View source for Ecclesiastes 9:7 - 10:1

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=== Cross-references ===
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===== For Better Understanding =====

* a

===== Related Topics =====

* b

===== Additional Materials =====

* c
 
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== Summary ==

*Enjoy life to whatever extent you have the opportunity to do so. But do it WISELY, knowing that circumstances may change at any moment.

*Two types of things that may cause unexpected changes in one's life:
:#Random occurrences ("time and chance").
:#The actions of those who are predisposed to folly.


==Details and/or Comments==

*Context: The previous verses remind us:
:#Death is a horrible evil, but so is the human heart (which Scripture tells us is the ''reason'' that death must come) - v. 3.
:#Being ''alive'' is better than being ''a corpse'' (even though that is our future "destiny") - v. 4-6. It not only gives us an opportunity to prepare for death (as in chapter 7:1-6), but it gives us an opportunity to rejoice in what God has done in our lives. (This assumes we choose to live in a way that is righteous and wise.)
:#In all this, we are reminded (in v. 1-2) that we are "in God's hands." (Again, this assumes we choose to live in a way that is righteous and wise.)



==Scripture==

Ecclesiastes 9:7 - 10:1


{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|width="50%" align="center"|'''Scripture Passage'''
|width="50%" align="center"|'''Comments and Links'''
|-
|Ecc 9:7 Go your way--eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. 

Ecc 9:8 Let your garments be always white, and don't let your head lack oil. 

Ecc 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun. 

Ecc 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; ...
| The way we should respond: Rejoice in life, accepting it as a gift from God. Live a productive life: Do what you can ''now''; don't wait until you are a corpse and cannot do anything!

*[[Rejoicing in Life]]

*[[Living a Productive Life]]
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| ... for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going. 
| Remember that the term "death," as used in Ecclesiastes, refers to the body becoming a ''corpse.'' What happens to the spirit ''after'' death is ''not'' the main focus - though it is mentioned, directly or indirectly, in a few places (such as in [[Ecclesiastes 12:7]]).

*[[Death]]

The Hebrew word "Sheol" can sometimes be translated as "grave"; and this may be a good translation in the book of Ecclesiastes (considering the way it looks at "death"). At other times, though, the word seems to refer to some type of ''indefinite'' "place of the dead," rather than to a physical location. (It is significant that other terms were available for use when a writer of Scripture wanted only to refer to a "burying place.")

*[[Sheol]]

(Most of our knowledge about what occurs after death is found in the ''New'' Testament; so we should not be surprised that some aspects of death are not fully defined in the ''Old'' Testament.)
|-
| Ecc 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. 

Ecc 9:12 For man also doesn't know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them. 
| '''Things that can disrupt life (#1): Time and chance. '''

"Time" refers to the types of things described in [[Ecclesiastes 3:1-22|Ecclesiastes 3:1-8]]. "Chance" could also be translated as "occurrences." [[Ecclesiastes 9:1-2|Ecclesiastes 9:2]] reminds us that such things occur to ''both'' the righteous and the wicked.

*[[Cycles in Life]]

Both of these may seem random to us. But people who belong to God know that such things are all part of God's grand and providential purpose of accomplishing good in the lives of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

*[[Providence]]
|-
| Ecc 9:13 I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me. 

Ecc 9:14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. 

Ecc 9:15 Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. 

Ecc 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. 

Ecc 9:17 The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools. 

Ecc 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good. 

Ecc 10:1  Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor. 
|'''Things that can disrupt life (#2): The actions of moral fools.'''

This illustration demonstrates the principle that wisdom is the best choice. An event similar to this happened during the life of King David, and is described in 2 Samuel 20:16-22.

*[[Wisdom]]

Even so, ...
#People don't appreciate wisdom.
# The sin of folly can "accomplish" a lot... but what it accomplishes is destructive. The folly that people tend to prefer is like a ''contaminant''.

*[[Folly, Foolishness]]
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