Ecclesiastes 9

“Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands.  People don’t know whether to expect love or hate.  Everything lies ahead of them.  Everything is the same for everyone: there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice.  As it is for the good, so it is for sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath.  This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone.  In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live – after that, they go to the dead.” Ecclesiastes 9:1-3 (HCSB)

On a fly-over, today’s passage may seem depressing.  Solomon tells us that all people can expect the same end: death.  Whether you live righteously or wickedly, everyone will die.  Job professed it poetically and with blunt acceptance:

“And He said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.  The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’” Job 1:21 (NKJV)

But where both Job and Solomon stopped short was that they omitted the obvious follow-up question: And then what?  Sure, we all die, but what happens after we die?  The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews gives the answer.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)

So, there is life after life.  Death is not the end; it's just the end of our lives on Earth.  And, while our righteousness in this life (even righteousness through Jesus) does not necessarily save us from experiencing physical death, it does ensure the believer can stand before the Lord, justified, on the Day He passes judgment.  In simple terms, Heaven awaits those who can pass that judgment.  And what happens to those whom the judgment of God finds guilty?  The essence of “judgment” is that those who do not meet a legal standard must suffer the penalty of falling short of the law.

The point Solomon is making in today’s passage is that all the stuff we may acquire in this world is meaningless, given that nobody can take it with them to the grave.  You may have been successful in business or education in this world, but how will that help you escape the judgment of God?  For the unbeliever, this world is as close to Heaven as they will ever come, so I understand why they would try and get all they can now.  But for the believer, this world is as close to Hell as they ever have to get. And that reality allows us to live joyfully, which may contradict our circumstances.

“Listen, my beloved brethren: has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” James 2:5 (NKJV)