Ecclesiastes 9

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on

the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, ìBut we did not yield in subjection to them for

even an hour ,î so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isnít for

you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial.

Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as weíre called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and

glory of her King.

Hereís our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Some difficult things in Ecclesiastes 9, but thereís been difficult things in Ecclesiastes 1 through 8, right?

Ecclesiastes wisdom literature, and this wisdom literature is designed for you, dear

Christian, to live a wise life.

The opposite of wisdom is foolish, or if youíre a child here today, be careful when you say this, but

pastor can say it.

If youíre a Christian, God doesnít want you to be stupid.

Some of you are looking at me, at least I have your attention.

Wisdom literature found in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes

encourages us to be wise.

And remember, when we hear commands from God, and there are plenty of commands in the Bible, including a

bunch in our passage, we receive those commands from God because He wants to

guide us, and He wants to lead us.

He wants us to honor Him with our lives, and He wants whatís good for us.

I can remember my dad giving me advice, and he wanted me to keep that advice because

I have a last name, my fatherís last name, and he wanted Abendroth to be honorable.

And he also wanted it to be good for me, because if I obeyed my dad and took this wise path,

then it would go right with me.

And for us as Christians, itís even better because we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us to help us, so weíre not

left on our own.

We donít receive these commands from God, and, you know, hope you succeed, you know, kicking your little bird out of

the nest, and I hope you can fly.

No, we have the Spirit of God in us, and we also are reminded to obey these commands because

God is so good.

Charles Spurgeon said, ìWhen I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin.

But when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion,

I smote on my breast to think that I ever could have rebelled against one who loved me so and sought my good.

God, the triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit have so loved us, and theyíve proven that, and you

think about the Fatherís electing love, and the Sonís redeeming and dying love, and the Spiritís

sealing love.

We receive these commands, and we think, ìWeíre not going to do these because we could get saved, because weíd have to

perfectly obey.

Weíre not going to do these to keep our salvation, because thatís Godís prerogative, He keeps us to the day of redemption.

Weíre going to do these because weíre grateful, and we want God to be honored, and we want our lives to go

well.

So we come to Ecclesiastes chapter 9, only four probably sermons left before we

finish Ecclesiastes 9, and then weíre going to get into the book of Luke sometime early next

year, Lord willing.

We come to Ecclesiastes 9, and like I said, thereís some bad news to start, then thereís some good news,

and then maybe a little bit more bad news.

But for us, we come as Christians, looking at this passage, in the middle of Ecclesiastes, which

has the refrain, ìVanity of vanity all is, vanity, Jesus has

redeemed us from a vain life .î Jesus has come to this world, Heís lived a life under the sun,

Heís lived a life under the sun, striving after wind the whole world is, and on this life,

He earns your salvation, on this earth, He earns our salvation.

He dies on the cross, and we have been redeemed, not with perishable things, but with the precious blood of

Christ, the Lamb, without blemish or defect.

And so, without Jesus, everything is ultimately vanity.

With Jesus, the world is full of all kinds of vanity and frustration, but we know what to expect in

the life to come.

Ecclesiastes 9, verses 1 through 18, Iím really going to try my best

to get through it.

Weíre going to see what weíre going to do.

Okay, Ecclesiastes chapter 9 has a theological center.

It starts off with some talk about death.

It ends up with some talk about death.

And in the center, thereís something thatís important.

This may be a dumb illustration, but I canít think of anything different than this.

If I was a child, and I got some bread out of the cabinet, what we could afford growing up in Nebraska was

wonder bread.

Matter of fact, my professor, not at seminary, but at the University of Nebraska, said, ìWonder bread is so

breadless, they have to actually put in a chemical to make it smell like bread .î I hope no one here

works for wonder bread.

I used to kind of joke about McDonaldís, but then I saw Bruce Bolivar sitting right there, and I thought, ìSo much for the free

sausages on the menís breakfast .î And what was in the

center was the most important part of the sandwich.

That was the centerpiece.

It was important.

Yeah, the bread is kind of just filling for the kids.

And so what was the most important was the middle, was the meat, was the pimento bologna.

That was the important part.

So in this passage, joking aside, youíre going to see, okay, death, and death, and then

in the center, enjoy life, enjoy Godís good gifts.

Thatís going to be the theological center.

So itís going to go from pessimism, to optimism, back to pessimism.

