Saturday, November 21, 2020

Ecclesiastes 9 : Thank God that we are in His hands!


Much of life is mysterious. Much of what happens in the world and in our lives leaves us puzzled. The Universe in which we live is mysterious. Man’s capability to understand complex things, and yet not understand them, is mysterious. The causes of every human action are so complex, and so deeply hidden in unconscious motivations that it is impossible to know why anything ever happened. As we concluded the 8th chapter we saw that, “man cannot find out the work that God does under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out” (8:17).

The mysteries of God’s providences occupy much of Solomon’s mind as he pursues the mysterious nature of wisdom. There is an apparent limit to man’s wisdom and understanding. In this chapter Solomon makes further observations concerning our life under the sun. As we now  listen and engage with the Word of God in worship, I want   us to thank God throughout for the  fact that  in  this life we are not in the hand of mystery, but  we are in His hands.

 1.      9:1-2 Solomon observes that the righteous are firmly kept in the good hands of God, but life  in all its forms, happens to one and all.

The opening statement of our chapter sets the tone, and it is one of Solomon’s wonderful discoveries: “But all of this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God  (9:1).

Solomon is about to make some sobering  statements concerning human nature, but before he does that  he makes   this  important observation: “the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God.” Thank God for this! This is very comforting to know.  Whatever happens in this life under the sun, the righteous, believers in God are not in the hand of fate.  They are in the hand of God.

Having said that, Solomon goes on to observe, that this does not mean that believers are thereby separated from the common experiences of all mankind. Again and again as God’s children we need to remind ourselves that we do not yet live in heaven. We live in a fallen world in which sin distorts and Satan destroys. We see in a mirror dimly. We know in part (1 Cor. 13:12).

And so, as believers in God, along with every other person under the sun, we are subjected to the experiences of love and hate (9:1b). The righteous and the wicked, the good and the evil, the clean and the unclean, those that sacrifice to God and those that dont, the good and the sinner - ALL experience the ups and downs of life in a fallen world.

God’s love for his own is not defined by the common things that happen to us. God’s love is shown in His providential care for His people through it all. So thank God that we are in His hands.

 2.      9:3  Solomon observes that all   men  have  essentially an evil heart and madness is in their hearts while they live.

This observation flies in the face of so many who maintain that all people are essentially good. Solomon, in his deep searching does not come to such a conclusion. He knows the heart of man. He understands the theology and consequence of the fall[1]. He knows the irrational madness of men. Charles Bridges asks,  “And what  worse madness is human  nature capable of than  fleeing from God, from His mercy, from heaven, serving the devil,  engaging in the world of vanity  and sin, living under the curse of God and on the brink of damnation? And yet more awful is the thought, that … madness is in their hearts while they live. They persist in this course to the end. Time will soon be a blank and a shadow- eternity is a present reality where the madmen  will be brought to their senses in hopeless conviction. As sure as the Bible is true – this is true. ”After that they go to the dead!” … Alas, not the blessed dead that die in the Lord  (Rev. 14:13). Awful beyond  thought or conception is the immortality of hell.[2] Thank God then, that  when  we have put our faith and trust in Him through Jesus  Christ,  our evil hearts  are  dealt with, and we obtain a righteousness that is not our own.

 

3.      9:4-6   Following this  Solomon observes that death comes indiscriminately to all  men and  from this perspective the living are  better off than the dead.

These verses must be read in context. Remember that Solomon is deeply aware of man’s evil nature and madness.  Now here is his reasoning: While there is life, while we are joined with the living, there is hope. Solomon had not been given the developed doctrine of heaven and hell which we receive in the New Testament from the lips of the Lord Jesus and His apostles. But this is what he understands: Living is better than facing   the unknown dark future of the dead, and so he quotes this Proverb, “A living dog is better than a dead lion”. A dog was considered the lowest of animals, while the lion the greatest. So, it is better to be a living dog, for a dog has life. A dead lion has nothing.

Thank God that with the more complete revelation in Christ and the NT, we know that the dead in Christ are better off than those that are alive in this sinful world. While we live then, we have opportunity to prepare ourselves for eternity – for heaven.  

 

4.       9:7-10 How to live in the meantime:  Enjoy the enjoyable providences of life.  

Here is good advice for believers: While evil is real and madness is real, and love and hate are real, because this world is a fallen world, remember that the righteous and truly wise are in the hand of God (9:1). This is our foundational truth and the key to living our lives as believers in this world. So in the light of this, Solomon counsels believers, “Don’t be gloomy; don’t get morbid”! Be joyful (see also 8:15).  Yes, death is a reality, and it is good to keep ultimate realities in mind), but live while you live!   Enjoy what God gives you now.  

(i)                 Enjoy your  food  and  drink (9:7).  The first word in v.7 is ‘go !’   No time to waste in this matter!  Get on with it.

