Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Our most excellent adventure now comes to the Teacher’s second conclusion: There is only one thing in this life that is certain.

That certainty is simply this: It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do in life, you are going to die and be forgotten.

This warm and cozy reality forms the basis of Solomon’s wisdom, at least in the wisdom of his teaching. He actually calls it “the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all” in 9:3. I should remind everyone at this point that in Solomon’s day there was no concept of eternal life as Christianity understands the term; you only lived on through your children. Thus, with a fate of death in common, why be surprised that people are wicked, greedy and unrighteous? Why not eat, drink and try to have as much fun as you can? In the context in which Solomon says these kinds of things, this is logical, isn’t it? I think it is in his context, but it isn’t in our context as followers of Jesus Christ, yet that is exactly the attitude of most of us today.

Verses 4-6 discuss the fact that it is better to be alive than to be dead, but he can offer no hope of anything after that. Verses 7-10 tell us to enjoy our limited time here on earth as much as we can, and he is giving this advice to the godly ones, not the wicked, for there will be nothing when you’re gone. Verse 11 tells us that success and greatness aren’t just for the wise and talented, but rather that some will be lucky and some will not: Oh well…

Verse 12 tells us that some of us will be trapped by evil events that are out of our control: Oh well…

Thus begins the second section of the book, and as we continue in our adventure, the Teacher will develop this theme further. In the first section of the book, he taught us that we don’t know our present, in the rest of the book; he develops the conclusion that we also don’t know our future. Thus are the consequences of Man’s rebellion against God. I can say one thing in the midst of this cheerful narrative:

Boy am I glad that I didn’t come along until after Jesus Christ changed everything!

Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:15

In this section, the Teacher develops the idea that none of us knows our futures under the sun. He does this in four subsections, beginning with 9:13-10:1. Here, the Teacher tells a fictional story reminiscent of 2 Samuel 20:15-22 in which a poor but wise man saves his small city from certain destruction by a large and powerful army, only to be entirely forgotten once the city no longer needed him; fame and honor are indeed fleeting. Yet, even though the man was poor, and hardly powerful in the city, his counsel was more valuable in the crisis than the council of the city fathers, and it overcame the strength of arms. Thus the Teacher concludes: “Wisdom is better than strength” yet what did this man actually gain? Nothing.

10:2-7 shows us that there are impediments to wisdom under the sun. The wise person is guided by wisdom, is cool under fire and his heart and mind are steadfast, yet there is a very good chance that he is surrounded by fools. The primary example used here is that of an unwise ruler who appoints his friends and “yes men” to high places, and becomes angry with those who actually could have given him wise counsel. I think maybe we may still encounter this problem today.

The third section is in 10:8-11 and deals with the unexpected things that seem to take place so often in this life. The wording here is entirely self explanatory, and I think we can all identify; you just can’t be sure when misfortune might strike, no matter how careful you might be; it’s sort of an “occupational hazard” of being alive.

Finally, in verses 12-15, we see the futility of words. While a wise person’s words are gracious, most of the words we hear come from fools who get carried away and speak injudiciously about all sorts of things. If they are irritated or excited, they get carried away. If they are feeling down, they get carried away, if they are happy they get carried away. Their endeavors come to naught, their projects fail, they become weary; they can’t win. Why?

Oh dear reader, that’s an easy one: because they are fools!

As a result of this, we are back where we started: Nobody knows what will happen next; that is the way of things under the sun.