From Dust to Dust
August 2, 2019
Commentary
Everything that God makes or that happens is the gift of God (vv. 9-13). In a world controlled by God and not by man there is nothing better for us to do than to enjoy the things that are present and leave the future to God. This concept is the key to real happiness in our homes, in our employment and in everything that we do.
The next section of this chapter (vv. 14-15) considers the control of time. God is in control. Everything God does will endure forever. It is sort of like the local banker calling you up some morning and saying that someone has deposited $l,000 in your account. The person who gave it is anonymous and the only stipulation is that you have to spend all of it that day. You don’t see that as a problem so you head down to the bank, get the money and head out for a shopping spree.
The next morning you get another call from the same banker with the same message. Again, you don’t see that as a problem. However, this continues to happen day after day and week after week. By now you are wondering how long this is going to continue. The only stipulation is that if it is not spent by the end of each day the money goes back to the donor.
This will probably never happen to you in terms of money but it does happen to you every day in terms of time. If you sleep seven and one-half hours per night you have approximately l,000 minutes each day to spend and you can only spend them that day.
Application
When I compare the things I have to enjoy in this life time is the most precious possession I have. I must keep in mind that only what is done for God will last.
Ecclesiastes 3:9– 22 (NET)
9 What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?
10 I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.
11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.
12 I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,
13 and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.
14 I also know that whatever God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken away from it. God has made it this way, so that men will fear him.
15 Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
16 I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.
17 I thought to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.”
18 I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.
19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.
20 Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.
21 Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?”
22 So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?
Illustration: Three Sons Bragging About How Much Money Their Fathers Made
The three sons of a lawyer, a doctor, and a minister, respectively, were talking about how much money their fathers made. The lawyer’s son said, “My father goes into court on a case and often comes home with as much as fifteen thousand dollars.” The doctor’s son said, “My father performs an operation and earns as much as twenty thousand dollars for it.” The minister’s son, determined not to be outdone, said, “That’s nothing. My father preaches for just fifteen minutes on Sunday morning and it takes four men to carry the money.” (Source Unknown).