But I donít want you to forget the center, because youíre going to go, ìOh, I donít get it at all .î.

In addition, that center there, that theological center, is full of all kinds of

commands, the kind of commands that youíre going to love.

Some commands you might not like in the Bible.

Some of Godís laws you might not like, because you want to do the opposite.

And you think, ìGod, youíre restricting me .î.

Maybe youíve got a bad view of Godís law.

ÌYouíre holding me down .î.

ÌYouíre telling me I canít do these things, and I want to do them, and your law restrains me .î.

Well, the laws weíre going to see in the theological center of the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, are

coming from a generous God, with a wide -open hand, who wants His children to be blessed,

and to enjoy His creation.

Pretty amazing when you think about it, isnít it?

I mean, if you just think about the character of God, and who He is.

I wonder if Jesus was on earth, we live back in Bible times, when He was on the earth, and we went up to Jesus, and we

would say, ìCould you be merciful to me ?î What do you think Heíd say?

ÌShoo !î Youíll see in the Scriptures, when people go to Jesus and ask for mercy, what does He do?

He gives them mercy.

And somehow we think now Jesus has passed through the heavens, Heís in the third heaven, Heís at the right

hand of Father, and now we think maybe Heís less merciful today.

Heís too far away, Heís too removed, Heís too austere, itís kind of a different Jesus.

Do you know Jesus never changes?

And if you ask Jesus for mercy on earth, and He would give it to you, I wonder if you ask Him for mercy now,

what would He do?

I wonder if you ask Him for help in a certain situation, where it was difficult for you.

I wonder if you ask Him for guidance in the midst of pessimism and death

and sorrow, living under the sun.

I think we know the answer.

So weíre going to read Ecclesiastes as people that believe that Jesus is alive.

Because the only option for people reading this book, if Jesus isnít alive,

is pretty bad.

Matter of fact, itís suicidal.

Let me give you from the book of Ecclesiastes, for our outline today, four exhortations

so that you will be wise.

Four commands or exhortations so that you wonít be foolish, so you glorify God.

With the center being the wonderful set of

exhortations.

Okay, number one, verses one through six, trust the triune God, even though you know death is inevitable.

Trust God, even though death is all around you, youíre going to die, your

friends die.

Short of the Lordís return, what are we going to do?

Death is real, the wages of sin is death.

Adam sinned, in Him we all sinned, and thereís a consequence to that.

So we want to walk by faith, even though death is everywhere.

Letís take a look at verse one.

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, Ecclesiastes 9 .1.

How the righteous, and the wise, and their deeds, are in the hand of God.

Whether itís love or hate, man does not know, both are before him.

And then he talks about death, itís 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

sacrifice and him who does not sacrifice.

To one the good one, to so the sinner, the one who swears, the one who shares, or shuns an oath.

Back up to verse one.

Heís trying to say, you know, Iíve examined everything, sounds like chapter one to me, and I know people are in the hands of

God.

Just to be a general statement of Solomon, he understands that people are in the sovereign control of God.

When you see that in the hand of God, you ought not to be thinking this.

God is a spirit, He doesnít have hands, so whatís the Bible trying to communicate?

A hand of God, an arm of God.

When you read the arm of God, what do you think of?

I hope you donít think of my arm, because my arm, when I start doing bicep

curls like this, I get this big sagging thing under here now.

I canít stop it, I mean, come on.

When you see hand of God, or power of God, or arm of God, itís all relating to Godís strength

and control.

It doesnít mean He has a real hand.

It means Heís got creative power.

It means He has judgmental power.

It means He has saving power, protective power.

God is sovereign.

Even the picture of Jesus with His creative power in Hebrews 1, ìAnd you, Lord Jesus, laid the

foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of your hands .î

Creative, strong power.

Christian, your hope, matter of fact, in this dying world where youíre dying, is in the hands of God.

The sustaining hand of God, the pitying hand of God.

Peter knew it, ìTherefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He might exalt you in due

time, casting all your care upon Him, because ,î what?

He cares for you.

When youíre in the hand of God, youíre subject to His reign and dominion and sovereignty.

And what Solomon does is this.

Back at verse 1, ìI looked around, love, hate, all these actions, I just look at the world and I canít

tell whoís really good and whoís really bad, because the same end happens to all.

I canít see through their hearts, into their hearts, I canít look at them.

