Eat, Drink, Be Merry

We've been in this sermon series for a few months now.

We're in chapter 9.

We're getting rapidly close to the end of the book.

And for those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean,

and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

And it's my joy to preach God's word to you this morning.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Father, it is easy for us to, on the one hand,

get lost in the pleasures of this world,

to indulge in sin in an effort to forget the reality of death.

And to live for ourselves.

But on the other hand, Lord, it is also easy for us

to look at the condition of this world,

how broken and unjust and messed up it is,

and to be given to excessive sorrow, despair, depression.

But Lord, we ask that you will minister to us,

you would speak to us through your word this morning,

so that we are sober-minded about the reality of death

and the futility of life,

but at the same time, have the humility and the gratitude

to be able to enjoy the simple gifts of life that you give,

to enjoy life and its pleasures in accordance with your will,

and help us most of all to fix our eyes on Jesus,

our greatest treasure,

to enjoy him and life with him, our bridegroom forever.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Please stand in honor of God's word as I read from Ecclesiastes 9, 1-12.

Amen.

Amen.

But all this,

but all this I lay 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 men 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.

Again,

I saw that under the sun

the race is not to the swift,

nor the battle to the strong,

nor bread to the wise,

nor riches to the intelligent,

nor favor to those with knowledge,

but time and chance happen to them all,

for man knows,

does not know his time.

Like fish that are taken in an evil net,

and like birds that are caught in a snare,

so the children of man are snared at an evil time

when it suddenly falls upon them.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

Because of the lies of the enemy

and the persistently sinful heart of man

and the way sinful people tend to perceive God

and relate to God,

God appears when we examine our world,

he appears to have a PR problem,

a public relations problem.

Many people imagine God to be a cosmic killjoy,

a strict disciplinarian

who demands all work and no fun.

They wrongly think that God's favorite word to us,

his children,

is no,

and relate to God that way.

And my hope this morning

is that God would use the preaching of his word

to change that perception just a little bit.

And with that in mind,

let's play a little game of who said that, right?

Guess who said this in the Bible?

Do not handle,

do not taste,

do not touch.

That's great.

Does that sound to you like something God would say?

Do not handle,

do not taste,

do not touch.

Quite to the contrary,

that's the voice of the false teachers

in Colossians 2.21.

Here's another example,

not from the Bible,

this time from a children's novel

written by a Christian man named C.S. Lewis,

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

A character at one point in the book says this,

what is the meaning of all this gluttony,

this waste,

this self-indulgence?

Where did you get all these things?

Which character do you think says that?

Condemning,

gluttony,

self-indulgence?

Is it Aslan,

the lion,

the Christ figure in the book?

No, it's not.

It's the white witch

who's a satanic figure in the book.

The imposter queen

who condemns the good gifts of God.

And in that scene,

that's a great scene

where in that land of Narnia,

which is always winter and never Christmas,

finally,

as the true king,

Aslan,

approaches,

the land begins to fall

and Christmas begins to come

and Father Christmas

distributes these gifts.

And so instead of austerity and scarcity,

they have feasts

with decorations of holly

and bread

and wine

and plum pudding.

Do you find Christian life

to be burdensome?

But did not Jesus say

in Matthew 11, 29,

my yoke is easy,

my burden is light?

Does not 1 John 5, 3 say,

for this is the love of God

that we keep his commandments?

Commandments,

does that sound onerous to you,

burdensome to you?

It says in the rest of that verse,

and his commandments

are not burdensome.

In Ecclesiastes 9, 1 to 12,

he's a case in point.

This passage teaches us

to eat,

to drink,

be merry,

and enjoy

what God has allotted

to you in life.

First,

we're gonna talk about

the certainty of death,

and then secondly,

we're gonna talk about

the uncertainties of life,

and then finally,

we're gonna talk about

the joys of life

that we get to enjoy

because of those twin realities.

In order to relish

the joys of life,

we need to remember

both the certainty of death

and the uncertainties of life.

So in both verses 1 to 6

at the beginning

and verses 11 to 12

at the end,

the preacher speaks

of those two realities.

