Vanity Without Christ II
8.16.09
Ecclesiastes 9-12
is written from the perspective of one who believes in God but lives before the coming of Jesus and has no revelation or knowledge about Jesus and the resurrection
9.1
we are all in God’s hands
he controls what happens to us
and no one knows whether good or bad treatment will happen to him
9.2-6
both good and evil will die
it can almost seem that God does not care whether people are good or bad
at that time the dead did not know what future to expect
but it has been revealed to us in the resurrection of Jesus
9.7-10
your only chance is while you are alive
so enjoy what you have while you are still alive
put on the best clothes every day, treat every day as a special day
while you have something to enjoy for it will not last
9.11-12
there are no guarantees
bad things can happen to people at any moment
chance does not mean out of God’s plan
but unpredictable
9.13-18
one wise man can overcome strength
one evil man can destroy all that good
10.1-4
foolishness can ruin wisdom
do not lose you cool and act like a fool
10.5-7
your position does not match your merit
people with no merit can be kings
and people with merit can have no power
10.8-11
there is danger in every kind of activity
10.12-15
fools say more than they know
make predictions about things of which they have no idea
10.16-17
a nation is hurt by a fool being on the throne
10.18-19
don’t always sit and feast as good as those things are
work and earn money because it can help with many things
10.20
opposing the ruler will only get you in trouble
all of this in chapter 10 has been advice for how to get something out of the little time we have but ultimately none of this will get us out of death and horrible things that can suddenly befall us
11.1-2
put your money in diverse businesses
because disaster may come in some of the areas
if you have all your eggs in one basket
you will lose it all
do not gamble everything on one venture
11.3-4
what is going to happen is going to happen
you can’t try to guess
you just have to sow and reap
and hope for the best
11.5-6
there is no way to know what God is doing
so keep doing different things
you don’t know which of them will prosper
there is no guarantee of success
this is all practical advice
11.7-8
find enjoyment while you live because death is coming
11. 9-10
follow your heart in the sense of pursue good things that you enjoy
know that for all the things you do
God will bring you to judgment
12:1-8
remember your creator while you are young
because old age and death are coming
don’t put off faith until you are older
but give God the best years of your life
metaphors for the miseries of old age
(almond trees blossom white in winter)
eternal home is not heaven but sheol (grave)
the spirit returning to God is not heaven
God gives life and he takes it away
12.9-12
a goad is a long pointed stick used for guiding an ox
the one Shepherd is God
many books in addition to his teaching which will only weary you
13-14
Fear God and keep his commandments
There is a better revelation in Christ
Christ’s Answer to Ecclesiastes
9.4-5
There is hope for the dead in Christ
the dead will have a future reward
9.10
there is a day beyond the grave when there will be life again
9.11
we can all have the victory in Jesus Christ
10.16-17
the final perfect ruler is Christ himself
11.5
you cannot understand the work of God
or what the future holds
but in Christ the future has been revealed to us
and we can know the future work of God
12.11
Christ is our shepherd
the one who leads us
our wisdom, greater wisdom than Solomon
look to him
12.13
believe in the Lord Jesus
deliverance does not come from our work
but from Jesus acting for us to rescue us from the present evil age
Mt 11.28-30
28″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
1 Cor 15
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55″Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.