I just have to say this, Godís sovereign.

God is sovereign and if the kingís heart is in the Lordís hand and He turns it whatever way He wishes, Godís sovereign in the midst of all

this.

Godís the judge, I canít judge on externals.

God is the judge.

As a matter of fact, this judge in the midst of death in chapter 9, Heís got the whole world in His hands.

Thatís why we sing that song, right?

Heís got the little bitty, what?

Baby in His hands.

Heís got you and me, brother, in His hands.

I pulled up the song on lyrics .com.

As a matter of fact, thatís a great pastoral research website, lyrics .com.

Heís got the wind and the rain in His hands.

Heís got the sun and the moon in His hands.

Heís got the whole world in His hands.

Yeah, but I see everybody dying.

I see good people die young.

I see old people and theyíre frail.

I see wicked people, they have everything.

Everything is under control.

Wisdom says donít walk by sight.

Wisdom says donít play the fool and to try to determine where everybody goes, no, theyíre in the

hand of God.

And for Christians, weíre in the hand of a God who cares so much that He sends His Son and we know thatís of

first importance that Christ died for our sins, was raised on the third day.

We know, Hebrews 13, ìI will never leave you nor forsake you, so we can confidently say, ìThe

Lord is my helper .î I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

What can death do to me ?î Godís sovereign.

Nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes.

Who said that?

Well, I just said it.

But I mean, who originally said it?

Most people think Benjamin Franklin said that.

Some people think Mark Twain said that, but it was actually Christopher Bullock, an actor, in England

in 1716.

ÌTis impossible to be sure of anything but death and taxes .î Then later,

Ben Franklin said, ìOur new constitution is now established and has an appearance that promises permanency.

But in this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes .î But you

know, that theologian Will Rogers, I think he was on to something.

The difference between death and taxes is death doesnít get worse every time Congress meets.

Or Bruce Dickinson, ìApart from death and taxes, the one thing thatís certain in this life is that Iíll never be a fashion icon

.î Kind of interesting.

The richest people in the world donít pay taxes, or they donít pay many taxes.

And the richest people in the world invest in how to live forever, freezing your brain, freezing your body.

And you look at verses 2 and 3, I mean, the fall affects everyone and everyoneís going to die.

You can see what happens to the righteous, the wicked, the good, the evil, clean, unclean,

the one that sacrifices, the one that doesnít, the good one, the sinner, the one who swears, the one who shuns an oath.

And at the end of verse 3, itís madness, itís a mad world.

Sin is crazy.

Sin is insane.

Solomon looks at the world and says, ìGod, are you for me?

Are you against me ?î.

And of course, we as Christians know God is for us.

No one can be against us.

We know that weíre trusting in Jesus for our eternal life.

The last enemy has been defeated.

Sadly, you watch the world in the midst of all this, and they must sense the

frustration of the world.

They must sense how fleeting things are.

They must understand what age does and what death is like.

And it seems like they will do anything in the world except just bow the knee to the Lord Jesus.

I mean, theyíll do anything.

They fight and squabble and overdo life.

He gives a little slogan here, a little saying.

I donít know if I like the saying, but Iíll read it.

Verse 4, ìBut he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a

dead lion .î What in the world?

Remember, the old cartoons you used to read in the newspaper had little frames.

The Peanuts cartoon with Snoopy and Charlie Brown had a cartoon called ìTheology and the Dog

.î Snoopyís typing away on his doghouse.

Charlie Brown shows up.

Snoopy says, ìLook what Iíve been typing .î He reads it and it says, ìAs it says in the ninth

chapter of Ecclesiastes, ìA living dog is better than a dead lion .î

Charlie Brown gives the paper back and says, ìWhat does that mean ?î Snoopy looks at it a little bit more.

ÌI donít know, but I agree with it .î

What in the world?

Hereís what heís saying.

Think like a Jew.

Dogs werenít sweet and cuddly like we like them now.

Dogs were awful.

Dogs were low on the totem pole.

Dogs were ferocious.

Dogs were unclean.

Dogs were just the worst thing.

And what was really good back in those days?

Cats.

Well, to be more in particular, lions.

I hate to admit it, but here, a cat family would be better than a dog family.

Dogs were just full of scurvy or who knows what theyíve got, but you donít want them.

Rabies, you donít want anything to do with them.

