9-11 — This is the only reason for teaming up with another. Here in chapter, 9 we will look at Trumpets 5-6 affect lost mankind directly. (11,12) Benefits of wisdom. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.". 9 All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. It is impossible to believe that the "dead know nothing," except in a limited sense. They most certainly believed in the possibility, if not the certainty, of life after death. Certainly, just like the word of Satan is found in the Word of God (Genesis 3:4). Another explanation of the magnificent "conclusion of the whole matter" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) is that Solomon finally came to his senses and returned to the love and service of God. "[7] But death is not final! God's providence dispenses all things, ver. This passage, one of the most famous in Ecclesiastes, should be understood as dealing with unexpected exceptions to what may be generally expected. Of course, Solomon lived before the magnificent revelation of life and immortality that were brought to mankind in the life and teachings of the Christ; but Solomon's father David certainly would never have said a lot of things that one finds in Ecclesiastes. We do not accept the following translation which varies from the American Standard Version, and the Revised Standard Version, but we cite it here as an interesting variation. If you fail to seize the day like this, all you have are illusions—pursuing money for its own sake, or pointlessly struggling and competing to do better than the next person, to give a few of the examples he uses. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Later in our study chapter 11 and 16, we will look at Trumpet 7. Religion … Chapter 9 Solomon, in this chapter, for a further proof of the vanity of this world, gives us four observations which he had made upon a survey of the state of the children of men in it:— I. "All things come alike to all" (Ecclesiastes 9:2). ">[9] In the light of what the Christ has said, one may safely set aside what the wicked Solomon is here reported in God's Word to have said. What is the explanation of this? This clearly states that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are living (even in the state of death) and that they are not non-existent. Jesus never used parables to teach lies to his followers. And, in the earthly sense, of course it is. It is not written that God said, "The dead do not know anything," but that Solomon, one of the wickedest men who ever lived, said it. Solomon shows that all human things are vain. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. We find no Biblical support of that idea anywhere. A Common Destiny for All. Chapter. The purpose of Ecclesiastes is to spare future generations the suffering and misery of seeking after foolish, meaningless, materialistic emptiness, and to offer wisdom by … vv. "The poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard" (Ecclesiastes 9:16). Enjoy the days of your vain life. Man knows not certainty that he is in God's grace. Look at the monuments men have built all over the world. In spite of this, however, any careful student of God's Word must conclude that the magnitude of Solomon's wickedness was immeasurable. (Ecclesiastes 2:3; Ecclesiastes 6:12). Also, the idea of the hopelessness and futility of life, stressed throughout Ecclesiastes, was by no means accepted by the patriarchs. Hi Welcome back to BibleStudyMinistry.com (BSM), today we’re going to briefly study Ecclesiastes 9, and glean some of what the God of Israel wants us to know through the words of Solomon, King over Israel.Let’s read the chapter! Ecclesiastes 9. Loader understood these words as justifying his unusual translation given above. As well their love, as their hatred and their envy, is perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. • The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Abandoned children, adopted by Christian parents and reared even in luxury have been recently indicted for murder of their parents! v. 16 — This philosophy leads to a meaningless existence. All kinds of happenings may intervene to make: In the recent Olympic races, the swiftest runner, unanimously favored to win, suffered a fall; and another took the prize. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." "[4], "All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and the wicked; to the good and to the clean and the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their … There is no way that this can be strictly true. "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works. Yes, wisdom is more valuable than strength or weapons of war; "But we are left here with a suspicion that, `In human politics the last word generally goes to the loud voice of Ecclesiastes 9:17, or to the cold steel of Ecclesiastes 9:18.'"[16]. Moses and Elijah stood on the mountain of transfiguration and carried on a conversation with Jesus Christ. In this chapter, he separates wisdom into two categories: 1) Human knowledge, reasoning, or philosophy and 2) The wisdom that can only come from God. The first thing he tried to satisfy himself with was pleasure. The incredible pessimism of this passage staggers one's imagination. 2 It is better to go to the house of mourning. One question that arises from this interpretation is that of whether or not Solomon ever repented and turned to God as the Jews allege that he did. After death no more work or merit. Ecclesiastes keeps saying to take delight in eating and drinking, to be merry and find work that you can do comfortably and happily. Here we have a glimpse of the penitent and restored Solomon honoring God for his marvelous gifts and praising him for the blessings given to the sons of men, even while he is still relating the stubborn and rebellious things that he had once believed. Up to this point Solomon has written a lot of things which, to a Christian, do not make any sense at all. If this should not be considered a valid understanding of the paragraph, then we should limit what is said here as a declaration of the way things appear when they are viewed purely from an earthly and materialistic viewpoint, as characteristic of what is done "under the sun.". For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Everything that occurs, in the final analysis, happens under the permissive will of God. "No man remembered that same poor man" (Ecclesiastes 9:15). 