Just animals

Eccles. 3:18-22

18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

• How is man without God's influence different from the beasts of the earth?
  
• From Solomon's pre-Christ perspective, how are man and beast the same?
  - If man and beast are the same, why bother with being righteous?
  - If man and beast are the same, what is better than being happy in what you do?
  
• How did the coming of Christ make the difference between man and beast clearer and wider?
  - Without Christ, how is man's fate different from the beasts?
  - With Christ, how is man's fate different from the beasts?
  - Without Christ, how is man's motivations different from the beasts?
  - With Christ, how is man's motivations different from the beasts?

Harold's Musings:
Once again, Solomon concludes it is better to just rejoice in your work. At this stage in the journey, things are not looking hopeful. You bury a man and his dog; then dig them up years later, you see roughly the same thing: bones. As Solomon says, who knows if their fate was the same or different. If I look around me today, I hear people saying there is no difference; that when you die you are over. People are reaching the same conclusion that Solomon did. But we have insight that the wisest man on earth did not. We know that Christ came and that he provided a solution for the question posed here. I love my dogs, but God loved me enough to send His son to die for me and you. I am different than a beast because I am in Christ.

Where is justice?

Eccles. 3:16-17

16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

• How different is your observation of life under the sun from Solomon's?
  - How has mankind changed in the thousands of years since Solomon?
  
• When have you been treated wickedly (or at least badly) instead of justly?
  
• When have you treated someone wickedly (or at least badly) instead of justly?
  
• When do you consider God's future judgment to be a promise?
  - What level of satisfaction do you have knowing that a wicked person will be punished later?
• When do you consider God's future judgment as something to dread?
  - How has Christ changed your view of the upcoming judgment?
  - When have you knowingly sinned because you were sure of Christ's forgiveness?

Harold's Musings:
I can easily get angry, especially when I see the evil that someone is doing. I was angry when the planes hit the World Trade Center. I was angry when I saw the photos of the puppy baked alive by two teenage boys. I continue to get angry when I see the insanity of the radical Muslims in Iraq. I want God to deliver justice now. But there will be a time when these things will be judged by the righteous and unbribable judge of all of us. While I may want justice for evildoers now, God knows best the time for judgment.

Rejoice and Do Good

Eccles. 3:12-15

12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away. [1]

Footnotes
[1] 3:15 Hebrew what has been pursued

• Previously {Eccles. 2:24) Solomon stated that there was "nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good." What does he now add to the "nothing better" list?
  
• Why might it be hard to rejoice/be glad under the sun?
  - What influences your willingness to rejoice and be glad?
  - How does your life's quests influence your willingness or ability to rejoice?
  - How does comparing your efforts to those of others influence your rejoicing?
  
• Where does the rejoicing, doing good, eating, drinking, and seeing good in your work come from?
  - How does recognizing this influence your outlook on life?
  
• Why does Solomon move next to God's works?
  - Why is it important to remember the permanence of what God has done?
  - Why has God worked?
  - What are some of the results of mankind's ignoring that God has worked in the world?
  
• When might you want to add to or alter God's works?
  - When have you complained about God's design? [If I'd only been born with ...]
  - When have you complained about God's decisions? [Why did you let ...]
  - How does fearing God relate to rejoicing and being glad?

Eternity in your heart

Eccles. 3:9-11

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

• Since God has appointed times for everything, why should you strive and struggle to make a difference under the sun?
  - What profit do you seek from your work under the sun?
  
• What are some of the forces that drive people to work?
  
• According to Solomon, why did God give man labor to do?
  - What can happen when people are idle?
  - What is the difference between idleness and relaxation?
  - How does God's giving labor to man fit with His time table?
  
• What does it mean by God set eternity in man's heart?
  - How is this manifested?
  - How have you noticed this in your life?
• How might the following be the result of the "eternity setting"?
  - quest for fame
  - quest for heirs
  - quest to build and/or accomplish great things
  - sense of "why bother"
  
• How does the "eternity setting" relate to knowing what God has done?
  - How does the "eternity setting" relate to God's time table?

Harold's Musings:
Every once in awhile you get a glimpse of what is under your hood. You get to see your engine, the thing that drives you. You have eternity set in your heart but you have finite life. It is like having the fastest Ferrari made, but having a 30 mile per hour speed limit all around you. In our inner being we know: We were made for eternity. We were made for Eden. We were made for perfect relationships. Yet we groan because that is not what we have. Our groanings cause us to look for substitutes; yet Solomon has stated that the substitutes are vanity. Now that you know the "eternity setting" is on, you can live with a view to eternity; if you choose to not chase the wind.