And lions, even Jesus in Genesis chapter 49 comes from the tribe of Judah,

the lion of the tribe of Judah.

And so things are kind of switched around here.

Itís a little weird.

Youíd expect it to say something like, ìYou know what?

The dogs arenít very good, but lions are, but you know what ?î Itís better to be a living dog than a dead lion.

Whatís the point?

As long as man is alive, as long as women are alive, thereís hope.

You can reread the passage.

ÌBut he who is joined with all the living has hope .î And temporally, looking under the sun only,

not thinking about eternity, people have hope to start doing the right thing and the wise thing and not the

foolish thing.

And of course, if you extend that on to the spiritual aspect via the resurrection, youíre not a believer.

As long as youíre living, thereís still hope until your dying breath to trust the Lord.

Right?

Thereís always hope until, I mean, and thatís why Iíve been called and Kim and I have been to somebodyís house where

theyíve said, you know, ìWeíve got a loved one, and theyíre in a coma, and theyíre brain dead,

and the family needs to arrive to say goodbye, then theyíre going to unplug the person.

And would you please go, before the family gets there because of their Roman Catholic background and this, that, and the other, and theyíre different

than we are, would you please go there and preach the Gospel to my brain dead

father -in -law ?î Well, whether theyíre alive,

and I donít know what the Lord was going to do, but it sure doesnít hurt to stand there and talk about Jesus, the resurrection and the life.

Sure doesnít hurt anything to say, ìJesus said, ìI am the way, the truth, and the life, and you believe on me, you wonít

be disappointed .îî And there Kim and I just sat and read John chapter 1, John chapter 2, John chapter 3,

John chapter 4, ìGod saved this person .î Do you think God could do it?

Iím certain He could.

You think about hope at the very end, the thief on the cross, there were two thieves, right?

And one does repent.

Verse 5, ìFor the living know that they will die .î And again, this is just talking about life under the sun, this is not talking

about purgatory or eternal states or anything like that.

ÌFor the living know theyíre going to die ,î we all know that, ìbut the dead know nothing .î I mean, theyíre not on earth.

ÌThey have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten .î Heís not teaching soul sleep,

Heís not teaching anything, Heís just saying, ìLife under the sun, you look at people, theyíre alive, thereís hope, theyíre dead,

nothing .î Thatís all Heís saying.

Remember, we have the rest of the Bible to teach us about after from the body, present with the Lord, eternal rewards, etc.

Verse 6, ìTheir love and their hate and their envy have already perished ,î right, theyíre not on earth to do any of those things,

ìand forever on earth they have no more share in all that is done under the sun .î

Thatís the idea.

When human beings who are image bearers, the pinnacle of Godís creation, die, itís very, very difficult.

We know, though, the New Testament teaches in the book of Revelation, ìBlessed are the dead who die in the Lord ,î right?

You have a loved one dying, trusting in the Lord Jesus, theyíre rejoicing now in the presence of God, they donít

need faith anymore, they have sight, they donít need trust anymore, theyíre worshipping, full confidence in the Lord.

So Solomon says, ìYou want to live a wise life?

You look at death, you look at all the crazy stuff, still trust in this God, the hand of God .î.

Number 2, here we come to the theological center.

The second exhortation, ìSo that it will go well with you, so that youíll glorify God .î Since youíre a Christian, you can obey,

you have the Spirit of God, ìEnjoy every gift from a generous triune God

.î Thatís what Iím talking about!

I like those kind of commands.

Enjoy Godís gifts.

Life is short, thereís going to be an end to your time on earth one day, so while youíre on earth,

enjoy Godís good gifts.

I mean, verses 1 through 6, thereís a lot of grim stuff in there, thereís a lot of difficult issues.

So now, we come to some commands.

Iím going to read the section, there are 5 Hebrew commands.

I wonder if you can spot them.

ÌGo, eat your bread with joy, 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, which 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.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or

wisdom in Sheol to which you are going .î So we come to this passage, thereís a lot

of commands.

There are other gifts that God has given, of course, spiritual gifts, things in the spiritual realm,

and there are other gifts that God gives us on earth.

So this is an exhaustive list of things that God gives us, but I think itís pretty good representation.

And so, we come to the first command, ìGo

.î What do you mean, ìGo ?î This is like the

Matthew 28 Great Commission, ìGo therefore and make disciples .î What do you mean,

ìGo ?î Do you know what Heís doing?

