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The Scriptorium

Seize the Day

If it's all you have, you should make the most of it. Ecclesiastes 3.22

Ecclesiastes 3 (7)

Pray Psalm 147.11, 12.
The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!

Read Ecclesiastes 3.22.
Review Ecclesiastes 3.

Prepare.
1. For whom is there “nothing better” than what Solomon mentions here?

2. Can we know the future? Who can “bring” us to know it?

Meditate.
Here Solomon returns to the conclusion of his theme about how to live “under heaven”: men should rejoice in their work and their lot (NKJV, heritage), because this is all they have in this life (3.12, 13). They should “seize the day” and not consign themselves to depression and disappointment by spending too much time thinking about what happens when they die.

Life “under the sun” is meaningless and offers no abiding hope. Thus, all a man has “under the sun” is the day before him and the work of his hands; if he doesn’t learn to rejoice in such simple things, he will know nothing of happiness in this life.

Of course, Solomon knows full well that people are not so easily satisfied; his own experience is proof of that. He probably anticipates Rehoboam saying in response to this verse, “No way!” But he at least wants to take his son to this logical conclusion of what life is like when we’re trying to live apart from God. If you can’t rejoice in your portion or lot in life, then why go on? They who live “under heaven” can actually do what Solomon counsels, for their joy is in knowing that all of life, death, the future, and eternity are in the hands of God, Whom they trust.

This complex chapter is the heart of Solomon’s argument. He insists that people are made for eternity and that they can only bear up under the pressures, vicissitudes, and uncertainties of life by resting in the sovereign care of God and trusting in His wisdom and power. “Under the sun” life has no meaning. But “under heaven” people can find joy, happiness, and meaning in even the most mundane and routine of tasks.

This is the message believers must boldly declare to our secular age. Like Solomon counseling his wayward son, we must engage our unbelieving neighbors in good faith, winsomely, with respect and passion, in order to lead them to trace out their unbelieving worldviews to their logical and tragic conclusions.

But how can lost and hopeless (Eph. 2.12) people break free of the confines and blinders of their false worldview? Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to deliver people from death to life (Rom. 1.16, 17).

Reflect.
1. What does it mean to rejoice in your own works? Which works? Why should Christians especially engage in this?

2. “Under the sun” no one can know the future. What about “under heaven”? How should what we can know about the future affect how we should live today?

3. The NKJV word heritage in this verse is better translated lot or portion. For the person who lives “under heaven”, of what does that portion or lot consist (cf. Ps. 16.5, 6)?

Ecclesiastes, instructing us through enigmas, guides us to the other life. Olympiodorus (early 6th century), Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3.21

You are my Portion, O Lord, and my Lot, and this means that today I can…

Pray Psalm 147.1-20.
We can know the future because God and His promises are there. Thank and praise the Lord for the ways He will unfold His future for you today.

Sing Psalm 147.1-20.
Psalm 147.1-20 (St. Ann: Our God, Our Help in Ages Past)
Praise God, for it is good to sing loud praises to the Lord!
With joy our songs of praise we bring to God and to His Word.

The Lord builds up His Church and He His people gathers in.
The broken hearts He tenderly repairs and heals their sin.

The stars He counts, He knows the name of every chosen soul;
His pow’r is great, and great His fame Who understands us whole.

The humble God exalts above; the wicked He casts down.
Sing thanks to this great God of love; let songs of praise abound.

He brings refreshing rain to earth and feeds the beasts so dear.
He puts in man’s strength naught of worth, but loves those who God fear.

O praise your God, Jerusalem, O Zion, praise the Lord!
He strengthens those who trust in Him with blessings from His Word.

Around us He has spread His peace; our borders are secure.
His bounty daily shall increase; His grace to us is sure!

His Word to earth runs to and fro to carry out His will;
He brings the rain, He sends the snow, and none can keep Him still.

His Word He to His Church bestows – His promises and Law.
No other nation God thus knows: praise Him with songs of awe!

T. M. Moore

Where does the book of Ecclesiastes fit in the overall flow of Scripture? Our series of studies, God’s Covenant, can show you, and help you discover the great beauty of the unity and diversity of Scripture, and how it all points to Christ. To order your copy of this important workbook, click here.

You can download all the studies in this series on Ecclesiastes by clicking here. If you value Scriptorium as a free resource for your walk with the Lord, please consider supporting our work with your gifts and offerings. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button  at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 360 Zephyr Road, Williston, VT 05495.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from
The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

 

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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