And these two sections

kind of frame

that middle section

and point to it

to emphasize that,

to enjoy life.

But it begins this way

in verse 1,

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.

The hand of God

is an expression

for the power of God.

Sometimes the hand of God

blesses,

and sometimes

the hand of God

punishes.

You see examples of that

in 2 Corinthians 30,

verse 12,

and 1 Samuel 5, 11,

where the hand of God

is heavy upon the Philistines

who have stolen

the ark of the testimony.

The preacher of Ecclesiastes

recognizes this aspect

of the hand of God

and notes that,

whether it is love or hate,

man does not know.

Both are before him.

Later in verse 6,

the preacher says

a similar thing.

He says that,

when people die,

their love and their hate

and their envy perish,

and that they have

no more share

in all that is done

under the sun.

So love or hate

in verse 1

describes the good things

and the bad things,

the ups and the downs

of life here under the sun.

And we share,

as human beings,

all of us share

in those things,

in love and hate,

but it is not for us

to determine or control

what comes in our life.

We cannot make sure

that we only get love

instead of hate.

Desperately,

we try to control our lives

and to grasp hold of it,

but it's like chasing

after the wind

and it slips right

through our fingers

because the times

of our lives

are not in our hands,

but in the hand of God,

as it says here

in verse 1.

So life is uncertain

and the preacher

will elaborate on this

more in verses 11 and 12,

but now he returns

to the theme

of the certainty of death.

In verses 2 to 3,

he says,

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.

The phrase same event

is repeated twice here

for emphasis,

and this same event

that happens to all

is the same event

that the preacher

has been speaking of

all throughout

the book of Ecclesiastes.

In chapter 2,

verses 13 to 14,

he said that while wisdom

is better than folly,

if you,

it just says light

is better than darkness,

if you have wisdom,

you at least know

how to navigate

the complexities of life,

you know what you're doing,

but in the end,

everybody dies.

That's what he says.

And that's the same event

that happens to all.

He says the wise

dies just like the fool.

The righteous and the wicked,

the good and the evil.

God's people

in the old covenant

were taught to distinguish

what is holy from the common,

what is unclean from the clean.

They were meant to be

a people who were holy,

meaning specially set apart

for God and for his glory

and for his purposes,

and because of that,

they had an extensive set

of regulations

to help them to live

in a manner that is set apart

from the rest of the nations.

They were to be clean,

not unclean.

And yet,

the writer of Ecclesiastes

who's very familiar

with the law of God

says that they both come to naught.

They both fall.

They both,

the same event happens to them both,

whether you are clean or unclean.

Likewise,

the person who gives sacrifices to God

and who does not make sacrifices to God,

they both come to the same end.

The person who swears an oath to God

and keeps it

versus a person who doesn't care

what God says at all.

They both come to the same end in death.

Whether you're Billy Graham

or Osama Bin Laden,

whether you're Corey Ten Boom

or Adolf Hitler,

the righteous and the wicked

all die.

No amount of your righteousness

or your good deeds

and no amount of your wickedness

or your evil

can reverse the tide of death

or control

and determine your fate.

And this is not a good thing.

It's an evil thing,

he says in verse three.

This is an evil

in all that is done under the sun

that the same event happens to all.

Yes, as Christians,

we do not fear death

because we have a hope

that goes beyond death

and we do celebrate that reality.

However, as Christians,

we never celebrate death

in and of itself.

Why?

Because Jesus wept

at Lazarus' tomb

because death is not the way

this world is supposed to be

because 1 Corinthians 15, 26

tells us the last enemy

to be destroyed is death.

Death is our enemy.

Christ defeated death

through his death on the cross

and through his resurrection

from the dead,

but death will be finally destroyed

only at the resurrection of the body

when we are resurrected.

And so it is an evil

that is presently part

of this fallen sinful world

that both the righteous

and the wicked perish in death.

And not only is this,

is the end of our lives,

namely death, evil,

our entire lives,

the duration of our life

is full of evil.

He says in verse three,

the hearts of the children of men

are full of evil

and madness is in their hearts

while they live

and after that,

they go to the dead.

These two realities are related

because we know

from other parts of scripture

that the wages of sin

is death from Romans 6.