Instead of sitting around every single day of your life, saying how bad the

world is, and how all your loved ones and friends are dying and are dead, how sick you are, how

difficult life is.

Stop it.

Stop it.

Thereís nothing wrong with mourning.

Thereís nothing wrong with mourning.

Thereís a way to mourn that doesnít have hope, 1 Thessalonians.

And here He says, ìGo .î Itís time to go and live your life.

You lose a loved one, theyíre in heaven, theyíre in heaven.

And you think, ìOkay, now what am I supposed to go do?

What am I supposed to do?

Iíve done all these other things, now what ?î Well, you can still give God glory and you can still

give Him thanks by enjoying the things that Heís given you to do under the sun.

Like what?

Hereís another command, ìEat your bread with joy .î Maybe that might be my life

verse, except Iím on low carbs, now what?

This is my favorite life verse for Lent.

You know, people say, ìWell, weíre spiritual.

Weíre out in the monasteries.

Weíre out in the wilderness.

Weíre out in the desert.

We donít eat things.

We donít drink things.

We starve ourselves.

We fast.

We this.

We that .î Thereís a command in wisdom literature, ìLife is very, very difficult.

Have a nice meal .î Yeah, thatís a command right there.

Eat your food.

Have a nice meal.

Donít sit around and mope all day long, brood all day long, be depressed all day long.

Death is awful.

Thatís right.

Death is an enemy.

Thatís right.

But Jesus has conquered it and so now you say, ìHe gives me the greatest gift.

I donít have to fear death anymore ,î Hebrews 2, ìbecause I have a great high priest and now I can eat

.î Gracie has been sending us pictures.

Sheís on a one -week holiday from school overseas in the Middle East and so she went to Rome

yesterday and sheís sending us pictures of pasta that sheís eating in Rome

and Iím saying, ìI love it when my children are obedient to Godís Word.

It just gives me joy .î Some nice pasta,

nice meal with your family.

Heís not saying you have to go to Rome.

Thatís kind of nice.

Itís like a $100 round.

The kids are like, ìDad, can we fly to Rome for our vacation ?î Whatís dadís knee jerk every single time?

ÌNo !î Okay, so then they call mom.

ÌWell, you know, itís only $88 round trip, you know, an easy jet .î.

ÌOkay, letís do it.

I want to help you obey.

Eat your bread with joy .î We donít have to travel like that.

I mean, you think about even the one son that realized the best place of all was just back at the fatherís house.

It doesnít have to be expensive.

You can hear flickers before the fall here, canít you?

About, ìEat from every tree in the garden .î.

And he says, ìI want you to enjoy your meals .î.

Now, the Jews would have a tiny snack in the morning.

Theyíd have a little tiny light meal at brunch and then they would wait until after sunset.

That was the big meal.

And he usually had a lot of bread and some vegetables, maybe a little milk.

And a big occasion, theyíd have some meat.

I mentioned one cartoon.

I might as well mention another cartoon.

Calvin and Hobbes.

The boy and his tiger, right?

First frame, Calvin, ìI donít understand all this business about death .î.

Second frame, same Calvin, ìIf weíre just going to die, whatís the point of living ?î.

Third frame, they both stare at the viewer.

Fourth and final frame, Hobbes said, ìWell, thereís seafood .î

I thought that was funnier than the other one.

How many things you think in the Bible are not approved by God?

You can go to the vice list of Galatians chapter 5.

You can go to the vice list of 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

You can go to all kinds of vice lists, Revelation chapter 21.

Fornication, homosexuality, the list goes on and on and on.

Lying, stealing, being bitter.

Thereís all kinds of things weíre not supposed to do.

I wonder if thereís something that would be approved by God.

Oh, there it is, approved by God.

ÌEat your bread with joy and drink wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do

.î.

Thatís approved by God.

Many things arenít approved by God.

Thatís approved by God.

Some people did not call them guilty pleasures.

They call things like this godly pleasures.

Approved by God.

Because God accepts you in Christ.

Therefore, He accepts all your works.

And He accepts what you do.

Luther said, ìSolomon is not urging a life of pleasure or luxury, characteristics of

those who do not sense this vanity .î.

But he is speaking of godly people who sense the trouble of the world.

Itís their downcast hearts that he wants to encourage.