9. Even if Solomon believed it, which is questionable, because he might have been recounting his religious philosophy during the times of his apostasy, - but even if he believed it, it could not possibly be true. "Thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). The same fate of death awaits everyone. One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. Ecclesiastes 9. Solomon has repeatedly advocated this doctrine, not only here, but in Ecclesiastes 1:9; 1:15; 3:1-9; and in Ecclesiastes 3:14-15. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, ( M) whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. 7 h A good name is better than precious ointment, and i the day of death than the day of birth. "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will j … 7 - 10. (4-8) There is nothing new. One thing is sure, "If that is what the text says, it is a lie," and must be understood as the false teaching Ecclesiastes was designed to refute and deny. The sad fact of this little city's true benefactor having been forgotten is only one of a million other similar situations in which there have been gross miscarriages of human justice and even intelligence. Another command concerns the enjoyment of life with one’s wife. Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes B. Nevertheless, that is a necessary corollary of our interpretation of Ecclesiastes. (See Luke 16:19-31). Death deprives humans of everything in life. Note that he referred twice in these few verses to life as "vanity." Why? Part of the reason for this uncertainty lies in the enigma of Solomon's life. Who can believe that, "Eat, drink, and be joyful," is, in any sense whatever, the ultimate meaning and employment of life? We have previously mentioned Paul's description of his life under the Mosaic Law (Romans 7), which is analogous to what was probably Solomon's life (and beliefs) prior to his repentance. The glorious one who is Greater than Solomon gave us the story of the rich man and Lazarus; and the rich man is represented as being, not merely conscious after death, but in terrible pain and anxiety regarding his brethren who had not yet died, but who were living wickedly as he had lived. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. The Seventh Day Adventist notion that the resurrection is the creation of the non-existent dead is also an outright contradiction of Christ's declaration that "God is the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and that he is the God of the living, not of the dead." "A great part of these seem to have a special reference to servants of a king,"[17] as would be natural enough in the writings of Solomon. "For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it be love or hatred, man knoweth it not; all is before them.". Let thy garments be always white; and let not thy head lack oil. This knowledge on the part of the living is here cited as the one and only reason given in the text that living is any better than being dead. This is only one among half a dozen other reasons. "Such an alleged `advantage' of living as compared with death only serves to strengthen the emphatic finality of death. Our race, which is in rebellion against God, is divinely condemned to death. He observed that commonly as to outward things, good and bad men fare much alike (v. 1-3). v. 6 — This man wants to do his own thing. From all these considerations, this writer favors the view that Solomon indeed repented (even as did Manasseh), and that after his return to God, he was inspired to write this book, and that many of the things written in Ecclesiastes represent views which Solomon once had erroneously received, and which, when he wrote Ecclesiastes, he would reject and outlaw altogether in his conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). As Paul stated it, "If the dead are not raised up, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:32). "For the living know that they shall die" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). This, of course, is Epicureanism. One of the shameful characteristics of our fallen race is that of ingratitude. And this pushes us toward an answer that lies beyond the pages of Ecclesiastes; and that is, "The prospect (even the certainty) of reward and punishment in the world to come."[5]. Abraham was willing to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, because, "He believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead" (Hebrews 11:19). This free Bible study guide will help you understand what you're reading. ", We should preface this paragraph with imaginary words from Solomon: "This is the way I viewed things while in rebellion against God." This, as it stands in the passage, is cited as the end of everything. Ecclesiastes 9:9 "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that [is] thy portion in [this] life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun. " This is the interpretation that seems most logical to this writer. Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access. Death puts an end to all, ver. "How warped are our human value systems! These last three verses stress both the value and the vulnerability of wisdom. Bathsheba, one sinner alone, by her nude behavior, caused the fall of David and the ultimate ruin of all Israel through her son Solomon and his son Rehoboam. (Matthew 22:32). Wisdom is better than strength. Solomon's conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) refutes what is written here. "Time and chance happeneth to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9:11). Where is it? However, no impartial observer could possibly overlook the responsibility of Bathsheba and the part she played in all that. We find it impossible to believe that "all is vanity," a declaration that occurs dozens of times in the book. Scholars vary in their explanations; but the conclusion must be; (1) that Solomon is rehearsing the allegations of materialistic unbelievers with a view to refuting them in his conclusion (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), (2) that he was writing of what he saw `under the sun,' and not of what he believed, or (3) that, "Solomon, for the time being, had abandoned his faith in God, altogether,"[1] and that his words throughout Ecclesiastes thus far indicate that, "Man would not know that there was any fundamental difference between a man and a beast. This passage staggers one 's imagination their heart '' ( Hebrews 9:27 ) set eternity in heart. People expected anoint your head with oil up with another days, Solomon upon... 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