传道书［第9章］
Book of Ecclesiastes 9
文章下载 ｜ Article Download
传道书［第9章|Book of Ecclesiastes 9【神仍掌权，把握时机】
18/02/2022
引言：
传道书第9章指出义人和智慧人的作为，都在神的手中,神依然掌权。我们就是把握时机，回应神行有永恒意义的事。
一、遭遇顺逆，知神作为（v1-3）
其实顺境、逆境在神看来都是一样的。分别只是我们对这些事的回应。因此，倘若神让我们遭遇困境，是为叫我们谦卑，我们要感谢神; 若给我们经历顺境，我们也不用太高兴。因为有时候顺境的考验更大，所以我们不用羡慕那些生活在安逸或处在顺境中的人。
二、短暂人生，珍惜生命（v4-6）
「活着的人知道必死；死了的人毫无所知」，「知道必死」的人比「毫无所知」的人更有指望，人若不「知道必死」，就和死人无异。「他们的爱，他们的恨，他们的嫉妒」（6a），他们在日光之下所热衷的，其实只是死人的事，结果就是「都消灭了」（6a）。
所以，人只要活着就还有指望，死了的人完全没有指望。因此，我们要成为有智慧的人，更珍惜神赐给我们的生命，存感恩的心，活在神的面前，享受神赐给人的年日。
三、善用虚空，充实享受（v7-10）
传道者想到人人都有一死，将来又不确定，就劝人当珍惜和享受神所赐的生命。他可能是在批评那些为了积聚钱财，而不肯享受今生快乐的人。这是乎也是在描述现今正陷于激烈竞争中的现代人，“你们所赚取的财富究竟有什么价值呢？”
所以，现在我们应当懂得在神得恩典下过日子，享受神的一切赏赐。
四、时机均在，神的手中（v11-12）
从这里我们也会发现，无论是祷告、圣洁、争战等都不一定能使我们得胜，因为在我们所面对的世界中，变数非常多，并没有一个绝对的关键，也显出惟有神决定胜败，所以时机非常重要。因此，我们应当抓紧时机快活度日、尽力去做，知足喜乐地做成神在我们身上所命定的旨意。
五、顺从智慧，搭救全城（v13-18）
人的悲剧不是缺乏智慧，而是不肯顺从智慧，结果成事不足、败事有余。虽然人在理论上都知道「宁可在安静之中听智慧人的言语，不听掌权者在愚昧人中的喊声」（17节），也知道「智慧胜过打仗的兵器」（18a），但实际上却是「一个罪人」（18b）就可以「败坏许多善事」（18b），摧毁智慧所经营的成果。因此，智慧在日光之下不但能力有限，而且非常的脆弱。
总结：
人的一生很短暂，但人几乎没有花过任何时间去照顾那永存不朽坏的灵魂! 圣经记载摩西的一个祈祷：神啊！求你指教我们怎样数算自己的日子，好叫我们得着智慧的心。这智慧的心，也是帮助我们把握时机，去做有永恒价值的事。
Ecclesiastes 9: God Is Still In Charge, Seize The Moment
GK611 Morning Devotion
18/2/2022
Speaker: IP Stella Ling + Rev David Tan
Introduction:
Ecclesiastes 9 states that the works of the righteous and the wise are in God's hands and that God is still in control. We are the ones who seize the moment and respond to God to do what has eternal significance.
1. Encountering Good Times and Bad Times, Knowing God's Action (v1-3)
In fact, good times and bad times are all the same to God. The difference is only our response to these things. Therefore, if God allows us to experience adversity in order to humble us, we should give thanks to Him; if He gives us good times, we should not be too happy. Because sometimes the good times are more testing, we do not need to envy those who live in comfort or in the good times.
2. Cherish the Short Life (v4-6)
"For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing,", he who “know that they will die” has more hope than he who "knows nothing"; if he does not "know that they will die", he is no different from the dead. "Also their love, their hatred, and their envy" (6a), which they are passionate about under the sun, are in fact only the things of the dead, and the result is that they "have now perished" (6a).
Therefore, there is hope for man as long as he lives, and there is no hope at all for those who are dead. Therefore, we need to become people with wisdom, cherish even more the life God has given us, live with gratitude, live before God and enjoy the years God has given to man.
3. Make the Best Use of Vanity and Enjoy It to the Fullest (v7-10)
The preacher, thinking that all people will die once, and that the future is uncertain, exhorts people to cherish and enjoy the life God has given them. He may be criticizing those who refuse to enjoy the pleasures of this life in order to accumulate money. This is almost as much a description of modern people who are caught in fierce competition nowadays as, "What is the value of the wealth you have earned?"
Therefore, now we should know how to live our lives under God's grace and enjoy all of God's rewards.
4. The Timing is All in God's Hands (v11-12)
From here we also find that neither prayer, holiness, nor warfare will necessarily lead us to victory, because in the world we face, there are so many variables, and there is no absolute key, and it also shows that only God decides victory or defeat, so timing is very important. Therefore, we should seize the opportunity to live our lives, do our best, and do God's will in us with contentment and joy.
5. Obeying Wisdom and Saving the Whole City (v13-18)
The tragedy of man is not a lack of wisdom, but a refusal to obey wisdom, and as a result, he is not good enough to do anything, but bad enough to do everything. Although people know in theory that "Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools." (v17) and that "wisdom is better than weapons of war" (18a), but in fact "one sinner" (18b) can "destroy much good" (18b) and destroy the fruits of wisdom's work. Thus, wisdom is not only limited in its power under the sun, but also very weak.
Conclusion：
Man's life is short, but man hardly ever spends any time taking care of the spirit that lives forever and never breaks! The Bible records a prayer of Moses: So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. This heart of wisdom is the same heart that helps us seize the time to do things of eternal value.
录音在线播放 | Online audio player