I think Lutherís right.

Solomon tried to fill his life with hedonism and food and wine and pleasures, chapter 1 and 2.

That didnít work because the meaning of life isnít found in life, itís found in the giver of life.

And now that we realize, ìGod, you gave me life and I can be content in you and have joy in you .î Now you get to

enjoy all his gifts.

Theyíre from the hand of God, chapter 2.

Theyíre Godís gift to man, chapter 3.

God keeps you occupied with joy in your hearts, chapter 5.

Hereís one more, what they call carpe diem passage in the book of Ecclesiastes.

And he brings up something else now.

He says, ìGo, eat .î And he brings up something else thatís right there in the text.

The command to drink wine with a merry heart.

Now the other enjoyment passages, he hasnít said anything about wine.

And now he brings wine up.

Wine was very popular back then.

It had alcohol in it.

Certainly Jesus turned water into what?

Grape juice.

Saved the best grape juice for last.

Listen, if you donít want to drink, donít drink.

Youíre not disobeying Godís command here because it says you have to drink wine.

If you donít want to drink for whatever reason, you donít have to drink.

Iím not trying to promote drinking by telling you thereís a command in the scripture.

If you think that if you donít drink wine, youíre more godly, youíre more holy, youíre more set apart than everybody

else, well then you want to repent because thatís simply not true.

Remember Romans 14 and 15?

It follows Romans chapter 3, 4 and 5.

Romans 3, 4 and 5 say something about justification.

Romans 14 and 15 say, since Iím justified and I canít be any closer to God,

I canít be any more justified, I canít be any more regenerated, I canít be any more set apart, then

what I put in my mouth doesnít matter.

It doesnít affect my relationship.

So Romans 14 and 15 on Christian liberty follow chapter 3, 4 and 5.

If you understand justification, you get liberty right.

It doesnít say get drunk.

Obviously thatís sin.

But 1 Timothy 4 it says, everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is

received with thanksgiving.

We are not the do not handle, do not taste, do not touch people.

If you donít want to drink, donít drink.

If you want to drink, cheers.

Seriously.

It means nothing with godliness.

Drunkenness is a sin.

Being abstinent is many times wise.

Do you get where Iím coming from?

Do you know me well enough by now?

The visitors are going, oh great.

Both offend me.

Whatís the point?

Hereís the point.

Itís not about what kind of alcohol can I get in my wine or not.

What kind of calories do I have in my food?

And what if I want to eat food beside bread?

No, no.

The worldís hard.

Life is difficult.

God has saved you.

God has given you eternal life.

You can trust in His promises.

So donít miss times around the dinner table to say, God, youíre great.

God, youíre good.

Iím hurting.

Iíve got difficulties.

My loved ones are sick.

Iím sick.

All these other issues.

Thereís trials and relationship issues.

But Iím just going to enjoy a pleasure, a basic pleasure.

And Iím going to be content.

Not with a luxury, but just even a necessity.

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Let your garments be white, verse 8.

Heís talking about an attitude.

He doesnít say you have to wear white all the time.

This is wisdom literature.

This is not prescription like in doctrinal epistles like Romans.

Let not oil be lacking on your head.

This is like special occasion stuff.

Itís like weddings and reunions.

And youíre getting together.

And this is language of rejoicing the Lord always.

And again I say, rejoice.

Verse 9, it gives us another command.

If youíre not married, one day probably you will be.

Then you can obey this.

This is for married people here.

Itís not a suggestion.

Itís a command.

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love.

All the days of your fleeting, itís going by fast, isnít it?

Fleeting life that Heís given you under the sun.

Itís difficult under the sun.

Going by fast, but youíre to enjoy your life with your wife.

Because that is your portion in life.

God has ordained it.

God has approved it.

And in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

Isnít that good?

Isnít that wonderful?

Donít you think God is a good, giving God, a benevolent God?

Do you think wives are a gift from the Lord?

Of course.

Husbands are a gift from the Lord as well.

Of course Solomon is not thinking about two men together, two women together.

People that identify as a man, blah, blah, blah.

Itís born a man, born a woman.

Theyíre getting together.

They make a vow before God and other people for lifelong commitment.

Till death do us part.

And if you have life today, you have life from Godís good hand.

