But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.   – Eccl. 9:1-2

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. 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.  – Eccl. 9:7-9

Throughout Ecclesiastes, Solomon has repeated two important truths: (1) Death is certain, and (2) pretty much everything else in life is uncertain. As we come to Ecclesiastes 9, he returns once again to these truths, but he also addresses how it is that the righteous are to live in the midst of these realities. The chapter has a clear, thematic structure, with the attitude of the righteous towards God described in 9:1 and set in parallel with 9:13-18 where the actions of the righteous are considered. Likewise, there is a parallel between 9:2-6 and 9:11-12 where the certainty of death and the uncertainties of life are considered. In the center of the passage (the place of prominence or significance) is 9:7-10 where Solomon commands the enjoyment of God’s good gifts, specifically contentment, comfort, and companionship. Once again Solomon affirms that trusting God and enjoying His good gifts are the means by which we are to live as His worshipers in the midst of the frustrations and disappointments of life. For Christians, we recognize that Jesus embodied this kind of worshipful life, but also that He came that we might have the experience of a more complete joy than could ever have been anticipated by Solomon.

Join us this Sunday as we gather together to worship our Savior who offers to us a joy that is deeper than anything that we can experience in this life. It is He alone who provides the true bread and wine (Luke 22:19-20) through which we obtain life, and it is He alone who anoints our heads with oil (Psa. 23:5b) and clothes us in white garments (Rev. 3:5). 

Soli Deo Gloria.

-Thomas