Rachel Workman: 9 This, too, I
carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in
God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2 The
same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or
bad,[a]
ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive
the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated
like people who don’t. Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have
mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. Romans 9:18
3 It seems so
wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. Already twisted by
evil, people choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is
nothing ahead but death anyway. 4 There
is hope only for the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a
dead lion!” Can you imagine a life with no hope? No wonder the world has gone mad.
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Pat Bell: his, too, I carefully
explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands,
no one knows whether God will show them favor. 2 The same destiny
ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad,[a]
ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive
the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated
like people who don’t.
3 It seems so wrong that everyone under the sun suffers the
same fate. Already twisted by evil, people choose their own mad course, for
they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. 4 There is hope only for
the living. As they say, “It’s better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”This verse says to me that we don't have the right to expect special treatment. I think it reinstates that we don't have the right to judge... even ourselves....God reserves that privilege.
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John Burnett: 9 For I have taken all this
to my heart and explain [a]it that righteous men, wise men, and
their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it
will be love or hated; anything [b]awaits him. The deeds of righteous men
being loved or hated depends on who declares them righteous. If they have
imputed righteousness (Christ’s righteousness) this means their deeds are loved
by God. If they declare themselves or men, declare them righteous, their
deeds will be hated by God.
2 It is the same for all. There is one fate for the
righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean;
for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice. As
the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who [c]is afraid to swear. 3 This
is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for
all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil
and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards
they go to the dead. 4 For whoever
is joined with all the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than
a dead lion. You have to read this passage right. There is one fate for
both the righteous and the wicked. Both will be judged by God. The
difference is the consequences handed down. The righteous will join with
all the living and the evil will go with the spiritually dead in hell.
Verse 3 tells us that the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and
insanity. All men’s hearts are evil until God bestows His grace and gives
those whom he has called a new heart with new desires.
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Tomorrow’s reading for Ecclesiastes
9:5-10
9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave,[b] there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
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