And He says, ìI want you to enjoy your wife whom you love .î You say, ìWell, I donít love her, so I donít have

to enjoy her .î Well, that would take me to Ephesians chapter 5.

Itís a command.

Husbands, what?

Love your wives.

Itís not a matter of feelings.

And so Iíve been thinking about this week.

Husbands, love your wives is in Ephesians 5.

Here it says, ìEnjoy your wife .î I asked you the question I had to ask myself this week.

Do I enjoy my wife?

Do you enjoy your wife?

Or is she the ball and chain?

Sheís the nagger.

Sheís the complainer.

She gets in your way of all your plans of what you want to do.

You say, ìI used to enjoy my wife .î Iím not sure I do anymore.

The husband is called to enjoy his wife.

And I think the same would be true for wives.

Do you enjoy your husband?

Let me just tell you this if youíre struggling.

You donít have to enjoy your wife forever.

Thatís good news.

Itís only on this earth.

Iím not trying to be funny.

Well, maybe I was a little.

Itís hard to love a wife.

Itís hard to submit to a husband.

And by the way, no joy for husbands that donít love their wives.

To the extent that you love your wife, youíll have joy.

And wives, like it or not, thereís no joy for you, little joy

for you, if you wonít submit to your husbands.

To the extent you submit to your husbands is the extent that youíll have joy.

Itís true.

Itís the way God has designed it.

And we donít have to obey God on earth forever.

One day thereíll be a return of Christ.

One day weíll be in heaven.

Instead of seeing the effects of sin in the world, and thereís death all around us,

seeing the effects of sin even in our spouse, and then saying, ìYou know what?

Iím just done.

Iím out.

Iíve done this long enough.

I donít get anything in return .î He wants you to enjoy your wife because sheís a

gift from God.

You know, ìIím tired of the gift you gave me.

Iím going to return it .î ìI bought something the other day, and I thought, ìI might have to return this.

I go into Amazon orders.

It says Iíve got till January 31st to use it, and then return it, or just return it.

Sorry, maybe I used it.

Itís not working like I want it to work .î No, no.

This is, ìEnjoy your wife .î This is, ìEnjoy your husband .î

Life is short.

There are difficult things.

And God knows whatís best for you.

And you ought to enjoy your wife.

You ought to enjoy your husband.

Verse 10, ìWhatever your hand finds to do, including marriage, including

eating, including drinking wine, yes, yes, yes, do it with all your might.

Thereís no work or thought or wisdom or knowledge in Sheol, the place of death .î Right?

Heís just talking about under the sun.

Heís not talking about what happens after we die.

Just from our perspective, youíre not eating or drinking or doing any of these things once youíre dead, to which you are

going.

It kind of reminds me of Jesus in John chapter 9.

ÌWe must work the works of Him who sent me while itís day.

Night is coming when no one can work .î So,

Heís talking about who we are.

Living in this world, wise living says, ìOkay, people die.

I canít figure out if theyíre good or bad.

Thatís up to God.

I just have to trust in His hand.

And what I can do, though, is instead of trying to be a philosopher, Iíll try to enjoy my life as

Godís gift .î.

Now He goes back to some of the bad news.

And now weíre back to the very first exhortation, ìTrust a triune God, even though death is inevitable .î Verses 11 and 12.

Itís the exact same point as number 1.

ÌTrust God, enjoy everything from God, and now trust Him still .î Again, there it is.

ÌI saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift .î I mean, once in a while it is, maybe.

ÌNor the battle to the strong, nor the bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge.

But time, and from our perspective, seems random .î Obviously, thereís no randomness in the theology of

God.

ÌBut from our perspective, time and chance happen to them all.

For man does not know his time, like a fish that are taken in an evil net .î I mean, they thought theyíre just going to get some

food.

Theyíre swooped up like birds that were caught in a snare.

They thought they were just going to have a little bite.

ÌSo the children of man are snared in an evil time, when it suddenly falls on

them .î So, since we donít know, we donít know.

I did find it super fascinating.

Did you know that psychic, back in the 90ís, Jean Dixon, on January 2,

1997, she predicted, ìA famous entertainer will leave the nation in mourning

within weeks .î Period.

Three weeks later, she died.

Donald Peters bought two Connecticut lottery tickets on 2008, just like he did for 20

years.

Turned out one of those tickets was worth $10 million.

He died of a heart attack the very day he bought the winning ticket.

