Chapter 9

2 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. [Ecc 9:2 ESV]

Hard work will make you successful.  Work harder and you will win.  Be good and you will be rewarded.  Or the other way around:  The bad guys always lose.  Mean people will get what they deserve.  Crime doesn't pay.  NONE OF THESE ARE UNIVERSAL TRUTHS! 

3 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. [Ecc 9:3 ESV]

The event that happens to both righteous and wicked is that all die, and then all are judged - fairly, consistently, precisely.  This is because no one is wholly righteous.  All have sinned.  All die.  All are judged in eternity.  The unfairness we all observe in this life is insignificant in the face of the absolute justice of the next.  None of us ultimately "gets away with" anything.  Therefore, we should devote ourselves to avoiding sin and embracing good - as God defines it - and so live a balanced, harmonious life while we can.

Possible FB posts, vs 2 and vs 3 on successive posts. 

Does this get back to the loss of cause and effect when sin entered the world?  This is why things sometimes don't work as they should.  Why anything can happen to anyone, despite the kind of life they've lived, good or bad?

4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. [Ecc 9:4 ESV]

Surely some day a situation will arise where I can quote the last part of this.  Doesn't it say that "Run away" is a viable, useful strategy, even a desirable strategy?  You are not going to fix anything after you're dead.

2024 - This one:

Ecclesiastes 9:7 NASB1995

[7] Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.

I think this is about regret.  We all have regrets, we will all regret something we do tomorrow or the next day.  This says not tp waste today regretting what you did yesterday.  God already knows what we will do and we are still breathing.  Be better today than yesterday...but don't shut down when you fail.

15 But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. [Ecc 9:15 ESV]