Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 Discussion Page 4

It is God dat knowest wat best 4 us,time nd chance

An unfortunate event can happen to any one of us at any time. It is important to live each day to gain God's approval. Life is a gift from God and in order to make sure that our life is not in vain, we should strive to see what Jehovah God's purpose is for us.

According to God’s Word, while people are alive, they are aware of death. When death occurs, however, they are aware of nothing. In nonexistence there is neither pleasure nor pain, neither joy nor sorrow. Those dead are not aware of the passing of time.

Reply to Potato Alley..

Actually if it says it in the Bible then it is so and true. The dead know nothing. Now those that are dead in Christ will rise again and those that aren't will be forever codemned.

I'm sorry for both yours and Carlyn's loses, because I too have lost loved ones. Just because they don't hear my prayers doesn't mean that the Lord doesn't and sends me a comforter in the form of an Angel.

SO HOW ARE PEOPLE "WALKING" AROUND IN HEAVEN WITH LOVED ONES IF NOTHING IS GOING ON AFTER YOU DIE?

This life is full of ups and downs, happy moments as well as sorrowful times. No one is immune to the stress and troubles of life. However, there is one place one can find succour, comfort and solace - in the home or family, with a loved and loving spouse (and children/siblings). What a tremendous blessing it is to have a happy home! Little wonder then that devil fights marriages leading to countless quarrels, seperations, divorces and broken homes. "Marriage is a unique relationship established by God to fulfill His plan and purpose on earth through man. The marriage institution is established to better the lives of both spouses. The benefits of marriage are best realized when both spouses are committed to it. A breach in the duties and obligations of marriiage by either or both partners, often leads to frustration and disappointment. However, there is the possibility of a joyful, blissful and fulfilling marital life in the midst of all negative experiences arising from different quarters. The basic indispensable ingredients of a satisfying relationship in marriage are acceptance and love on the part of the husband and submission from the wife. A home where there is peace is a home where there is no fault-finding, hardness and bitterness on the side of both husband and wife. Godly communication is the lubricant of marriage and family relationship. There must be a cordial relationship, with a determination to produce a lively and productive togetherness". Our marriages and family life can be a fore-taste of heaven on earth. We can make it work prayerfully and with determination. May the Lord help us in Jesus' name, Amen.

A great encouragement to use our brief time wisely

Ecc 9 verse 11God knows what is to be given to His children @ aright time. Time* & chance* are what tells.

This verse states clearly that the dead are dead. There is no passing on to another life as so many religions teach. There needs to be no fear of the dead because they know nothing. So many people are superstituous when it comes to death and dead people, but taking the time to meditate on this verse can help to free people of those superstitions.

Life gets us all. You can be a righteous or unrighteous person, life`s problems affect us all. God is not giving us our problems, it is satan`s system.

God wants us to know our limitations as humans. Jeremiah 10:23 confirms. It is not for man to direct his steps. We need God att all times. The passage teaches humility.

Seems inconsistent with martyrdom for altruistic purposes as exemplified by Jesus.

Even though his deeds were forgotten, he was not. The maid that led to the deliverance of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:2-3 was not named nor was Naaman's servants that encouraged him to simply obey the prophet's request so that he might be healed of his leprosy. They each appeared in scripture and yes, God knows their names. Use the wisdom that God has given you and don't worry about getting the credit.

This verse is my strength; it speaks to the layman, the poor, the faithless. Wake up and just be active,… time will tell. Things will always happen... positive things.

There is a danger in thinking that the dead lives on .This leads us to pray to them when all our prayers are to be directed to God and God only.The bible says over and over that the dead sleep in their graves.We sleep there until Jesus comes back for us.

This clearly shows what happens when you die. Together with Psalm 146:4. Catholics, Y U believe they continue living, when these texts clearly prove the opposite? Even when the bible says that the righteous will posses the world, and reside upon it forever?
Paradise clearly is on earth.

