This week we continue our Under The Sun series about living life on purpose.
Read Ecclesiastes 9.1–12.
Time after time, we see Solomon refer to the meaninglessness of life. So before we become fully discouraged, it’s important to recognize that the Hebrew word Solomon used is actually Hebel. This word refers to a vapor, as in something that is fleeting, quickly passing, not necessary, or temporary. This can greatly impact how we understand Solomon’s implication when referring to life as meaningless.
There is a big difference between being meaningless and being temporary. Consider parenting: the time parents invest during the formative years of their children are quite temporary. However, no parent would refer to these years as meaningless. These temporary years are instrumental in growing and guiding a person for their entire life.
Question: What in your life could be classified as temporary, but is far from meaningless?
James 4.14 tells us that we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Our lives are brief and temporary. This could seem somewhat depressing, but Solomon tells us in verse 9 that this fleeting life is given to us by God. We don’t want to waste any of our days. Each day is valuable because it is a precious gift from our loving Father. Recognizing that our lives are temporary shouldn’t depress us, it should motivate us. Because it isn’t just our lives that are temporary, but also those of everyone around us. We have a purpose to share the eternal hope that we have in Jesus. Our time and opportunities are fleeting; realizing this gives us an urgency to share the good news of God’s love.
Question: How could viewing your days as temporary change the way you live your life?
As we read and study the book of Ecclesiastes, we begin to see that Solomon often repeats himself. There are many recurring statements and themes, such as the meaninglessness or temporary nature of life. Why? Solomon was the wisest man ever to live, and he understood something very important about us: we have a very short memory when it comes to the positive and uplifting. Our brains are hardwired to remember and latch onto the negative and painful things of life.
Solomon knew his readers were more likely to latch onto the adversarial and painful experiences of life, so he repeats his instructions over and over. We need to be reminded. Just as we can’t eat just once and remain satisfied, we need to be repeatedly spiritually fed.
Reread Ecclesiastes 9.4.
Solomon tells us that “anyone who is among the living has hope.” In our culture, we tend to think of hope as something like a desire, want, or wish. But that’s not what Solomon is talking about. The word he uses means “certainty.” The living have certainty because they know they are alive.
He continues to say that even a live dog is better off than a dead lion. In Solomon’s time a lion was viewed much like it is today—strong, noble, and royal. But unlike today, dogs were not seen as loyal, cuddly best friends. They weren’t pets to be fed. They were scavengers, picking at the flesh and bones of the dead. To refer to someone as a dog was to equate them with the least moral, weakest, worthless of society. This was not an expression of appreciation.
And yet Solomon says that it is better to be a despised, disgusting, immoral, scavenger than a dead king. Why? Because life is a gift from God, and all who are alive have hope. When we are alive, we still have time. We have time to reconcile relationships, to build our faith in God, to pursue healthy relationships, and to gain wisdom and understanding. We have a purpose and time to accomplish it.
Reread Ecclesiastes 9.1–12, substituting the word temporary for meaningless.
Solomon tells us to eat, drink, enjoy life and your loved ones. This seems like a major turn from so much of Solomon’s melancholy instruction in this book. When we live with hope and certainty, we can live life to its fullest. So how do we live in this hope and certainty? Jesus tells us in John 10.10 that He came so that we could “have life, and have it to the full.” Our certainty and hope are found in Him, the Giver of Life.
Jesus promises us that, though our lives are temporary, they can be full and abundant. When we remember that we are living full and abundant lives, we will live every day in light of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We will spend time with Him in His Word and prayer. We will live in community with His children. We will share His good news with those who don’t yet know Him. And we will seek to restore His kingdom throughout the world around us.
Question: What changes is God calling you to make so that you can live a fully abundant life in the brief time He has given you?
When we live in the knowledge that this is a temporary existence and that Jesus rescued our eternity beyond this temporary life, it changes every aspect of our lives. It changes absolutely everything.
Read Ecclesiastes 9.13–16.
Jesus came to live among us. He shared His wisdom with us. He was despised, rejected, and killed. Then He saved us from captivity when He overcame death. This passage from Ecclesiastes is a prophecy of the wisdom and salvation that Jesus later provided. And yet, like the people of the city, we often forget His wisdom and provision, and we attempt to live our temporary lives in desperation and hopelessness. We seek to get by on our wisdom. But true wisdom is realizing our lives are temporary, and living each day within the eternal wisdom found in Jesus Christ.
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