JUN 5

Ecclesiastes 9:1-3
Memorise Hebrews 9:27
“And it is appointed unto men once to die”

Continuing the thought from chapter 8, Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9 again speaks of the sovereignty of God, and makes a summary statement to declare that everyone’s works, whether you are righteous or wise, are in the hands of God. No man can fully comprehend it all. To the worldly man, it seems God is unpredictable and fickle, for one moment good things happen to us, and we think He loves us, and the next moment troubles come and we think that he hates us. And so if we don’t fully understand God, and as we go through the varying human experiences, it will result in a rollercoaster ride of conflicting emotions. It is a wild jumble of seemingly random excitement, joy, sadness, depression etc.

But amidst the varied human experience, there is one thing that is common to all men, and that is death. It does not matter how you lived this life, whether you were righteous, wicked, good, clean or unclean. It does not matter if you were religious (one who sacrificed) or one who did not worship God; to both the good and to the sinner; to the one who swears rashly and the one who fears and respects an oath, they will all go to the dead. Such is the nature of life, and it cannot be denied.

But beyond this one thing that comes unto all, there is an evil among it all, and that is the fact that in their life, many are full of evil, and persist in their sin while they live. In facing their impending death, they show no fear or concern, but just recklessly waste their lives, full of evil. This is the ‘evil among all things’ – the sin of man.

But for the believer, this must not be so. Whilst we are still alive, we must cherish it, and live this life for God. We are also well aware that after death, there is the day of reckoning whereby God will judge us. The only way in which we can be spared from this judgment, is if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only though His shed blood that we can be cleansed from our sins, and stand holy and righteous before God.

Thought: If we live in sin, we die in sin
Prayer: Lord, may You help me to have the right perspectives about life and death, knowing that You are in control of all things.