©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 9:1-10 (ESV) - 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.
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.
Question to consider: What is the event that happens to all according to Solomon?
If you were to consider this passage without the context of the rest of the book, it would seem to be saying we should do whatever we want to do because God has ordained everything He allows to happen. However, as a wise scholar, Solomon continues to examine the philosophies of the vapor world— life from the perspective of our temporal existence under the sun.
Remember that this was written hundreds of years before Alexander the Great would spread Hellenistic education and culture throughout the world so there weren’t formal names given to these philosophies. Today’s examination is something that might later be taught by the Stoic philosophers. The righteous and the wicked experience the same evil: death. Whether someone loves or hates, sins or remains holy, offers sacrifices or savors their wickedness, he will end up in Sheol (the place of the dead) if life is limited to this meaningless vapor world.
If there is no judgment beyond this mortal existence, we should seize the day. According to this view, if there is a creator God, He has providentially ordained the events of this world so Solomon says to eat with joy and drink with a merry heart. According to this view, there is no room for guilt or repentance so do that which makes you happy, keeps you healthy and is the product of your toil at which you toil under the sun.
When we think of stoicism, we think of Mr. Spock from Star Trek suppressing emotion and looking at the world logically. Stoicism was more about being fully present in each moment and maintaining a lifestyle which promotes individual thriving. The Hedonists were a type of Stoic philosophy in that they maximized personal pleasure, but too much pleasure is actually harmful to the individual. Eating too much and gorging oneself like the Gluttons causes bodily harm. Drinking too much wine results in drunkenness and dependency. Giving yourself over to passions results in diminishing pleasure or conflicts with others.
Solomon essentially expresses these things by saying that if there is nothing beyond this vanity, you should work to the best of your ability, enjoy the fruits of your labor without guilt, do what you can to remain healthy for as long as you can so you can enjoy all that God has allotted for you before you die.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of new life in Christ Jesus. May we be good stewards of the life You have given us under the sun but always rest in the hope of resurrection, clothed in the everlasting righteousness of Christ. Amen.