To some, God made a puzzling statement when He wrote that "time and chance happen to them all" ( Ecclesiastes 9:11). We recently encountered some who believe this means that, sometimes, bad things happen for no real reason. This seems to be a position of too much convenience. This position also avoids the diligent study that could reveal what God wants us to know. It bothers us that this position provides an advantage, without realizing it, to those who believe contradictions exist in the Bible. Bad things certainly happen. But it would be completely out of character for the same God who does not forget not even a sparrow, and who assures us that we are so much more valuable to Him. “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” ( Luke 12:6-7 ESV). Either we are valuable to God, and all that it entails, or we are not. Yet we are to believe God allows anything to happen without a reason. Think about the implications of something happening without any reason. It means one of two things: either God wasn't paying attention or didn't care. That's like calling the Almighty either incompetent or apathetic. We know that neither is true. Consider the following. God is all-seeing, “The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the children of man from where He sits enthroned, He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds” ( Psalm 33:13-15 ESV) Either God is all seeing or He is not and we must deal with the implications that that brings. God is never-sleeping. He will not let your foot be moved He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep ( Psalm 121:3-4 ESV). Either God is not awake or He is awake and we must deal with all that that means. God cares deeply about His people. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Romans 8:38-39 ESV). Either we accept what God’s deep caring for us means or we do not. This potentially harmful position must be examined. So we must examine the alternative—that, while God does not directly cause evil, He knowingly allows it to happen. Because humanity has elected to follow its own way instead of God's, "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which ought not be done. They were filled with all unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are filled with envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, They are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless ( Romans 1:28-31 ESV). God has, in essence, taken a step back from the world when it says it doesn't want Him around. He is allowing its inhabitants to see the result of a life without Him. That result is, from a human perspective, time and chance. Let us repeat, for emphasis: It is from a human perspective that God is not in control, not in His sound reality. From our earthly, secular and imperfect way of seeing things, random chance has its way, against the plan of God. It is not holy, spiritual or perfect to hold the position that things happen without reason. Perhaps you know someone battling a life threatening medical problem. First it is not necessary or essential for us to know the mind of God in this unfortunate situation. Second, it remains true that God can and does provide the avenue of prayer for him/her and all of us around him/her to seek the strength this person and those around them need to continue in grace and righteousness without doubting God. Third, we must not attribute to God what we have no evidence He did. When the elderly die not of disease, but simply the body God meant to be temporary finishes it use, according to the time and will of God. Many people say, hopefully in ignorance, “God took Grandmother”. God in reality simply allowed her soul to rest in Abraham’s bosom after the body served its purpose. This assumes that she was faithful – regardless of how loved she was. Being loved by others is no replacement for obeying God’s plan for our salvation. Though God has not lost the ability to restrain Satan and his demons at will, humanity has forfeited God's protection by turning its collective back on Him. As a result, "Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge; but time and chance happen to them all" ( Ecclesiastes 9:11). Another reason, that bad things happen, is the result of humanity's choices; as a result of sin and forsaking God. But none of them happen accidentally or apart from God's will. As it is written in the Psalms, "Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love" ( Psalm 33:18 ESV). That is a promise that those who hold that things happen without reason should consider. Everything in life, no matter how minute, occurs for a reason. Nothing, however bad it may seem can justify randomness outside of the will of God. "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" ( 1 Corinthians 10:13b ESV). "Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save, or His ear dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so that he does not hear" ( Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV)."And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" ( Romans 8:28 ESV).

david attended the battle of the lion and the bear and he beat saul by 10 of thousands

Read this verse in the context it comes from. Search out (in context) as they used throughout the Bible. The KNOW nothingness. They have a choice in life, to be something or to be nothing (to be as if they never had been “and KNOW it”). Their intimate knowledge of the FACT that they could have had life but chose not to live and therefore what they then have knowledge OF is NOTHINGNESS. Look in the dictionary (inspired by GOD so people could understand HIS word) at the definition of the word "KNOW" and will see what I mean.

Hold on and know that God has not forgotten about you; take your time and wait on him, no matter what it seems like.

As the bible says, she that liveth in sin is dead whilst she is still liveth, anyone that is not having Jesus in his life is a sinner, he is that dead lion. But anyone that is born again no matter how lowly esteemed people may rate you, you are better than richest sinner.

Time and Unforeseen Occurrences befall us all. Earthquakes kill all persons whether rich, poor or even Real Christians. No one is immune to these.

The dead know nothing. Never have, never will. When they are resurected they will come alive.

People think with their knowledge that they have acquired in their schools they can make it, but it is not the learned that can make it. Time and chance happen to everyone.

This verse is giving assurance that no matter how we can apply our skill, power and knowledge but if God does not provide, there won’t be any success on that. David was seen fighting and destroying a mighty warrior yet he never attended any battle, and that was God's power.

to me this book of the bible sums up what is really important in life

Book of Ecclesiastes is book of wisdom

my brother in christ mzingaye mnkandla once told said "better a living coward than a dead hero"
wise words

We will remember..Your family does see you and they watching over you..this is for those that are not saved..for we are the living even after mortal death..the reference to the dead means those that are not with God. Once entered into hell they will not remember us..they will be lost forever. But those that choose life..life with God..live forever. So your family members, as long as they believed in God, are still alive waiting for you in heaven.

This is a reply to Carlyn..
My son passed away in 2005 so this was a downer to me as well but know one knows for sure what will happen in the end.. Just because it says that in the bible doesn't make it so