“Are you Ready?”
Ecclesiastes 9:1-12
“Are you ready?” It is a simple question you probably ask several times a day and thousands of times each year. Are you ready for dinner? Are you ready to take a walk? Are you ready for bed? Are you ready to go to the store? Are you ready for your test in the morning? Those are the simple “Are you ready” questions, but there are others that will eventually come. Are you ready to move your kids into their college dorm? Are you ready for your first child? Are you ready for retirement? Or as we have seen in Ecclesiastes, are you ready for death? To be ready is to be fully prepared. Solomon begins his conclusion of the book, but before he makes his final conclusion, he provides a quick summary of his main argument to make sure you are fully prepared to live and to die. God is in control. Death comes to all. Life is unpredictable and does not always make sense. Therefore, take the opportunity of today by enjoying God’s good gifts.
I hope the message of Ecclesiastes has gotten into your bones. It is a very earthy, honest book. As we press on towards the end of this book, let us slow down, take a breath, and ask four “Are you ready?” questions to see if we have grasped Solomon’s main point.
1. Are you ready for Death? (9:1-6)
It seems like a grim question, but it is a question we all must ask because it is a reality we will all face. Ecclesiastes 9:1–6 says:
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. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.
There are moments in life when the light bulb finally goes on and things click. Solomon has made this point throughout this book, but he wants to make sure the light is on and you hear what he is saying.
Notice that Solomon is slowing down and thinking. We so often move at a blistering pace, moving from one meeting to the next, one activity to the next, one show to the next without even taking a moment to consider what we are experiencing. Solomon begins, “But all this I laid to heart, examining it all.” He slowed down and examined life. Like a referee in an instant replay booth, he is slowing down to look at all the angles and consider what’s right. Time does not always mean you will come to the right conclusion, but it will sure increase your chances. Solomon realizes that life is in the hand of God. Man does not know what comes next. How hard is this to realize? We all struggle with having a god complex. We struggle with thinking that life revolves around us and we are in control of our own destiny. We want to do what we want when we want. We believe our opinions are right and our interpretation of things are most accurate. Solomon says, “Not so fast friend. Only God knows. You are a mortal man.” And then he proves his point by highlighting the only true reality for every person under the sun: death.
Death comes to all: the righteous and unrighteous, the rich and the poor, the businessman and the teacher, the mother and the daughter, the priest and the prostitute, the masked and the unmasked, the one who keeps their word and the liar. The same event happens to us all. Death is coming. Are you ready? Are you prepared? Death is an evil no matter when it happens because death is the result of the wickedness and sin in our hearts. Verse 3 reminds us that, “Also, the heart of the children of man are full of evil and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.” Solomon is most likely drawing on Genesis 6:5 where Moses writes before the flood, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Romans 5:12 states, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Friend, we all have sinned and, therefore, all of us will face death. It cannot be avoided. Are you ready?
God wants us to think about our death, not to depress us, but to teach us the value and preciousness of life. Ecclesiastes 9:4 declares, “But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” In the ancient world, dogs were dirty scavengers and lions were a sign of strength and power. A living dog is better than a dead lion, for the living have hope. We will never fully appreciate life until we understand the reality of death and the opportunity we have today. Do not be blinded to think you have forever to do what you have been putting off. Most country music has bad theology, but Tim McGraw’s 2004 hit, “Live like you were Dying”, captures the essence of the Scripture here. It goes:
He said:
“I was in my early forties
With a lot of life before me
And a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
Talkin’ ’bout the options
And talkin’ ’bout sweet time”
I asked him
“When it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How’s it hit you
When you get that kind of news?
Man, what’d you do?”
He said:
“I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I’d been denying”
And he said
“Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying”
He said:
“I was finally the husband
That most of the time I wasn’t
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden going fishin’
Wasn’t such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
I finally read the Good Book, and I
Took a good, long, hard look
At what I’d do if I could do it all again
Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying.”
Solomon wants you to live like you were dying because we are.
2. Are you ready for “Chance”? (9:11-12)
We do not know the time we have left or what is going to happen in our life. Life is unpredictable. Ecclesiastes 9:11–12 says:
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
Things do not always happen as expected. The fastest doesn’t always win the race. The smartest person doesn’t always have the most money. The strongest person does not always win the fight. In verse 11 Solomon says, “Time and chance happen to them all.” A literal translation would be “time and happenings happen to all.” Things happen and unexpected events occur.
Beloved, we can’t presume on the future. Solomon says it again, “For man does not know his time.” He gives two examples: one of the fish swimming and enjoying the water before being unexpectedly swooped up in net and the other of a bird flying in the blue sky before being unexpectedly caught in a snare. You do not know what will happen to your life. Are you ready?