(ii)               Enjoy getting dressed, and enjoy making yourself pretty and  all ‘oiled up’ with lotions, perfumes etc. (9:8)

(iii)             Enjoy your   marriage (9:9

(iv)              Enjoy whatever your hand finds you to do,  and do  it with all your might (9:10) 

Thank God that He commands us to be joyful always[3]. Thank God that in Christ our joy is so much fuller than simply enjoying earthly pleasure. Thank God also that Sheol (9:10) holds no terrors for believers.  The Hebrews thought that Sheol was a pit deep under the earth (Deut. 32:22) where the all men went after death. They thought of it as a “land of forgetfulness” (Ps. 88:12) and darkness (Job 38:17), where men exist as shadowy replicas of their former selves (cf. Isa 14:9,10). Note that  the Bible  teaches the doctrine of the immortality of the soul! You are not dead when you are dead.

It is clear  that in the Bible  there is progressive revelation concerning  the  nature of the afterlife, and Jesus and the NT make it clear that  justified sinners  go to an eternal  heaven and  unreconciled sinners go to  an eternal  hell.

5.      9:11-12 Solomon observes how God's providences so often surprise  us. 

(i)                 9:11a The race is not always to the swift; One would think that the fastest runner should always win the race.  Not so!  Something happens in the race. They fall; someone cuts in before them; they start too late; they tear a hamstring.

(ii)               9:11b Nor the battle to the strong. One would think that the most powerful army should be always victorious. Not so! The Bible illustrates the fact that an army of Philistines can be put to flight by one Jonathan and his armour bearer[4]. Leviticus 26:8  teaches that with God’s help “ five  of you shall chase a hundred and  a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand…”  

(iii)             9:11c One would think that wise men should always be well off. But this is not always so - even bread is not always to the wise;the intelligent and the knowledgeable are not always rich .

(iv)              9:11d  Man is not in charge  of time and  chance.   Everything happens according to the counsel and foreknowledge of God, and according to the time He determines.  At one time, when Peter was strong and assertive, Jesus warned him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18).  

Matthew Henry says, “A sovereign providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes, and teaches them that the way of man is not in himself, but subject to the divine will. We must use means, but we must  not trust them; if we succeed, we must give God the praise ; if we  do not succeed, we must rest  in his will and take our lot…. “ Let us therefore never be secure, but always ready for changes, that, though they may be sudden, they may be no surprise or terror to us.”    Again  we say, Thank  God that  He is in charge and that we are in His hands!


6.      Finally, in 9:13-18 Solomon observes that wisdom makes a man very useful, even though this fact earns him little or no gratitude. But the wisdom of such a man in the nation is to be preferred over a  foolish ruler in a nation of fools.  

Here is an example of a poor man who by his wisdom delivered a city in   a time of war. This city was not saved by the strength of its own army. It had no army; there were only a few men in it, and yet one poor man, of no rank and standing in the city delivered it by his wisdom.[5] Sadly, though he had been instrumental in saving the city from destruction, ultimately no one remembered him; he was not rewarded. He was not honoured.  And yet wisdom, says Solomon,

(i)                 It is better than might (9:16).   God’s wisdom will engage God for us, and if God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:28). Also remember  that although this  life isn’t always  fair, remember that God sees and remembers our works.  Christians know that their rewards are in heaven.

(ii)               Wisdom has unusual authority (9:17). The words of wise men heard in quiet are better  than the shouting of a ruler among fools.   What is spoken wisely does not have to be shouted! It is the truth, and if it is the truth then  it is owned by God , and even if no one hears you, God approves of you! 

(iii)             Wisdom is better than weapons  of war, but one  sinner destroys much good (9:18). War is mindless. Men of wisdom negotiate peace and save lives. But here is another reality. One man can do a lot of damage!  One Achan brought trouble on the whole of Israel (Joshua 7). The history of the world is full of such illustrations – particularly in the political realm. 

 So thank God, that through many puzzling circumstances and difficulties we may know today that we are in His hands.  This life under the sun with all its sin and injustices and uncertainties are in the hands of our Great Redeemer, whose wisdom supersedes our own. Trust Him. Trust His Word. Think and meditate   on His Word that you may be able to see, and understand, and live life as fully as you can, while we wait for His delivery from this vain life under the sun.

Biblical perspective delivers us from hopelessness, depression, anxiety and all the psychological ills to which our present age is so prone. In the light of this let us then draw near to Jesus, and rejoice again that His broken body and shed blood entirely secures our future ! Amen.

 

 



[1] Genesis  3

[2] Charles Bridges: Ecclesiastes ( Banner of Truth), p. 216

[3] Philippians 4:4

[4] 1 Samuel 14

[5] see also story of the woman at Abel, in  2 Sam 20:16


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