Set to dark modeSet to dark modeEcclesiastes 9 Commentary
Please choose a passage
We all share a common destiny—death. All we do in life is in God’s hands.
Death is a common fate for all. Even so, there are advantages to life that will be nullified when death finds us. We have a choice to either lament (or deny) death, or to take its inevitability as motivation to make the most of today.
Life on this earth is a once-in-an-existence opportunity. If we accept this reality and live with wisdom (founded in faith), we can enjoy life as God intended.
Unexpected and unpredictable circumstances are a part of life and often interrupt the predictable flow of events. We cannot control, understand, or perfectly anticipate what life has to offer.
Wisdom is of the utmost value but does not produce the unerring approval of man. Nor can it control circumstances.
Trying to control others through shouting and coercion is destructive while quiet words of wisdom are more powerful than weapons of war.
Chapter 9 explores further the (seemingly) harsh reality of death. It is proof of our fallibility and the great equalizer for all human circumstances.
Death is a limitation that brings intensity to life. Brevity makes life a unique opportunity to walk and grow by faith– something that is not possible in the life to come.
Throughout its verses, Chapter 9 toggles between the reality of life's limits and the truth of its possibilities. It recognizes the power of wisdom to do good, while acknowledging that wisdom often goes without honor in this life. Life inevitably heads to a certain and final conclusion in death, while making unpredictable twists and turns along the way. It is a beautiful, convicting, and inspiring treatment of what it means to be human.
© 2025 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved.
Set to dark mode