The natural consequence

for humanity

whose hearts are evil

and because of their hearts

that are evil,

they do evil,

the natural consequence

of that is death.

So I think this is probably

alluding to Genesis 6.5

where before the flood judgment

of God,

this is his assessment

of humanity

that the man's heart,

the wickedness of man

was great in the earth

and that every intention

of the thoughts of his heart

was only evil continually.

The evil that you see,

that we see out in the world

and the evil that we see

in the tragedy of death

are all related to the fact

of the evil

that is in our own hearts.

The human heart

is deceitful above all things

and desperately sick.

Who can understand it?

This is why

when God sends his son Jesus

and sends his Holy Spirit,

he promises to give his people

a new heart

because we need it

and we can't be saved without it.

That all ends in death,

however,

isn't meant to make us depressed.

It's not meant to make us fatalistic.

So the preacher reminds us

in verses 4 to 6

that life is still better than death,

that death in and of itself

is not better than death.

I mean,

death in and of itself

is not worse than life itself.

It says in verses 4 to 6,

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.

This doesn't contradict

what the preacher

has been saying all along.

For example,

in chapter 4, verse 2,

he said that because of oppression

and injustice

that filled this world,

he said that,

I thought the dead

who are already dead

more fortunate

than the living

who are still alive,

but better than both

is he who has not yet been

and has not seen

the evil deeds

that are done under the sun.

That's still true.

The preacher also said

in Ecclesiastes 6, verse 3,

Ecclesiastes 6:3

that a stillborn child

is better off

than a man

who lives a long time

but has not learned humbly

to enjoy the good gifts

that God has given him.

Life is full of evil

and suffering

and that's why 7.1 says

the day of death

is better than the day of birth.

In one sense,

death is released from that.

Attending funerals

and numbering our days

and knowing that we'll die

gives us a heart of wisdom

and that's why

the preacher of Ecclesiastes

enjoins these things to us.

However,

that doesn't mean

that death in and of itself

is better than life

because in life

we still have hope

and the possibility

that we may learn

to humble ourselves

under the sovereignty of God

and enjoy our toil

and the lot

that he has given us in life.

However,

that doesn't change

the reality

that life is full of evil

and suffering.

So he says,

a living dog

is better than a dead lion.

That is true.

It's better to be a living dog

than a dead lion

but don't take that

as a compliment.

When we think of dogs,

we think of these cute pet dogs.

I know some of our church members

love these cute corgis.

They're probably useless

for most things

because their legs

are so short

but their food

is served to them

two to three times a day.

They don't have to do anything

to earn their food.

Just food is served to them

and it's served

usually on a silver platter.

Maybe not real silver

but silver platter.

And they can take a nap

whenever they want

during the day.

They sprawl themselves out

and whenever they want

a massage,

all they need to do

is go in front of somebody

or even a stranger

and just lie down

and then people will oblige

and give them a massage

and a rub.

I mean,

what a life,

right?

We think of dogs like that

when we think of dogs

but that's not the kind of dogs

that are in view here

because dogs in the ancient world

are scavengers

and that's the case still

in much of the world.

These are wild mutts

that survive by eating scraps

and any kind of food

they can find

and they are not very discriminating

with their food.

They eat garbage,

they eat carcasses,

they lick blood.

You see that even in the Bible

and for this reason,

in the Bible,

evildoers are sometimes

described figuratively as dogs.

A dog,

Proverbs 26, 11 tells us,

returns to his vomit.

That's what dogs literally do.

They'll return to their own vomit

and then smell it

and then lick it a little bit

and say,

oh, that doesn't taste that bad

and then they'll start eating it.

And in Proverbs 26, 11,

that dog that returns to his vomit

is compared to the fool

who repeats his folly.

So when you hear

a living dog

is better than a dead lion,

don't think of that cute corgi

but think of that wild scavenger dog.

It may be better for us

in our urban context

to think of living rats

because that's what

they're really more like.

It's better to be a living rat

than a dead lion.

And so what's the point here

that he's trying to make?

He's telling us

why the living are better off

than the dead

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.

