QT 26/01/2025 Sun. Ecclesiastes 9. The Righteous and Wicked all die. What now? 义人和恶者都会死去。现在怎么办?

QT 26/01/2025 Sun. Ecclesiastes 9. The Righteous and Wicked all die. What now? 义人和恶者都会死去。现在怎么办?
45mm 5.34s

QT 26/01/2025 Sun. Ecclesiastes 9. The Righteous and Wicked all die. What now?
READ http://www.esvbible.org/eccl9

The experiences of those of us who have lived long enough suggest that it was not always perceivable that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked. In fact, both die ultimately. What now?

Ecclesiastes 9:1–3 [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. [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. [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. (ESV)

The traditional categories of rewards/punishment were insufficient to explain how God works in the world, the correspondence between cause and effect, the complexities of life under the Sun. The religious and wise do die early or die poor, while the wicked and fools prospered. Ecclesiastes 9:13–17 even cited the example of the poor wise man who saved the city but was subsequently forgotten, just because he was poor even his contribution was great. Money, wisdom, being remembered do not always reside together.

"But time and chance happen to them all" (9:11) did not mean that everything that happened was arbitrary. In the context of the ancient world, this just meant that humans do not have sufficient knowledge to fully comprehend what went on behind the scene. Indeed, the swift or strong does not always win, nor the wise/intelligent have sufficient income. "For man does not know his time" (9:12).

But if you are reading this, it means that you are alive and better off than a dead lion (9:4). This is because you are still able to impact the world meaningfully, to influence "all that is done under the sun" (9:6). Therefore, even though Qoheleth acknowledges the absence of total knowledge of the world and God's working in it, the Qoheleth remained positive with life (and so should we):

(1) to work hard while we are still alive, deploying all that God had given;
(2) to continue to hope for a better tomorrow (9:4,5);
(3) enjoy the given opportunities for human relationships (9:9);
(4) eat with joy and drink with a merry heart "for God has already approved what you do" (9:7),
(5) the condition being "let your garments be always white" (9:8), i.e. holiness in all that you do.

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"Human beings must live out their lives without being able to find out precisely what God has in mind to do. Mortals must run the risk of choosing to act without knowing what the ultimate results of their actions will be" ——Farmer, Who Knows, 183.

Paralysis sometimes come from over-thinking or over-analysing. God has given His people much gifts and things to enjoy. Do use them while we can, when we still can.


QT 26/01/2025 星期日. 传道书 9. 义人和恶者都会死去。现在怎么办?
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/ecc/9

我们这些活得足够长的人的经历表明,上帝奖赏正义者和惩罚邪恶者并不总是可感知的。事实上,两者最终都会死去。现在怎么办?

传道书 9:1-3 [1] 我留心这一切事,并加以阐明:就是义人、智慧人和他们所作的,都在 神手里。临到他们的一切,无论是爱是恨,人都不领悟。2 众人的命运都是一样的:义人与恶人、好人与坏人、洁净的与不洁净的、献祭的与不献祭的,所遭遇的都是一样的;好人怎样,罪人也怎样;起誓的怎样,怕起誓的也怎样。3 在日光之下所发生的一切事,有一件令人遗憾的,就是众人的命运都是一样的,并且世人的心充满邪恶,一生心怀狂妄,后来都归到死人那里去。

传统的奖赏/惩罚分类不足以完全解释上帝如何在世界上作工,因果之间的对应关系,以及太阳下生活的复杂性。虔诚和智慧的人确实早死或在穷的处境下死亡,而邪恶和愚昧的人却兴旺发达。《传道书》9:13-17 甚至举了一个例子:贫穷的智者拯救了城市,但后来却被人遗忘,只因为他贫穷,即使他的贡献再大。金钱,智慧及被纪念并不总是共存的。

“但时间和机遇都会发生在他们身上"(9:11)并不意味着发生的一切都是任意的。在古代世界,这只是意味着人类没有足够的知识来完全理解背后发生的事情。事实上,敏捷或强壮的人并不总是赢家,聪明/智慧的人也没有足够的收入。“因为人不知道自己的时间"(9:12)。

但如果你正在读这篇文章,这意味着你还活着,而且比死狮子更好(9:4)。这是因为你仍然能够对世界产生有意义的影响,影响 “日光之下所发生的一切事”(9:6)。因此,尽管教师(科希勒)承认对世界和上帝在其中的作为缺乏完全的了解,但教师(科希勒)仍然积极地对待生活(我们也应该如此):

(1) 在我们还活着的时候努力工作,运用上帝赐予的一切;
(2) 继续期盼美好的明天(9:4,5);
(3) 享受人际交往的机会(9:9);
(4)“你只管快快乐乐地去吃你的饭,怀着高兴的心去喝你的酒,因为 神已经悦纳了你所作的”(9:7),
(5)条件是 “你当经常穿着白色的衣袍”(9:8),即你们所做的一切都要圣洁。

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“人类必须在无法准确了解上帝的意图的情况下度过一生。凡人必须冒着选择行动的风险,却不知道他们行动的最终结果是什么"--法默,《谁知道》,第 183 页。

有时候,过度思考或过度分析会导致思维麻痹。上帝给了他的子民许多礼物和享受。在我们还能使用它们的时候,就使用它们吧。