You’re all going to die. You don’t know when. So live your life. That’s Ecclesiastes 9:1-12 in summary. These truths, though hard-hitting, are not meant to discourage us, but to give us a godly perspective on life and to be confident that all things are ‘in the hand of God.’ With the proper perspective of life and eternity, we can live joyously by faith as we journey through this world of vanity.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
THINKING: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR MINDS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND GOD’S WORD.
In what way does the phrase “in the hand of God” (9:1) offer security in the face of the reality that death comes to all? (See also Deut. 33:3)
Explain the phrase “a living dog is better than a dead lion” (Eccles. 9:4).
In 9:7–9, how does the Preacher advise us to live in light of the fact that death is a reality (vv. 1–6)?
FEELING: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR AFFECTIONS TO HELP US LOVE GOD
In his book Remember Death, Matthew Mccullough writes, “Before I can be astounded by God’s love–before I will see the beauty of his love more clearly than the problems of my life–I must see my desperate need of it and my thorough unworthiness of it. When God teaches us to number our days, he protects us from prideful self-deception and enables us to live with genuine, realistic gladness.” Interact with this. Agree? Disagree? In what ways are you more astounded by the love of God as you consider the reality of death?
How does the reality of our own death connect to the death of Jesus Christ?
DOING: QUESTIONS AIMED AT OUR HANDS TO HELP US LIVE FOR GOD (PERSONALLY, COMMUNALLY, AND MISSIONALLY)
How does this passage (and Ecclesiastes as a whole) both warn us about the enjoyment of things in this life and affirm the legitimate joys of life? How does this concept inform the way you view the pleasures of life? Give clear examples and discuss.
Some questions adapted from Knowing The Bible - Ecclesiastes
