With a mixture of proverbs, experience and wisdom, Solomon once again delivers a message which still resonates today with great truth. He begins by making yet another observation of life, taking what he has already stated and expounding upon it. The book of Ecclesiastes may seem redundant, an old man lamenting the vanity of life over and over again; yet with each restatement Solomon dives just a bit deeper into our existence, helping us understand it just a bit more.
Now that we have reached chapter nine, we see more truth. Solomon acknowledges that good things and bad things happen to all of us, no matter who we are. We all live, we all have experiences, and we all die. But everything that happens to us, our lives themselves, are in the hands of God. Nothing escapes His sight, nothing is beyond His control. Even our perceptions of love and hate are not complete, not fully understood, but God knows it all.
Life is the only thing we have, and even the worst of life is better than the best death. By this, I am speaking in physical terms. Rich or poor, godly or wicked, people die, but this is the only life we have. Therefore it is up to us to use it wisely. Each day is God's gift to us, a gift we can give back to Him, a gift we can use to help those around us. Foolishness is thinking life belongs to us, or that we have an unlimited amount of time. Wisdom makes the best of every day, every moment, every situation, and acknowledges that the Lord is in control. Once this life is over, that's it. Our eternal destiny has been locked, and our affairs in this world come to an end. But we can rest assure in the Lord if we know Christ as our Savior. We don't have to dread each day, or even dread the end of this life; we can enjoy our life knowing that we are in the very hand of God.
Verses 9 and 10 are of special interest. Normally I don't quote them directly, leaving them for you to look up in the study, but I do wish to quote these: Ecclesiastes 9:9-10 -- 9 Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
Many of us will say that marriage is a difficult journey even during the best of times, but Solomon (a man with no shortage of 'companionship' in the female arena) realizes now that it's not just a matter of having companionship, but it has everything to do with the right companionship. Life in itself is vain, but we were not intended to make this journey alone. We should love our companion will all our heart. In the same manner, we should love our eternal Companion Jesus, because it is only in Him that we find purpose in the vanity. It is only in the companionship of a spouse that we find ourselves physically complete; even when things are difficult, we have a friend. The marriage analogy here is more spiritual than anything. When we marry ourselves to the Lord, we know we are never alone. All this is done while we live here. Once we have died, there is nothing more we can do, so whatever we find to do in life, we should do it with all our might, with a love of God at the forefront, because it's here that we can make a difference.
Verses 11 and 12 are also great (at least to my viewpoint) in that they speak of things we have come to understand about life: the race isn't always about the fastest, nor the battle about the strongest. Life throws its share of curves toward us, and each person handles them a little bit differently than another. We can't choose when we're born or the circumstances in which we find ourselves, but we can choose to make the best of what we have. To use another description, we must play the hand we're dealt, and even if we don't have the greatest cards in the deck, we can still win the game.
Solomon ends by telling us a parable and gives us a couple of more proverbs. The parable is of a poor wise man who saved a village, but his contribution was forgotten. That is the way this life is. It's not so much about being remembered, nor is it about receiving the credit. The results are what matter. If people spent more time concerned with getting the job done instead of who would get the credit, much would be accomplished. It isn't right that the wise are forgotten, but in the end, we all face the same fate: death. We would all like to be remembered for something, but even if our name is lost in the pages of history, our impact will last forever. Our descendants may come to know the Lord because we were faithful. Generations from now might not even acknowledge we were here, but our legacy lives on. It is better to be a poor wise person, forgotten, than a sinner who lives only for himself. So what will it be? Don't despise your wisdom, because it is your wisdom of God, knowing that He is our Savior, that will carry you through.
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