We all have dreams and aspirations in life. Life, however, rarely turns out as expected. It may, but it may not. You may live to 100 and meet your great-great grandchild. Or you may not make it to the end of the week. We are not God. I don’t think that I would have a hard time convincing anyone that they are not God. But how often do we presume that we know what is coming? We know we are not God, but too often we live like the opposite is true. Nothing is new under the sun. James rebukes the early church in James 4:13–17 when he says:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
So what do we do with all this? David Gibson offers us a question to consider and prudent counsel to heed. He states:
What does a life of beauty and meaning and purpose look like, poised as we are between these two extremes? On the one hand, my death is certain; on the other hand, the timing of my death is uncertain. So what should life in the meantime look like?…His [Solomon] answer is very simple: life between now and then looks like a life lived well. If one day you will be dead, live today. If you do not know when you will be dead, live now while you can. The path of wisdom along life’s road is to enjoy the gifts God has given you, the simple things that give you pleasure.
Asking the question “Are ready for death and the unexpected happenings of life?” paves the way for us to ask “Are we ready to live?”
3. Are you ready for Life? (9:7-10)
We all must choose to live like we are dying because we are. Solomon encourages us to seize the day the Lord has given and enjoy it. Ecclesiastes 9:7–10 goes on to say:
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. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly. We experience the abundant life of Christ when we receive all the gifts God has given us with joy. Solomon begins with a string of commands. “Go!” “Eat!” “Drink.” Solomon wants you to see what is right in front of you. There is often a bent in Christianity on the value of living an ascetic, or a monastic, life. Of course, we are called to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow after Jesus. However, we must never forget that Jesus came eating and drinking. Jesus received and enjoyed the simple gifts of life. Hear Paul’s exhortation in 1 Timothy 4:1–5:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
There will always be some who believe that denying God’s gifts will make one more righteous. But our righteousness is in Christ and in Him alone. We show our righteousness by receiving his good gifts with a heart of thanksgiving. Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with such a spirit. It is made holy by the word of God and prayer. This is what Solomon means when he says, “God has already approved what you do.” God made the world good, and we should enjoy his good gifts.
Go and seize the day. Eat all your food with joy. Have a merry heart around the table. The psalmist makes this same point in Psalm 104:14–15: “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.”
God delights in giving good gifts to his people. Do you live life with a receptive heart?
One would think that after the reality of death we should walk around in sackcloth and ashes, but Solomon encourages the opposite. He says, “Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.” White garments were a sign of joy and celebration. Oil was used to take care of dry skin. Solomon encourages us to take care of our appearance so that the outer garments reveal our inner joy. “The world is meant to be a place of color and life and beauty.”
Solomon offers two more exhortations in the two most dominant areas of life: our families and our work. He begins with family life by saying “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love.” It is too easy to miss the daily blessing of companionship and friendship in marriage. The text does not say to merely put up with your wife, bear with her, or even live with her. It says to enjoy her. Marriage should be enjoyed. I believe we can apply this not only to marriage but to family life in general. Parents enjoy your children. Take time each day to be with them. Laugh with them. Talk with them. Do not let busyness or a loaded schedule rob you of the joy of family. Take delight in your family because you never know how long you have. Our time is limited, so enjoy it.
Today is the day of opportunity. We are alive and, therefore, we have the opportunity to work for the good of our neighbor and the glory of God. Solomon says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” Whatever vocation the Lord has given you, work at it with all your might. I love what Martin Luther said when asked by a cobbler how to make shoes for the glory of God. He said, “Make a good shoe, and sell it at a fair price.” Christians are not called to abandon their secular work when they come to Christ. We are to realize that our work is no longer secular, for it is all done for the glory of God. Beloved, if you are struggling to find joy in your job, remember Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might for this pleases the Lord.”
4. Are you ready to Celebrate?
God is in control. Death comes to all. Life is unpredictable and does not always make sense. Therefore, take the opportunity that today offers by enjoying God’s good gifts like family and work. Live for his glory. You may be thinking, “Pastor, what does all that have to do with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?” Or another way of phrasing it, “What does our joy communicate from God?” Enjoying the gifts of God is meant to make us long for heaven. They are meant to allow us to taste and see that the Lord is good. They should make us want more of him and what he offers. Friend, do you notice how verses 7-10 are full of wedding imagery? Food and drink, white garments, oil on your head, and husbands enjoying wives whom they love are all highlighted because the “Bible’s picture of the best that life has to offer us is simply a foretaste of a wedding banquet still to come, the beauty, grandeur, and glory of which cannot be put into words.” All that is good in life is not meant to only be enjoyed, but it is to be enjoyed and to create a longing in us for what is to come. Are you ready to celebrate? Are you ready for the great marriage supper of the Lamb? All of us are invited, but we must have on the right clothes. God sent us Jesus to lay down his life for his bride on the cross, thus offering his righteousness to us as robes to cover our sin and shame. And God raised him from the dead on the third day to swallow up death and provide an invitation to the great wedding banquet. Are you ready? You have been invited, but have you accepted the invitation?
We do not have to live in the fear of death. God promises to swallow up death once and for all and to provide a heavenly feast for his people. Listen to this description in Isaiah 25:6–9:
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of 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 all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have 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.”
Beloved, we wait for the Lord and his salvation by receiving the good gifts he has given us. Jesus came to give life and life more abundantly. He died so that we may truly live. Therefore, let us live. Let us enjoy good food, family and work as the good foretaste of the feast that is to come. And let the world see our joy in this life so that they may long for eternal joy in the life to come.
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