Knowledge sets us apart

from the dead

but what is this knowledge

that sets us apart

from the dead?

The one thing

that is certain

for believers and unbelievers

that we all know is coming

is that we're going to die.

So here is this one knowledge

that you have

that sets you apart

from the dead.

You know you're going to die.

You're just not dead yet.

Same thing with the living rat

versus a dead lion.

Sure, you might only be a rat.

You're still alive

but you're a rat.

You're a dog.

You repeat your folly.

You live in this life

under the sun

that is vanity

of all vanities.

That's the kind of

that doesn't diminish

the suffering

of this life

the brokenness

of this life.

So here are three truths

that we have to

try to hold together.

Life is better than death.

Two,

remembering death

is better than trying

to forget it in life.

And three,

living in light

of the end

gives us

the heart of wisdom

which then enables us

to enjoy life

as we're going to talk about.

So that's the certainty of death.

Now let's turn

to the uncertainties of life.

Verses 11 to 12

are a succinct summary

of chapter 8

which I talked about last week

how good things happen

to bad people

and bad things happen

to good people.

It says,

Again,

I saw that under the sun

the race is not to the swift

nor the battle to the strong

nor bread to the wise

nor riches to the intelligent

nor favor to those with knowledge

but time and chance

happen to them all

for a man does not know his time

like fish that are taken

in an evil net

and like birds

that are caught in a snare

so the children of man

are snared at an evil time

when it suddenly falls upon them.

Race is not to the swift.

How many of you guys

have experienced this

in reality?

Man o' War

I know some of you guys

are into the horse racing.

Some Kentuckians here.

Man o' War

is a thoroughbred racehorse

that is widely considered

to be the greatest racehorse

of all time.

I disagree with that assessment

but that's okay.

Spurts Illustrated voted

the best American racehorse

of the 20th century

beating out even Secretariat.

During its career

the horse won 20 races

and earned a 2024 equivalent

of $4 million

during its short career

in prize money.

The horse was undefeated

in all races

except for one.

And in that one race

he was defeated

by a horse

that was fittingly named

Upset.

That's not where

we get the word Upset.

It existed before that

but that's the rumor.

This is a horse

that Man o' War

had beaten before

and this is a horse

Upset

that will never go on

to win another race.

And yet

the greatest racehorse

of all time

lost to Upset.

On February 10th, 1990

Buster Douglas

was a 42-1 underdog

against the undefeated

heavyweight champion

boxer of the world

Mike Tyson.

It was such a lopsided

bout

that Mike Tyson's corner

didn't even bring

an ice pack

to the match

because they were like

we're not going to need

the ice pack.

He needed much more

than an ice pack

because he's the one

that got knocked out.

One of the greatest upsets

in sports history.

The race is not

to the swift

nor the battle

to the strong.

In June 1694

400 Polish soldiers

defeated 40,000 Ottomans

at the Battle of Hodo.

Maybe we can chalk that up

to superior strategy.

They're more intelligent.

Fight smarter

not harder.

Maybe that's why.

But we can't do that either

because the intelligent

don't always prevail.

Things don't always go well

for the people

who are smart.

It says in verse 11

nor bread to the wise

nor riches

to the intelligent.

Bread doesn't always

go to the wise.

Edgar Allan Poe

was a brilliant writer,

poet,

editor,

and literary critic

and he only made

$6,200

in his entire life.

Adjust that for inflation

that's almost $200,000

like $190,000.

Some of you guys

make that in a year.

I mean this is,

he made that

throughout his entire life

and even accounting

for his short life

he was not

financially successful.

His poem,

one of the most famous

poems in the world,

The Raven,

earned a measly $9.

Bread doesn't always

go to the wise.

Nor riches

to the intelligent.

To the Serbian-American

engineer,

Nikola Tesla,

called a father

of electricity

because of his

contribution to the design

of the modern

alternating current,

the electricity supply system.

His subsystem

was superior

to the one designed

by Thomas Edison.

He was brilliant

by any measure.

He had 300 patents,

over 300 patents

to his name worldwide

and yet in the later years

of his life

as his patents ran out

and his new experience

began to fail.

He became bankrupt

and couldn't even

afford his rent.

The bread

is not to the wise

nor riches

to the intelligent.

Nor is favor

always to those

with knowledge.

When Absalom

staged a successful

coup against his dad,

King David,

in 2 Samuel 17,

he had a counselor

named Ahithophel

who gave sure

and intelligent counsel

related to everything

and yet when Ahithophel

gave Absalom

this counsel,

he opted

to not follow

his advice

and followed

a different advice

which eventually

led to his defeat

and death.

Favor is not always

to those with knowledge.

Time and chance

happen to them all

for man knows

not his time.

None of us know

whether we will be

rich or poor,

full or hungry,

famous or forgotten,

favored or spurned,

victorious or defeated

in the future.

Sometimes people

less deserving

than us

will get into

the program

that you want

to get the grant

that you want,

to get the job

that you want,

get the promotion

that you want,

and get the wealth

that you want,

get the recognition

that you want,

or get the man

or the woman

that you want.

And sometimes

people who are

more deserving

than us

will not get

those things.

It is not

the lot of humanity

to know our time,

to know what kinds

of times and seasons

will come to us.

This is not to say

that life is completely

chaotic and random.

It is still

generally true

that race is

to the swift,

the battle,

to the strong,

bread to the wise,

riches to the intelligent,

favor to those

with knowledge,

and that's what

the book of Proverbs

is all about.

Proverbs 20,

Proverbs 20:13

verse 13,

verse 19,

teaches that people

who work hard

will have plenty

of bread.

So bread is

to the wise.

But there are

always exceptions

in this sinful,

broken,

fallen world.

And that's

the preacher's point

in Ecclesiastes.

There is

no such thing

as a foolproof path

to the ten

steps towards success

that will guarantee

outcomes for you

no matter how many

self-help gurus

tell you that.

Anybody who offers

you a foolproof path

towards success

is a person

who is not wise.

But does knowing

this make us lazy then?

Absolutely not.

Look at verse 10.

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.

Sheol is the realm

of the dead.

It's speaking of death,

the grave.

We still work hard

in this life

because now

is the time

for toil.

Now is the time

for craftsmanship.

Now is the time

for artistry.

We're not going

to have work

to do on earth

once we die

until the time

of the new heavens

and the new earth.

Our goal in work

then is not success

or gain

but it is faithfulness

to God.

Remember verse 1

which said

that all our deeds

are in the hand

of God.

So we can't guarantee

the outcomes

of our work,

the fruit

of our labor.

We can't control

the times

that come to us

so then what does it

look like for us

to work hard

in this life?

Whatever our hand

finds to do,

we do it

with our might

while humbly

recognizing

that all our deeds

are ultimately

in the hand

and not of our own hands

but in the hand of God.

That's what it looks like.

Faithfulness.

There's also a parallel

between verse 12

and verses 2 to 3.

Twice we are told

in verses 2 to 3

that the same event

happens to all

and then in verse 12

it says chance,

time and chance

happens to all.

That expression

chance happens

is the same Hebrew word

that was translated

earlier twice.

It's the same event

happens to all

and again

it's speaking of death.

Look at the illustrations.

Verse 12

for man does not

know his time

like fish

that are taken

in an evil net

and like birds

that are caught

in a snare

so the children of man

are snared

in an evil time

when it suddenly

falls upon them.

What happens

when an unsuspecting

fish that is swimming

around gets caught

in a net?

It's killed.

What happens

to an unsuspecting

bird that

is caught

ensnared?

It's killed

for plumage

or feathers

or for food.

Death comes

for us all

and we know

not when

we are caught

unawares

like a fish

caught in a net

or a bird

caught in a snare.

Time and chance

happens to them all

for man does not

know his time.

The certainty

of death

uncertainties of life.

So in this way

then now

these two realities

are going to point

us to how we

are supposed

to live

and enjoy life

and that brings

us to verses

7 to 10

which is the fifth

and final

carpe diem passage

in the book

of Ecclesiastes.

If you've been

with us through

this series

what I mean

by carpe diem

is the Latin

expression

seize the day.

These are

insightful passages

that are scattered

throughout the entire

book of Ecclesiastes

and it's meant

to teach us

to take advantage

of the present

opportunities

and to enjoy

life today

while it still

lasts

rather than

counting on

tomorrow

that may

never come.

That's the idea

of the wisdom

of Ecclesiastes.

Instead of chasing

after life

regain

humbly

and gratefully

receive life

from the Lord

as a gift.

It says in

verse 7

go

eat your bread

with joy

and drink

your wine

with a merry

heart

for God

has already

approved

what you do.

if you think

of bread

and wine

it's representing

food and drink

here

if you think

of food

and drink

as a means

for gain

then you're

probably the type

of person

that scarves

down his food

every meal

and then chugs

his drink

whatever the choice

of beverage is

just so that you can

get to that next

appointment

or get onto

that next item

on your to-do list.

But if you do that

then you can't

slow down enough

to savor

your bread

and your drink.

That

we got some good

bread makers

in our church

that's not Lance's

but Lance makes

good challah bread

Lauren makes

good focaccia bread

you guys have

favorite focaccia bread

I think Brittany

makes sourdough bread

and different things

I think

that crusty

crispy

edges of a bread

and then

when you bite

into it

the inside

is moist

and juicy

the crumbs

and then it just

in your body

I don't know

what it does

it creates all

these dopamins

or something

it gives you

that sense

of home

and comfort

or maybe

you really enjoy

that earthy

and smoky

flavor

of well

barbecued

meat

you know

who's laughing

here

you guys

it says

drink wine

here

but I know

not everybody

drinks

and also

if you struggle

with alcohol

you should not

drink

and so

I will use

a different

illustration

maybe coffee

tea

that

fruitiness

and sweetness

and bitterness

and that

intricate mixture

that just

clears your palate

you guys

know what

I'm talking

about

one day

we're all

going to be

dead

so learn

to enjoy

the simple

pleasures

of life

as gifts

from God

for God

has already

approved

what you do

so this is

again

an indication

that God

is here

in the picture

these simple

pleasures

of life

are gifts

from God

that we

receive

from him

not pleasures

that we

enjoy

apart from

him

or instead

of him

1 Timothy 4

4-5

echoes this

thought

for everything

created by

God

is good

and nothing

is to be

rejected

if it is

received

with thanksgiving

for it is

made holy

by the word

of God

and prayer

and this

raises an

important caveat

there are

places in the

Bible

where the

what the

preacher

commands

here

eat

and drink

and be

merry

seems to be

condemned

and we're

going to look

at two of

those examples

right now

briefly

1 Corinthians

15

32-34

Paul says

this

if the dead

are not

raised

let us eat

and drink

for tomorrow

we die

do not

be deceived

bad company

ruins good

morals

wake up

from your

drunken

stupor

as is right

and do

not go

on sinning

Paul's saying

don't think

let us eat

and drink

for tomorrow

we die

what he's saying

is if there

is no

resurrection

from the

dead

then yeah

you should

think

well let's

eat and drink

for tomorrow

we die

because there's

no point

but he's

saying you

cannot think

that because

there is a

resurrection

from the

dead

so the

difference

here however

is not that

you're receiving

these pleasures

of life

as gifts

from God

but you're

seeing them

you're enjoying

them apart

from God

as replacements

for him

in sinful

ways

that's why

Paul says

wake up

from your

drunken

stupor

as is right

and do not

go on sinning

that's something

that the

preacher in

Ecclesiastes

never approves

earlier in

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

he said that

he tried

wine

he tried

getting

getting into

alcohol

as a way

of fulfilling

his life

and he said

it was all

vanity

he knows

that ultimate

fulfillment

and pleasure

is not found

in alcohol

itself

but he's

telling us

to enjoy

responsibly

not in a

sinful way

but as

gifts

from God

this is why

the Bible

in many

places

condemns

pleasures

toward a

hedonistic

end

pursuing

pleasure

as the

end

of life

rather than

pursuing

God

and enjoying

pleasures

on the way

as gifts

from God

the Bible

condemns

those who