ÌMan, now is not his time.

You donít know your time.

None of us know our time .î I mean, if I was an unbeliever, itís like,

ìWell, thatís the way the ball bounces.

Itís the luck of the draw.

Thatís the way the cookie crumbles .î But weíre trusting in God.

By sight, it doesnít seem to make sense.

By faith, everything makes sense.

And then he goes on, number four.

And this is not going to take much time, because itís just interesting the way he gives almost kind of a P .S.

ÌHow do we live as Christians to be wise from Ecclesiastes 9 ?î We trust God even though thereís

sin affected everything around us, even though sin affects everything.

We enjoy everything from God.

We trust in God, and now we learn that wisdom does benefit.

You might be thinking, ìYou know what?

Why even bother trying to be wise?

Itís a futile world, and Iím going to die anyway .î No, no.

Wisdom is helpful.

Verses 13 through 18.

He wants to make sure we just donít throw wisdom out.

ÌWeíre looking at the world.

Weíre looking at things under the sun.

We donít know our time, time and chance, fate, everything else.

Well, then why even bother ?î No, no.

Wisdom is important.

Iíve also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, verse 13.

ÌIt seemed great to me.

Thereís a little city with a few men in it.

A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it.

But there was found in it a poor wise man .î See, wisdom is helpful.

ÌAnd by his wisdom, delivered the city .î Now, wisdom might not

seem that powerful.

Wisdom might seem lost, but wisdom still is good.

ÌYet no one remembered that poor man.

But I see that wisdom is better than might, hence wisdom literature.

Though the poor manís wisdom is despised and his words are not heard, I can say it this way in contemporary language, no

matter if everybody else thinks the Bibleís foolish and the Bible is irrelevant, and they stand over the Bible

judging the Bible, Godís truth wins.

Godís truth is true.

And it will one day examine them .î The words of the wise, verse 17.

ÌHeard and quiet .î I mean, wisdom is still good.

ÌAre better than the shouting of a ruler among fools .î ìWisdom is better than weapons of war.

But one sinner destroys much good .î Wisdom still is important.

It has its day.

Donít neglect wisdom because of all this fate, chance, random looking things when you see the world.

So, Ecclesiastes 9.

Itís wisdom literature.

It starts off with some pretty bad news.

Itís kind of got some bad news at the end with a little P .S. on wisdom.

And in the theological center, it is not bologna with pimentos.

Whatís your favorite meat?

Whatís your favorite kind of sandwich?

I donít know.

What do you like?

Corned beef?

Do you like pastrami?

Sirloin?

Sirloin.

Letís go for something better than sirloin.

We get whatever cut we want.

Some kind of just tri -tip in the middle.

That would be good.

Do we have tri -tip here?

Okay.

Tuna salad.

Iím just kidding.

The world is difficult.

We are Christian people and we realize itís because of Adamís sin.

And weíre sinful too.

The wise says to himself, ìSelf, I see why itís all happening.

Hurts my heart still.

I still cry.

I still grieve.

I still have emotions.

But I see it rightly.

And in the middle of all the pain and everything else, God is still good.

And Iím going to recognize even things like a wife, like wine, like food,

are good gifts from God to remind me .î You want to know your

future?

In the theological center?

ÌOn this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well -aged wine,

a rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well -refined.

And He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over the nations.

He will swallow up death forever.

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.

And the reproach of His people Heíll take away from the earth.

For the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, ìBehold, this is our God.

Weíve waited for Him that He might save us.

This is the Lord.

We have waited for Him.

Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation .î

Isaiah 25.

Letís pray.

Father, thank You for Your Word.

We do rejoice.

And we would ask that Youíd help us to be obedient.

I would pray for my marriage and every marriage here.

That You would help the spouses die to self and live under righteousness.

That You would help the husbands love their wives like Christ loved the church.

You would help the wives submit to their husbands.

Father, that You would help them both together have a home thatís full of joy.

Father, we want that.

We know itís right.

And Father, our pride gets in the way.

Our self -righteousness gets in the way.

Our habits get in the way.

But Youíre greater.

And so would You do a work in our hearts.

We donít want to be foolish.

Weíd like to live a wise life.

We pray this in Jesusí name.

Amen.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West

Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible -teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of

Godís Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us.

Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6.

Weíre right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbcchurch .org or by

phone at 508 -835 -3400.