Year 1, Week 47, Day 5 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 47, Day 5

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ecclesiastes 8-11.

Today’s reading contains additional chapters from the Book of Ecclesiastes. Much of the focus in today’s reading pertains to matters of wisdom and the intersection of government. Thus, there are themes of evil and those who rule over others. Concerning evil, sometimes, things go quite well—at least for a good while: “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:11-13). But in the end, it will only go well with the godly. However, before the end, there can seemingly be a reversal of fortunes: “There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 8:14). The righteous can suffer as though they are cursed and the wicked can prosper as though they are blessed. But these reversals are temporary.

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was the tension between godliness and enjoyment: “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). Turning right around, Solomon expresses this matter again: “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:9-10). These verses comprise about the sixth time that such statements have been made about the enjoyment of life. It is important to understand the point of such statements.

Prior to these statements on the enjoyment of life, Solomon has just made a couple of other important points that need to be kept in mind. First, Solomon knows that sin is deeply embedded in the heart: “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:3). Second, and relatedly, Solomon knows that death is certain: “For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Knowing the depth of sinfulness and the reality of death must be factored into what it means as well as what it looks like to enjoy life. Without an understanding of sin and death, a pursuit of enjoyment in life will veer off in the wrong direction.

As Solomon once again underscores the enjoyment of life, but with a couple of qualifiers. Solomon’s admonition to enjoy life should not be taken as a recommendation for a self-absorbed hedonistic life. Solomon’s admonition to enjoy life is qualified by the requirement to seek out a life that God approves: “for God has already approved what you do” (Ecclesiastes 9:7b). Enjoying life must be framed by knowing what the LORD condones as well as condemns. Solomon has already introduced the notion of enjoying life and as He encouraged that pursuit of enjoying life earlier, He coupled it with the notion that enjoying life should be seen as a gift from God. Solomon continues developing the notion of enjoying life as a gift from God by clarifying that for something to be a gift from God, it is also something that is in accordance with God’s moral will. Enjoying life as a gift from God entails finding enjoyment is what the LORD approves of. Seeking to find enjoyment in what God disapproves of is not only a sin, but it is ultimately a false and empty source of true enjoyment. So, the directive to enjoy life should not be seen as a blank check for us to do whatever we want to do, but a good insight that a life that seeks to do what is pleasing to God is also a life that can be filled with enjoyment.

Solomon provides another qualifier to the enjoyment of life. This second qualifier is distinct from the first, but most certainly related to it. Solomon’s admonition to enjoy life should be framed by the terminus point of life, that is death: "all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun…or there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:9-10). A mindfulness (though not a paralysis) of the reality of death should be understood as a helpful guide for living. Facing the reality of death is not for morbid purposes that would lead to a withdrawn life, for just as we are directed to be aware of death, we are also directed to live while we are alive. The admonition: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10a), certainly directs us to energetically embrace the life that is placed in front of us, but again, not in the sense of having a license to do whatever, regardless of what God thinks. Live while you are alive. But live with an awareness of the end.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe