Death Is Meaningless without Jesus

Solomon tells us that in the face of death’s harsh reality, we should enjoy life. He commands us to seize the day—carpe diem. As Murphy points out, the content of these verses is the same as previous sections, but the tone is different because it is in imperative language (Murphy, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 209). Solomon gives a representative list of six things we should enjoy in life.

First, he says to eat your bread with pleasure (v. 7). Enjoy your meals, eat good food, and see meals as a chance for fellowship. Food is a wonderful gift from God meant to bring us nourishment but also pleasure, taste, variety, and an opportunity for relationships. God gives us the gift of food for us to enjoy it as a means to worship Him with grateful hearts for His provision and creativity.

Second, he says to drink your wine with a glad heart for God has already approved of what you do (v. 7). The consumption of beverage alcohol is a controversial issue in our day for many reasons. One reason I have seen up close and personal is the damaging effects of alcohol on families. My mom spent a decade of her life in the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home because of alcoholic parents who could not care for her. Because of many people’s experiences, the issue of beverage alcohol is touchy and painful. Yet we do need to adopt a biblical approach to this subject as we let the lens of God’s authority determine how we view our own experiences. We need to be honest and open about what the Bible says.

On the one hand, the Bible strongly condemns drunkenness in any form. On the other hand it is open to moderate, self-controlled drinking. I think when it comes to the diverse approaches to alcohol among Christians that Paul’s instruction to the church at Rome in Romans 14 is helpful for us. Paul instructs believers in the Roman church not to judge one another by what one eats or drinks (Rom 14:1-19), and he also says not to do something that would cause a weaker brother to stumble (Rom 14:21). Thus, one could choose a teetotaler position for wisdom’s and witness’s sake, or one could choose a moderation position. Both positions could be perfectly biblical. The larger issue for Paul is that it should not become a reason for division in the church. Cut each other some slack! Be mindful of your brothers’ weak points. But above all, be loving toward one another recognizing there will be different ways the conscience is affected by this issue.

For Solomon’s part here in Ecclesiastes, wine was simply the drink of choice in ancient Israel, and so he says that part of enjoying life is enjoying a tasty beverage. That could apply to all kinds of drink options we have today. Diet Coke is certainly on my dad’s tasty beverage list!

Third, he tells them to wear white all the time (v. 8), which means to wear festive clothing. The instruction to wear white is culturally conditioned. White was the garment of choice because of the hot temperatures in the Middle East (Murphy, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 209). The idea is to wear celebratory clothes that fit your cultural context.

Fourth, he says to put oil on your head (v. 8). Again, the Middle East is arid, and skin can get dry. Oil was a means of protecting the skin in the Middle Eastern heat (Longman, Ecclesiastes, 230). Protect your skin from the heat so you can enjoy life. These last two commands would be good ideas for guys trying to get dates. Dress nice; put something smooth and nice smelling on your skin.

Fifth, he says to enjoy your wife (v.9). Love your wife, be her best friend, and enjoy her physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This is not only practical advice for a good marriage and a happy life, but it is also a command from God. Read what Paul writes to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5, and then remind yourself of James’s admonition that we not merely be hearers of the Word but doers also (Jas 1:22). Paul writes,

A husband should fulfill his marital responsibility to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. Do not deprive one another sexually—except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

As husbands read those verses, they are thinking to themselves, We are going to start doing family devotionals tonight, and we are going to read 1 Corinthians 7, and I’m gonna say “Honey, Paul said we need to have a lot of sex, and we want to be a biblical family, so let’s not just be hearers of the Word.” Solomon says enjoy your wife, and he means it! (But guys, never lose sight of Eph 5:25-33!)

Sixth, enjoy your work and activities (v. 10). Find a job, find a hobby, and find activities to do with your family. Do life with all you have because death is near. Solomon paints the picture of fully enjoying life. Eat good meals, have a pure life, enjoy a loving marriage, and find a good job (Hunt, Ecclesiastes, 56). As Mark Driscoll points out, get dressed up nice, put on something that makes you smell good, and take your wife to a nice meal (Driscoll, “Cleaning Your Plate”).

We skipped over a key phrase in Ecclesiastes 9:7 without comment. Solomon tells the reader to enjoy life—eat and drink well—because “God has already accepted your works.” Wow! God favors our enjoying the gifts He has given to us. So let’s be clear: it is not a sin to enjoy life (Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, 331). Many in America were raised on a brand of Christianity that communicated life is a drag and holiness is boring. Many were taught that holiness in Christianity means having no fun—holiness is found only in abstaining from fun (Driscoll, “Cleaning Your Plate”). Some were taught that if it feels good, makes you happy, or you enjoy it, then it is a sin, so get rid of it, and stop doing it. Solomon tells us the exact opposite. God wants you to enjoy life, He wants it to feel good, and He wants you to be happy in Him. God is the author of fun, and He gave these gifts to be enjoyed as He intended. After all, He created paradise where there was a garden with tons of acreage, with all the food you could ever eat, and then He put a husband and wife in that paradise with no clothes on (Gen 1–2)! That sounds like a pretty good deal to me; that sounds like a wonderful retirement plan! Solomon encourages us to enjoy life while we can because death is an enemy that will steal everything from us at any moment.

Ecclesiastes exposes us to the meaningless and fleeting nature of life in this cursed world for the purpose of causing us to long for something beyond the grave, and we find that here in this last point.

Ecclesiastes depicts in great detail the curse of sin and death. Death’s tyranny makes life meaningless because if this life is all there is, then death cancels everything out. You cannot take your money with you. Your legacy will ultimately be forgotten. Nothing you did really seems to matter. Some scholars look at this and say Ecclesiastes believes there is nothing beyond the grave, but that is wrong. Ecclesiastes does not teach annihilation; it teaches uncertainty. Solomon purposefully takes on this particular human perspective, and he says we cannot know for sure if anything lies beyond death because none of us has ever gone there and come back.

However, we do know something is out there, and we long for it because eternity is in our hearts (3:11). What Ecclesiastes aches for, the New Testament presents to us. Paul wrote to the church at Rome to tell them that death did enter the world through one man, but life also came into the world through one man (Rom 5:12-21). We sin and die because of what we inherited from Adam, and so we need to be redeemed. Yes, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom 6:23). The question that needs to be raised is, How does Jesus redeem us from the curse of death? He did so by taking the curse of sin and death on Himself at Golgotha (Gal 3:13). As Mark Driscoll said, “The only way to get rid of death is to get rid of sin” (“Cleaning Your Plate”). Jesus took care of both sin and death at the cross and through His resurrection. There is one man who did not decay into the dust (Ps 16:10). There is one man who did not suffer the seemingly irreversible fate of death. He is the promised Deliverer of Genesis 3:15 who rolls back the curse of sin and death. The promise of the New Testament is that those who are in Him will be raised from the dead.

However, the promise is not just for eternal life; the promise is also for abundant life (John 10:10)—living life to the fullest as it was meant to be lived. From the beginning God meant for us to live life to the fullest: eating, drinking, loving, and working (Greidanus, Preaching Christ, 225–26). However, the fall stole all of that and so much more. Now, instead of using God’s gifts rightly as a means to express gratitude and worship to Him, we use the gifts in rebellious and harmful ways. Food becomes gluttony, wine becomes drunkenness, sex becomes adultery, and work becomes an excuse for laziness or being a workaholic. We have rebelled against God’s good design, and as a result we are broken.

The good news is that Jesus came to redeem us so that we can begin to live according to God’s good design. He did not just die and rise again to forgive our sins; He also died and rose to conform His followers to His image (Rom 8:29), which means a new empowerment by the Spirit to live according to God’s design. This design of enjoying life as God’s image bearers is seen so clearly in the life of Jesus. He came feeding the five thousand and turning water into wine. He came eating and drinking—after all, He was accused of being a glutton and a drunk, even though He was not one (Matt 11:19). He came pursuing a bride (Eph 5:22-33), and He did the work His Father gave Him to do (John 9:4). He overthrew the curse so we can live redeemed lives in conformity to His image. Now, in Christ, we can live life to the full—eating, drinking, loving, and working in redeemed ways. We see glimpses of this edenic paradise that we came from and are heading to in churches that eat bread with glad hearts (Acts 2:46), in marriages that reflect the gospel, and in workers who provide for their children.

In the Old Testament Wisdom literature especially, there is a longing for eternal life. But it is not to “fly away” into some body-less existence. What they hoped for was a continued existence within creation (i.e., under the sun). They wanted a return to Eden—to live forever in a good creation. The New Testament says that is exactly what will happen. Those who are in Christ will live forever in a new creation (Rev 21–22), bodily raised from the dead. The world is heading to a paradise where we will eat, drink, love, and work to the glory of God and our own joy. We get to practice for the kingdom right now by enjoying life to the full in light of Christ’s resurrection and triumph over death. As Russ Moore tweets, “Let us eat, drink and be merry for yesterday we were dead, but today we are alive!” (Twitter).