are lovers

of pleasure

rather than

lovers of God

2 Timothy 3

4

those who

are slaves

to various

passions and

pleasures

Titus 3

3

those who

enjoy

the fleeting

pleasures

of sin

Hebrews 11

25

but the

Bible

commands

those who

are lovers

of God

and because

of that

enjoy the

pleasures

of life

that God

himself

gives

let's also

look at

another one

Luke 12

13 to

21

Jesus tells

the parable

of the rich

man

right

who has

land

has produced

plentifully

has so much

in his barn

but instead

of being rich

toward God

and instead

of being

open-handed

with the poor

he decides

you know

I can't keep

all my stuff

to myself

so I'm just

going to tear

down my barns

bigger

bigger barns

and keep

all my produce

to myself

and then God

judges him

and he perishes

the next day

that is not

an example

of a proper

humble

grateful

enjoyment

of God's

gifts

that's an

example of

idolatrous

worship

of God's

gifts

and as soon

as soon as

you turn

God's

good gifts

into an

idol

that you

love

above

God

it loses

all this

pleasure

and it

starts

enslaving

you

so ask

yourselves

these diagnostic

questions

think about

the things

that you

enjoy

in life

the pleasures

in life

that you

enjoy

that you

desire

and ask

yourself

these

questions

are you

greedy

for those

pleasures

or do

you always

need more

or are you

grateful

and content

because that

will tell you

if you're

receiving these

gifts as

pleasurable

gifts from

God

or not

are you

possessive

of these

pleasures

or are you

humble in your

relation to

them

you're open

handed about

them

you recognize

that they

are all

ultimately

from God

and may be

gone the

next day

are you

controlling

or anxious

about these

pleasures

these gifts

of life

or do you

have peace

in your

heart

because you

trust God

with them

ultimately

let's keep

going

verse 8

let your

garments be

always white

and let

that oil

be lacking

on your

head

in the

hot and

dry ancient

near east

oil upon

your head

was a

particularly

delightful

gift

for a

couple

reasons

one is

that in

really dry

climates

your scalp

is dry

and oil

nice

cold

viscous

oil on

your head

it

moisturizes

your scalp

and feels

refreshing

and also

you guys

notice I

have kids

in

young kids

in school

so I

just got

another

letter

this week

saying that

there was

lice

in the

classroom

and

furiously

checked the

kids hair

but lice

was a lot

more common

in the

ancient

world

and when

you have

lice

and you

get oil

on your

head

it kills

the lice

because the

oil is

of its

viscosity

and imagine

that

you're getting

these little

critters

sucking on

your blood

on your scalp

and then the

oil

it's refreshing

doesn't that

sound just

delightful

that's a

it's great

relief and

refreshment

for these reasons

oil is often

associated with

parties and

festivities

and special

occasions

similarly

white is a

symbol of

purity and

glory and

beauty and

festivity

not only

does that

help in

hot climates

it keeps

you cool

but it's

also a

sign of

festivity

the bride

wears white

at a

wedding

mourners

wear black

at a

funeral

this is

another

concrete

example of

what it

looks like

to enjoy

life as

a gift

from God

it's still

true

that we

ought to

reflect on

the day

of death

remember

number our

days as

Ecclesiastes

7

told us

but that's

not meant

to make

us depressed

Eeyores

through our

life

gloomy

no we

still in

the midst

of

with death

in view

enjoy the

present gifts

of life

because God

intends for

these things

to be

bombs to

our souls

in a

sick and

sorrow filled

world

the preacher

put it this

way in

Ecclesiastes

5 18

to 20

behold what

I have seen

to be good

and fitting

is to eat

and drink

and find

enjoyment

in all

the toil

with which

one toils

under the sun

the few days

of his life

that God

has given

him for

this is

his lot

everyone

also to

whom God

has given

wealth

and possessions

and power

to enjoy

them

and to

accept

his lot

and rejoice

in his

toil

this is

the gift

of God

for he

will not

much

remember

the days

of his

life

because God

keeps him

occupied

with joy

in his

heart

he intends

for these

simple pleasures

of life

as gifts

to be

bombs

to our

souls

so that

we can

weather the

sorrows

and the

sufferings

of this

sin sick