by the wisdom of a poor person who was soon forgotten.
    
16. So I decided that wisdom is better than strength. Yet if you are poor, no one pays any attention to you, no matter how smart you are.
    
17. Words of wisdom spoken softly make much more sense than the shouts of a ruler to a crowd of fools.
    
18. Wisdom is more powerful than weapons, yet one mistake can destroy all the good you have done.

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Solomon said that having reflected on the questions referred to in 8:17, he had concluded that man is ignorant of the affects of righteousness, wisdom, and other activity. They don't understand that they are not masters of their own fate, that they are subject to God's sovereign will. Evidence that we are not masters of our fate is that all people share the common fate of death. No one escapes it, regardless of what they have done or not done. And if death is the end, this is a gross misjustice. But since all opportunity for enjoying life are gone when one dies, they should take advantage of life while they can. Though everyone dies, there are rewards in life that one does not have in death. So there is motivation to live well.

So, since all opportunity is lost after death, Solomon counsels to enjoy the food and drink you have earned, and do so with a cheerful heart. If you have gained more than the necessities of life such as fine clothes and lotions, enjoy them. Enjoy life with the wife you love. God has given you both the ability to possess these, through your labor, and to enjoy all of it, therefore they are acceptable to Him. Since God enables us to enjoy the fruit of our labor, we should take advantage of all we can, working diligently, while we have life and the opportunity to work, plan, or gain knowledge and wisdom.

Besides enjoying the fruit of our labor before death overtakes us, another reason to enjoy it while we can is that we do not know what adversity might overtake us and rob us of the enjoyment. While those who have physical strength, wisdom, discernment, and skill have advantages, they are subject to the same uncertainties of life as those who do not have these qualities.

A further injustice is the failure sometimes to be recognized for our contributions. This may be particularly true if we are poor, lacking prestige. Solomon gave an example of a wise man who was poor who used his wisdom to save a small city from a large army. But no one rewarded him or recognized his contribution.

While the calm words of a wise man are to be heeded, and wisdom is better than weapons of war, the actions of one sinner can destroy the good of the wise.